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

texases · July 30

Yeah, Rockauto lists several electric options for MBs of that vintage.

fintail · July 30

If there is an issue, fingers crossed it is a simple electric pump (wow, they are cheap) and not in the MFI system, which can cost a fortune to rebuild or replace. Fortunately, it is known to be very durable, so I doubt it is the issue (the car is also running fine, for all I know, it could just be perception of noise).

stickguy · August 1

well, this is certainly a guy that doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. This is one seriously ambitious project.

fintail · August 2

Tavarish makes Hoovie look sane. I prefer the latter for my crazy money pit Youtube time black hole.

explorerx4 · August 4

This project is a keeper.

qbrozen · August 4

explorerx4 said:
This project is a keeper.

Only because nobody else wants it

gsemike · August 4

What's on Marketplace

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3446576572028399/ Who knows what this needs, but I can't believe they're 15 years old already

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/659733418227809/ Not many C4s make it to 175k. I wonder what the paint cost last year

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/697632654120894/ Pretty interesting cruiser. Dig the guages

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3447858888571007/ Volvo Ocean Race edition. Assume it's just a trim package

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3177434728999327/ 4runner with 200k. Besides the taillights and wheels, looks pretty good

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2533857773530655/ Fire sale? Money pit?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/963224330795406/ Viper. "Didn't know what I was getting into." You don't say

texases · August 4

That Dodge Monaco looks pretty nice. The Viper, not so much

qbrozen · August 4

I want to take the Viper drivetrain and throw it in my Coronet.

stickguy · August 4

Should fit. Go for it!

ab348 · August 4

The Monaco is interesting, if a bit pricey for a car that needs some paint work and upholstery repair. Would be a nice car if it could be had for the right price (a lot less than asking).

The Corvette intrigues me. It looks great cosmetically.

Who makes a vintage racer out of a '62 Thunderbird?

gsemike · August 5

ab348 said:
The Monaco is interesting, if a bit pricey for a car that needs some paint work and upholstery repair. Would be a nice car if it could be had for the right price (a lot less than asking).

The Corvette intrigues me. It looks great cosmetically.

Who makes a vintage racer out of a '62 Thunderbird?

I know C4 aren't worth squat but they usually look a lot more worn out than that for 5 grand

stickguy · August 5

C4 is gone. The Volvo, yes, just a promotional option package model. But I like it, could be a good deal for $1,800. The t bird, I oddly like it.

fintail · August 5

Got the Coco mats for the fintail - they fit very well and look great, the sisal material has a similar pattern to the factory carpet (on the transmission tunnel, as the car has rubber floors), so it has a stock look. I had them all cut from a template I specified, as they sent me templates but they had little fitment issues. Not cheap, but considering they are custom cut, I don't think the price was out of line. They also threw in a console tray mat for free, as I had a custom mat made for the rear shelf area, as the material in the car was incorrect (vinyl replaced by me maybe 20 years ago), and the original pressboard base had cracked and perished.

That's where the fun begins. There was a piece of trim loose on the rear seatback, so I figured I would fix it while I was replacing the rear deck material. Easier said than done, a bit of a gongshow. I forgot how hard it is to remove the rear seat in the car, that it has to be done in a certain order, and aligned perfectly. The rear seatback is also much heavier than it looks for a one man job. The trim wasn't too hard to repair, but the seat removal, ugh, something I thought would take 30 minutes took two hours, and I damaged the rear seat material just a little (as the seatback mounts are sharp). My back is still a little sore/ On the positive side, the custom mat for the rear deck fits very well and looks great.

xwesx · August 6

"Project" cars are fun to have, but they do make you pay.... one way or another!

Sounds like a job well done and well worth the effort.

fintail · August 6

Looking back, it probably would have been easiest to remove the front seats before getting involved with the back seat. I think that's how I did it in the past - but I lack the space/tools/patience/back stamina now. I'm most irritated about the slight damage I did to the rear seat bottom when installing the seatback - but it is invisible to a normal person.

