| RPOLS3 |
02-23-2026 02:21 AM |
21 Attachment(s)
After watching Team USA bring home the Gold this morning I was able to spend a solid afternoon diving into things on the car. My goal for the day was to get the into the car mechanically and on the road to see what needed to be done beyond what I already knew about. The seller was pretty transparent and open about what he knew was wrong with the car and to date I haven't seen anything overly concerning. With our family history on the car there wasn't much he could say that would have changed my mind anyways.....
Remember he drove it pretty frequently and just spent over $20k on the cosmetics and mechanics so overall the car isn't too bad - just trying to get things dialed in the way I want them.
When I was doing the 409 I invested in a set of the dolly jacks to move cars around and they have been a huge timesaver here. I am able to push the car up against the 409 and then move it back to work on it - and not have to leave anything outside for the night.
First thing was to address gas leaks at the carb. The intake was badly stained and there was gas pooled in the low spots. I cleaned up the air cleaner base and lid while it was off. I believe them to be original to the car. I snugged up the float bowls and the inlet fitting on the gas line was loose too. I think the accelerator pump may be seeping a bit as that seems to be the only thing left that has a very very minor leak after getting everything else tightened up. The choke was not working and that was an easy fix - the choke rod was not connected to the thermostatic coil. I wiped the intake down with carb cleaner and all of the gas stains came right out.
Next on the list was a no heat condition which the seller told me about. I was hoping this was going to be an easy one too as I found the vacuum hose disconnected from the heater control valve. After being in Florida most of the last 22 years I think the valve is stuck shut judging by the temperature gun results - so connecting the hose did not solve this one ........more work to do there. After discussions with Tim I think the temperature sender for the gauge might be NFG too....
After inflating the tires and checking all the fluids I took the car on my test loop (we had some rain last week which cleaned up the salty roads enough to not concern me with driving it a short distance) with no real issues other than it might need a 3rd gear synchro as it would occasionally grind a bit. As far as I now the trans has never been rebuilt other than any maintenance that Dad may have done when he had it. The trans is original to the car.
It was pretty surreal to drive the car again after 22 years. While the side pipes and bias ply tires provide a bit of a different driving experience, it is mostly the same as I remember it. It was a great feeling.
Next up was to clean up the spare tire and tub. There is a repro tire and "B" wheel, that I'm pretty sure Dad put in there years ago as the wheel still has 5 proper lug nuts wired to it in the event you have to use the spare (bolt on lug nuts are different).
After that I spent some time figuring out what I need to do to re-install the driver side courtesy light. Looks like I need a couple of the push in connectors and that should be solved. I'll get those ordered soon.
After that I adjusted the drivers side door panel that was not attached properly at the upper front area by the vent window - all good now. I then moved on to the headlight switch, which died when I opened the headlights to clean around them. The seller provided a new one, so I need to figure out how to get the old one out of the tight quarters. While poking around under the dash I discovered the trip odometer re-set was not properly fastened to the dash - it looks like I need to get the correct nut to solve that one.
I spent some time cleaning up all the bumpers, and especially around the grille and license plate area. It looked pretty neglected and the salt air didn't do it any favors over the years. While spending time up front - I wasn't real happy with the hood gaps. The front by the headlight surround was pretty big and there was virtually no gap at the cowl vents, so I got that a bunch better (no pics).
While under the hood I took some pics af the various dated components. Car was made March 4th of 1967 - so it will be 59 years old shortly.
Lastly I removed the drivers seat to drop off at the upholstery shop tomorrow for him to have a look at getting the lower seat pleats fixed and also to fix a seam in the seat back.
Overall I'm very happy with how things are progressing and will keep on tinkering with things as I have time. The thing I learned from the 409 project was the importance of doing what you can when you have time, whether that is 15 minutes or a whole weekend. It will eventually get done if you put the time in.
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