Tag Archives: Vintage Cars

Auto Factoids for the week of April 16. 2017 – Mustang, Lincoln

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Hey guess what’s back?   Auto Factoids. 

Here they are for the week of April 16. 2017

April 16th, 1908 – Oakland car company sold it’s first car.  Oakland was formed in 1907 by Edward M. Murphy.  He was originally a buggy maker and then sold a 4 cylinder car designed by Alanson P. Brush.  It was a 4 cylinder car.

I believe they actually began producing cars in 1907.

 

 

The mother of all debuts, the Ford Mustang was on April 17, 1964.  Little did any one know what a success that little car would be. There were 3 engine available for the 64 1/2 Mustang, the 170 inline 6 cylinder, the 260 V8 and the 289 V8.  There were 97, 705 hard tops produced and 28,883 convertibles.

1964 1/2 Vert

1964 1/2 Coupe

 

April 17, 1969 another Ford debut the Ford Maverick. Just 5 years the Mustangs release Ford tried again to capture the magic my debuting the Maverick.  The Maverick was offered only in two door platform on a Falcon chassis and sported only one engine, the 170 cid.  That engine was called the  Falcon 6 cylinder with produced about 100 hp. Over 127k were produced in the first year.

1969 Maverick Clay moc-ups. I think the top model would have been a great look.  Although it did look a bit like the Mustang

 

 

Lincoln becomes  a separate division of Ford in 1955 on April 18th.  It came in a Custom and Capri series.  It took the form of 2dr, 4dr and convertible.  Believe it, or not the 4415 lbs car was considered “Sport” model.

Two door Capri

 

18 April 1964 Sunbeam debuts the iconic Tiger.   The Sunbeam Tiger a collectible car.  It only came in a convertible with 260 V8.

Referred to Sunbeam Tiger MKII or Series I

 

On April 22nd back in 1954 Hudson and Nash merged to from American Motors Corporation (AMC).  This would mark one of the last independent auto makers and brought us such coolness as the Marlin, AMX, Javelin, Rebel and don’t forget the Pacer and Gremlin.    Here are two examples of the AMX from a local car show here in 

1971  AMC AMX

1969 AMC AMX

Thanks for reading.

Tim

#AutoFactoids

#ProjectSportsRoof

Auto Factoid for Week of Nov. 30, 2014

Hope you all had a great Turkey Day!! Here is the line up of Auto Factoids for the first week in December!!!   Nov 30 1960  De Soto ceases production.  The last De Soto produced were really the Chrysler Windsor, most did not sale, even though dealerships continued to received cars after the …
Auto Factoids – Week of May 31, 2015 – Ford, Olds, Model T

Here are your Auto Factoids #AutoFactoids for the beginning of June, 2015. May 31, 1927 – Ford produced the last Model T.    There is some debate as to actual date and it’s said that the 15th million Model T rolled off the production line on May 26th, 1927 and the Henry …
AUTO FACTOIDS & C.N.N for Week of 7/26/2015 – Studebaker to Viper

Kaiser-Fraser formed July 26, 1945 – The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was the result of a partnership between automobile executive Joseph W. Frazer and business man Henry  J. Kaiser. In 1947, the company acquired the automotive assets of Graham-Paige.  Interesting enough, Kaiser had no automotive business experience.   In 1953 the company became …
Auto Factoids and C.N.N for week of Sept 6th 2015 – TBird and Studebaker

Here is your #AutoFactoids and Car News Now for this first full week of September 2015. Auto Factoids Sept. 7, 1954 – Production of Ford Thunderbird begins 1955 T-Bird 2002 Thunderbird             Sept. 8, 1903   Preston Tucker was born in Capac, MI. While dubbed “Tucker Torpedo” during production no ‘Torpedoes’ were produced. Beautiful …
Auto Factoids for the Week of 2/1/2015 – Kaiser Week

Here are your Auto Factoids (#AutoFactoids) for the first week in Feb. 2015!!! I think we can call this Kaiser Week as 3 of our factoid are related to the Kaiser auto manufacturing. In fact the month starts right off with Kaiser factoid. Feb 1, 1947 – Graham-Paige sold out to Kaiser. …

Project SportsRoof – 73 Mustang – Getting in Gear with the Transmission Part 2

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Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof.  I’m finishing the re-positioned shifting rod above the transmission’s cross member.