Oh yeah, I was wearing shorts while doing this, as it was (Seattle) hot and I expected it to take no time, and cut my leg in the process as well. This is the kind of thing that can make me want to just pay a pro an hour of labor and have it be done with

So, I damaged the car, cut myself, got close to suffering a mental breakdown, but I saved money!

omarman · August 6

If you added "and I used a Sears ball peen hammer" to that last line then it would sound like my old man talking. I still miss him and his home repair projects.

edit to add:

fintail · August 6

Ha, I probably sounded like the "old man" working on the furnace, I was letting it rip for awhile. a web of profanity still hanging over Lake Washington.

omarman · August 6

Hey that's the gif I was looking for!

ab348 · August 6

I have removed the rear seat in the Cutlass twice in my ownership. Like you found, it should be simple - based on experience with my previous old car, a '64 Skylark, where it was ridiculously easy - but not so in this. The lower cushion requires pretty much all the muscle of two people to move it enough for it to release itself along with a similar effort to reinstall it. I leave it alone now.

fintail · August 6

The fintail seat bottom is secured with a couple of guide rods/pins (unless something is missing), easy. But the back upper part is bolted in from the trunk (not terribly difficult to remove), and the lower part at the wheel wells is secured on each side by guides alongside a bolt, which I suppose helps keep the bottom secure too. That part is the tough one, aligning everything, as the bolt/guides setup has zero wiggle room. The seatback, which appears to just be upholstery, stuffing, and a thin pressed steel frame, weighs about 6300 lbs when moving it alone. No doubt the back seat was installed first at the factory.

fintail · August 6

omarman said:
Hey that's the gif I was looking for!

fintail · August 8

YouTuber "1964corvan" just crushed some rare cars - painfully rusty, as usual.

omarman · August 8

Probably not a '71 Mach 1 as reported here but likely a '72 with 429 swap. Still probably not going to the crusher even though it's not a numbers matching survivor. Likely there are more 2nd gen 429 Mustangs today than were built in 1971. The 460 swap is always interesting to me.

Still it looks like (it used to be) a nice resto-mod that will get rebuilt again.

ab348 · August 8

Buying it from Mecum means it could have started as a 6-cylinder Falcon.

fintail · August 8

What's a restored one worth? Might be difficult to run in the black here unless the damage is less than it appears.

Saw the shell of a 65-66 Impala 2 door HT on a flatbed today, I assume it'll be a custom someday.

omarman · August 8

I was thinking a son of frankenstang may live from parting out that donor. But if it really is/was a '71 Mach 1 with original J-code 429 Ram Air then somebody would want to put that one back together. I don't know if either outcome would be in the black unless maybe the shop doing the build. Hobbies cost money but Hobby Shops are a business.

edit to add: I'm not going to say it. But I was thinking somebody else would.

omarman · August 8

Being a first gen Mustang means it definitely "started out as a 6-cylinder Falcon."

Despite being so much bigger and heavier the '71 thru '73 restyle is still considered first gen. But I still think it's something past that.

qbrozen · August 9

“Restored 429 Mach 1” and “open trailer transport” don’t add up to me.

explorerx4 · August 9

Not sure if the pickup truck on the left side of the picture with the 4x4 decal on it was also on the trailer.

fortee9er · August 9

Maybe the pick up truck was pulling the trailer.

fintail · August 9

The jerky cynic in me wonders what the Mustang might have been insured for vs its value.

Had the old dear out today, another fun adventure. Visited with the friend who has the 300CD, which he installed reflective tape in the taillight housings to make the lights brighter. He suggested I do the same to my car, and gave me some tape, so I figured what the heck. Upon removing the rear right light assembly (very easy on old MBs), I pulled on it a little oddly, and broke the ground wire. Fortunately, it was able to be repaired, and now I have at least somewhat brighter lights. Car ran great, and I got a couple random compliments from people on the street (lots of people out today in the nice weather), including a woman on a bike who said the car is "amazing".

Parked in a construction area, maybe not a perfect match for Honey Bucket blue:

A couple shots of how the new mats look, and how it works with the factory carpeting. I am pleased. I also have a similar mat for the console tray, and for the rear shelf (couldn't get a good pic of that in the bright light today):

explorerx4 · August 10

@fortee9er,
The tow vehicle is still connected to the trailer.

xwesx · August 10

fintail said:
Parked in a construction area, maybe not a perfect match for Honey Bucket blue:

A couple shots of how the new mats look, and how it works with the factory carpeting. I am pleased. I also have a similar mat for the console tray, and for the rear shelf (couldn't get a good pic of that in the bright light today):

Fabulous; great choice! And, as far as match goes, I think the mats are just about as close to the carpeting as the car's color is to the "Honey Bucket." In other words, very near a match.

