I've been wanting to get started on the wagon for what seems like eternity but actually it's only been 2 years and during that time I did work on it so I guess it has been ongoing for quite some time . Back in 2020 the shifter broke ,the reverse arm broke so I had no reverse.I drove it home and took it apart.After fooling with it with no success I pulled the transmission ,then the clutch ,and then dealt with a real bad bout of vertigo every time I got under the damn car . This went on & on until finally I had a guy I know rebuild the shifter and the spare one I also have. I put in the new clutch but the transmission fought me every step of the way.Working on broken concrete is impossible so finally I got help from my good friend Steve. We towed the car to his house where there is a good flat surface for me to work on and I had the transmission in the car in less than an hour.
The next day I drove the car home ! This was back in June of 2022. Had lots of other stuff to do so it sat. Now it's a week before Christmas and we are getting ready to attack again. What we are going to do is work on the replacement quarter panels while they are off the car and fix any rust . It's easier to weld new metal in on the workbench than the car so over this winter that's what we are doing.I have 4 doors that we are also going to get set before they go on and two front fenders as well . All these parts are pretty much rust free so this phase will go easy. Last time I did this was 20 years ago. I hung quarters on the car and put on some decent fenders and doors ,primed it with white epoxy primer then when that got ratty looking I gave it a brush & roller paint job with light blue Rustolium . I used this car as a truck to haul wood and tools for work . She served me well for 20 years as this and now it's time to bring her back from the dead a second time . This is what my little wagon looked like when I brought her home in the mid 90's
She was in bad shape,should have been crushed but I took pity and decided to fix her.
As time went on I changed the motor from the 225 slant six with an automatic transmission to a 170 cu in slant six with a 4 speed manual transmission . Then I came across a sure grip rear (posi) with 323 gears and she became lots of fun to drive as well as good on gas. Here she is white in around 2005 and then blue in around 2011 .
Now she's all rusty again after all those years of good service she gave me.This next photo is of her on her last trip up to my camp in the Adirondacks back in 2020. I loved to travel in this car.She gave me 24 MPG fully loaded with all my gear so the 400 mile ride up to my place didn't break the bank .I even used her to haul wood from the mill up there when I was working on the place. So now it begins again. It's not like I'm a stranger to this kind of work .I've been playing with old cars , trucks and motorcycles all my adult life.I did a ground up restoration on this 1965 Barracuda back in the early 90's It was a 400 dollar rust bucket with a bad 6 cylinder motor and a weak automatic transmission when I got it in 1989 after crashing my first 65 Barracuda in a head on up in the Adirondacks on an icy road . I built this as a replacement.
I did all the work myself . Body , paint , and mechanical .It was a fun project taking it from a rusty non running slant six to a show quality car with a nice 8 cylinder and a 4 speed . I enjoyed this car for well over 12 years and when I sold it the car looked and ran as good as the day I finished it. I've had some cool rides . Most of them were just drivers but lots of fun . It all started with this 1960 Ford Panel truck
This was my 1st 4 wheel vehicle.Made a camper out of it and traveled all over the US in her .Got T boned and destroyed one night . This event put me into this great pick up truck. A 1950 Ford F1 with a flat head V8 .I loved this truck and drove it for around 10 years until around 1983.To this day I regret selling her.
Then there was this really cool 1948 Plymouth that I bought in the mid 70's .This car was so cool.I drove it into the late 80's when I sold it for money to build my barn up at the camp in 1988.Another regret but you can't keep 'em all so I kept moving forward into the Barracudas and Valiants .
As time marched on I made many good friends thru this hobby of old cars and motorcycles.One of the best friends I ever had and still have is Al.He and I built cars for almost 20 years together,We both had 65 Barracudas and built and sold all sorts of cars in his driveway. Those were probably some of the best years of my entire life. One day in January of 2003 I came across this 1966 Valiant convertible.A friend told me about it and also told me I should really go check it out. I was unemployed at the time ,pretty much broke but I went.It was this incredible deal. A little old rich lady owned it.She bought it new in 1966 and kept it in her summer home out in the Hamptons . She lived in the city.The car only got used locally in the summer and had 52,000 miles on it ! .Well,she died and the lawyer settling her estate knew nothing about cars so it was getting sold for 2500 bucks .I went home and started thinking as I paced back & forth .I had no money .This went on for about a half hour so I decided to tell Al about it.He didn't really want it and told me to go buy it and he'd loan me the money ! So,we went and brought it home. I still have it all these years later.Now it has a shade under 60,000 miles on it. Probably gonna sell it to get money to buy a house up in Northern New York so my wife and I can retire and live cheap.Hate to loose it but at age 73 it's more important to get into a house I own up in the country . So I've decided to just keep the wagon ,fix it all up and have fun with it and sell the convertible .
So this is the start of a new beginning for my wagon. It makes sense in my mind to keep the wagon, She's such a useful vehicle and in the end I don't really have to worry about driving her and putting on too many miles .The vert is a fine car but too much use will ruin that .The wagon has around 300,000 miles on it . She's well worm but all renewed mechanically . She'll never be a show car but she will be a really cool ride and for me that's what really counts.
So,today I start repairing the transmission on my wife's 2002 Honda Accord.The damn thing started to slip when cold .Did some reading and came to the conclusion it's a problem in the solenoids that control the fluid pressure and shift the gears. Yesterday 3 of the 4 solenoids arrived so I can get started today.With any luck the last one will come today or Monday and I can get past this crap. I'd rather be working on my WAGON !
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