Posted 2015-11-10 12:05 AM (#494745) Subject: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I finally received this car from Ohio. The chrome is rougher than I had hoped and the top 3 leaf springs are broken in half on both sides! No wonder it is sagging. It is amazing that it is not sitting on the ground. Fortunately, my new parts car has generously offered to donate it's springs & quarter panels to the cause. Overall, it is about what I expected in terms of rust. Once I am finished with the body work, I intend to repaint this car back to the original seacoast aqua and white colors. But until then, it will remain pink and drive-able.
Posted 2015-11-10 8:36 PM (#494849 - in reply to #494805) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Thanks guys, I am enjoying it already!
A big thanks to Miguelonbrad for selling me a set of the missing front bumper guards for this car. It looks so much better to have them back in place on there! I will post a pic as soon as I get the rust-proofing done on the insides.
Posted 2015-11-10 11:53 PM (#494868 - in reply to #494851) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Yeah, I wish I could have found one in S. California like my Windsor parts car. That thing has zero rust. But I haven't seen one in 5 years of looking so you take what you can get. This one has plenty of rust, but fortunately it is all concentrated on the lower outsides (and some on front of fenders) so it is more manageable. At least it won't continue to rust anymore.
Posted 2015-11-11 6:05 AM (#494882 - in reply to #494745) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Posts: 1622 Location: Seville, OH
After i posted that I realized I'm actually doing the same thing! One of my Coronet's spent its entire life in PA, and I am moving it to CA. But like you say, with the hard to find stuff you take them where you find them.
Posted 2015-11-12 7:21 AM (#494968 - in reply to #494745) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Good to see someone saved this car , its a bit sad , but very well trinket optioned . When you buy a 58 Desoto it always come standard with rust, so don't feel special !
I am restoring the same car , good luck with your project , should look great in Sea Coast Aqua , not many in that colour .
Posted 2015-11-13 10:27 AM (#495054 - in reply to #495053) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Posts: 2905 Location: little rock, AR
Rust is like p...y a little dab will do you. I need to rethink that comment There is NO correlation between those two.!!! GREAT find and good luck with the rust and p...y. lol
Posted 2015-11-21 9:41 PM (#495814 - in reply to #495074) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I removed the rear springs today and converted the motor to electronic ignition. The motor runs so much better now, it is really amazing how much of a difference it makes.
The only thing keeping the springs from falling apart and dumping the car on the ground was the clamp holding on the overload spring. Once I removed that, they just fell apart. Amazing. I have been too scared to even drive this car across the street because of this. There is a big difference between doing suspension work on an LA car and a car from Ohio. So much more rust on all the bolts and work required to remove them.
Posted 2015-11-25 3:29 PM (#496177 - in reply to #496176) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I found these numbers on the frame underneath some crumbly undercoating. I assume that 11-11-57B is the build date. Is B-1820308 the part number for the frame?
Edit: The axle isn't currently bolted in place yet so that is why the pinion is pointing South.
Posted 2015-11-25 3:49 PM (#496181 - in reply to #496177) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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The previous owner advertised this car as having a non-original motor from 1962. But the motor is stamped L-360. I thought that "L" signified 1958. So is this possibly the original motor after all?
Posted 2015-11-25 4:03 PM (#496182 - in reply to #496181) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Powerflite - 2015-11-25 3:49 PM
The previous owner advertised this car as having a non-original motor from 1962. But the motor is stamped L-360. I thought that "L" signified 1958. So is this possibly the original motor after all?
L-360 is definitely what a senior 58 Desoto should have from the factory, so it maybe the factory installed engine. If and when you get the build card for the car from Chrysler Historical, it maybe listed on it, some cards had them listed, some didn't.
Posted 2015-11-25 6:39 PM (#496191 - in reply to #494745) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Yes that's the correct 58 Desoto Engine number , and its in the right range for being a Desoto engine . Mine is L-360 22514 , so your car is a bit later one than mine .
Here is a pic of my engine number . I have had 2 x 58 Desoto historical letters sent to me , one had the original engine number and other other didn't . For my current car it did luckily .
