Author Topic: 1977 Pinto- project in the works (Read 28936 times)

dga57 · « **Reply #330 on:** May 28, 2011, 07:18:57 PM »

When are you planning to arrive in Carlisle? I'm going to meet up with the Stampede at the Flight 93 Memorial on Thursday, June 2nd and follow them in.

Dwayne :smile:

r4pinto · « **Reply #331 on:** May 28, 2011, 07:40:21 PM »

June 3rd. I work June 2nd, so I won't be able to leave until after I get off work then. My dad & I are going to go so far June 2nd, then finish the trip June 3rd.

dga57 · « **Reply #332 on:** May 28, 2011, 07:47:40 PM »

Quote from: r4pinto on May 28, 2011, 07:40:21 PM

June 3rd. I work June 2nd, so I won't be able to leave until after I get off work then. My dad & I are going to go so far June 2nd, then finish the trip June 3rd.

I'll be there all day Friday, but have to return home Friday night because my son's high school graduation is Saturday. Can't miss that! I'll be back in Carlisle on Sunday morning. Looking forward to finally meeting you!

Dwayne :smile:

r4pinto · « **Reply #333 on:** May 28, 2011, 08:00:38 PM »

It will be nice to see you too Dwayne... I might be having a mini-unveiling on May 30th. There is a car show at a Hooters about 20 minutes away from me, so if I get her all back together I will be taking her to that car show. I don't care if I get any awards or not but it would be cool if she did at the first car show since the repaint.

dga57 · « **Reply #334 on:** May 28, 2011, 08:15:07 PM »

Quote from: r4pinto on May 28, 2011, 08:00:38 PM

It will be nice to see you too Dwayne... I might be having a mini-unveiling on May 30th. There is a car show at a Hooters about 20 minutes away from me, so if I get her all back together I will be taking her to that car show. I don't care if I get any awards or not but it would be cool if she did at the first car show since the repaint.

PLUS it's a good excuse to visit Hooters! :surprised: :drunk: :hypno:

Dwayne :smile:

r4pinto · « **Reply #335 on:** May 28, 2011, 08:57:54 PM »

Quote from: dga57 on May 28, 2011, 08:15:07 PM

PLUS it's a good excuse to visit Hooters! :surprised: :drunk: :hypno:

Dwayne :smile:

Hehe

r4pinto · « **Reply #336 on:** May 30, 2011, 08:38:11 PM »

The interior is all back together, she runs great & just needs a few mechanicals done for the trip. I did have to take the driver side mirror back off the car because for reasons not even known to Maaco for whatever reason they taped off the bottom of the mirror & it wasn't painted. The mgr felt bad about that when I went to get the car Saturday, so they told me if I bring the mirror in they will get it painted. No harm, no foul, as accidents happen from time to time. My Dad is going to drop the mirror to Maaco tomorrow after he gets off work.

r4pinto · « **Reply #337 on:** June 07, 2011, 12:24:21 PM »

Carlisle went great! The car did alright, aside from getting pulled over for a headlight that went out after I left the house, exhaust that kept falling, & a bad ball joint. I took some pics of the car & will get them posted, as well as some of her at Carlisle. As for the balljoint I had been given one by a nice guy at Carlisle & was going to install it, but found out the entire front suspension is shot. All the bushings are dry rotted & the upper ball joints are also showing age. Just to be safe I got a front suspension kit from ebay, as well as new coil springs that will be getting installed. I previously replaced the tie rod ends, so after I get these parts on she should feel good & tight up front. As for the rear I bought a pair of leaf springs from sedandelivery when at Carlisle & will be installing those, as well as a pair of nearly new rear shocks. With all those parts the car will handle fantastic! When I have the funds I will be getting the sway bar installed, since I have to get the links for it. The bar came from my 78 parts car & has been sitting since.

Pics to come soon!

r4pinto · « **Reply #338 on:** June 12, 2011, 09:12:06 PM »

Pics of the car!!!

r4pinto · « **Reply #339 on:** June 12, 2011, 09:13:29 PM »

a couple more pics.

Scott Hamilton · « **Reply #340 on:** June 12, 2011, 09:34:39 PM »

Matt,

After seeing her in person at Carlisle, she's a looker!

