Another one bites the dust.

At the beginning of this year I had 5 cars.  My daily driver Wrangler and 4 old collector Fords.  Back in April I sold the rusted out, but well running, ‘72 LTD 2-door hardtop for about $500.

Today I sold the ‘70 Convertible LTD for a lot less than I wanted.  But alas, as they say, something is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay and you’re willing to sell it for.

I’ve had it on KSL for over 3 months and had about 4 people come to look at it.  I knew it needed a lot of restoration to bring it back to beautiful, but I learned of some new problems along the way.  The floor pans where the back seat passengers put their feet were rusted out, and the front ones were getting there.

Thursday a guy came by and looked at it and made me an offer I felt comfortable with.  Mainly because I realized there aren’t that many people out there that want an old LTD that needs a lot of restoring.  And I’m pretty sure it went to a good home.  He and his lady-friend were here for a while looking at it and we had some great conversation during that time.  About cars.  They are car people too, and he had even found this blog and commented about my 59 cars.

Anyhow, it’s gone.  I can pay off one of my credit cards and even get the canvas doors for the Jeep, and it went to a good home.

So, I’m left with the new Wrangler, Old Blue (‘69 LTD 4-door hardtop) and Alphonse, the ‘78 Mercury Marquis 4-door.

No, since I have room to garage all 3, I’m not planning on getting rid of any of them.

Bonus points for the guy at Smith’s

Can you tell me what is wrong with this picture?

If you don’t want to play, and unless you’re a Ford fanatic like me you probably won’t see it, just go ahead and click on “Read more” to see the rest of the post.

1 + 1 = Happy

The funny thing about bolts is when the end breaks off, nine times out of ten it stays stuck in whatever you were bolting into.

This is what happened to the alternator bolt on Big Green.  Snapped right off and the end was left inside the engine.  Which makes it really hard to just bolt in another bolt.  You have to get that end out.

For me, it’s been a three week process.  Mr. Gearhead rigged the alternator so that the car could run, but since the bolt wasn’t in the engine, it really wasn’t secure enough for long-term use.

2 Weeks ago I tore into it and attempted to extract the bolt piece.  This entailed removing the alternator, 2 of it’s brackets and the fan and it’s shroud.  Lotta removal for a small piece of bolt.  I used an extraction bit that Mr. Gearhead gave me, and all it did was mess up the end of the bolt.  So, I put it all back together again and let it sit for a while.  I gave up on trying it myself and figured I’d just have to cough up the couple hundred bucks to get someone to do it.

A week ago I brought it down to Midas.  They’ve done some work on my cars for me before, but this time they said they didn’t have the ability to drill out a bolt.  So I took it to Pep Boys who said they should be able to do it.  5 hours later I called them up to see how progress was going and was told they looked at it but couldn’t do anything.  Seems my first attempt was off center and messed it up so they were unable to even try.  They said that I’d probably have to get a new engine head (several hundred bucks) that would replace the part of the engine the bolt was broken in.  Thanks a lot guys.

So my older brother, Pedro, pointed out that since I’d probably have to buy a new head anyway, why not just try to drill the thing out myself.  If I totally screwed up the head, no real loss anyhow.  So I figured I’d give it one more try on my own before going the real expensive way.

This week I went to AutoZone and asked the guy if he had something to pull out a broken bolt.  He showed me this extracting drill bit and said what I needed to do was drill a hole in the bolt then use this one backwards, it would drill into the bolt, tighten down and then unscrew it.  I even told him that I had attempted it with a different bit and had drilled off center.  He said no problem, this would still work.

So, today that’s what I did.  Took me a total of 3 hours, and that included disassembling the car, going down to NAPA for a new bolt and then reassembling the car.  Actual work on the bolt literally took less than 10 minutes.  And Midas and Pep Boys couldn’t do it.  Meh!

So, now Old Blue and Big Green are in dang good running order, and that makes me happy.  Now I just have to put the transmission from the Wagon into the Convertible and I’ll have 3 functioning ‘70-ish Ford LTDs.

A buck forty eight.

… In my opinion, one of the worst problems to have in a old car is an electrical one.  With literally miles of wiring, problems can take hours and hours just to track down.  Which is why I’ve always said if you take it to a repair shop you can expect to spend hundreds of dollars on labor just to have a 47 cent part replaced.

… The most worrisome problem I saw when I pickled up my $200 car #55 was in the turn signal system.  The left signal worked perfect, but when you turned on the right signal, the left signal flashed also, although not as brightly.  It was even worse when either the tail lights or the brake lights were on.  Because of the crossover from one side to the other, I didn’t automatically assume that it had something to do with bad light bulbs, after all, they were all working.

… So I took apart the right tail light and started messing around with it.  All the bulbs were working, but I finally did notice that one of the two bulbs for the tail/signal/brake lights always burned bright.  The other one was bright whenever the signal was on, but was dimmer when it was just  the tail light.  (Older car tail lights have bulbs with two filaments in them, one dim one for the tail lights and one bright one for both the brakes and signals.)  So, I pulled out the bulb and noticed that it was a 1 filament bulb, in a 2 filament socket.  Not good.  A single filament bulb has a single electrical connection in the center, the double filament has two connections, one for the dim system, one for the bright system.  With the single connection in the center, put in the double socket, it was connecting the two systems together, which was what was making the whole thing skewompus.