Posted 2015-11-25 6:42 PM (#496192 - in reply to #494745) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
Elite Veteran,, James Passed away March 2021, He will be Missed
Posts: 1028 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Yes that's the correct 58 Desoto Engine number , and its in the right range for being a Desoto engine . Mine is L-360 22514 , so your car is a bit later one than mine .
Here is a pic of my engine number . I have had 2 x 58 Desoto historical letters sent to me , one had the original engine number and other other didn't . For my current car it did luckily .
Posted 2015-11-25 6:56 PM (#496196 - in reply to #494745) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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The car looks to be in great condition, especially coming from Ohio. Generally, cars there would last about five years before being totally consumed by rust.
Posted 2015-11-25 8:16 PM (#496200 - in reply to #496196) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Cool, thanks James.
John, is it true that '57 rear springs don't interchange with '58? Or is it that 4dr sedan springs don't interchange with hardtop springs? It is apparent that this rear spring from the '57 Windsor 4dr is about 1" too short to work on the '58 Desoto. When I try and jack it up, it just pushes the shackle upward, into the trunk pan. Looks like I have to get some new springs made up.
Posted 2015-11-26 3:18 PM (#496243 - in reply to #496200) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I did some digging and found that my DeSoto springs had part numbers: 1829872 Right, 1829874 Left.
Those seem to be the correct springs and fit '58-'59 Desoto LS2,3 (Firedome & Fireflite), Chrysler LC2,3, & Imperial.
Then there is part no. 18204389 which fits very late '57 (after W57-9330) to '58 Chrysler and Desoto. But none of the earlier '57 stuff are listed to fit anything later. So it seems that they lengthened the leaf springs (and frame locations!) in late '57. Does that agree with what other people have found?
My Windsor parts car is an early model in the 2000 range and had springs: 1731802 on the right (looks like the correct part), and 1820800 on the left (I can't find any info on this one). But they are definitely from an early '57 car and they definitely are too short for my '58 DeSoto.
Posted 2015-11-29 2:42 PM (#496465 - in reply to #496243) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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While I am waiting for new springs I decided to put in a set of 2.76:1 highway gears and to clean up the rear axle. I think Neal called these the "poor man's overdrive". I do all highway driving so these will make the car cruise in comfort. Is it just me, or is this car sitting too high in the front?
I also installed the front bumper guards. The left had a dent in the front that I popped out and below it, there was a rust through where the plating was the only thing keeping the hole closed. So I welded the hole from the inside to close it and filed it down to smooth it out. Then I sanded that spot with 200 grit wet/dry paper and progressively went to finer grit. Finally, I sprayed the whole thing with clear and rust-proofed the inside. This will look good until I can get around to re-chroming all the bumpers.
Posted 2015-11-29 2:50 PM (#496466 - in reply to #496465) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I need to mount a front license plate on the car in order to pass CA inspection and get this car registered. Can anyone please post a good photo (preferably with a profile view) of the front license plate bracket so that I can make one that is close to the original shape? This is all I have right now, but it is difficult to get a good view of it.
Posted 2015-12-08 1:53 PM (#497304 - in reply to #497281) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Thanks for the nice comment Rosy.
Thanks for the pics Ed! They are actually quite a bit different from each other. The bottom one looks more correct in terms of how it mounts to the bumper. The top picture has a single hole, vertical mount that would need to mate up to 2 horizontal holes in the bumper, putting the plate horizontal. So I don't think it is the right application. But it definitely looks like it is made by chrysler, just for something else.
I will make mine like the bottom one, except without the large round holes at the beginning of the slots. That would be more like what I see of the one on the car that I posted. Your picture gives me all the proportions that I needed. I'm not sure how to make a decent "V" strengthening rib in the 90 degree bend though, so I might have to improvise there. Maybe if I heat it red-hot with a torch and hit it with a chisel it I could make it, but it wouldn't be as well defined.
