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

xwesx

sda said:

It’s great to see that your son is helping with the project. I fondly remember dad and his good friend who was an excellent mechanic showing me how to tune up my Honda CT-70 and SL125, change oil and other tasks. They both impressed upon the the importance of regular and thorough maintenance which I am now trying to also impress on my 17 yo daughter. She looks at me like, really?

The disc brake conversion looks like it could be original to the van. Are you installing a brake proportioning valve to balance the front to rear bias? Great job!

I had a lot of wrench time with my dad, but probably far more just me and a repair manual. By the time I graduated from high school I had replaced the engine in his 1979 Ford pickup (inline six), the transmission on our 1985 Toyota Camry, and fully rebuilt everything mechanical on that van, including swapping all of the running gear (post-rebuilding) from the 1971 body to the current 1969 body. All good memories... even the bad/painful ones!

I am not sure whether I will need a proportioning valve yet. Apparently, it depends on the design of the master cylinder. I *think* I have the one that does not require it, but I will find out once I have a chance to test them. Unfortunately, I was not able to bleed the rear brake lines due to the bleeder screws being stuck (with a capital 'S'!), so I may also need to replace the wheel cylinders in the rear before I call this project done.

For now, just going to address the transmission leaks and put it back on the ground. My son is *itching* to get to drive it, so I want to at least give him a taste before jumping into another weekend project.

stickguy

Interesting shift pattern on that K-whopper.

xwesx

fintail said:

No mention of mileage hmmm wonder why

Trying to read the odometer in the photos.... looks like maybe 19x,xxx miles? Not many. It's a baby still!

steine13

@xwesx
In fairness, that's a 0 out front, as in 09x,xxx miles.
But it wouldn't matter anyway, because rebuild!

xwesx

steine13 said:

@xwesx
In fairness, that's a 0 out front, as in 09x,xxx miles.
But it wouldn't matter anyway, because rebuild!

Show off!

bhill2

texases said:

That Falcon wagon - what a 'sleeper'! 170 hp!! and all out of that little 6:

Nobody seems to have picked up on your irony. The engine, of course, 170 ci. It is 101 hp.

kyfdx

I didn't catch it, either. I guess @texases is just too subtle for us.

texases

I was a little too subtle there, I admit...I just remember driving my '65 Mustang with that 170 CID. What I wouldn't have given for 170 hp!!

fintail

I will do it now while I have time:

The invasion continues

I like the look of this, first pic looks like a vintage photo

The seats in these seemed to age like that

I think one of these brought sixty-leven million dollars on BaT

Back in the day when a base model stuck out

Original plates, got in before the bumpers grew

Some cars will rust here, these would rust in a vacuum

Probably a handful to drive

Presents well even with issues

Color name = "90s"

Unobtanium parts bonanza, pretty cars

The price is right

kyfdx

Legend.. we had that same car as a '92 model White, but with a Taupe/tan leather interior. When we sold it in 2013, it had just 38K miles.

kyfdx

XJ coupes are awesome! (not the XJS)

fintail

I remember back around 2002-03, a friend bought a low mikes (~50K IIRC) 91 Legend in dark blue with tan leather. The front seats seats were splitting in it too, which drove them nuts - they tried some hokey leather repair kit, to no avail. The car was later rear-ended in the snow and replaced by a Ram truck, of all things.

Michaell

i had a '93 Accord DX. Mine was burgundy and a 5-speed, however. Spent as much time in the airport parking lot as I did driving it. Only had 55,000 miles after 5.5 years.

Michaell

And I like the 300TD

texases

Those XJ coupes - first ones I've seen without vinyl roofs...

tjc78

243K miles in a purple Probe. There are better ways to live.

Oscar

The Jaguar coupes and W126 those are my kind of cars! Cheap!

Oscar

No title, no keys. not running. The trifecta of automobile cheapness.

xwesx

fintail said:

Color name = "90s"

That Probe is actually quite impressive. 250,000 miles?! Looks fantastic for that amount of use! Hell, looks fantastic for *half* that amount of use.

bhill2

texases said:

I was a little too subtle there, I admit...I just remember driving my '65 Mustang with that 170 CID. What I wouldn't have given for 170 hp!!