… I put in a correct bulb and voila, everything worked right.  Which is a big relief for me, since the cost of fixing electrical problems can be so unpredictable.  Now, I at least have an good idea how much it’s going to cost me to get the new beast on the road.  I know it’s going to need a new exhaust system, which is no big deal since I’ve always put dual exhaust on the old LTDs I buy.  It will also need brakes and tires.  It’ll cost around $1,000 altogether, but at least I now know I’m not going to have to buy a complete new electrical harness for the car.

It’s HERE!

… Picked up the latest addition to my stables today.  It didn’t want to start right away, it took a little bit of carb cleaner.  It also didn’t want to stay running at first either.  And boy did it smoke up the neighborhood.  But it was good smoke, not the blue oily smelling smoke that says you need a new engine.  The black and white smoke that says this car hasn’t run in a long time kind of smoke.  But since it was exactly like the way my convertible ran when it sat for two years, I just kept babying it until it would idle without dying. 

… By the time we had filled it up with good gas and I got it home, it was purring like a kitten, put your hand on the front fender and you could barely feel the vibrations.  And the transmission shifts smooth as ice right after the Zamboni rode over it.  Well worth the $200 for the engine and transmission alone.  If you look at the picture (HERE),  you’ll that the front seat is in useable condition, it’s got a few rips in it, but the cushioning is still intact.  But the back seat is in perfect condition, looks like new.  It needs a new vinyl top and the paint is nicely oxidized.  There are a couple of bad rust spots right behind the back tires, repairable though, and some surface rust, but overall it’s solid.  the best part, though, is the all-but-mint-condition owners manual.

The LTD conundrum is exposed.

…. Maybe it’s just me, but if you produce a website about classic cars, you really ought to get the basic facts right. And with cars, especially old cars, the year is not just a trivial detail. Even if the title of your website is “Les voitures classiques en Bulgarie”. (“Classic cars in Bulgaria”, and I didn’t even have to use Babel Fish to translate that.)

…. Anyway, the problem with the picture was that it claimed to be a 1970 Ford LTD, when it was really a 1969. Now, you’ve probably just said to yourself “who cares?” Well, I guess I do. There are some differences between the two years that make, at least for me, the 1969 preferable.

1. The ‘69 has the horn ring, the ‘70 has it in the center bar.
2. The ‘69 has the ignition switch on the dash, at the bottom.
3. The ‘70 has it on the steering column. The ‘69 has nicer inside door handles.

Click on picture to see it full sized

 

…. You have now completed your course work in LTDS 6970. If you’ve read this far, I give you an “A”. See you in LTDS 7172 next semester.

- Professor Max

 

Ford Fanatic or normal human being?

If you can identify what is wrong with this picture, then you are an official L’Adunata Ford Fanatic.  If you can’t, then consider yourself lucky.  You’ll never be forcibly committed to the Henry Ford Clinic.

Click on picture to see it full sized.

It's official

I'm hoping to make it to a couple car shows in the near future, and I've decided that the car I'm going to bring is the Battlecruiser. I have gotten tons of comments on it, and even when put with the convertible, people notice the wagon. My mechanic, who has inspected all 3 cars this month, had more praise for the wagon than for the other 2 LTDs combined. He said, and I quote, "You stole that car for $2,000." So, unless I have a way of getting more than one down there, I bringing the wagon to the car shows.

And a couple pictures Danny sent me.

Here are a few more picturs of my LTDs 3.

http://www.srossi.net/prevamp/2008/07/3LTDs/pages/07%2003%2008_0003_jpg.htm

Car 54, where are you?

As soon as you saw that title, did you think "Good Lord, he bought another car!"? If you did, count yourself in for 7 new blog kharma points.

I first saw this car about 3 years ago in the Shopko parking lot. I fell in love with it then, but it wasn't for sale. so what could I do. Nothing, except admire it from afar. Six months ago little bro' sees it in the K-Mart parking lot and gets to talking with the owner. Tells him about my LTD addiction and gives him my cell number in case he ever wants to sell it. Well, the guy held onto the phone number for the six months, because 3 days ago he calls me and tells me that some guy gave him my number and said I like old LTDs. We talk, I go look at it, we settle on a price and I get the money. $2,000. It's a 1972 Ford LTD Country Squire with a 429 CID Police Interceptor engine in it. The guy babied it, oil changes every 2,500 miles, ran only premium in it, and it looks and runs like he was telling the truth, plus according to the title he's owned the car since October of 1979. Dual exaust, the interior is excellent, not a single tear in the cloth apolstery and the carpet is even clean, like that could be it's original color clean. The original AM/FM radio still works, although I don't have any 8-Track tapes to see if the player works. Looks like I'm going to have to take a trip to the D.I. It's beginning to show some rust in a few places, but just surface. He already told me that I'm going to need to replace the ball joints, which are relatively easy on these older cars. The only other problem I can see is getting the back door to work properly, the one that swings out and folds down too. Well, it used to swing out, but the window didn't go down, so Danny and I tear into it, get the window to go down and then try to fold it down tailgate-wise. Big mistake, it kinds got stuck between swing out and fold down. It's closed, so I can drive the car, but the tailgate won't open either way. Overall, though, another good deal....