 

 

 

Next I’ll need to go top side and give the selector a try.  If that is working properly, hitting the proper gears I can spin the torque converter and properly torque its connection to the flex plate.

More coming up.

Tim

projectsportsroof

1973 Mustang – Engine Bay Work

If you look back at #ProjectSportsRoof post you’ll see the condition engine bay.  During those videos I mentioned that I was going to clean it up and hit it with a rattle can.  Again this isn’t going to be a concours restoration, it’s going to look nice and it’s going …
1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part I

I’ve done all the clean up and all the adjustments necessary to get a good reading on the health of the ’72 351C engine in my 1973 Mustang. The next step is to check the compression. First up was to warm the car a bit and then pull the plugs. Here’s what the …
1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part II

This is the wrap up on the compression testing for the 1973 Mustang w/ a 1972 351 Cleveland power plant. You’ll might have notices that I referred to the remote tester, which is my code for remote starter…yeah…that’s it!!! All of these tests were dry test and I should have done a …

 

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner – Disc Brake Conversion Part 4

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Welcome back to Average Guys’ Car Restoration and an update on Bill’s 1968, 383 Plymouth Road Runner, dubbed #ProjectBeepBeep.

Bitten by a need to get his muscle machine back on the road with the superb stopping power of a disc brakes, Bill burns the midnight oil.  Check it out:

 

 

New Steel line in place and rubber brake hose connected up.

Calipers in stalled and seated (custom seated – with a hammer)

Portioning Block – shinny and new!

Bill gives you an update on all the work done this far on #ProjectBeepBeep and the disc brake conversion.

Look forward to see this monster on the road.

Thanks for reading.
Tim

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner – Drum or Disc – The Decision

1968 Ply Road RunnerProject BeepBeep Welcome back to #ProjectBeepBeep.  Bill is looking at the brakes and gets some professional assistance to help him make a crucial decision.  You know if you’ve got a lot of GO…you need a lot STOP. It not an easy decision to alter a car’s originality, especially …

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner -Disc Break Conversion Part 2

Thanks for checking back in on #ProjectBeepBeep. Having made the decision to convert the front brakes from shoe to disc Bill gets started with this major project for #ProjectBeepBeep. He went with a kit from Dr. Diff and here’s a brief look at some of the contents.   Nice shiny new rotors!! Spindle …

Project BeepBeep – ’68 RoadRunner – Door Panel Tips

Ready for some more #ProjectBeepBeep?  Bill takes you through a few tips for restoring your B-Body door panels. Take a look:     Great stuff!!!  Thanks Bill!!! Have a few Mopar tips – Post them up or drop me a note @ agcarestoration@cox.net and we get you video/tip posted on the site. Thanks for reading Tim                 Introducing …

Project BeepBeep – A look at the Brakes

Bill takes a look at the heavy-duty brakes that came on the ’68 Road Runner. Bill doesn’t like the stopping power that these give him and even though they are in good shape, he may still upgrade them.     Here are a couple close-ups of those heavy-duty brakes:   That’s some great information on brake …

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner – Disc Break Conversion Part 3

Bill continues with his march toward a complete brake system replacement for #ProjectBeepBeep his 68 Plymouth Road Runner.     Here is the Bill’s update.     There is more coming on the #ProjectBeepBeep and #ProjectSportRoof. Keep an eye out  for dates for the new Average Guys’ Car Restoration Live Event on Face Book AG Car Restoration …

1970 Mustang Front End – What should I do?

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My Nephew’s 1970 Stang needs some attention.

I get to park in my office!

Well it’s been a long week getting her back on the road. But she drove well enough given her condition.

I am looking for opinions on kits for front suspension rebuilds, mine is shot. At this point I’m probably looking for the cheapest most comprehensive kit given my pony’s condition.

My entire front suspension is not suspending, or bouncing, or quiet. Its time for a full rebuild but I’ve been waiting to blow my motor to justify a full car build! It’s been on its last leg for at least 10 years so at this point I’m trying to see how far I can go to prove Ford’s reliability before tearing her down and she just won’t die! A true survivor.

