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My first classic car
When I bought this car, it came with a 170 CI 6 cylinder and a manual
3-speed with no syncros in first gear. The body was fairly
straight,
but it did need some work. Oh yes, these pictures don't do the
color of this car justice. It is lemon yellow! If you are
going
to paint your classic car lemon yellow, you better have more than a 6
cylinder to back it up.
With the motor and transmission out, it was
time to really get started. A performanc-built 289 and Ford
toploader 4-speed were just waiting in the wings to go into this
car.
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The
floorpans were in the worst shape. They were rusted through in
many spots and had been patched with stolen road signs. Ok, ok,
maybe
some one GAVE the road signs to the previous owner. However they were
"acquired", they ended up in my car.
The car came originally with a clutch, but when
the owner before me bought it, it had a c4 in it. She told me
that
her father had converted it back to a clutch for her. The only
problem is that instead of using the correct shifter and linkage, he
decided
to cut up the floor to make it fit. "Dooo!" I have no problem
with modifying a classic car to put things in it that weren't
originally supposed to be there, but if you can avoid cutting it
up,
you probably should!
The car also came with the idiot light gauge
cluster and stock steering wheel. The totalled parts car came
with pony interior. The seats were shot but the gauges and
steering wheel were in good working order.
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I ordered new floor panels and, due to the lack of
a welder, used
windshield sealer and pop rivits to put them in. I also cut the
center section around the shifter hole out of the parts car and
attached it in the same way to cover the gash put in by an
incompetent previous owner. Upon completion of the instillation,
a
little rust killer topped off with some truck bed liner made for a
nice anti-rust floor pan.
When
my 1962 Galaxie is finished, it will become my daily driver and
my Mustang will
go through phase II of its restoration. This includes such things
as
welding in the floor pans and a professional paint job. |
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This 170 6 cylinder had seen better days. It was blowing smoke
with every shift. The car got 30 MPG and 60 MPQ (Miles Per Quart
of
oil). It wasn't so much that it was burning that much oil, but
rather burning a little and blowing the rest out of every seal on
the motor.
This is the performance 289 that I am running in the
car
currently. It came out of the parts car, along with all the other
V8 parts needed for the conversion, like steering linkage, spindles,
and
an 8" rear end.
Specs:
9.5:1 CR
600 cfm Eldelbrock carb
Edelbrock performer intake
280 cam
large valves
long tube hedders
dual exhaust
MSD 6A ignition box
164 tooth fly wheel
10.5" clutch
Motor was fully balanced
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Here it is almost done. It is really dirty and needs a
bath.
I rattle canned the car because I couldn't afford to have it painted
and
I was not going to drive a yellow car!! By painting it black,
then
covering it with a coat of rattle can clear and giving it a little
wax several months later, it actually looked pretty good.
Now,
3 years later, however, the paint has not held up to the test of
time and is badly oxidized. I know a little wax
would clean it up some, but at this point, it's just not worth
it.
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When it was done you almost couldn't tell it was a rattle canned car.
During the process, I also replaced the front and rear suspension and
had the bucket seats and door panels re-upholstered.
Phase II of its
Restoration
This car will soon go under another restoration. I am older, wiser and
more experienced now, so it will get restored correctly this
time. I plan on upgrading a few parts. The car is
getting a 9" trac-lock third member, t5z, performance 351W (maybe
stroked to a 427), hood scoop, Shelby bullet mirror, fog lights, all
chrome parts replaced, Granada front disc brakes, new dash pad,
new body panels for any and all that are rusted through, and a
professional paint job. I have been buying parts over the last
three years and now have everything on my list except the 351W, and of
course the paint job, which I have been saving for. I painted my
Galaxie myself with a single stage enamel, but I don't know if I am
skilled/brave enough to do my Mustang with a base coat clear
coat. We will see.
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