Convertible Time of Year.

I can't imagine not having a convertible. They're great and you might think there's nothing better for the summer. Au contraire, mon frere! The best time for a convertible is right now. Slightly cloudy so you don't have the sun beating down on you or in your eyes. Cooler days, because no matter how fast you're going, 110 is hot even with the top down. Now, summer evenings are kinda nice, but for daytime it's got to be spring or fall. And early fall and late spring afford the greatest comfort zone for the convertible - nights are not too cold and days are not too hot. So give me a call one of these weekends and we'll go cruising in the beast, she's got 5 working seatbelts now.

'Splodin tires and replacements.

This afternoon I headed over to Danny's house to see what I could do with the LTD. He had all the tools I needed set out in the garage, including the compressor. Took me about an hour to get the two stuck bolts off, put on the spare and even reinflate it. Bring it down to Discount Tire and get 3 new tires put on (I replaced the front ones a couple months ago, but I did get a new spare) the car. Took about an hour and $300, but the car rides much better now. And I can trust it on the freeway again, 'though I didn't drive it home on the freeway because it was 5:00. Never would have made it up to speed anyway. Well, if you want to see the pictures of the exploded tire and the pictures I took while waiting for the tires, click HERE.

Blowout on I-80.

The other day I call Adele (also known as Pam, the Spanish teacher I met my first year teaching) to tell her that the LTD is not only legal and insured, but that I had just had a bunch of work done on the front end and I had deemed it road-trip worthy. So we decide to take it for a drive up to Ogden and get dinner at a little place across from where she works. Today we stop at the Tesoro on 33rd and 23rd, grab a couple of drinks for the road (just soda) and head out. Everything's going great, it's not too hot anymore (this is around 7 pm), the car is running great and Adele is having fun with the camera. We head up 23rd, enter the freeway heading west and cruise past 7th east. I'm in the middle lane as we get to the State Street exit, so we can veer left and merge into I-15 north. Ever wonder why it's referred to as a "tire blowout"? 'Cause when it blows out, it's an explosion. I thought the whole back end of the car had been blown off. Happened right as we got onto the bridge over State. After I said it, I did it, and then took my foot off the gas, (without slamming on the brakes) and started moving over to the right side. Completely, utterly on cruise control, running on instinct because I don't remember thinking anything until we got stopped in the break-down lane. But we made it safely. I got out on the passenger side, found out that the tire that blew was also on that side, meaning I'd at least have the car between me and traffic when changing the tire. Except that when I got the spare out, although in excellent condition, it was flat. So I called Rae, who came to our rescue and brought us, and the tire, to the Chevron to fill up the spare. Stroke of good luck : the tire held the air, it's flatness was due to sitting for so long, not a leak. We get back to the car and I start to take off the lug nuts, which are on there pretty tight. Real, real tight. I have to stand on the lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts, and 2 of them still refused to loosen, just started rounding the nuts. This is where I decide "F" this, I'm not fighting these lug nuts on the side of the freeway, with the sun already setting, cars whizzing past us at 70+ and honking their horns like we've chosen to be there. (Yes, like I was happy to be there). Called a tow truck and had it towed up to Dan & Rae's house (anyone that knows my driveway knows why I had it towed there). So, now it's sitting down at their house, I have to figure out a way to get the tire off (shouldn't be too bad there), then take it somewhere to get new tires put on the back (don't trust the other one now) and figure out what I'm going to do about the damage to the car - click HERE to see the pictures. And thanks to Dan, Rae and Adele, who all made what could have been a disastrous experience not so bad. It's great having a family and friends that I know I can count on, love ya all.

Liking a Republican Governor was bad enough - but this is intolerable......

Did you know that if you click on any of the pictures here - you'll get the full sized version? Now you do.

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I've had a hard week this week. First I read about Gov. Huntsman's top three items on his agenda for next years predicted surplus, and the thought "I could vote for this guy" popped into my head. Not only is "tax cut" not even on the list, but teacher salaries, healthcare and pollution are the top 3 things he wants to spend the money on. What? A far cry from "take 2 aspirin and go back to work" Bangerter and backstabbin' Leavitt. If he backs up his words with actions, any Democrat that runs against is going to have to work hard to convince me to vote for them. And that hurts.

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Yesterday I'm looking for parts for my LTD convertible and come across this - the new Camaro concept car. Not a big fan of GM, and since the '70 change have never liked the Camaro. Oversized outside and undersized inside, given one I would have just sold it to get a Mustang. Now they come out with the new Camaro, which is a flashback to the ones of the '60's. (Click here to see the comparisons). This is a Camaro that I could actually see myself owning. If I could get past the feeling of cheating on my beloved Mustang......