Decisions, Decisions

Tom from T&R suggested the engine be rebuilt. He's concerned about damage to the seals, main bearing, etc. At the pricetag he gave me ($2,500) that's not a decision to be made lightly. The most obvious issue is oil pressure problems - and Tom even mentioned he noticed it too. When the car heats up to operating temperatures, the idiot light doesn't just flicker vaguely, it becomes more prevalent. Makes me concerned to take it even as far as Des Moines right now.

The day after I brought it home I drove it on gravel and took my mother-in-law for a ride. She didn't even bat an eyelash when I did a donut to whip the car around at a T-intersection. Beats a 5-point turn in that old sled.

The steering is tight, but it's something to get used to that amount of movement needed to turn the wheels - I find I rather enjoy whipping the wheel around. The alignment appears solid.

Suspension is another thing. I think the shocks need replacement soon. A good wind has the body rocking at highway speeds. Should I lower the springs a coil at the same time? I'm thinking about it. I don't feel comfortable right now driving (sailing?) it at high speeds. And I wouldn't know how fast I was going, since the speedometer isn't functioning currently. Or the gas gauge. The latter is not a big deal, since it seems unable to pass a gas station anyway.

It needs new tires (function) and wheels (aesthetics), but those will definitely have to wait until I know the engine and other critical functions are in good working shape. Unless I blow a tire, of course. I remember on my '66 LTD blowing two tires in a single day (and not at the same time). Of course that was back when car maintenance was entirely reactive - I was a poor starving college student then.

The heater core definitely needs replaced. When I turn on the heat and fan, I smell fresh antifreeze.

But on my last drive with Kelton to his boy scout troop meeting, I got compliments in the parking lot and the gas station. At the latter, a kid driving a jacked-up Chevy truck smiled and yelled "What is that?" and before I could say anything, Kelton yelled back, "It's the Galaxie!"

People love old cars. And I love my Galaxie - it's my own piece of vintage Americana.

The Maiden Voyage

So I took the Sled to T&R Auto in Indianola - great guys and as far as I can tell, solid mechanics. One of the owners, Tom, was really communicative with me, described in detail what he had to do. They had the car for about a week and a half. I picked her up this morning.

Tom called within a day, and sounded totally purplexed. Seems the oil pump drive shaft was missing. That's right, as in incognito. They didn't bother to drop the oil pan, but Tom said it might be laying down at the bottom of the sump for all they knew. They put in a drive shaft and said that the car instantly sounded much smoother. But there's a significant possibility that damage has been done. A car can't run without oil for very long.

I'd asked Tom to rebuild the carburetor, and he did that. He also did lots of other small things for me, such as: install an additional in-line fuel filter. He indicated the fuel tank might have flakes of rust that would get into the line and engine. He had to fabricate a small part for the carburetor, somewhere in the throttle linkage, I believe. There were leaks in the radiator and possibly the heater core, so in went some stop leak. Also because of the possibility of damage to the main bearing or other engine parts, he added a thickening oil additive.

He also understood that the tranny might be shot, but before he could test it determined that the brakes were nonexistent. So in went a new master cylinder.Tom called me yesterday and indicated that the brakes work great now. He took it out and drove it for a bit. Seems the tranny is working as expected as well. But he did note that after the engine got hot it the oil idiot light would pulse when the engine revved down. Oil pressure might be flooring out...

But this morning I paid for all the great work they did, fired her up (she's a bit touchy but they got the idle right). There's a small "lock-out" box down on the steering column with a switch that gets toggled when the shifter is pushed up into park. If it's not engaged, the ignition won't engage. So I had to reach down and press it while turning the ignition.

I pulled out of the lot and drove the few miles home, some of it highway, with no problems. The engine sounded great.

Randy (the other owner) said I should change the oil in 100 miles or so.

Jen took video of the Sled driving home. I'll post that soon.

In the Shop

Obviously, the car will run. But it runs really rough. I'd built up a little bit of funds, and now I've placed the Sled into the care of some local guys running a shop. When I talked to the owner on the phone, he was obviously knowledgeable with old Fords, carburation, and older vacuum systems. And he was eager to get into it.

So I had the Galaxie trailered over to their shop yesterday. I'm eager to hear how it's going. Randy (the other owner) assured me they'd check in with me this week, even if they haven't gotten it running smoothly yet.

It Begins

My supplier

This is where I get the premium parts - Dearborn Classics.

I'm hosting a BBQ at my place this Saturday for my team and their families. There could be as many as fifty people in attendance. One of those is a coworker that's very mechanically inclined. He's threatened to bring a screwdriver and claimed he could get my hoopty running in ten minutes.

We shall see.

Dead Cell

So Thursday this last week I was browsing the video game section in my local video store, and they guy standing next to me turned to ask me about Xbox RPG's, excusing his lack of knowledge due to his being a gearhead. So I gave him my recommendations, then inquired if he knew much about carbeuration. He said he did, and that he worked on old cars almost exclusively. Supposedly he worked for a well-known body shop in Des Moines.

I told him I had the Galaxie out in the garage but that I'd done very little with it due to my lack of knowledge, excusing myself as a computer techie. He said he had a machine that wasn't working right, so I suggested we trade favors - I fix his computer and he get my car running. He said he was interested and actually showed up at my place later that evening, with computer in tow. What luck!

We couldn't get the car running Thursday evening, but he was puzzled when he saw a particular wire laying across the block, saying that he believed it went to a throttle body assembly. As it turned out, he called back the next day and said that he'd determined that my engine came out of an '83 Ford Falcon. Really? Any thoughts of a true restore job went out the window. This was going to be a total custom job now - I was resolute. He also negotiated to come back Saturday, and thought he'd bring a friend who specialized in distributors (I'd replaced most of the parts in mine, and probably really loused it up good).

Saturday came and Matt showed up in the late afternoon (sans friends). He double-checked that I had the plug wires on right (I'd mixed up 2 and 4), looked over the distributor (I'd left the coil unhooked from power), verified that the carb was getting gas, and generally stated that it ought to be starting. Each time we cranked it, the battery lost a little more juice. I brought a small charge unit and hooked it up but it wasn't doing any good. So I pulled up the F250 and we tried jumping it. No dice - it didn't seem to be charging. Matt popped the caps off the battery and one of the cells appeared to be half empty. He declared it a dead battery. By this time, it was 9:30PM - no auto stores were open. My options were to wait until Monday, or buy a Walmart brand battery.

Some things you don't skimp on. I don't buy inferior computer parts, generic peanut butter, or anything other than Charmin toilet paper. And when possible, I always buy Interstate batteries. I replaced the battery in my last '66 LTD with an Interstate, and was pleasantly surprised that it started after many times I forgot and left the headlights or stereo on.

So this week I will have a new Interstate battery for my hoopty.

Matt seems to be a good kid (he's 22) with lots of connections in the hot rod world - while he works in a body shop, he says he can fabricate about any part (with the right tools), fix darned near anything, and knows guys who can fix anything he can't.

I have nothing to post. Absolutely nothing. The beast slumbers in its dark cave behind my house, waiting for a hapless victim to crawl inside its maw in a futil effort to awaken it.