The Dark Wob

I am spurred on. 40 years ago I was offered an early 60's Plymouth Valiant for free by a US Serviceman who was about to go home. I was too young to appreciate it fully and have regretted my foolishness ever since. The paint was faded nicely, there was a bit of rust, and I remember being impressed by the simplicity of the thing. I'm guessing there will be no more free ones

Those window winders are a thing of wonder, they remind me of the fruit bowls everyone's granny had.

cros wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2019 10:29 am I am spurred on. 40 years ago I was offered an early 60's Plymouth Valiant for free by a US Serviceman who was about to go home. I was too young to appreciate it fully and have regretted my foolishness ever since. The paint was faded nicely, there was a bit of rust, and I remember being impressed by the simplicity of the thing. I'm guessing there will be no more free ones

Sadly not

Up to the 70's Merican cars were simple until they started to add Smog Control

Thankfully mine was Smog Exempt so had all the silly stuff removed.

I think they trick with bargain basement yank stuff is buy the stuff nobody else wants

I think were fine here as far as thinking outside the box as I dont think any of us were ever in it?

"American cars" were never "simple". Like cars made anywhere else on the planet, there were simpler (aka cheaper) examples and more complicated (aka expensive) examples. Show me one thing that's simple on 57-63 Imperials. Just one. Well, they are American and pre 70s, aren't they? Also, emission control is quite simple, really.

Junkman wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2019 5:39 pm "American cars" were never "simple". Like cars made anywhere else on the planet, there were simpler (aka cheaper) examples and more complicated (aka expensive) examples. Show me one thing that's simple on 57-63 Imperials. Just one. Well, they are American and pre 70s, aren't they? Also, emission control is quite simple, really.

Your right not simple but more simple than nowadays stuff

I didnt really take any pics on day one just fair to say after degreasing 4 manky rocker covers and failing to make any real progress on them I felt a little deflated (as well as having no degreaser left )

so yesterday with fresh supplies in hand I had another go!

First things first two of the covers still had prehistoric gaskets hanging on for dear life

So they had to go



after sitting on a cold concrete floor the previous day to do this unenviable task I decided I needed a workbench

Let me introduce you to the Black & Clunker 75



My neighbour came running out,dont do it youll wreck your paint he cried (it was genuine concern)

I proclaimed I didnt care,and I didnt!

Its the beauty of have such a conveyance

Its going all over it he cried!

Yes its just degreaser..................

Its leaking though the gaps itll get all over your engine!

Its engine degreaser

Anyway once mass panic had diverted I was left with these and like a Time Team Special,Ooooo There Blue and have inscriptions! What could it all mean?



The two worst ones with neolithic sludge volcanic matter came out like this.



And the two better cleaner pair like this



To be fair all I really wanted to do was make them so they could be handled without getting oneself covered in prehistoric grease matter and I think I suceeded ?

Not sure how ill remove the rust yet?

Evapourust?
Vinegar?

Outsource (media blast)?

Im keeping the filler cap for now but the pcv valves and grommets will go as they are very cheap brand new!

I desperately needed a rest todat so went to our local rod and Custom breakfast meet and it will be my last drive of Shitey on this Driveshaft set up.........................

Its coming off for balancing tomorrow.

Anyway have a Video one of crowd took of us leaving

[youtube][/youtube]

Im Broken!

Well I know the car is but im Broken too I am starting to loose my Mojo with this car

Think is its not like I can sell it and get something else because this is it this is the one the car I always wanted the car I always promised myself.

im not selling it,I wont sell it but as I said I am broken right now I have nomore to give!

A year on I have done soo much work to it but non of it really shows

Everything is a series of unfinished jobs I cant get on with "C" because "B" needs finishing because "A" was never completed

If sick of the groundwork,I need some nice easter eggs now instead of wading through arsey shitty jobs (no pun intended!)

Was taking to my neigbour earlier and telling him how cheesed off I am

When I got the car the trunk was full of bits and im still tripping over them,scared to throw anything out yet nowhere to put any of the bits yet I am sure some of them are just plain worn out or no sodding use to anyone

Then theres missing Trim,Lots of missing screws and I dont really know what I need and what I dont?

Then theres bits I just want to replace with better used bits but they are Unobtainum

The heater box and pipes to vents have leaks everywhere, I need to remove it but that means taking out the dash again! And I just cant face it

Its not going anywhere not getting sold but I just want it back to being a car again rather than a redneck bruiser

Just tired Really Tired

Desperately seeking Mojo,Last seen heading nowhere...................................

8BAK465 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2019 10:00 pm im not selling it,I wont sell it but as I said I am broken right now I have nomore to give!

A year on I have done soo much work to it but non of it really shows

I find if you want to get any real work done on a car you have to:

A - Stockpile all the parts required before starting the work.
B - Take the car off the road for an extended period of time to get the work done.
C - Do jobs as motivation allows.

Trying to keep a car as a rolling restoration only really works if the car is half decent to start with, you have a backup car to use when it is being worked on and parts are easy/cheap to find. 90% of the garbage you end up doing is what ColdWarMotors describes as Shit Work.

If I didn't enjoy working on cars and like the satisfaction of repairing them I'd just buy a decent example of a car to start with. Restoring a car is a thankless task...

You need to do some better planning and get more organised. You can't tackle 15 construction sites simultaneously.
The way to restore a car is to start one job and finish it. Then start the next one. And finish it. And so on.
You are doing bodywork, interior work, engine bay work, all at the same time. You can do it this way when you have ten people to work on the car, but not on your own.

These are all the screws you will ever need for the interior: https://www.ebay.com/itm/252409400092

What literature have you hitherto obtained to guide you through the processes?

With regard to getting the rust off I've found Bilthamber deox c works well.

I'm with Junkman on needing to plan and be more organised. This should also give you a better idea what sequence to do things in and what else you can get on with if the current job comes to a temporary halt because you need to get a part delivered, although Cap 70s suggestion about stockpiling parts can help reduce delays.

One thing I found to help is to visualise driving it when it's finished and where I was going to go in it.

This worked well during my T2 restoration where I had to source parts from all over the world, especially as some bits on my particular model were only fitted for 6 months of production.