I remember driving my '60 Falcon with the 144 CID. What I wouldn't have given for 101 hp!!

fintail

Took the old car out for maybe 50+ miles today, out to the rink very early (only car on the road, my favorite time) then cruised around for a bit. Turn signals worked all the time, fired right up and had no warm starting hesitation, no noticeable blowby - car is in a good mood. I got a number of compliments and several turned heads too, having an attention-getting old car doesn't have to be a bank breaker. Pic from today:



In a few weeks the old dear goes in for its yearly service and checkup.

xwesx

After reviewing my brake setup on the 69 Econoline again, I decided it is likely that I should add a proportioning valve to it, despite what the instructions stated. So, I ordered one, but could not find something locally. In the meantime, I went ahead and pulled the oil pan off the transmission, which, it turns out, is a C4 (not a C6), just like my original unit. I'm still not sure why the two behave so differently, but that's a mystery for another time.

Every single one of the bolts on the oil pan was so loose that I could remove them without the aid of a wrench! That was a bit of a shocker! I mean, I have had that transmission since 1994, driven it to/from Alaska three times, and not once had I ever paid any mind to the bolts on the transmission oil pan. Yikes! Hopefully that is the source of the excessive leaking. I pulled the pan, drained the fluid, replaced the filter screen, put a new gasket on it, and put it all back together.

After that, added a little fuel to the carburetor, put a battery in it, and off it ran. Took about two seconds to start initially, died, then immediately fired up again and purred.

Braking is wonderful! WONDERFUL! It is still non-power-assist, so with the added requirement of more pressure for disc brakes, it isn't like stopping my Forester, but it slows better than it did before, and I can let go of the wheel, mash the brake pedal for all I'm worth, and it comes to a smooth halt in a perfectly straight line. Wow. I told my son, "This is so incredible how much better this stops! I almost feel guilty for not letting you experience the old drums before making this conversion."

I think the proportioning valve is a good thing to have, so I will still install it, but I had no issues with rear drum lockup on this test. I suspect that if I was driving it on mud or ice, though, it wouldn't be the same story.

sda

fintail said:

Took the old car out for maybe 50+ miles today, out to the rink very early (only car on the road, my favorite time) then cruised around for a bit. Turn signals worked all the time, fired right up and had no warm starting hesitation, no noticeable blowby - car is in a good mood. I got a number of compliments and several turned heads too, having an attention-getting old car doesn't have to be a bank breaker. Pic from today:



In a few weeks the old dear goes in for its yearly service and checkup.

fintail said:

Took the old car out for maybe 50+ miles today, out to the rink very early (only car on the road, my favorite time) then cruised around for a bit. Turn signals worked all the time, fired right up and had no warm starting hesitation, no noticeable blowby - car is in a good mood. I got a number of compliments and several turned heads too, having an attention-getting old car doesn't have to be a bank breaker. Pic from today:



In a few weeks the old dear goes in for its yearly service and checkup.

fintail said:

Took the old car out for maybe 50+ miles today, out to the rink very early (only car on the road, my favorite time) then cruised around for a bit. Turn signals worked all the time, fired right up and had no warm starting hesitation, no noticeable blowby - car is in a good mood. I got a number of compliments and several turned heads too, having an attention-getting old car doesn't have to be a bank breaker. Pic from today:



In a few weeks the old dear goes in for its yearly service and checkup.

Hopefully no probe in the tail, maybe under the manifold?

sda

Not sure why it posted the pics, thou nice, three times.

sda

xwesx said:

After reviewing my brake setup on the 69 Econoline again, I decided it is likely that I should add a proportioning valve to it, despite what the instructions stated. So, I ordered one, but could not find something locally. In the meantime, I went ahead and pulled the oil pan off the transmission, which, it turns out, is a C4 (not a C6), just like my original unit. I'm still not sure why the two behave so differently, but that's a mystery for another time.