Posted 2015-12-21 12:57 PM (#498644 - in reply to #497304) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I installed a rear view mirror I purchased on Ebay. The hole in the dash was covered & painted with what I thought was a mirror delete plug. Wrong. The hole was actually filled with bondo and was a real pain-in-the-neck to get back out. A grinding burr on a die grinder got the majority of it out and then I picked at the rest until I was able to pop all of the pieces out of there. I didn't paint the mirror because this head has a pretty big dent in it, and I'm not sure what color it should be. Is it supposed to be gray for this car?
Now for the side mirrors. I haven't decided if I should use the hooded adjustable ones or the standard '57 versions. I assume that the adjustable mirrors were an option in '58, but I don't know how the adjustable cable would have been routed to the door? or dash?
Posted 2015-12-21 9:22 PM (#498702 - in reply to #498644) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
Location: Parts Unknown
Remote mirrors did not appear on 58 models, nor the non-remote, hooded
versions. These are all 59-and-later mirrors. A senior DeSoto from 57 or 58
should have the twin strut manual mirrors with no hood.
Posted 2015-12-21 9:25 PM (#498703 - in reply to #497304) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
Location: Parts Unknown
WTF .... ?
I just realized it looks like 80º and summer in those shots ! I've got a foot of
snow on the ground and it's flat-out miserable to be working outside !!! I am
envious and angry with myself for not getting more done on the shop this year
to have heat and more concrete floor. Dammit, man !
Posted 2015-12-22 2:50 AM (#498718 - in reply to #498703) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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It's not that nice, only around 70 degrees. It actually started to sprinkle once it got dark so it is down to around 55 now. I hope you'll keep us in your prayers for better weather tomorrow.
But I used to live in colder climates and had my share of working on cars outside during the winter so I can feel your pain. I was kicking myself in a like manner for not getting a carport put up before the summer sun hit me full force.
Posted 2015-12-22 11:04 AM (#498736 - in reply to #498718) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
Location: Parts Unknown
I DID replace every inch of plumbing in my house this year, so I guess I will take solace
in knowing my pipes won't freeze anymore and the toilets no longer back up when one takes
a piss. I'll try to remind myself of this when my fingers are numb out in the shop. Some
people are never happy !
Posted 2015-12-22 1:06 PM (#498749 - in reply to #498644) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Powerflite - 2015-12-21 12:57 PM
I installed a rear view mirror I purchased on Ebay. The hole in the dash was covered & painted with what I thought was a mirror delete plug. Wrong. The hole was actually filled with bondo and was a real pain-in-the-neck to get back out. A grinding burr on a die grinder got the majority of it out and then I picked at the rest until I was able to pop all of the pieces out of there. I didn't paint the mirror because this head has a pretty big dent in it, and I'm not sure what color it should be. Is it supposed to be gray for this car?
Now for the side mirrors. I haven't decided if I should use the hooded adjustable ones or the standard '57 versions. I assume that the adjustable mirrors were an option in '58, but I don't know how the adjustable cable would have been routed to the door? or dash?
looks like you have longer imperial wiper arms on your desoto. do they work that way (overlapping)?
Posted 2015-12-22 2:48 PM (#498770 - in reply to #498749) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Yeah, I just noticed that from looking at my picture. I don't know if they work or not because I haven't tried them yet. It hardly ever rains here so I could have gone quite a while before I found out. But I will give them a shot and see how it goes.
I finally got the rear of the car back on the ground after replacing the springs, but I am unable to get any brake fluid out of the rear lines, even while pumping them. I did, however, get quite a lot of fluid draining out of the back of the master cylinder and brake switch so I guess that makes up for it. The brake switch seems stripped because it turns very easily. What is weird is that the pedal feels hard even with these issues. Looks like driving time will have to wait even longer for some brake work.
Posted 2015-12-24 9:13 PM (#498988 - in reply to #498770) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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The driver's door latch had issues. It was very difficult to open the door from the outside and impossible from the inside. Also, the lock was jammed for some reason. So I took it all apart and fixed it today. I ended up having to extend the adjustment slot further down for the outside handle connection because it just didn't have enough travel to fully engage the latch. The inside issue was just a problem with the rod being jammed on the latch. After lubing everything well, putting it all together and re-adjusting, it all works well now. I ruined 1 clip mount on the door panel when I was trying to put it back on. It seems inevitable that I will lose some of them every time I have to mess with them. But overall, I am happy now that I can open & lock my door smoothly
I set a couple of adjustable mirrors on the fenders to see what it looks like and I didn't like it. I thought they made the car look gaudy. I think they looked better on my New Yorker so I'm going to use the regular ones on the Desoto.