Good seeing you again,
Scott

r4pinto · « **Reply #341 on:** June 12, 2011, 09:39:37 PM »

Quote from: Scott Hamilton on June 12, 2011, 09:34:39 PM

Matt,

After seeing her in person at Carlisle, she's a looker!

Good seeing you again,
Scott

Thanks Scott, Makes it all worthwhile to hear the compliments.

It was great seeing you again too.

Cookieboystoys · « **Reply #342 on:** June 12, 2011, 09:51:03 PM »

Matt, you car lived up to expectations and looks great, hats off to a job well done.

r4pinto · « **Reply #343 on:** June 12, 2011, 10:24:13 PM »

Thanks Brian,

The next step is to tackle the suspension. A couple years ago I bought a couple lower control arms off ebay but never installed them. I have gone ahead & installed the new ball joints on the lower control arms & am getting ready to install the bushings in them as well. While I have the lowers off I will be installing new coil springs, upper ball joints & control arm bushings, as well as replacing the strut rod bushings. Of course new shocks going on the car. I'm also going to redo the rear suspension. Rear leaf springs & shocks are coming to the back.

I did go ahead & install one shock last week & noticed the old one still held pressure. I was shocked, but they were showing their age. It had pressure but not as much as the new ones I bought off ebay.

r4pinto · « **Reply #344 on:** August 19, 2011, 12:26:23 PM »

The car has been sitting on the street for about 2 weeks since I couldn't find the keys to her. I found them a couple days ago & moved the car in front of my house, just to pi$$ off my neighbor's oldest son. My dad decided to start parking in front of the house after the neighbor's son parked in front of the house on trashday, causing us to have to put the trash outside the rental house next door. I got the keys, jumpered the solenoid & moved the car. This weekend I plan on getting a toggle switch & some wire to run in the car so I don't have to pop the hood to get the car to start. This is just a temporary measure, but will work until I get to the junkyard to get a neutral safety switch for her. I'm also gonna get the rear leaf springs & shocks on the car, so she will be ready for the Ohio Pinto meet in September.

r4pinto · « **Reply #345 on:** August 28, 2011, 11:47:18 AM »

Well I got the starter button hooked up so I no longer need to pop the hood to start the car. I ran two wires from under the hood into the interior & hooked them up to the starter solenoid. I did have an accident with the starter solenoid & had to replace it with my backup unit. I was using a nut on the S terminal stud but it was the wrong thread. Instead of cross threading the nut or stud it cracked the solenoid. Oh well, it will work for now. I am going to mount up the switch below the radio using one of the screws for the radio bezel & a mounting bracket fabricated out of some scrap metal.
Is it necessarily the right way to fix the problem? No... that would be replacing the neutral safety switch, but it will work for now.

r4pinto · « **Reply #346 on:** September 11, 2011, 09:25:58 PM »

Got the driver side leaf spring installed today. Dad & I were working hard on getting that taken care of since the old one was busted up really bad. The driver side rear tire was not centered in the wheel well & it was suspected to be due to a rear leaf spring installed backwards. Well, that was not the case. The spring was so broken that while it was not moving freely the axle had no way to be centered when installed. Got the rear leaf spring installed on the driver side & it took care of the problem. Now I just need to replace the passenger side spring & replace both shocks. Then the car will drive better. Soon it will be my daily driver as the Malibu Maxx fuel pump issue is back with a vengence. Before long she prolly won't be starting or running so I gotta get the Pinto road worthy.

r4pinto · « **Reply #347 on:** January 15, 2012, 12:58:46 PM »

Haven't really done much to the car since September but recently I was having to drive the car after my 08 Grand Prix was in the shop for some warranty tranny work. I was driving the car for a bit when the brake light fuse blew. I think it's a shorting wire in the steering column so once it warms up I'm gonna give it a whirl to fix it. The car is loud & fires right up but doesn't have brakes. Once it warms up I'm gonna take care of the suspension, exhaust & electrical issues. Such a good car. 32 years old & keeps on trucking.

r4pinto · « **Reply #348 on:** March 12, 2012, 02:28:51 AM »

