Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck Dempsey
Sharp car. Have fun with it, and welcome to the 'Barn... (Love those 1st pic hubcaps!)
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Thanks Chuck,
That first pic is the day I got it, it was "running and driving" but it sat for at least 20 years, first in a barn, then in a garage. A classic car dealer bought it, they hung a plastic 1 gallon fuel tank on the firewall because the gas tank was full of old gas sludge, got it running and then I bought it. Its a very solid car, no rust through except for the running boards. I went through the whole car, mechanically, in the first 3 months then drove it for 3 years. It made several 100+ mile trips with the club. Then I started to replace the top and top wood. I took it apart and it sat in a friends warehouse for 4 years. I started working on it again in July of this year. It ran great when I parked it but I did not realize I had a blown head gasket. #2 cylinder filled with water and sat like that for 4 years. The engine was completely stuck, I soaked all the cylinders with several types of oil and still could not get it to free up. I finally pulled the head after lunch one Saturday, cleaned the scale from #2 cylinder, ran a hone through all the cylinders and replaced the head gasket. I had it running again by 6 pm that same day. I made a 110 mile round trip ride with the club and that's when I started having problems with my points. I made the trip but my point block would not stay locked down and my point gap closed while I was driving. That's when I made the decision to install the FSI ignition system, then came the Stromberg 97 with the Burns intake.
We like to drive in our club so I wanted a reliable setup, not that it wasn't reliable with the stock parts but new parts are always fun.