Welcome Hugh..to the fun of "investing" money into the love of fixing up an
classic..Bill & Elaine---------- Original Message
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From: PNKMoore@xxxxxxx
Reply-To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 11:01:14 EDT
>Hugh:
>
>Thank you so much for your note and kind welcome into the Club.
>
>My valve covers say "Imperial," so I have another reason to be psyched about
>this car today!. Thanks for that tip in identifying the 392 hemi. I mentioned
>that the car arrived on Monday, and the last two mornings before work I've
>stood outside it a few minutes and just looked at it, walking around, to muse
>about what has to happen next, etc. It's been very enjoyable. I'm in it for
>under $1000 at this point, and for all of the fun I've had it's been entirely
>worth it.
>
>You talked about leather seats and/or vinyl in identifying the model. From
>my reading, I see where only the Crowns came with leather as a seating option.
>Mine is not a Crown, which I knew, though I was surprised to see that the
>"Imperial" on the dashboard was capped with a little gold crown even though the
>exterial trim was not. My car has vinyl seats which are filthy, but the back
>seat is otherwise pristine and the front has bad wear only on the driver's
>side.
> I may be able to save most of the upholstry as a result. The rest of the
>interior is in ghastly condition, right down to needing new floor pans all
>around. (I pressed on the accelerator and it dropped into the floor!) The dash
>items, nonetheless, look intact and functional. My worst interior trouble, I
>can
>see, will be the doors. One of the pot-metal door handles is broken, and only
>the driver's door is opening at this point. I haven't figured out how to
>operate the locks yet.
>
>I still don't know how to tell if it's a Southampton or a base model,
>particularly if you could get a Southampton with only front air. It has every
>other
>option except, sadly, no Auto Pilot. I would have enjoyed having that and may
>retro that in at some point in the future.
>
>My first order of business is this Friday (I have Good Friday off), when I'll
>have the time to wash the 1/4 inch of grime off the body and pressure wash
>the motor and trunk. Several generations of squirrels resided on the intake
>manifold and in the trunk. From what I can see, however they did very little
>damage to the engine. There was obviously a pecan tree nearby, because the
>engine and trunk compartment are full of pecans. Then I'll pull the plugs,
>pour some Marvel Mystery fluid into each chamber and shake the block and let is
>sit a day or so. I'll also pull the valve covers and check for rust and lube
>up the rockers, etc., as well. I don't know how much MMF to pour into the
>chambers and I don't know if I'm supposed to try to suck it out before
>attempting
>a start, etc. I'll wing it unless you have any knowledge that you'd care to
>share about that.
>
>Oil: After searching awhile I found the dipstick and it came out with
>clean-looking oil. Of course, I'm wondering if that means that the water is on
>the
>bottom of the pan, and 27 idle years has allowed the goo that may have been
>suspended in the oil to settle and leave the dipstick looking like the oil was
>changed last week. Regardless, I'll drain the crankcase and see what I find.
>
>Water: The radiator is dry and looks like it may have been replaced because
>is looks new. I'll pull it and see what's at the bottom of the tank before I
>fill it.
>
>Gas tank: I'm ignoring that issue for the moment. I'll probably have to pull
>it, of course, but I sure don't want to. I hate fooling with gas tanks, fuel
>lines, and the like.
>
>Key: The key is at large, so I'll have to bypass the ingnition for the time
>being, but after taking care of the stuff I've described above, I'm going to
>try and introduce a little fuel into the carb to see if I can get the hemi to
>fire. I'm hoping, at only 45,780 original miles, that I've got a strong motor.
>Wish me luck!
>
>Thanks again Hugh. I'll keep you posted of my progress.
>
>Patrick Moore
>'58 4-door Hardtop.
>Southeast Louisiana
>
>
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