Well, not her actual car.
since my truck got absorbed into the work fleet, need something now to get me the 2 miles to the office and back on days I don??t feel like cycling or running.
spied this old sled on CL and couldn??t not. 65 Newport. Same car grandma drive for the entirety of our shared time on earth.
oughta be fun cleaning up the handful of niggling issues with it and rolling around town on a magic carpet until whatever the next change brings??
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Sweet.?ÿ I've always had a spot in my heart for classic Detroit iron.?ÿ 383 two barrel no doubt.
Hang your arm out in the breeze for me the next time you get it up on the freeway. 😉
super cool!!
Oh Wow!?ÿ It's been awhile since the sound has been heard, but does that old Chrysler have the "whinnying"
Chrysler starter sound to it ?
Gear driven starter... O yeah!
N
That's from the days when they made REAL cars.
Good thing it's only two miles to the office.?ÿ Otherwise you need to keep a five-gallon can of gas tucked securely into the trunk at all times.
Really cool, restore that bad boy with stock parts and paint.?ÿ Take it to car shows on the weekends.?ÿ BAM!?ÿ Brand new hobby.
Be ready to visit the car mechanic every month. I have a car that's just over 30 years old and she visits her mechanic on a regular basis. Repair this and another part needs replacing next IF you could find the part. It's never ending. At least for the mechanic, it's a never ending income stream too.
@jonathan50 I??d rather pay my mechanic monthly than my banker.
Dad taught us to: Retard the spark. File the points. Change the points. Change the condenser. Dry the distributor. Push start it. And don't go through the creek too fast.
Maybe that's not so common today.
N
Maintaining 20th. century gasoline powered transpo is an acquired hobby of love.?ÿ ?ÿAnd it's really unfair to compare old iron with today's almost-maintenance-free vehicles.?ÿ They are completely different animals.?ÿ And I admire anyone that keeps and old horse alive for for nothing more than a hundred miles or so every month if the weather is nice.
But there are purists out there that think they have to keep their machines in all original working order.?ÿ I understand the theory, but I never could maintain this in practice.?ÿ Let me just say that every kick-start British motorcycle I have owned received an electronic ignition installation as soon as the title was transferred.?ÿ
Ignition points belong in a trash can.?ÿ Kicking the stuffing out of a seventy year old motor on a damp cold morning is no fun.?ÿ Choose your battles.?ÿ 😉
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It was never a matter of preference. It was a matter of getting down the road. Home, or work, or the store!
We never knew about adding electronic ignition, ad that time. My first experience with that modern Marvel was a 1981 yamaha 175. HEI. High energy ignition. Man, that was an improvement. No fouled plugs. We were ignorant.
N
My favorite "keep 'em running" story:
I once removed a water pump off my 1961 Ford Falcon, hitch-hiked to a parts store, obtained a replacement, hoofed back and successfully returned the vehicle to working status.?ÿ While that might not sound too fantastic, let me explain.
It was the day before Christmas eve, the car overheated and wound up on the side of the interstate as the sun went down.?ÿ The drizzle was starting to freeze. The parts store was just closing as I got there.?ÿ My pregnant wife and 2 year old son (both bellerin') stayed with the car.?ÿ The work was performed with the only tools I had in the car:?ÿ A screwdriver, a 1/2" wrench and a pair of vice-grips.?ÿ We were Christmas shopping at the time.?ÿ We all made it home that evening safe and warm with our collection of gifts.?ÿ I earned my "Okie status".
I swore I would never work on another car beached on the side of the road.?ÿ And I don't think I have.?ÿ That 2 year old boy is now fifty.
My water pump story.
1886. Chicago. I lived in Hammond. I had a Datsun 710 wagon. I met the boss up on route 53. My car was making a noise. Wobbling pump shaft. We worked till noon went and got water pump at noon. Got off early. Installed that pump. Broke a bolt. Stud was protruding about 1/2". Took vice grips, and slowly turned it back and forth, until it came out. I coated everything, especially the bolt threads with orange silicone. I replaced that no. 10 bolt. It was after dark, when I got it going. Next morning, I was there on time. Boss was shocked. We just believed we were supposed to be like that.
It has points. I'd set em with dwell meter.?ÿ
N
You must be the oldest member of the club, by far.?ÿ Driving a Japanese-made vehicle in 1886.?ÿ Wow.
I like Payden's water pump story better. It's got USA iron, women, pregnancy, rain, (it was raining wasn't it?) And barely making it to the parts house on time. There's enough in that for a song....
N
@jonathan50 ?ÿI've had the same mechanic (former Baja 1000 Trophy Truck racer) for 20+ years now,?ÿ maintaining my 21 year old Hyundai 2-Door(!) Accent & 19 year old Wrangler.?ÿ The last few years he's had me find obscure parts rather than bird-dogging them himself.?ÿ I was miffed but he said it saves me money if I find the part instead of him.?ÿ So true; I've spent hours Web-surfing/phone calls/trips to the mega junkyard at the Mexican border.?ÿ I had a $2.00 wiring connector fail and sure Chrysler has the part, but you have to buy the entire wiring subassembly for $150.?ÿ The junkyard dogs are well aware of the 'sitch and charged me $25 for just the connector.
Gary's a great mechanic; I'll bring the Jeep in for an oil change and get a call suggesting I replace the radiator hoses as they're getting squeezably soft.?ÿ Or get a call suggesting it's time to replace the tires even though they've got plenty of tread left based on the penny test, simply because they're 12 years old.?ÿ The Hyundai, meh, just fix things when they fail, but the Jeep, he knows about my extensive (pre-Covid) solo off-roading ventures so proactively replaces parts that look/feel/are old or behave oddly before they fail. His point being 'tis better to replace a part that may have a few thousand more miles of life left for a few hundred bucks?ÿ than pay a few thousand for an off road tow because of a breakdown.
Like this one?
Well I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison
And I went to pick her up in the rain
But before I could get to the station in the pick-up truck
She got runned over by a damned old train
File the points.
I still have the points file I bought in 1972 or so.?ÿ I still use it on occasion, but not to file points.?ÿ I also have the Heathkit tach-dwell meter I assembled in the same era, but I haven't used it in at least 30 years.?ÿ I just can't bear to throw it away.
