John S's Journal

Got the car off the jackstands yesterday and back on all 4 tires. Aired up the tires and torqued all of the lug nuts and after starting and warming it up, it was too tempting not to take it for a brief spin. The last test drive was cut short by a lack of fuel in the tank and a balky water pump so I was anxious to actually get it out of 2nd gear and see how it responded to all of the suspension upgrades. I think that I had probably only put a mile on this car from the initial drive back in November of 2020 after getting it starting, running, and stopping to the recent drive after all of the work was finally completed. Didn’t have a lot of time and the rain was on the way so it wasn’t a long drive by any means, plus the fact that it isn’t insured so it was a cautious trip in the hills above our house where traffic was non-existent, but it ran great, handled well, and put a big freakin’ smile on my face. And I think I probably quadrupled the amount of miles that it had traveled under its own power since it was parked in a garage in 1986.

Still have a list of things that I want/need to do yet, most importantly is to get a Hagerty policy for it. That will probably be next week. Hoping for some sunshine soon as it needs a bath and a polish and I need to get the front valance finished up and back on the car. Trying to see about locating a better front bumper unless I can massage the one that was on the car back to a better state of appearance.

I figured that I had nothing to lose by trying to straighten the front bumper after posting the above earlier today so I got the rubber mallet and various bits of wood and went to work. Most of the damage was confined to the areas where the overriders meet the bumper blade. Also a couple of dings where the license plate brackets attach to the bumper. I was surprised how well the rubber mallet and wood block method worked. I think once I clean the chrome, it will be ok. Not concours but neither is the body and paint.