Well, since it was a warm day I went ahead & dropped the steering column to find the culprit of the short. Two wires were crushed by the steering column & eventually wore through & shorted each other out. When the turn signal switch went bad I got one that had a longer harness & just crammed the crap out of it so I could make it work. It did for a while but apparently I pinched a couple wires when I bolted up the column & the rest is history. I had kept the old one in case I ever got motivated to shorten the harness & well, I sorta had to in order to keep from having another short. I got the turn signal harness all shortened up to match the original equipment harness, cut out the bad wires & soldered in new ones & put everything back in place. The final test was the hazzard flashers & brake lights. No more blown fuses!
Next in line is to try to fix the exhaust so I can drive the car tomorrow. The Grand Prix doesn't get the gas mileage the Pinto does so I wanna get it all fixed so I can drive the car. We'll see what happens.

blupinto · « **Reply #349 on:** March 13, 2012, 06:34:50 PM »

Here's hoping you're driving her today!

r4pinto · « **Reply #350 on:** March 17, 2012, 12:03:26 PM »

Quote from: blupinto on March 13, 2012, 06:34:50 PM

Here's hoping you're driving her today!

It didn't happen. It kept raining & with the funeral showing I was going to there just wasn't any time. I ws disappointed since I planned on driving her in the funeral, but what can you do.

r4pinto · « **Reply #351 on:** May 14, 2012, 11:49:54 AM »

2 1/2 weeks to Carlisle & now I'm feeling it!!! Haven't had the energy or motivation to work on the car so I am forced to cram a lot of work in a short time. Oh well, I can do it.
Anyways, I recently went to the junkyard for a part for my friends car when I found a Mustang II. I got the silver wiper arms & air cleaner tube at the time & will be going back Wednesday to get the power brake booster & master cylinder. By the end of the week this car will have power brakes! Next step is power steering. & floors. I have some of the parts but not all of them. Either way this car is a big pain in the butt. I have a lot of welding to do & I dunno how to do that. I need floors so very bad & am going to figure out what I need to do it.

Cookieboystoys · « **Reply #352 on:** May 14, 2012, 01:14:03 PM »

Quote from: r4pinto on May 14, 2012, 11:49:54 AM

get the power brake booster & master cylinder. By the end of the week this car will have power brakes!

you will need the brake pedal and mounting too... I'm not sure what all is involved in this conversion but you may want to wait until after Carlisle unless you are aware and have everything ready for the swap. Hate to see you miss Carlisle because you got stuck in the middle of a project and not able to complete in time.

r4pinto · « **Reply #353 on:** May 14, 2012, 01:26:34 PM »

That's a good idea Brian. If anything I will get the parts now & install them afterwards. Not gonna miss Carlisle for nothing!

r4pinto · « **Reply #354 on:** May 15, 2012, 09:03:40 PM »

Went to the junkyard to get the parts from the Mustang II but had nothing but problems. First problem was getting in the car. Apparently the damage on the driver side was so bad it jammed the door shut. Once I got in it I found I didn't have the right sockets or wrenches to remove anything. Apparently the car has standard fasteners & no metric fasteners. Wierd how my 77 Pinto had a mixture & the 78 Mustang II doesn't seem to. Gonna go back Saturday to go after the parts.
I did go ahead & remove the front panels on the car. Last year when I had the car repainted it looked good but a few months later the headlight buckets were flaking badly. I went ahead & removed them, as well as the bumper filler & will be taking them to Maaco to have them redone. Can't have the car looking like crap for Carlisle. While the buckets are off I'm gonna go ahead & remove the left front fender so I can take care of the insane door gap at the back. Never had it right so now it will be right.

r4pinto · « **Reply #355 on:** May 15, 2012, 10:48:09 PM »

No front end.

bbobcat75 · « **Reply #356 on:** May 15, 2012, 11:07:32 PM »

matt
off topic but what part of ohio are you in??
im orginally from cleveland area.

r4pinto · « **Reply #357 on:** May 16, 2012, 06:35:30 AM »

I'm from the Columbus area. Been living in Reynoldsburg for the past 18 years.

bbobcat75 · « **Reply #358 on:** May 16, 2012, 09:25:52 AM »

thats funnt my wife is from bexley!!
miss the roads up there but not the weather!!

well if im up in for thanksgiving will be at ford swap meet! might meet you then

eric

r4pinto · « **Reply #359 on:** May 20, 2012, 04:55:27 PM »

LOL that sounds cool. I try to go to that every year, although I forgot about it last year until two days after the fact.

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Author Topic: 1977 Pinto- project in the works (Read 28936 times)