Today started with me trying to figure out the source of a loud ticking sound from under my hood. It sounded like my alternator bearing was going out again, so I went to schucks to have it tested. Came out fine. I took the belt off of the smog pump and sure enough, it went away! So off I went to the junk yard to find a replacement smog pump!
Upon pulling in, I noticed a man getting his tools out of the trunk of his 76 Mustang II Ghia, which was in GREAT shape and looking like eye candy! So I approached him commenting his Mustang and how much I admired it. He thanked me and we started talking about it. He had just purchased it about 8 months ago and was having issues getting it to idle. He then asked me if I was interested in buying. I said I may be, depending on how much he was asking for it. He said he paid $650 for it and said he would want at least that much if his wife makes him sell it. I gave him my contact info and told him to call me should he need to sell it. Then we went on about the performance of his little 2.3L motor and he asked if I would take a look at it for him. He popped the hood, and the first thing I noticed was no vacuum lines at all. I pointed out that he should at least put a hose from the vacuum source on the intake manifold and run it to the distributor advance, and that it should solve his dying and rough idle as long as there are no vacuum leaks. He thanked me and I told him to give me a call if he would like any other help with the car or piecing together the vacuum lines. I also recommended him to visit our forums here at fordpinto.com to gain further information about his 2.3L motor, as we all seem to have something very helpful to say, regardless of the car the motor is in! We then parted ways, shaking hands, thanking eachother, and exchanging names once more.
Once I was in the junk yard, I proceeded to the older vehicles to pull the oil dip-stick and tube, as well as the brake proportioning valve from teh 77 Bobcat I have been parting out, just to have around as spares. Once I got to the check out, I ran into the Mustang II owner again and we said our hi's and goodbyes, as well as commenting on our junk yard finds. I paid for my items and was on my way to close a criagslist deal.
Once I pulled into the park and we started the exchange, we instantly started talking about the Pinto, as well as HIS pinto! We chatted on and on about our restoration techniques and finds for about 30 minutes, then he asked if I would like to stop by his place to see his '76 he has been working on. I agreed and we headed down to his place. We chatted about his Pinto and his Pinto history, lots of more Pinto talk and a little more Pinto talk for about two and a half hours before parting ways. Carl also gave me a full list of car shows for Idaho this year as well as an upcoming swap meet brochure. Carl, is actually a member here at FordPinto.com, and his current Pinto and past bobcat are registered cars! The whole experience was wonderful, meeting another club member and owner here in Idaho, not far from where I live! From the way our conversations went, I think we are both very excited to start going to car shows and not having to be the ONLY Pinto there! This will be my first year for any car shows and I am very excited to be able to share it with another Pinto member. I think having more than one at shows will have a greater impact on the Pinto footprint in Idaho! I hope Carl decides to post here more often and share some valuable information he has on Pinto motor modifications and the like. He has some great info on V8 motor mount modification and semi-stock 2.3L performance mods. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to share my day with a fellow PCCA member!
EDIT: For the craigslist deal, Carl sold me a front valance from a 77/78 panel wagon, and a 2.3L tube header. I will be cleaning up and painting the valance for installing hopefully within the next few weeks, and the header will be going on when I have my exhaust system rebuilt and muffler upgrade.
Very cool! Wish I could have days like yours! ;D
It's great to meet 'like minded' people! Great that you got to spend time chatting and seeing some other cool rides up close!
Chuck
I have been approaching people with older vehicles and commenting on them for awhile, but I have never met a fellow Pinto owner who is as much into the car and the hobby of working with it as we here in the club are. It's great to know you arn't all alone in the state. :)
Sounds like you had a great day, Dave. You mentioned not wanting to be the only Pinto at car shows... I kind of have the opposite feeling on that, and it's one of the things that led me into my Pinto purchase.
About four years ago, I bought a '79 Lincoln Continental Collector's Series. The car had been one-owner for the first 23 years, and then in the hands of LCOC members/collectors since. Its condition is, in a word, magnificent. Anyway... when we hit the car shows in the spring of 2006, we were the one and only Lincoln showing in every one we went to. As such, it got lots of attention. Apparently, however, I started a trend because at the last show we attended it was one of four Lincolns on display. Fortunately, they are all different, but it still affected the exclusivity of owning something unusual.
While I still have my Lincoln, along with a '79 Continental Mark V, I'm hoping the '72 Pinto will put us back into that "only one in the show" category. Judging from the reaction it gets on the road (even in its current sorry cosmetic condition) I suspect it will garner more attention than anything I've ever owned. People can't seem to refrain from smiling when they see a Pinto!
Dwayne :smile:
So, who is this person that you met and what is his name on fordpinto.com?
CarlHarris is his name here, Carl is who he introduced himself to me as. I looked up him on the member's map and sure enough, I found him in Nampa! :D
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While I still have my Lincoln, along with a '79 Continental Mark V, I'm hoping the '72 Pinto will put us back into that "only one in the show" category.
Dwayne :smile:
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So...does that mean we should call one another before going to a show so we both don't show up at the same one? :lol:
No Sir, not at all!
Your car is so hot, and mine is so meek and mild, that we can both participate in the same show and still have essentially the "only one there" :lol:! I'm probably not going to be show-ready until late summer, if then. Finding the time to work on my car is the problem. My wife's health has deteriorated steadily for the past two years and I'm spending more and more of my time taking care of her. I might see you at the shows, though, with one of my Lincolns. I'll be the dude taking up four parking spaces ;D.
Dwayne :smile: