Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

isellhondas

Mr_Shiftright said:

You're better off buying one already done. I bet you could get this one for well under asking price:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/4982346061.html

I wouldn't want to drive that Nash through Oakland.

It looks like Mr. Buddy is throwing some gang signs with his hands!

fintail

Was that a cold start, as in not started in months until you took the video? If so, impressive! Given the propensity for stalling had by many cars of that era, especially.

andre1969 said:

I got my '79 5th Ave out today for its first drive of the year.

fintail

I had my old project car out again today. Running fine, but I still get this weird noise after I blip the throttle, as the engine speed hits normal idle, there's a weird "plink" kind of sound coming from what sounds like under the car, passenger side. Something might be loose, and is set off by a specific frequency of vibration. Otherwise, turned some heads, got a couple thumbs up.

sda wanted some other pics, here you go:

Engine - these pics remind me I need to wrap a few exposed wires, after more than a half century, things decay:





Interior:




Dash:




View from today:

andre1969

fintail said:

Was that a cold start, as in not started in months until you took the video? If so, impressive! Given the propensity for stalling had by many cars of that era, especially.

Nah, I had actually let it warm up a bit. I didn't think to video its voyage until after I had started it. However, it did fire up better than I had anticipated. The battery is about 6 years old, and I do remember it needing a charge at some point in the past when I let it sit too long. It turned over pretty confidently though, and fired up on the second try.

Getting the LeMans out was a bit more work, though. I initially tried to drive it yesterday, but it was dead, so I put a battery charger on it. But today, it cranked pretty strong, and fired up on the third try. Its battery is about 8 years old (6/07 date on it), so I'm thinking it might be due for a replacement before I try to go anywhere too far in it.

One of these days, maybe I'll video a cold start on one of these cars, to show just how much of a pain in the butt they can be sometimes.

xwesx

andre1969 said:

One of these days, maybe I'll video a cold start on one of these cars, to show just how much of a pain in the butt they can be sometimes.

That's a good thought! I haven't tried to start the 69s this year yet, so if I'm ambitious enough, I know I have a video camera (how quaint, I know) lying around here somewhere! What's the longest video Youtube will accept?

andre1969

xwesx said:

That's a good thought! I haven't tried to start the 69s this year yet, so if I'm ambitious enough, I know I have a video camera (how quaint, I know) lying around here somewhere! What's the longest video Youtube will accept?

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've started my other '79 New Yorker, the blue one that sits outside yet this year. I don't know if an iPhone has enough memory to record me trying to get that sucker started, though. And I'd have to figure out how to mute the sound, because I'm sure I'd slip up and say something R-rated...

fintail

Some people on the internet have a fetish for cold start videos - some people out there would like to see your old cars start after sitting dormant, no doubt.

Years ago, before all of this high quality phone video stuff, I made a few of the fintail

I got about 7 and a half years on the fintail's old battery, not bad for a generator car. The generator/voltage regulator issue last year pushed it over the edge.

andre1969 said:

Nah, I had actually let it warm up a bit. I didn't think to video its voyage until after I had started it. However, it did fire up better than I had anticipated. The battery is about 6 years old, and I do remember it needing a charge at some point in the past when I let it sit too long. It turned over pretty confidently though, and fired up on the second try.

Getting the LeMans out was a bit more work, though. I initially tried to drive it yesterday, but it was dead, so I put a battery charger on it. But today, it cranked pretty strong, and fired up on the third try. Its battery is about 8 years old (6/07 date on it), so I'm thinking it might be due for a replacement before I try to go anywhere too far in it.

One of these days, maybe I'll video a cold start on one of these cars, to show just how much of a pain in the butt they can be sometimes.

gsemike

A couple of oldies

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/5012819299.html You don't really see the patina thing in these parts, but a nice one of these could be cool. I wish he had better pics of the interior

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/5012797774.html A little more patina for you. The coolness ceiling for this car is much lower IMO

stickguy

First ad flagged for removal.

And is patina French for rust and mold?

xwesx

"Buyer pays for flat bed." What?! Surely this thing can move under its own power....

fintail

Some might remember a year or two ago I posted my friend's dad's 78 Lincoln Town Coupe - a car he had acquired and held on to, despite his wife not liking it. Sadly, the guy passed away not long ago, and the car needs to go. It could be had cheap - my friend's aunt simply wanted them to donate it, but my friend knew it's worth more than nothing. 78 Town Coupe, I think a light grey with matching interior, some faults but decent overall condition, needs vinyl top replacement, runs and drives fine, maybe 25K miles. It'll go cheap. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Mr_Shiftright

Parts car for sure.

gsemike said:

A couple of oldies

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/5012819299.html You don't really see the patina thing in these parts, but a nice one of these could be cool. I wish he had better pics of the interior

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/5012797774.html A little more patina for you. The coolness ceiling for this car is much lower IMO

texases

Mr_Shiftright said:

Parts car for sure.