Also I have a mean top end tick I have lots of play in my lifters, I’m assuming that’s the problem. Already replaced the valve caps, but I probably lost one or two again, any tips or tricks to adjust these ticks?

Although she really like cruising at 50 mph everywhere! I had a hard time keeping it under that speed.

Josh,

You will get a lot of opinions and have a lot of options.  Basically is comes down to what you want the car to be.  If you just want a cruiser I think you can’t go wrong with just building like it came from the factory.  I did that with my 1970 only difference is I use polyurethane bushing.   Polyurethane bushing improved the ride without ruining the feel of how the car would have handled when it came from the factory.  Properly greased the don’t squeak.   If you want it a bit better ride you can upgrade components as you go.

I recommend the RPS kit (it is under $300)

Front Suspension Kit, 1968 – 73 Mustang Restoration Parts Source
FDSUSKIT3 – RPS – 004
This suspension kit includes new upper and lower control arms with bushings and riveted ball joints installed, new spring perches and insulators and new strut rod bushings with washers.

Here is the link –  RPS Suspension Kit

Tim

1970 Mustang – Getting the Boot!!!

Replaces that is, boot as in shifting boot.  (Were you thinking…since I just got back from the Barrett Jackson Auction.. I was considering getting rid of the Stang ?   Nope..but I tell you there were a couple of cars I’d even swap for…that’s for sure!!) When the 4 speed trans got …

1970 Mustang – Replacing my Pillar Post Moldings Part I

If you searched and found or followed my posts on restoring the dash-board of my ’70 Mustang, then you might recall my planning/scheduling issues.     As I was taking the old dash pad off, I realized that I hadn’t order the plastic pillar molding.  When I finally called a few Mustang parts …

1970 Mustang – Replacing my Pillar Post Moldings Part II

I’ve the pillar post moldings painted and ready to installed.      I put on 3 coats of paint.    Now I have to remove the dash pad (again) and install.  That will be later this week, my Corvette is still in shop and the Mustang is my back up car.  Thanks for reading more to …

1970 Mustang Dash Replacement – Part Arrives!!!

Ok now I’m excited.  The dash pad replacement arrived and it looks great.  Here are some pics:          I ordered this part from Dallas Mustang, but I thinking I should have ordered directly from DashesDirect.com I’ll check the web site and see if it was cheaper there.  When you have an average guy’s budget …

Mini Car Show – TMC

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It always cool to stumble upon a car show regardless of size.

TMC (Tucson Medical Center) opened up a new office just down the road.  My wife is a commercial interior designer and does a lot of work through her company for at the TMC facilities.

We were aware of the Grand Opening for this new building but we weren’t there’d be a car show.  Here a few of the cars that showed.

You just could walk past this 1959 GMC 100 Pickup.  So nicely restored.

 

Love the steel painted rims!!!

Lots of Chrome on that front end!!

Still being powered by the straight six! The golf club hood prop is a custom touch!

Sparse interior but 100% effective.

Here is a great looking 1962 Ford pickup  – still sporting its original V8.

Are you kidding me?  Look at this beautiful 66 Malibu!!!

 

327 Engine (245hp) with Factory Air!!!

Back end jacked up just right!!

There is a lot of tire on that back axle!

That’s all original interior folks!!!

 

Here are a few more Chevy’s

Beautiful Super Sport w/vinyl top

Wow…is that a BLOWER on top of that power plant?

And another BLOWER!!

56 Chevy Sporting a huge radiator

1980 El Camino – In great shape.

Beautiful Impala…OH…YES..that a Corvette LS3 engine!!!

If you are going to have only one Mopar show up, you want it to be the GTX!!  Take a look:

 

Plymouth Belvedere GTX.

Yes that is a 426 Hemi….going to find two carbs under that air cleaner.

Clean and original interior.

Here a few more of the cars that showed up.

Thanks to my wonderful wife who didn’t mind an interruption in our errands to spend a few minutes at this show.

Coming up more on #ProjectSportsRoof and #ProjectBeepBeep and keep an eye out for our first Facebook Live event.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

www.agcarrestoration.com

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner – Disc Break Conversion Part 3

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Bill continues with his march toward a complete brake system replacement for #ProjectBeepBeep his 68 Plymouth Road Runner.