Posted 2015-12-25 1:24 AM (#499002 - in reply to #498703) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Doctor DeSoto - 2015-12-21 9:25 PM
WTF .... ?
I just realized it looks like 80º and summer in those shots ! I've got a foot of
snow on the ground and it's flat-out miserable to be working outside !!! I am
envious and angry with myself for not getting more done on the shop this year
to have heat and more concrete floor. Dammit, man !
From what I read, Doc, you have had extreme weather!! CRAZY!
I live less than 100 miles East of Toronto and we haven't had a dozen snow flakes this entire season! Today it was 15 degrees C !!! Normally, I would have burned close to 200 gal. of fuel oil in my shop by now. Doubt that I will have to fill up until late Jan! Happy ---- happy --- laugh --- laugh.
Posted 2015-12-30 12:46 AM (#499447 - in reply to #499002) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Here is a photo of the rear end all cleaned up with 2.76 gears and new springs before I started doing the brake work. To get the newer gears to work in the old axle, I had to cut down the end of the axles by 1/8". After doing that, I was able to get the proper .009" end play. Now I can swap in any newer gear set from my stash, sure grip or open.
I purchased a set of 7 leaf, heavy duty springs from a local company called "Atlas Springs" in LA that generally works on 4x4 trucks. They just took the dimensions from my old ones and made me some without knowing the full specs. Unfortunately, they came out too high sprung so it lifted the car up pretty high. I took out 2 leaves, including #2 (the longest one) and it set about where I wanted it. But after some driving around a bit, it settled down about an inch so I put the smaller leaf back in. Eaton Detroit Springs probably would have given me a better product, but I was trying to avoid paying the $200 shipping charge. But it turned out good in the end and I have a long extra leaf to insert into my '57 Windsor pack that has gone soft.
I finally got the rear brakes working. All I had to do was replace all the lines, wheel cylinders & brake hose. The front lines were protected by a layer of oil from the motor, but the rear lines started falling apart from rust as soon as I touched them. The brakes & springs work well enough now that I have driven the car down to the DMV and got it licensed. It really is a hoot to drive around in this car. Lovin' it. But I still want to replace the master cylinder next....
Posted 2015-12-30 10:48 AM (#499466 - in reply to #498644) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
Location: The Mile High City
Powerflite - 2015-12-21 10:57 AM
I didn't paint the mirror because this head has a pretty big dent in it, and I'm not sure what color it should be. Is it supposed to be gray for this car?
Hi, Nathan:
Nice work and congratulations on getting it licensed and registered! My dash is a pewter color. The dash pad on top is black and the mirror might be black too - I will have to take a closer look. It looks like you have a non-prismatic mirror (no "day night" switch). Everything is looking great!
Posted 2015-12-31 6:19 PM (#499603 - in reply to #499466) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Thanks Mike. I will definitely change the mirror head so it may end up as a day/night version later. But I really needed this one for the '58 mount which is harder to come by.
Posted 2015-12-31 6:29 PM (#499605 - in reply to #499603) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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It looks like I don't have the correct left side quarter panel trim on the car. This one looks to have been cut and placed next to a longer straight section. It was probably originally from a 4dr. So what is the best approach here? Finding an original 2dr one is not very likely. Is it possible to TIG weld them together from the backside and make it look decent?
Also, the front fenders have this thin metal plate underneath the trim. Seems really strange as the rest of the car doesn't have anything there. Any ideas what it is for?
Posted 2016-01-01 6:14 AM (#499629 - in reply to #494745) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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The front fender insert is correct for a '57, and apparently, for a '58. It was just a way for the assembly line to save time. The whole front fender is painted a solid color, and then an insert of the correct color to match the "sweep" on the rest of the car was just inserted in place. When you restore the car, if you want it to be correct, do the same thing (and don't paint that "space", just the insert).
