Classic – Muscle Car Shopping – Primer Part I

If you are following a long you know I’m on the hunt for my next project car and boy are my fingers tired and I can’t get this thing off of me:

Maybe WD40?

It’s a lot of work when you search nationwide.  Setting up searches on different web sites and on those that don’t offer that feature you are continually recreating the same search.  Then there are emails with questions like, “Is it still available?’  and other questions that often get ignored.  Here’s an actual example: (Setup – the ad said make an offer)

12:24 PM Jun 06 (ME)

I’d consider $4K…thoughts?

12:46 PM Jun 06 (Seller)

6500 is what I’m looking to get

01:34 PM Jun 06 (ME)

Ok…a few more questions if you don’t mind. How’s the interior? I can tell from the pic but the tires seem to be good enough to get it on a trailer. Has it been driven recently or at least started? Thanks. Tim – Tucson AZ

10:23 PM Jun 07 (Seller)

The car runs and drives fine

06:57 AM Jun 08 (ME)

I’d like to take a look at it and hear it run. I’ll be up in Phx late Saturday afternoon.

NO RESPONSE.

That’s nothing but fun!   Just as fun are the sites that don’t know anything about the car and people listing  cars they don’t actually own. My a favorite phrase has become “I was told it runs great.” right up there with “ran when parked”.

I just got of the phone with an interesting site – consignment site of course.  That went something like this:

Me: Hi I had a couple of questions that I emailed about the car. Those weren’t answered but you sent me an invoice for purchasing the car.  Can you answer these questions?

Lady on the Phone:  No I can’t.

Me: Is there someone there that can? Or can I call back later to speak to someone?

Lady on the Phone: No it’s just me here.

Me:  Ok.  I have a question about payment.  The invoice says you are located in PA but you want me to “wire” money to an account in FL.  Is there another way I can make the payment?

Lady on the Phone: No.  I’ll just cancel the invoice. – CALL ENDED.

I’ve saved the best for last!

www.hotmusclecars.com has a lot of cars for sale. The problem is they allow anyone to post an ad and  many are scams. VERY ELABORATE SCAMS. (Found this problem with Facebook marketplace and Offerup as well). The same car is listed in 8-10 different cities and at different prices but the same pics. There aren’t that many tall pine trees in the middle of LA, CA.

For fun, I decided to chase one down. It was a Mach I for $6k, which is a stupid price for such car (1969). The car was listed in Los Angles and she was in FL. I sent the obligatory “Is it available?” email. Response said it was and the story.  It was her husband’s car and he died, and she had to move to Lakeside, FL with her two children.

She said she had arranged to ship through eBay (which according to eBay – isn’t a thing). I told her I’d be fine buying through eBay and if there was a buy it now page I’ll pay through eBay as well. She said ok and sent me a link to a buy it now page. The problem was it wasn’t actually on eBay. The website looked just like eBay, but there was no VIN listed (that’s required by eBay) and no pictures. I told her that the listing wasn’t working and that I’d call eBay and let them know. She said “oh don’t call them. Just tell me what you want to see and I’ll add it to the page. ” As a former IT guy (20 years – in web development) red flags popped up. I did call eBay to let them know and they said “Yup” happens all the time. They recommend that if it looks odd call them with the item number. You can leave a number and they’ll call you back.

The search continues.

Thanks for checking in.

Tim

 

Average Guy’s Car Restoration – The May PetrolBox – Some Good Stuff

Welcome back to Average Guy’s Car Restoration. I’m still on the hunt for my C3 (I almost bought a 1971 Mach I – the price was right, but it has some ownership issues – they couldn’t prove who owned it!!)

Most of you know that I don’t have sponsors for Average Guy’s work.  But I do not mind plugging something I enjoy or a product that works great.

You’ve seen a couple of posts on PetrolBox before. It’s no surprise that I’d present another.

They have multiple levels.  This box is medium-priced.   Check them out at mypetrolbox.com. 

Enjoy the video.


I’ll have more coming up including bringing back some old favorites.

Thanks for watching.