 

 

Here is the Bill’s update.

 

 

There is more coming on the #ProjectBeepBeep and #ProjectSportRoof.

Keep an eye out  for dates for the new Average Guys’ Car Restoration Live Event on Face Book AG Car Restoration FB .  We’ll touch on car news, new productions, muscle and collectible car talk.  You’ll get to call in and add to the conversation.

Thanks for check on @ AGCarRestoration.com.

Tim

Introducing #ProjectBeepBeep – Code H 1968 Road Runner

I’d like you to take a look at one of my constant readers classic muscle car. First let me say that Bill has been an a long quest to find a car to replace this car:   Back in the day. It was a long search with lots of phone calls with many …
 

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner – Drum or Disc – The Decision

1968 Ply Road RunnerProject BeepBeep Welcome back to #ProjectBeepBeep.  Bill is looking at the brakes and gets some professional assistance to help him make a crucial decision.  You know if you’ve got a lot of GO…you need a lot STOP. It not an easy decision to alter a car’s originality, especially …
 

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner -Disc Break Conversion Part 2

Thanks for checking back in on #ProjectBeepBeep. Having made the decision to convert the front brakes from shoe to disc Bill gets started with this major project for #ProjectBeepBeep. He went with a kit from Dr. Diff and here’s a brief look at some of the contents.   Nice shiny new rotors!! Spindle …
 

Project BeepBeep – ’68 RoadRunner – Door Panel Tips

Ready for some more #ProjectBeepBeep?  Bill takes you through a few tips for restoring your B-Body door panels. Take a look:     Great stuff!!!  Thanks Bill!!! Have a few Mopar tips – Post them up or drop me a note @ agcarestoration@cox.net and we get you video/tip posted on the site. Thanks for reading Tim                 Introducing …
 

 

 

Project SportsRoof – 73 Mustang Distributor Install

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Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof.  I’m moving ever closer to getting her back on the road.  Popped the distributor in recently.  Take a quick look.

 

Of course the 351C will need to be timed but I think I have this close enough so it will at least start when I’m ready to fire it up.

I have a bit more transmission work to do, I’ll show you the status in the next post.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

projectsportsroof

1973 Mustang – Engine Bay Work

If you look back at #ProjectSportsRoof post you’ll see the condition engine bay.  During those videos I mentioned that I was going to clean it up and hit it with a rattle can.  Again this isn’t going to be a concours restoration, it’s going to look nice and it’s going …

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 …

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner -Disc Break Conversion Part 2

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Thanks for checking back in on #ProjectBeepBeep.

Having made the decision to convert the front brakes from shoe to disc Bill gets started with this major project for #ProjectBeepBeep.

He went with a kit from Dr. Diff and here’s a brief look at some of the contents.

 

Nice shiny new rotors!!

Spindle and shield

Spindle and Shield practice fitting.


 

Here’s a close up of how far off the shield is actually off.

That isn’t going to work as is.

 

There’s a lot more coming up on Project BeepBeep.

Thanks for checking in.

Tim

projectbeepbeep

Introducing #ProjectBeepBeep – Code H 1968 Road Runner

I’d like you to take a look at one of my constant readers classic muscle car. First let me say that Bill has been an a long quest to find a car to replace this car:   Back in the day. It was a long search with lots of phone calls with many …

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner – Drum or Disc – The Decision

1968 Ply Road RunnerProject BeepBeep Welcome back to #ProjectBeepBeep.  Bill is looking at the brakes and gets some professional assistance to help him make a crucial decision.  You know if you’ve got a lot of GO…you need a lot STOP. It not an easy decision to alter a car’s originality, especially …

Project BeepBeep – ’68 RoadRunner – Door Panel Tips

Ready for some more #ProjectBeepBeep?  Bill takes you through a few tips for restoring your B-Body door panels. Take a look:     Great stuff!!!  Thanks Bill!!! Have a few Mopar tips – Post them up or drop me a note @ agcarestoration@cox.net and we get you video/tip posted on the site. Thanks for reading Tim                 Introducing …

Project BeepBeep – A look at the Brakes

Bill takes a look at the heavy-duty brakes that came on the ’68 Road Runner. Bill doesn’t like the stopping power that these give him and even though they are in good shape, he may still upgrade them.     Here are a couple close-ups of those heavy-duty brakes:   That’s some great information on brake …

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Engine Bay Components.