Every single one of the bolts on the oil pan was so loose that I could remove them without the aid of a wrench! That was a bit of a shocker! I mean, I have had that transmission since 1994, driven it to/from Alaska three times, and not once had I ever paid any mind to the bolts on the transmission oil pan. Yikes! Hopefully that is the source of the excessive leaking. I pulled the pan, drained the fluid, replaced the filter screen, put a new gasket on it, and put it all back together.

After that, added a little fuel to the carburetor, put a battery in it, and off it ran. Took about two seconds to start initially, died, then immediately fired up again and purred.

Braking is wonderful! WONDERFUL! It is still non-power-assist, so with the added requirement of more pressure for disc brakes, it isn't like stopping my Forester, but it slows better than it did before, and I can let go of the wheel, mash the brake pedal for all I'm worth, and it comes to a smooth halt in a perfectly straight line. Wow. I told my son, "This is so incredible how much better this stops! I almost feel guilty for not letting you experience the old drums before making this conversion."

I think the proportioning valve is a good thing to have, so I will still install it, but I had no issues with rear drum lockup on this test. I suspect that if I was driving it on mud or ice, though, it wouldn't be the same story.

The improvement in braking is great and a huge plus to safety. I remember reading many years ago, CU said the brakes of the Econoline were unsatisfactory, even dangerous.

fintail

It'd be funny to see what that car could do to emissions test equipment - overload it and make it stop working, perhaps. When backing in to its spot, I was downwind of the exhaust again, and I could see it. It just makes me laugh, canceling out a few smug cars

sda said:

Hopefully no probe in the tail, maybe under the manifold?

fintail

Quick menagerie from the usual source:

Probably not a good first car for a kid, but maybe not a bad deal

They don't make em like this anymore

LOL at price, not sure what the badge is from

Go broke in style

Might not be bad

By the plates this has been off the road for over 50 years

Not many of these around

Unusual conversion

sda

What a blah color on the Plymouth Savoy.

stickguy

Savoy is weird. Especially with a slant 6 and 3 on tree. Good to drag race beetles I guess.

stickguy

I would grab that delicate. I love those. The PU could be a good deal but that one is not quite my style.

xwesx

sda said:

The improvement in braking is great and a huge plus to safety. I remember reading many years ago, CU said the brakes of the Econoline were unsatisfactory, even dangerous.

After 20-30,000 miles of driving one, including once to Alaska with a failed master cylinder, I will confirm that such a sentiment from CU is unequivocally correct!

xwesx

fintail said:

Quick menagerie from the usual source:

Probably not a good first car for a kid, but maybe not a bad deal

They don't make em like this anymore

The '78 K1500 must have some serious needs at that price. Either that, or they just want it gone today! The Nissan pickup looks like a great buy, equipped perfectly for a little starter car or weekend runabout.

gsemike

Searching Long Island Craigs 1950-1990

https://longisland.craigslist.org/ctd/d/tempe-1967-alfa-romeo-duetto/6924508950.html Alfa Duetto. Resotration loos terrfic but is that money sane??

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/middle-island-1987-toyota-land-cruiser/6924428038.html I know that people love Land Cruisers but this sounds way shady

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/mount-sinai-1963-chevy-ii-nova/6924413282.html Chevy II ragtop. This year always looks more nerd car than hot rod to me, but this looks like a decent example

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/port-washington-sl/6924248643.html Well used 380 SL

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/east-hampton-1983-mercedes-380sl/6924199239.html This one shows much better

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/selden-1966-chevelle/6924030036.html 66 Chevelle Convertible. Given what your chevelle dollar gets you around here, this looks really decent

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/tyro-1970-ford-fairlane-500/6923867854.html Fairlane 500. What's with the stripes? Given that it's a really base sedan with a 6, price seems quite dear

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/sound-beach-1978-mercury-grand-marquis/6923028913.html 13k mile grand marquis. What a barge. Wonder if it will polish up, or if that is as good as it gets

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/wantagh-1980-camaro-z28/6923139376.html 80 Z28. He gave up on that project really fast