Posted 2016-01-01 12:28 PM (#499649 - in reply to #499637) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Thanks for the input. That makes sense so that they wouldn't have to paint the fenders twice for the 2-tone. Weird that they put that hole on the end but it doesn't look like it inserts into anything.
Posted 2016-01-09 3:30 PM (#500570 - in reply to #499652) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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The car left me stranded about 3 miles from home. The fuel gauge read full, and I was was thinking that it is rare to purchase a car with a full tank of gas, but didn't pay much attention to it. I found out the hard way that the gauge doesn't work. Had to hoof it home and get the gas can. This wasn't the first time an old fuel gauge has fooled me, but I guess I am a little slow to learn.
Today was overcast so I decided to take a picture. I'll take this rusted hulk over a nice newer car anyday
Posted 2016-01-09 4:11 PM (#500573 - in reply to #499629) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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57desoto - 2016-01-01 6:14 AM
The front fender insert is correct for a '57, and apparently, for a '58. It was just a way for the assembly line to save time. The whole front fender is painted a solid color, and then an insert of the correct color to match the "sweep" on the rest of the car was just inserted in place. When you restore the car, if you want it to be correct, do the same thing (and don't paint that "space", just the insert).
I had the front fender inserts installed on my '57 (thanks, Ed), but it took some doing to convince the painter that it was what was DONE back in the day. I could tell that he thought that I had finally succumbed to a bad case of restoration delirium. LOL
Posted 2016-01-11 8:49 PM (#500781 - in reply to #500697) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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That's a good point about the rust Mike. One of mine is rusted through in a couple of spots. I hate to look and see what's behind it. But it is kinda neat to have an original thingy (technical word) in there.
Posted 2016-04-28 12:43 PM (#510422 - in reply to #500812) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I replaced the fuel sender and got the gauge working, and have just been driving the car everywhere - including spring fling. So I haven't done much to it lately. But my wife is getting more and more resistant to riding in it without seat belts, so that will be coming next. I put together this ad from 2 Desoto ads just for fun. I am thinking of maybe making a tee-shirt out of it.
Posted 2016-05-25 9:49 PM (#512425 - in reply to #510422) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I welded seat belt mounts to the floor over the weekend. These nice brackets came with the cheapest garbage nuts that I have ever seen. It was an extra-thin, coarse thread nut with only 3 threads in it and really loose tolerances. The bolts wobble in them a good 20 degrees. Great choice for a seat belt mount! So I cut them off and welded grade 8 fine thread nuts to it instead. Much better. The floors seem mostly good except in a couple spots, but I am going to just put it back together and drive it for a while yet while I work on other projects. I will probably replace the inner rockers on it next, which are totally shot along with the ends of most of the floor braces. Looks like more of my money will be converted to Finnish Euros!
Posted 2016-06-08 4:37 PM (#513609 - in reply to #494745) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I installed speakers in the package shelf using original grilles. Now I just need a working radio to play them! Feels good to drive it again with with the seatbelts installed.
Posted 2016-07-10 3:22 AM (#516331 - in reply to #494745) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I just finished converting the car to Scarebird 12" disc brakes. These brakes work very well and I have been really pleased with them. Now I have to run 15" wheels, but I think it's worth it. I am currently using '55 Desoto hub caps with my wheels, but if I can figure out an easy & cheap way to adapt the original '58 caps to the 15" wheels, I will try to do that.
Posted 2016-08-17 12:56 PM (#519230 - in reply to #516331) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I took the family cabin camping at an extended family reunion in San Diego last week in the DeSoto. My older relatives thanked me for bringing back the memories :). It got quite dusty from the dirt roads but performed very well. I am running 15" blackwall radials with '55 DeSoto hubcaps on it to clear the new disc brakes. I decided that this car was about to get ugly with all the rust repair work needed on it, so I am not going to purchase expensive whitewalls for it until the work is finished.
