| Re: Column shift transmission gear indicator repair [message #97971 is a reply to message #97970] |
Wed, 28 August 2024 11:48   |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18778
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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Yes, these older cars will definitely draw attention. My Cutlass was just my ordinary daily driver - actually a budget used-car purchase way back when - and then it slowly gained more and more attention. These days, you can't stop for gas without people coming up and talking about it, which is a lot of fun. But I would never have expected that back in 1993 when I bought it. It was just a ten-year-old used car at that time.
Same thing with my Impala, although I thought it was cool when I bought it. But it isn't a collector car - there are more desirable models in the line - so I was surprised to see how much attention it gets. It is a four-door everyman's car from 1968. Even has pillars. But man, everyone just loves it.
1968 Impala four-door sedan
Impala before restoration
It was a total junker when I found it, but it was pretty free of rust. I expected it to be a rolling chassis but the drivetrain actually worked pretty well. Leaks everything, but runs surprisingly well.
One thing I know about cars like these is you have to expect they need everything. Even if you buy one in good condition - don't expect it to be trouble-free. It may be, but more than likely, it's not. It's an old car, and probably most of it is worn out.
When I see an old car like this, I expect it needs all bushings, all shocks, and all peripherals like water pump, power steering pump, alternator, etc. Then if I find anything that works, it is a pleasant surprise to me. But even then, I expect the working stuff to fail very soon. So it all needs to be on the list of stuff to fix. Once it's all replaced, the car is truly a new car.
When I purchased that car, the first thing I did was to send it to a body repair shop. They replaced the hood, the nose, the trunk and repaired or replaced a handful of other "skins" before painting it. I had the upholstery re-done, black with blue stitching that matches the paint. While they were doing that, I was building a small-block Chevy motor, which now is sitting in my garage, waiting to be installed.
After the car was done getting its "facelift," I got it back, expecting to swap the engine right away. But ironically, that's about the only thing that still worked. I did put a transistor in line with the distributor points, which keeps the points from ever pitting and wearing out. So I've left the engine in the car for now. It's ugly, but it runs. I've been spending all my time on things like lights, dash and signal wiring, window seals and weatherstripping.
In this weather, the one thing I am truly grateful for is that old, old factory air conditioner is working. Who'd-a-thought that would work, but it does. Could hang meat inside that car.
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