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/bay-shore-1984-buick-riviera/6920299053.html 84 Riviera. I always liked the clean style of these. Looks like a very presentable driver for the money

stickguy

I like that year Z28, but needs a stick. Probably a smart guy. got into it, realized how much it needed and how upside down he would be, so bailing before the real money went down the drain. At least if you want it, some work already done for you, and more importantly, you can see exactly what you are dealing with.

berri

That Chevy II convertible takes me back to used cars and high school.

fintail

Quick morning run with the usual filters:

Peak Accord keeps going

The light goldbeige color on 90s Toyotas ages in an interesting way, I wager the bumpers are original

Needs far better and more numerous pics to match the price

Survived better than most

A day late for Canada Day

I like the decal

Bubble

Foxbox

Correct looking tires would do a lot for this

Neat survivor, good colors

Rare and excellent color for an early W126, I approve

stickguy

Interesting Bricklin. Looks pretty clean.

tjc78

Looking at the 92 Caprice... I don't know how you could have bought one of those over a 92 Crown Vic or Grand Marquis. The dash in those is terrible among other things.

I love how people try and sound like they know what they are talking about. The 91 Box Vic seller says it has an E4OD transmission. Um no, Panthers never got those. E4OD is a C6 with overdrive used in big block applications. Your Vic has the good 'ol AOD.

stickguy

Don’t they still teach that in grade school? Education system is slipping.

xwesx

fintail said:

Quick morning run with the usual filters:

Survived better than most

Bubble

I saw a 924 like that one, except red, and definitely showing its age, at the local NAPA store on Friday morning. Looked like a labor of love for the owner (not that I would know anything about such things! ).

On Saturday, talked with the owner of a 1994 Caprice Classic stationwagon. Nice mechanical condition, though the exterior was showing perhaps "typical" advanced senior driving damage. The owner was very enthusiastic about it (probably mid-80s), and talked about how a friend of his bought it new here in Fairbanks, etc., etc.

omarman

I get the feeling you've left out a few more etceteras.
"I had a friend one time a long time ago and my friend bought a new car in Fairbanks but he didn't live there at the time and when he traded it in on another new car in 1994 it was a Chevy Caprice wagon - the new one not the trade in."

xwesx

We managed to keep the interaction to about three minutes total. I have a feeling he *could* have gone on and on about it, though!

fintail

You know the drill. Prices seem higher this morning:

It has a look

Seems reasonable compared to many ads

Pretty cool but what?

Good luck buddy (I like "the day has come', this has been legal here for a mere year)

You paid what for an oil change? I also notice fresh plates.

Lead photo again resembles a vintage shot

I liked this kind of thing when I was a kid, batty price

Survivor, proud

Controversial, looks remarkable

Odd spec bubble

Maybe a good deal on a driver/beater baby

Is it this or the 260 that everyone hates? Also that price.

Stylish financial destruction

Turbo

stickguy

I love the scout. Not the price. But I think those got swept up in the wake of the bronco craze.

I like the 280z, but the interior is sad. Again, price seems nuts.

fintail

Now that I think of it, the Scout might not be completely insane. Signs of getting old, 20 grand aint what it used to be.

qbrozen

Scamp and Caprice interest me a little. And maybe the Bentley. LOL.

$80k for a REPLICA? HUH?!

tjc78

Owner of the Caprice obviously has a thing for them. Did anyone else spot the Impala SS in the background.

fintail

There's an Impala SS in the garage where the fintail slumbers that was there when I moved in nearly 7 years ago, and I don't think has moved more than once or twice. The market hasn't fallen in love with those yet, it seems.

Oscar

I like the Seville , but not the price nor the 4.1L engine. I also like the Bentley but I see a lot of these for around $10K . I am not brave enough or crazy enough to take the plunge.

fintail

Just a few for the post-holiday hangover:

Can be fixed with the ultimate set of tools

Gold just under the surface

Not many first gen survivors like this

Fun conversion from a local company, my aunt had a Trail Wagons Econoline when I was a kid, it had a similar treatment, I thought it was pretty cool

Practical pickup

Has the look, but you'll need to have the money