I had one of my old "dears" out yesterday as well. I took the plow truck over to a neighbor's house and used it to drag a 30' culvert down the road and over to my driveway. My wife has "plans" for it. I failed to take any photos of the work in progress.

isellhondas · August 10

fintail said:
Ha, I probably sounded like the "old man" working on the furnace, I was letting it rip for awhile. a web of profanity still hanging over Lake Washington.

Was that you? Loud and clear in Issaquah! Sounded like one of my Drill Sergeants from Basic Training!

Oh my!

fintail · August 10

The pattern is really similar. These were also a period accessory - this type of mat has been around for decades, so they aren't an anachronism. Now and then I still toy with the idea of burying myself in a restoration, but little things like this keep the car kind of fresh, and maybe steer me away from opening Pandora's Box.

30' culvert, maybe a playroom for kids?

xwesx said:

Fabulous; great choice! And, as far as match goes, I think the mats are just about as close to the carpeting as the car's color is to the "Honey Bucket." In other words, very near a match.

I had one of my old "dears" out yesterday as well. I took the plow truck over to a neighbor's house and used it to drag a 30' culvert down the road and over to my driveway. My wife has "plans" for it. I failed to take any photos of the work in progress.

fintail · August 10

It's amazing how many derivations of 4 letter words one can come up with in the heat of the moment,

isellhondas said:

Was that you? Loud and clear in Issaquah! Sounded like one of my Drill Sergeants from Basic Training!

Oh my!

ab348 · August 10

I had the Cutlass out for the first two times this year over the weekend, a combo of COVID early and health/weather more recently keeping it under cover in the garage until Friday. Amazing car - took off the battery tender and connected it up, cranked twice to build up oil pressure, two pumps of the accelerator and bang, started right up. Drove great when I had it out for an extended drive yesterday. Gratuitous photo:

stickguy · August 10

Really sharp looking car.

fintail · August 10

Looks brand new.

I wonder how many late model cars would start as easily. The fintail is the same way, and I don't even use a battery tender (mild climate, no draw). I suspect many modern cars electronics always running wouldn't fare as well, and might have a Christmas tree of idiot lights for a while after first start.

ab348 said:
I had the Cutlass out for the first two times this year over the weekend, a combo of COVID early and health/weather more recently keeping it under cover in the garage until Friday. Amazing car - took off the battery tender and connected it up, cranked twice to build up oil pressure, two pumps of the accelerator and bang, started right up. Drove great when I had it out for an extended drive yesterday. Gratuitous photo:

omarman · August 10

That's really nice.

fintail · August 12

Saw this on a fintail group, I hope this W111 escaped being turned into more of a project car, looks like it might have dodged the (wooden) bullet:

explorerx4 · August 13

Hard to tell if the tree is on the roof of the house or being held up by the power lines.

fintail · August 13

Another estate sale car comes out of the woodwork. 99 Regal GS, 41K, looks pretty loaded (due to the listing style I can't link more images, but it has a moonroof, leather, SC 3800, a grandparent garage bumper scrape etc). Bidding is at $1500, they claim reserve is $3K but "may consider" highest bid under reserve.

stickguy · August 13

that isn't actually a bad looking car.

ab348 · August 14

Those were actually rather nice cars for the era when they were new.

fintail · August 14

I figure for 3K it would be a really good deal for someone, assuming there's no huge issue lurking behind it. Other than Dexcool worries, I can't think of any. The SC model has to be relatively rare.

tjc78 · August 15

Just have to budget for intake manifold gaskets and a cooling system redo

gsemike · August 17

My brother had one of those Regals, I think a 2000. Up close, there were so many build quality issues, annoying characteristics

fintail · August 17

The "old" GM. I thought the SC engine might be interesting in a sideshow way.

Bidding still at $1500 last time I checked, I think it ends later this week.

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

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