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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 covered under a several layers of primer and paint.  So these items were lightly sanded and then sprayed with primer and black engine paint.

 

Battery Tray – in the process of being sanded with dremel.

The horns were cleaned up with break cleaner then sanded by hand.

A lot of the paint just came off with the cleaning.

Horn in the process of being sanded.. Note the “LO” and other numbers. My goal is to keep them visible.

A coat of  Eastwood Rust Encapsulator  and then a primer coated applied – tried to keep the numbers, etc. visible.

A little more sanding and then some paint.

Vacuum Canister

Battery Tray and Horns

I think they came out O.K.

There is a quick video.

 


Coming up distributor install and transmission update.

Thank for reading.

Tim

1973 Mustang – Engine Bay Work

If you look back at #ProjectSportsRoof post you’ll see the condition engine bay.  During those videos I mentioned that I was going to clean it up and hit it with a rattle can.  Again this isn’t going to be a concours restoration, it’s going to look nice and it’s going …
1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part I

I’ve done all the clean up and all the adjustments necessary to get a good reading on the health of the ’72 351C engine in my 1973 Mustang. The next step is to check the compression. First up was to warm the car a bit and then pull the plugs. Here’s what the …
1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part II

This is the wrap up on the compression testing for the 1973 Mustang w/ a 1972 351 Cleveland power plant. You’ll might have notices that I referred to the remote tester, which is my code for remote starter…yeah…that’s it!!! All of these tests were dry test and I should have done a …

 

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner – Drum or Disc – The Decision

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1968 Ply Road Runner
Project BeepBeep

Welcome back to #ProjectBeepBeep.  Bill is looking at the brakes and gets some professional assistance to help him make a crucial decision.  You know if you’ve got a lot of GO…you need a lot STOP.

It not an easy decision to alter a car’s originality, especially if it’s not 100% required for safety. So, as Bill has, you need to weight the decision carefully and get some expert opinions.

Here is Bill’s latest video.

 


 

I recall when I restored my 70 Dodge Dart – back in 1977, I wasn’t sure what those springs were that were wrapped around the drums – most guys didn’t put them back on.

More great information in this video.  Thanks for sharing it Bill.

Come up next for Project BeepBeep the conversion process gets started.

Thank for check in @ Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing.  You can us on Twitter @AGCarRestore.

Tim

Introducing #ProjectBeepBeep – Code H 1968 Road Runner

I’d like you to take a look at one of my constant readers classic muscle car. First let me say that Bill has been an a long quest to find a car to replace this car:   Back in the day. It was a long search with lots of phone calls with many …

Project BeepBeep – ’68 RoadRunner – Door Panel Tips

Ready for some more #ProjectBeepBeep?  Bill takes you through a few tips for restoring your B-Body door panels. Take a look:     Great stuff!!!  Thanks Bill!!! Have a few Mopar tips – Post them up or drop me a note @ agcarestoration@cox.net and we get you video/tip posted on the site. Thanks for reading Tim                 Introducing …

Project BeepBeep – A look at the Brakes

Bill takes a look at the heavy-duty brakes that came on the ’68 Road Runner. Bill doesn’t like the stopping power that these give him and even though they are in good shape, he may still upgrade them.     Here are a couple close-ups of those heavy-duty brakes:   That’s some great information on brake …

Project BeepBeep – ’68 Road Runner – Door Update and Power Steering

Welcome back to #ProjectBeepBeep.  Bill is going to stuff a lot into this post, including tools, fire suppression, update on his work with the doors and windows on the 1968 Road Runner and the swapping out the  half a century old power steering hose!!!    These pics show the location and how …

Project BeepBeep’s First Car Show!!

Taking your car to its first (for you) car show is nerve-racking and accelerating at the same time. Bill handles #ProjectBeepBeep well.  Here’s the video.     Congrats Bill! I bet there will be a few more in #ProjectBeepBeep’s future!!! Thanks for reading. Tim   Introducing #ProjectBeepBeep – Code H 1968 Road Runner I’d like you to take …