Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!

[RPOLS3]

Sunday afternoon the weather cleared up here and allowed for some more seat time in the 409. I was able to take it on a 35 mile loop that included about 5 miles on the tollway at 65-70 MPH. Those bias ply tires are sure a handful at those speeds with the crosswinds we had here yesterday. No real issues other than that so we are building confidence and actually the car runs really well. The car loves this colder weather and runs very cool going down the road. I had to makes some adjustments to the heater control valve cable (yes it is getting cold outside) when I got home but it's pretty close to all dialed in now.

MCACN prep is beginning - I test fit everything in the massive trunk and we can get most everything in. All of our parts for the swap space, cooler, tables, etc. I'll have to put the chairs in the back seat and my luggage in the front seat but it will all fit. I started the clean up last night so the coutdown is on. I have a buddy with an enclosed trailer that is scheduled to deliver and pick up the car for us but if the weather is dry and roads are still salt free I might just drive it in - just like Dad would of.....

Looking forward to seeing everyone

[Lynn]

Isn't it amazing how much you can get in one of those trunks? Back in the 70s my brother had a pair of 64 full size cars. I remember him putting two of the old galvanized steel trash cans in the back; standing up!!!

[RPOLS3]

Last big task is now complete prior to MCACN. I've been wanting to clean the chassis to remove a couple decades of road grime and general dust/cobwebs. Getting caught in the rain last month just made things look worse - see before pics below.

I decided to tough this one out and do it on the floor of my garage with the car on jack stands as high as I could get it.

I soaked everything down with Brown Royal - a cleaner/degreaser I've had good luck with as a wheel cleaner. After letting it sit for a few minutes I hit it with the pressure washer, wiped as much down as I could with a towel, then set up a box fan at the front of the car for about an hour.

[RPOLS3]

I then took a page out of Tim's playbook and sprayed it down with Boeshield and then wiped the excess off with a shop rag. After that I took it on my 6 mile test route to blow out any remaining water/Boeshield.

I am very pleased with the results.

[dykstra]

Turned out great!!!

[67since67]

Jake, you sure you didn't have the body off while we weren't looking??

[RPOLS3]

Originally Posted by 67since67

Jake, you sure you didn't have the body off while we weren't looking??

The body was off the car about 25 years ago when the SS conversion took place. It has held up pretty well and after the cleaning today it looks even better.

[Lynn]

See you at MCACN my friend. Can't wait to see this car.

[RPOLS3]

So today I was able to make a trip into Chicago (ironically just blocks away from where the 409 spent the first 18 years of it's life) and pick up some more original parts I needed to keep my vision going with this car.

The exhaust manifolds on the car are the later higher flowing type - which I will probably leave on for now, but I picked up a correctly dated set of the proper ones for the car along with the correct head pipes for the manifolds.

In addition I picked up a correct original oil fill cap, upper hood latch, NOS fuel filter element, original 4657 fuel pump core, and a manual steering box (the last piece I needed for the conversion back to manual steering - but like the manifolds I may wait a while on that. The oil fill cap and hood latch are already on the car for the show.

Also sharing some pics of a real neat Honduras Maroon/Fawn bubbletop 409 car from California.

[napa68]

Honduras Maroon 62