Tim

Delta Force – #ProjectSportsRoof Get a New Sound

Yes…yes…yes….it’s been a while but you can look forward to see more work being done on #ProjectSportsRoof (soon to be #SR73 —get it?  SportsRoof – 1973 Mustang…yeah?….cool)

Enjoy the video and I’ll have more coming up with my 73 Stang and a few things with going on with #ProjectBeepBeep – Bill’s 1968 Road Runner.

 


Thanks for checking in and there is a lot more coming up!!!

Tim
#ProjectSportsRoof
#SR73
#ProjectBeepBeep

#ProjectSportsRoof New Leaf Spring Install Part I

In the last post I prepped #ProjectSportsRoof  bolts and nuts for removal.  I treated them twice a day for two days (sprayed with Liquid Wrench) in hopes they would be easier.

This post, I’m removing and install the new leaf springs.    Pay attention to a couple of safety tips in the video.

 

 


 

Next up a test drive to see how the new springs preform.

Thanks for check in.

Tim

 

Abandon Cars – 1930’s Chevy Truck

Now most of you know I love old abandon cars. This one is part of a display in the ghost town Pearce, AZ.

Pearce was a mining ghost town named for Cornishman James Pearce, miner and cattleman, who discovered gold nearby at what became the Commonwealth Mine in 1894. The Pearce Post Office was established on March 6, 1896. The railroad station opened in 1903. By 1919, Pearce had a population of 1,500. The town declined in the 1930s and became almost a ghost town in the late 1940s when the mine closed for the last time.

The Commonwealth Mine became one of Arizona’s major silver producers. Over 1,000,000 tons of ore were produced from 1895 to 1942. There are about 20 miles of underground workings.[11] The mine produced about $8 million worth of silver and $2.5 million in gold at a time when silver was priced around 50 cents an ounce, and gold was $20 an ounce.

They left a lot of mining equipment behind as well as this 1930’s Chevy flatbed truck.  This truck my be powered by a 3.2 l straight 6 (that’s 3178 cc or 193 cu in).  The bore and stroke would have been 3.31 in x 3.75 in and had 2 valves per cylinder and produced about 60 hp w/ 130 ft-lb of torque.  It was topped by a 1 bb Carter Carb.  All that massive power was delivered by a 3 speed transmission.

 


 

Thanks for reading.
Tim

Corvette Mustang – Corvette Mustang – Then and Now

Over on Facebook one of the groups has a Then and Now series of posts.  That consisted of folk posting the cars they were driving 10 years ago and now.  I thought that was cool so I put quick clip together for my rides then and now.

For sometime now I have a Mustang Corvette combo, my  ’70 Mustang/84 Vette combo and my ’73 Mustang/’07 Vette combo.

 

Just a little trip down memory lane!!

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Project SportsRoof – 73 Mustang Update

Let me start out with a couple of pics of something most followers of my sight haven’t see in a couple years.

Project SportsRoof – not up on jack stands!!!!

The Stang getting a full tank….IN PERSON!!!!

It’s great to have it back on the road!!

As you know, I had a recommendation to have some work done on #ProjectSportsRoof. The story was this shop was expanding into Tucson and the son of the owner was going to run local ‘branch’. That was only 20% true. The son (for whatever reason) rented a bay from a garage here in town. Instead of paying rent he was going to do free repairs for the shop owner. Shortly after the Mustang was at the location, his deal with the owner went south and so did my car!!!

For two weeks I could not get hold of guy and when I showed up at the place he was supposed to be working, I was told they had no idea what was going on.  Shortening the story about 2 months, my car is finally returned to me.  Running great, but missing ‘stuff’.  You can see the that part of the story here:  https://wp.me/p2YxYx-5fK

BTW Twisted Addiction was the name of the shop and I still hear good things about the work they do in a town about 50 miles from here.  But my experience was beyond crappy!!!

After wrestling with the shifting lever I needed to get the car on the road (O.K. – more like a want) I turned to a unique garage.   They are unique not because they are one of a kind, in fact they are a chain.   They are unique because the owner/partner pushed the envelope on the range of cars he would allow his team to work on.   Work on older cars was  (and is) not part of the chain’s business model, and certainly helping out the locals on their old project cars wasn’t either.  But they did and with the new owner/partner, they’ve grandfather me and my project in.  They were there when I needed help on my current project.  From my 1970 Mustang to my 1984 Corvette and now with 73 Mustang (#ProjectSportsRoof) they didn’t hesitate.