Shifty - regarding that 'barn find' that's been all over the news - what's the market like for those '30s Caddy V12s and the V16? Does all that 'patina' work in their favor?

Mr_Shiftright

It's fairly strong because the cars are both rare and (we hope) very original and complete. These are full AACA classics so eligible for all kinds of classy events, no doubt in the "preservation class". I don't think it would pay to restore the cars however, if you paid what the auction companies are hoping for. It's hard to say what the car will actually fetch because I have to cut through all the auction house BS without seeing the car.

stevedebi

texases said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Parts car for sure.

Shifty - regarding that 'barn find' that's been all over the news - what's the market like for those '30s Caddy V12s and the V16? Does all that 'patina' work in their favor?

The article said the V12 was not only rare - it was a single example. It was a prototype that tested the V12, and all others had the V16.

Also, the guy selling the cars was also charged with getting all of them running. He said it was not going to be that hard, because it wasn't really a "barn find" - the cars had been carefully stored.

Mr_Shiftright

The cars didn't look all that "carefully stored" to me.

stevedebi

Mr_Shiftright said:

The cars didn't look all that "carefully stored" to me.

The article said that other than a racoon print in the dust of one of the cars, they didn't have any damage.

Mr_Shiftright

You'd think for cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars he could have bought a few dust covers?

fintail

Money and sense sometimes exist in inverse proportion.

xwesx

Well, I finally lit the rigs up this weekend. Amazingly, I even remembered to video them. I employed my son for the task, and he was quite eager to help.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Yrhy5pDMY


The 1969 Chevrolet C20 started up exactly as it has for the past eighteen years. Not too shabby for an original engine (307 V8) that's 46 years old.

xwesx

The van was a little less happy with the long nap this year. It started up quickly (faster than the C20, actually), but Whoa, doggies! did it smoke. A minute or two later (~1:55 of the video), it smoothed right out. My son got quite a giggle out of it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntEEdyBbMoo


Ah, I forgot to mention above, but it has the 302 V8.

explorerx4

In the beginning, it sounded like you have a Top Fuel motor in that van.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

In the beginning, it sounded like you have a Top Fuel motor in that van.

Yeah, I try not to drive it much so that I don't embarrass the local racers.

stickguy

nice paint jobs on those babies too!

Mr_Shiftright

Purrs like a mashed cat!

fintail

Cool! Put "cold start" and some details in the description, and you'll get hits.

Makes me appreciate fuel injection

andre1969

I had to back my '76 LeMans out of the garage yesterday, so I could get in there to dig out a window a/c unit to lug up to the house. At this point, it had only been about 8 days since it started, so it was pretty easy to fire up. It did so on the second try. Not too cranky, but it does make you appreciate fuel injection and other modern advances.

Actually, it's not the initial start on these older cars that bothers me, but when you have to do a hot start. Like, if you've been driving for awhile and then stop off at a gas station or to get a bite to eat. I always feel a bit of a lump in my throat when I turn the key and there's that momentary stumble, making me think, is this going to kill the battery? And then the sigh of relief when it turns over and fires up.

texases

Andre - good point, people talk a lot about how EFI has improved cold starting, but hot starts also benefit in a big way from having the gasoline under high(er) pressure. Vapor lock is much rarer these days because gas under pressure boils at a much higher temperature.

texases

Better bid quick, less than 2 hours to go:
85 911 turbo
83 911
69 427 Vette
80 Vette
71 Malibu

Any bargains from Uncle Sam?

Michaell

texases said:

Andre - good point, people talk a lot about how EFI has improved cold starting, but hot starts also benefit in a big way from having the gasoline under high(er) pressure. Vapor lock is much rarer these days because gas under pressure boils at a much higher temperature.

Tell me ... when I graduated HS, I bought a '79 Pontiac Sunbird with the 2.5 "Iron Duke" engine. As I lived on the coast in CA, I didn't worry too much about hot starts. A year later, I moved to Phoenix to attend college. The Sunbird never really liked the hot weather. It was a crap shoot every time I got behind the wheel whether it would start or not.

Never really got it sorted out in the 2+ years I had the car. Fortunately (!) I totaled it about 2 months before graduating.

andre1969

I'll never forget one time back the summer of 2009. I drove my '76 LeMans to work that day. Well, it was a brutally hot, scorching day. Got up to about 95 degrees, and my car was out there baking on the asphalt. It started up, a bit reluctantly. Common sense would have told me to go straight home and not take any chances, but oh, no...I couldn't do that.

I drove to the liquor store after work to stock up, actually driving right past my house in the process. Loaded up for the week, and then hopped in the car, and nothing but a strained sounding click, as the starter refused to budge the flywheel. So, I called home, and one of the house mates came out to pick up me, and the booze.

Then, as if to rub salt in the wound, when I got home, there in a pile of mail was the latest issue of "Collectible Automobile" which decided that would be a good issue to spotlight the '73-77 LeMans. What impeccable timing.

We went back up to that liquor store after dark, to try and retrieve the car. It was still sweltering hot, but fortunately, the car was cooled down enough that it fired right up.

Michaell

andre1969 said:

I'll never forget one time back the summer of 2009. I drove my '76 LeMans to work that day. Well, it was a brutally hot, scorching day. Got up to about 95 degrees, and my car was out there baking on the asphalt. It started up, a bit reluctantly. Common sense would have told me to go straight home and not take any chances, but oh, no...I couldn't do that.

I drove to the liquor store after work to stock up, actually driving right past my house in the process. Loaded up for the week, and then hopped in the car, and nothing but a strained sounding click, as the starter refused to budge the flywheel. So, I called home, and one of the house mates came out to pick up me, and the booze.

Then, as if to rub salt in the wound, when I got home, there in a pile of mail was the latest issue of "Collectible Automobile" which decided that would be a good issue to spotlight the '73-77 LeMans. What impeccable timing.

We went back up to that liquor store after dark, to try and retrieve the car. It was still sweltering hot, but fortunately, the car was cooled down enough that it fired right up.

My Sunbird reacted the same way ... turn the key and get nothing but a "click"

To add insult to injury, because I bought the car in CA, it didn't have A/C ... survived 3 Arizona summers with that car. I did buy some good sheepskin seat covers to help mitigate the heat.

xwesx

stickguy said:

Actually, it's not the initial start on these older cars that bothers me, but when you have to do a hot start. Like, if you've been driving for awhile and then stop off at a gas station or to get a bite to eat. I always feel a bit of a lump in my throat when I turn the key and there's that momentary stumble, making me think, is this going to kill the battery? And then the sigh of relief when it turns over and fires up.

Good point! Those starters get tired, for sure. It was a dangerous thing turning off my van when "hot" back in the late '90s when I drove it regularly. Eventually, I allowed my resolve to weaken to the point that I replaced the starter. Not a lick of trouble with starting since!

I think part of the issue is just the starter's location. In my van, it is sandwiched next to the block on one side, the exhaust manifold above, and the exhaust pipe on the other side. That's one seriously hot spot! My truck is still using its original starter. But, it is starting to get cranky (er, perhaps the opposite of cranky, actually!) on hot-starts and could definitely use replacement.

xwesx

fintail said:

Cool! Put "cold start" and some details in the description, and you'll get hits.

I would probably have to update the videos to "listed" rather than "unlisted" if I wanted any hits!

When it comes to starting these old things, I'm convinced that technique counts for a lot (but maybe that's just superstition). My father has an old 1960-something International tractor, and it will start right up if you know *exactly* how to do it. Otherwise, may the Force be with you! LOL

Mr_Shiftright

Judging from the descriptions, looks like every single bidder overbid on all those cars by a fair margin. I don't know what it is that happens to people's judgment in auctions.

texases said:

Better bid quick, less than 2 hours to go:
85 911 turbo
83 911
69 427 Vette
80 Vette
71 Malibu

Any bargains from Uncle Sam?

stickguy

I know that I am not an expert, and often am surprised at what some cars go for. But the ones I saw look crazy to me, considering these are what, fed impounds? Right there should be a huge discount.

the 911 was at $16K. With 147k clicks, and what sounds like a totally trashed interior. wires hanging out all over. So heaven only knows how poor the mechanical condition is. Scary potential massive money pit.

Mr_Shiftright

A 911 engine from that era would cost more than $16K to rebuild. I'd guess the car is worth about $7500.

The 80 Vette bid to $9K is worth maybe $6K on a good day and $4500 if it's as ratty as it sounds

Not enough info on the other cars to really comment except that they had better be pretty freakin' nice for the bids showing.

stickguy

the yellow vette big block looks nice. but a leaking trans, locked in gear? Not a good sign.

