I drug home a project about a week or so ago. A 1974 wagon. The color makes it look like a big box of baking soda in the yard. It belonged to a neighbor that bought it new in '74 and it only has 70,100 miles on it. Bad news is that it has been sitting since 1994 and someone shot out 2 of the windows on the drivers side. I have already replaced the pop-out glass and Fred Morgan is supposed to send my the drivers door glass when he can get to it. 14 years of letting rain in didn't help the interior much, but the floor pans still held water so I know they ain't rusted through. I had bought a '74 brand new, too and had always regretted getting rid of it, so maybe this one will fill that void if I can get it back up on it's pegs. This will be a glacially slow project since I am poor, but I can do all the work myself except the upholstery. I plan to pull the starter first, since it won't turn the engine over and the replace the wheel cylinders, master cylinder and then the calipers, (and maybe the hoses.) That way I can at least pull it around without running into the back of the towing vehicle like I already did when I towed it home from 2 miles away. That cost me the grill and damaged the filler panel, but the good news was that I got it running briefly on the way. Which brings me to the clutch cable. Very stiff. I will replace that next. Hopefully I can have the car road ready by the spring. Lots to do on it, but I have the time if not money. We'll see.
:welcome:
Wow, that's a BIG project, but you came to the rtight place. I am knee deep in my '76 Wagon restoration. I wish you luck on yours, it will be worth it in the end. ASk a lot of questions here, and you will find a good deal of help. Have fun!!
Chris
I too had a stiff clutch for a lot of years however it was not the cable. It was the pressure plate. Unhook the cable from the clutch arm and see how loose it is before you go spend the money on another cable.
doesn't look like its that bad
That is so kewl...you explanation of that color changed what I have called it forever...
looks like a good one to save too.
FrankBoss
"I too had a stiff clutch for a lot of years however it was not the cable. It was the pressure plate. Unhook the cable from the clutch arm and see how loose it is before you go spend the money on another cable."
Thanks for the tip. I WILL check that, but I am pretty certain that it's the cable. When I step on the clutch it is very hard to push to the floor and when I take my foot off, the pedal only very slowly comes back up to about 1/3 way up and then I have to pull it the rest of the way with the toe of my boot. Having ridden motorcycles for over 40 years I know that a dried, corroded cable will act like that. But who knows, it could be the pressure plate. I was thinking that it wouldn't hurt to have an extra cable anyway for future use, and they only cost about $37.00. That's one of the things that surprises me. I expected parts for a car this old to be expensive, but mostly they are real cheap. Wheel cylinders are about $7.00 each, timing belt about the same, master cylinder $26.00, calipers about $27.00, clutch kits about $90.00, etc. I'm thinking I can do this project for about $1,500.00 or less, depending on the upholstery (at least that's the figure I'm running past the wife). I would say that normally the paint and body work would be the most expensive, but I used to own a paint & body shop and still have all my equipment, so only the materials will be a consideration. Just have to see if I can weasel my way into a friends shop long enough to do it. Fred
I have this 78 wagon, it is a 2.3 4 spd car. It is absolutely rust free and in very good shape....except that there is no motor or trans.
I have a line on a junked Olds Toronado with a 455 and TH425 front wheel drive setup.
This setup is going into the back of the Pinto wagon after I cut out the floor and build a subframe to attatch the powertrain to :surprised:
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c11/TorinoStyle2/Pintowagon001.jpg)
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c11/TorinoStyle2/Pintowagon002.jpg)
Now THAT'S a project!! You'll probably have to have some wheelie bars to keep from flying over backwards. :surprised:
An update on my project car so far. I pulled the starter to maybe clean it up, but saw that it was just a lost cause. Totally rusted up and corroded. So bad that when I turned it on end and tapped it a pile of rust and corrosion the size of a tennis ball came out. Bought a new one and put it on and was able to get the engine to fire up by putting some gas in the carb. So I put five gallons of gas in and tried to run it, but would only run by putting gas in the carb. In the meantime I noticed the smell of gas at the rear, and discovered that the return line was rotted. Fixed that and then took the line loose between the fuel pump and carb and cranked. Gas came out the line, but not very enthusiastically. Took the filter off and cleaned with carb cleaner and tried again. Nothing. I took the top off of the carb and saw that the bowl was empty. So I cleaned it and took the needle and float off and shot carb cleaner backward through the seat and it shot out the other side of the filter so I know it ain't stopped up. I suspect that the pump is just too weak to make the trip. It has enough poop to push some out the line, but evidently not enough to fill the bowl through the little seat opening. I'll get a new one and see.
A little update on my project for anyone who still remembers me. It's been almost 2 years since I got this car and have only worked on it as time and money allowed. I said in the beginning that it would be glacially slow. Anyway, I have, so far, replaced the clutch assembly and cable, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, calipers, u-joints, pinion seal, pads and shoes, found and repaired wires that were rat chewed, what glass was broken, repaired turn signal switch, replaced ignition switch, replaced fuel pump, re-attached rear view mirror and replaced wipers. There is probably several other things that I can't think of right now. I have a newly rebuilt carburetor and a NOS fuel gauge on the way, also. The car is drivable now and I can scoot around the yard and down the road and back a bit, but the carburetor is in sad shape and won't hardly idle. I started to just rebuild this one, but decided to get a new one and rebuild the old one and throw it up on the shelf for the future. I will also need to redo the pinion seal, I think, as it still leaks some. I may have messed it up when I put it on, although a fellow told me that they can leak a little until they get hot the first time anyway. I don't know, so I will wait and see. I still need to get a new dash cover and have the seats redone, and I think I will go ahead and get a rust free fuel tank from Fred Morgan, if he still has one. Maybe by the end of summer I will have this thing on the road, but I will wait until I build my new shop before painting it. I was thinking of changing the color, but laziness prevailed and it will go back original color. I just hate doing door jams and such. A long post here, I know, but it has been a long time since I have posted anything about my project, so I hope to be forgiven. Fred
Hi Fred! I love your wagon's color! I believe it's called Medium Yellow Gold and a neighbor down the street from where I grew up had a trunk model sedan in that color (the interior was black). Anyway, as an owner of a '74 Runabout who had issues I would definitely have replaced the fuel pump (I know you did that) but also take out and clean the gas tank. You wouldn't believe the rust flakes I found when I cleaned mine out! You'll undoubtably need a fuel sending unit too. Mine's float was like swiss cheese. Anyway, I'm glad your lil' wagon is scootin' around. We're pulling for you! ;D Becky
Good to see you are still around and playing with the wagon! Keep us updated, more pictures would be sweet to! :)
I had a problem keeping a 79 wagon going for more than a mile at a time,drive wait drive it again. We changed the carb the ignition module fuel pump,filter everything.So when it quit one time I had someone take the hose off at the carb put it in a jar and I cranked it,no gas hardly at all. I used an old bicycle tire pump and blew air through the line until I heard bubbles come up from the filler opening.It ran ok for a week no problems then started again. Someone finally told me to get the `sock` checked,that was it. It was covered in some kind of black stuff. Its on the end of the line going into the tank it was pretty easy to change.The guy I had do it used some sealer on the flange and it leaked so I redid it myself,and actually got a o ring for about $2 from a ford dealer :)