I had the SportsRoof towed to the shop and the damage to the suspension wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but there was not need for it to occur.  You can see the story here: https://wp.me/p2YxYx-5hV.

I have the Mustang back and there was a mix of used and new parts added to fix the suspension damage.

And now I have it back and still stinging from the series of set backs, but happy to have it drivable again.  Here is a video update.

 




I am looking forward to finishing up the interior, some electoral,  dash components, heater/AC box, and more.  So check back.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

1973 Mustang Project SportsRoof – Exterior Walk-Around

Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof.  I run my car projects much like I run my IT projects.  You always have to know where to start and know the end game.   As with any project that isn’t being built from scratch, in other word, you have to work with what you’ve got, …

1973 Mustang – Project Sports Roof – Pertronix Ignitor Update

Well win some and you lose some.  If you’ve seen my other posts related the replacement of the points and condenser for the 351C you’ll notice that I gave conversion high marks.  This was all based on the years of use I got out of the conversion I did on …

Restoring Tach for 68 Road Runner – Project BeepBeep Part IV

Finishing up the rare Tach option project for #ProjectBeepBeep. Another great tip in this one.

Here are a couple photos of BeepBeep’s Tach:

 

Here is the wrap up video.


Thanks for reading!!

Tim

Restoring Tach for 68 Road Runner – Project BeepBeep

Bill gets “techie” in a “tachful” way as he restores the rare Tach option on his 68 Road Runner. #ProjectBeepBeep     More coming up!!! Thanks for reading!! Tim #ProjectBeepBeep #ProjectSportRoof Project BeepBeep – 68 RoadRunner – Body Bumpers Kit Bill takes a look at MOPAR Body Bumper Kit for #ProjectBeepBeep and shows a common mistake made when a …

Project SportsRoof Shifting Linkage Part 1

Welcome back to my 1973 Mustang project #ProjectSportsRoof.

In the last post I mentioned that some how the shift linkage bar was lost when I had the car in a local shop to help put with the transmission.  They took another look around their place and I did the same…no luck.  So I purchased a replacement link. 

Take a look….warning the audio is not great in spots.

 

 

Well we are now moving into, what I hope is an adjustment phase for the transmission.  However, it might be something….more expensive!!!

Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading

Tim

14 best 1973 mustang images on Pinterest | 1973 mustang, Autos …
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The story didn’t match the damage… View On WordPress. 73 Mustang is back!! Project SportsRoof is Alive! 73 Mustang is back!! Project SportsRoof is Alive!
 

Project SportsRoof (73 Mustang) Gets the Shaft – Drive Shaft.

After many month and some craziness my 73 Mustang is back and it’s sporting a new drive Shaft.

If you recall when I purchased the Mustang the car looked like it had driven into a concrete tube, mashing in both front fenders and doing damage to the front end.  Here are the pics from the day I purchased it:

As you can see the damage on the fenders are similar.  The story didn’t match the damage but I didn’t care, just interesting.   What I didn’t notice then or even when I pulled it off the car was that the drive shaft had been welded about 5 inches from the rear end.  I also didn’t notice, when I removed the u-joints that the yoke was damaged – flattened on multiple sides.

When the shop tried to replace the u-joints the new ones would not go into the yoke.  (I wish I had saved the pic of that damage.)  The specialty shop give an estimate for what the repair might be, but after discovering the welded repair and the damaged yoke, they decided to replace everything.  What was really cool is they did it for the same price!!!

Here’s a look at the new shaft.  (NOT A CRANK SHAFT….geezzz  – you see…).


I have a lot of projects to get to on #ProjectSportsRoof and I can’t wait to get started.

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

1973 Mustang Project SportsRoof – Exterior Walk-Around

Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof.  I run my car projects much like I run my IT projects.  You always have to know where to start and know the end game.   As with any project that isn’t being built from scratch, in other word, you have to work with what you’ve got, …

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Engine Bay Components.

I thought I’d take a minute and catch the readers up on #ProjectSportsRoof. I wanted to touch up some of the engine bay components, horns, vacuum canister and battery tray.  I didn’t want to alter some of these too much, I like having the numbers, logos and other info visible, not …