Mr_Shiftright

And if the engine is not matching #s 427 cid on a Vette, you can deduct a healthy amount, too. That'll cost you $10K at least, if not more.

Mr_Shiftright

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...

The photo of the engine bay is not encouraging however.

stickguy

can't say I have ever seen one of those before.

that engine? Put some gas in it, and should fire right up, even with a rag for a carb. Heck, the slant 6 probably doesn't even need oil.

Mr_Shiftright

I remember the first and only Slant 6 I ever rebuilt. It had like....10 moving parts. It was like working on a wood stove. Ran great though. Had it balanced and dialed it in just right. It was for a '65 Valiant with 4-speed transmission (yeah, they made 'em). Sooooo much less fussiness than most engines I worked on. The Volvo B20 was another rugged simple engine.

Michaell

I came this close to being a Mopar convert when I was in high school in the early 1980's. A friend of a friend of my mother had a '63 Dart for sale - slant six and the push button transmission. Was sort of a dull bronze color, but was in good condition inside and out. I think they wanted $500 for it.

I had a picture in my mind of repainting in dark blue and adding mag wheels to it ...

Not sure exactly why the transaction didn't go through .. gotta ask my folks about it next time I talk with them (if they even remember).

andre1969

The engine bay of that Dart wagon doesn't bother me so much. But the rust hole in the C-pillar does!

The one slant six I owned was a '69 Dart GT hardtop, with a 225. I thought it was a good blend of power and economy at the time, although I'm sure it would feel horribly slow today, after getting used to faster cars. It was smooth and quiet, too. I used to think it was amusing when those Lexus commercials came out bragging about the quietness...sure, when a Lexus is so quiet you can't hear the engine running, it's because it's sophisticated. When a Dart is so quiet you can't hear it running, you give it a little gas to make sure it didn't stall out!

isellhondas

Needs carburator? That's all it needs....really?

Looks like an Organ Donor and one that wouldn't be in high demand.

I love those rugged little Darts with that tough little slant six and I wouldn't mind finding one in much
better shape. That rusted out pillar is what really scares me the most. Probably from the rust belt.

isellhondas

Remember this one?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/4995521880.html

It's been advertised constantly for at LEAST three years now.

Same ad, same photos, same price!

You would THINK the seller would at least change the ad and lower the price!

gsemike

Mr_Shiftright said:

A 911 engine from that era would cost more than $16K to rebuild. I'd guess the car is worth about $7500.

The 80 Vette bid to $9K is worth maybe $6K on a good day and $4500 if it's as ratty as it sounds

Not enough info on the other cars to really comment except that they had better be pretty freakin' nice for the bids showing.

That Chevelle isn't a real SS and doesn't start. All sorted out, car should be high teens and that got bid to 20

gsemike

Long Island Projects

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5026693146.html Nuts

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5021273705.html Far nicer

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4992179101.html Besides the seats, where did the 18 grand go? Could be an awesome resto-mod, but long way to go

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5026286841.html 'Super nice" but 34 grand? I know that they have a following but can these really be there?

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5017955250.html How cool is this for the summer

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5025591917.html Another nice summer car but don't know about the splitter

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5025420872.html I guess that this is pretty cheap entry into the game. Would like more details and an engine pic

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/5023493591.html Now this is cool

fintail

Had the project car out today, did a couple errands, snapped a pic in a sunbreak when parked on the street:



The car got a bit of attention. I went to a yard sale where the people running it had to check it out, got a few other positive reactions from passersby.

Did a little work on the car today. Last year, the mechanic mentioned I have a risk of intermittent electrical issues, as some of the fabric covered wiring under the hood is starting to decompose - the fabric is falling away. Exposed wires make me feel uneasy. I wrapped some exposed wires with cloth tape (hockey stick tape) to at least make it look safer.

andre1969

Well, I finally woke my '67 Catalina up from hibernation today, and did a cold-start video. Sucker kept crashing when I tried to load to my Photobucket account, so it might have been too big. So I finally broke down and made a youtube account. Anyway, here goes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_uD9QKxqGM&feature=youtu.be

Took three tries to get it started, and then I put it into gear too soon, so it stalled. There's also a bit of power steering groan, as it "wakes up" for lack of a better word. And a little heavy-sounding breathing from me...it's amazing how much that iPhone picks up! Oh, and that one sound isn't what it sounds like...it's the vinyl creaking as I get in and slide over!

Anyway, it made it to the bank today, and the gas station, and back home. It's going in the shop on Tuesday to get an oil change and general looking-over.