yettoblaster
Member
OK, been here a week or so and scoured some of the back pages.
I guess I should join the "project" party.
So far I've just been surveying the car's systems (oil change, see what works and what doesn't etc.).
It runs fine; handles fair; stops if you stand on the non-power drum brakes; and can lay rubber (though I didn't get a vintage to beat on it, but y'know...).
The body is straight, paint is a 15 year old "Miracle Auto" coat that doesn't look too bad, so the priorities will be first up: the interior, which is bare metal with a light rust patina.
I scrubbed the upholstery with a can of cleaner, and shot some Permatex "Rust Restore" on the places where I'll want to add sound/thermal blanket and carpet kits.
The dash needs a cover. I have a glove box lid. Fortunately the speedo and some gauges work OK, but the dash lights are inop. So little by little as paydays arrive I'll start with the overhead and floor.
The door panels are fine, but I'll need armrests.
I touched up a few places on the exterior where a spot of rust or two was starting, otherwise the priority is interior.
Also need to get the proper 15" stock type steel wheels vs the Valient (14") wheels on it presently, and I need to dial some toe-in into the front end (it wanders, especially at highway speeds).
Trying to keep it on the cheap as it doesn't make too much sense to me to start with a $4k car, then put more money into it than I could get back (until I decide to go full restoration on it).
So far it's just a nice beach cruiser for Sunday afternoons, etc.
I've got other stuff for daily drivers.
First off, go get some top grade brake shoes for it and get rid of the cheapos that's on it now. Quick easy fix if you don't want to spend the bucks on a disc brake swap right away. Also, most people (hot rodders mostly) complained about the lousy brakes on these cars when they were new and yet went to the auto parts and replaced the already poor linings with stuff that isn't much better and as the years went on, the linings got even worse. You can do a search and find some really good stuff out there for drum brakes. In the early 80's I ran drums on a 10.60 car and had no problems stopping it even when using the 1st turn off using the best linings available at the time.....
