Working On My Wagon

 Finally got under my 65 Valiant station wagon ! It's been way too long since I've had this car in service.It all started way back in early January of 2021 when I was stopped at a traffic light.I went to put the car in 1st and the shifter jammed .After moving it around a bit it freed up and off I went.It seemed to shift just fine so I just continued on my way towards home with a stop at the store.Came out of the store ,went to put the car in reverse and there was nothing there .I crawled under and saw the linkage to the reverse lever dangling .With the help of some guy that came out of the store we pushed the car out of the parking space and I headed for home.I still had the 4 forward gears. It turned out to be a broken lever in the shifter .  I pulled out another shifter I had and installed it . As I was hooking up the rods to the gear levers I got really bad vertigo . I was done for the next couple days  then I tried again.Got it hooked up and it wouldn't work right.Then more vertigo .This went on for weeks . Finally I came to the conclusion I had to remove the transmission .There was something going on that caused this lever to brake inside the transmission so I figured I'd throw another one in . I have three extra 4speeds for my Rat Wagon! I was thinking as I unbolted it.The vertigo had let up and I was more or less back to normal.Those rocks in my head finally re aligned themselves I guess. Got the transmission out and discovered the clutch was worn and in need of replacement too so I took it out.Had a new one in the basement so I changed it. Work at Steve's happened and there went 5 months then Summer came and went as I went up to my camp . Then I had other things to take care of and the wagon just sat.Finally the other day I attacked it .Got the transmission installed yesterday .Today it's raining so nothing is happening on the car.The shifter has been all rebuilt. That's next then I will test it .If I have a driving car I can finally move forward and get it down to my friend Steve's house where we are going to restore this little wagon.Working here at home is nearly impossible .It's real 3rd world with a driveway of broken concrete all uneven.Everything takes four times longer because of the struggle that goes on dealing with this.It's dangerous and very frustrating. So,today I'm happy.I finally have forward motion with this long stalled out project.I miss my wagon.

I can't wait to start on the body work .I have nice rust free straight fenders , doors , quarter panels to use. I have a nice 65 Barracuda grill and front valance to use that will change the whole look of the front of the car .I also got a rust free upper fire wall and cowl piece from a guy in California that I'm gonna weld in to replace the one in the car now that is rusted at the hood hinge mounts.And I have a really nice rust free hood. So,my wagon is coming back from the dead yet again .I got this car for free back in the mid 1990's it was a total wreck that should have been crushed but I took pity on it and decided to save it.This is what it looked like when I brought it home for the first time.Who would have thought I'd get 30 years of really good service out of this !

Then I fixed it up to use for a work car and work she did !

After a few years in white primer I did a brush & roller paint job on her with Rustolium and she looked pretty good so she stayed in use This was 2011

And here she is in 2020 up on the Canadian border for one of the many trips she made up to my camp on a kayaking adventure .

So now she's going to get a new lease on life.Not only is she getting a body makeover but I have a really sweet 170 cu in slant 6 that has been all rebuilt waiting to replace the one that's in there now with 250,000 + miles on it. I'm a MOPAR guy for sure ! So, today I get ready, dig out all that I need and with a bit of good fortune I'll have my old friend running again by the end of this week. Retirement is a beautiful thing !