(In San Diego.jpg)
Attachments ---------------- In San Diego.jpg (206KB - 195 downloads)
Posted 2016-08-17 7:41 PM (#519255 - in reply to #519239) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Thanks Mike! I hope you are enjoying your car even more than I am mine. Here is a video for you from the ride home. I think I need Dennis to do his magic to my radio so it's not so quiet in there
Posted 2016-08-17 9:16 PM (#519262 - in reply to #519255) Subject: RE: 58 Firedome Sportsman
Location: The Mile High City
Good looking kids, good looking driver, good looking car at highway speeds! Totally awesome, Nathan! That's the sweet stuff! Dennis is the man for those radios. You can't go wrong.
Posted 2016-08-29 12:32 PM (#520093 - in reply to #519699) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Thanks John & Mike. Yep, quite a bit of work, but it has been a lot of fun. I have resisted tearing it apart too much so that I can keep it as a driver for as long as possible....
Posted 2016-08-29 2:48 PM (#520106 - in reply to #520101) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I do too Mike. I think they look a lot better than the 15" '56 covers too. I am going to repaint the "DeS" in the center a gold color to make them stand out more. But the original '58's were starting to really grow on me so that if I could get a set of 15" versions, I would probably use them.
Posted 2016-11-01 11:46 PM (#525041 - in reply to #520106) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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I noticed that the fuel mileage was suffering and then I started smelling fuel whenever I stopped. So I pulled over and saw the pump spewing fuel out of the back of the housing. I've never seen a newer style pump fail this way, weird.
I hate fuel problems. I just see money evaporating into the atmosphere and down my lungs, but at least it cleaned off the bottom of my motor.
Posted 2016-11-21 11:28 AM (#526760 - in reply to #494745) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Usually those crimped pumps will spray fuel out the weep hole [vent] and also allow gasoline into the crankcase when the diaphragm fails. I'd pull the oil dipstick to see if your oil smells like gas.
Posted 2016-11-21 11:54 AM (#526761 - in reply to #525041) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Powerflite - 2016-11-01 10:46 PM
I noticed that the fuel mileage was suffering and then I started smelling fuel whenever I stopped. So I pulled over and saw the pump spewing fuel out of the back of the housing. I've never seen a newer style pump fail this way, weird.
I hate fuel problems. I just see money evaporating into the atmosphere and down my lungs, but at least it cleaned off the bottom of my motor. :bleh:
If it makes you feel better, I had the same happen last month to the fuel pump on my '68 383. Smelled fuel then saw a steady stream spraying out from the backside of the pump. Slapped on a new one and it lasted exactly 4 days before leaving me stranded on the road. I have a horrible time with anything fuel related - carbs, pump, hoses, etc are constant R/R items. I blame the crappy Ethanol junk we get in my area.
Posted 2016-11-21 12:17 PM (#526762 - in reply to #494745) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Posts: 2519 Location: central Illinois
That video is cool, shows some crappy modern cars and your kids indifference.
I put a new fuel pump like yours on to fire my new engine, now I'm rebuilding an NOS pump with an ethanol friendly kit from Then and Now. Hoping it works!
Posted 2016-11-24 1:37 AM (#527037 - in reply to #526762) Subject: Re: 58 Firedome Sportsman
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Thanks for the tip John. I checked my oil and fortunately, no fuel smell.
Don, it lasted 4 days? That really stinks. I hope mine has better luck. So far so good. But Greg's plan of rebuilding an older pump to be ethanol ready may be a pretty good idea.
Yeah, Greg, my kids have grown up riding in these old cars since they were toddlers so they really think nothing of it. And unfortunately, they show little interest in them.
58 Firedome Sportsman
I decided to put in a set of 2.76:1 highway gears and to clean up the rear axle. I think Neal called these the "poor man's overdrive". I do all highway driving so these will make the car cruise in comfort. Is it just me, or is this car sitting too high in the front? 
It actually started to sprinkle once it got dark so it is down to around 55 now. I hope you'll keep us in your prayers for better weather tomorrow. 
The front lines were protected by a layer of oil from the motor, but the rear lines started falling apart from rust as soon as I touched them. The brakes & springs work well enough now that I have driven the car down to the DMV and got it licensed. It really is a hoot to drive around in this car. Lovin' it. 
I'll take this rusted hulk over a nice newer car anyday 
