Guess you won't have it at Goodguys this weekend. That's going to be an awesome car, I like your style!
Thanks a lot guys! I'm skipping Goodguys. A bunch of my friends are going, but I have a deadline I want to meet. Plus, that goldchainer show comes around twice a year here. I have most of the mechanicals under the hood finished. The radiator is installed and power steering lines are done. Fluids are topped off with no leaks so far. Adding five gallons of coolant did put the nose on the bump stops so I raised the car up about two inches. Torsion bars are great! I added a couple of ground straps between the block and frame and firewall. Headlights are in. This weekend I'll be working to finish up the rear bumper, get a front seat together for it, and wire up whatever I can. My dad wants to clean and reinstall the trim on the fenders. I think I'm going to ask him to paint the headlight buckets; as ugly as the rest of the car is, I still hate all that flaking paint.
I got my dad to paint the headlight buckets, yeah! We worked on my 6-way power seat, and after some lube and coercion, it all works. The foam in the seat is decomposing badly, so knocked out what I could. Going to do the Mexican blanket bit over the seats to get it on the road. Made a kind of janky package shelf from thick cardboard and some rubber matting, then installed the two rear speakers plus defroster. Ran the main part of the wiring harness forward from the trunk to the dash. Worked on restoring, installing, testing, and adjusting a bunch of electric parts, like the dimmer switch, brake switch, etc. and ran a few more wires. View attachment 3834110
Looking very good. I have to say that I prefer the original grill and hood. The scoop you made reminds me of the last Packards that were produced. Your workmanship is great and it's cool your dad's helping. But what happened to those cool wire wheels you had on page one?
Well I have another good stock hood and a pair of stock front bumpers you can put on it after you buy the car from my estate. The wires have been on my wagon for a decade now. They're a little too narrow for my taste, at least the rears. I have an idea for something different... after paint, chrome, interior, and myriad other things.
Love it. Every part. It’s EASY to over do it... which you haven’t. Spot on! I wish I had your vision and resolve!
Not a lot of visually exciting updates for this week! Dad rubbed out the roof so we could get the windshield trim put back on. We did a light polish on the rest of the trim and put it back on the car. It was a pain scrounging the best trim pieces from two cars, and enough good clips to get it all installed. I'm still hunting for a few to get the front fender wheel mouldings back on. I made a floor opening cover for the shifter and got the bezel installed. I washed the car for the second time in ten years. It looks a little better without all the dirt. And of course the wiring saga continues. What a pain! The first finished circuit was for the dome and map lights. I'm hoping the rest start falling like dominoes. Seventeen days until LSRU and I haven't started the car yet. But I'm still planning to be there!
You got this! Several years ago I was thrashing on my Merc to get done in time for the Custom Car Revival in Indy. I think at 17 days I hadn’t even started the wiring yet if I remember right. Lol Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Best thread I've read here in a long time... love the car and the vision, the scoop looks factory. I wish I was going to the Roundup to see it in person!
Man great work just found this thread Did you ever end up using the triple whitewall tires we brought you over thanks giving P.s. keeping SeaBurst Sent from my iPad
It lives! Taking it to the muffler shop in the morning, still have some adjustments to make to the clutch and carb. But it does move under its own power for the first time since 1986. Poor thing was a paperweight longer than it was a car, but we're going to change that.
Thank you, guys. It has been a grueling couple of weeks with actual work during the day and trying to get this thing to be a functional car at night. Most of y'all know how that can be! I have to give a huge THANKS to my dad for encouraging me and keeping me motivated, my wife for being so understanding, and a whole bunch of friends and family that came by to spin wrenches or do some wiring or just drink some beers and made good company. I couldn't have gotten this far without your help. I'm grateful to you all!
I guess the biggest update is that nearly all the wiring is complete. Turn signals and brake lights are all that remains. I cut the license hole in the bumper a little bigger, then made a steel shadow box assembly for the plate to sit in with its light. I wanted it to be mostly hidden of course, so I'm probably skirting the law in regards to license plate visibility. The old power seat is in the car now, and like clockwork all that broken down yellow foam covered the interior in yellow pollen. In the next couple of days I'll "cover" it in some Mexican blankets for the trip. Adding a 100lb seat and a 70lb bumper really brought the car down some more! It hasnt rubbed the driveshaft yet but if it does, I'll swap The 3" blocks for 2"s. The car drives surprisingly well for not having been aligned. The power steering pump was making some ugly sounds before, but seems to be quieting down. I adjusted the clutch cable some this morning, but the clutch still isn't fully disengaging, making shifting a chore. A few times I had to leave the light in whatever gear I could get it in. Fortunately a 392 has plenty of power, though I bet it's not doing the clutch any favors. If that reads like a stream of consciousness, that's because it is! I'm in the lobby of an old muffler shop. The old guy wasn't too happy about the contortions he'll have to make around the torsion bars!
Explain to the muffler guy it could be worse; you also need those sides blocked for shiny BLACK paint! lostsa bends compared to dead straight...
Well... muffler guy took 28 hours of my road trip prep time. But it's done and sounds pretty good. Now to attack this checklist of must-dos and wanna-dos to see if I can get it done before Thursday.
Well, it's not going to make it to LSRU this year. Since I first started the engine in this car, it has had a dead miss that wasn't there in the other car. I drove it a bit hoping it might clear up with some use, but it never did. At least it didn't get worse! I figured it is ignition related because there are no ominous noises coming from inside the engine. Today I put on a new cap, rotor, plugs, and wires and the miss is still there. I then pulled plug wires while it was running to see which cylinder was having trouble, and actually found two, #4 and #6 next to each other on the right bank. It's not doing any of the weird coughing that I associate with a bent push rod, flat lobe, or other valve timing issue. I'll dive in some time next week. Shame too, it is kind of fun to drive and looks gooood on the road.
The Jalopy Journal
