NA - Classic Cars

Sweet Car Jay!! I like all the improvements!
Here's two of my other classics, besides the '60 Comanche!
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Jay, I am really enjoying this Chieftan thread. I do have a question: corrosion. None of this vintage automobiles had corrosion protection, and the Chieftain is now in a salt air environment. How is the Chief now, and do you plan on protecting it further? If so, how?

But good on you for starting a project like this! -Skip
 
Skip Miller said:
Jay, I am really enjoying this Chieftan thread. I do have a question: corrosion. None of this vintage automobiles had corrosion protection, and the Chieftain is now in a salt air environment. How is the Chief now, and do you plan on protecting it further? If so, how?

But good on you for starting a project like this! -Skip
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Great topic.

The Chieftain arrived almost 100% corrosion free. I have NO idea how this is possible, given its early life in Maryland and later life in North Carolina, but I spent many days beneath this car, working with dental tools to chip off 64 years of accumulated dirt.

A lot of it was like an archaeological dig, with me having no idea what I would find underneath the built-up crud. What I found was amazingly pristine metal, rubber and mechanical parts.

The main frame on the Chief looks like the Brooklyn Bridge, with grossly over engineered I-beams forming a big "X" beneath the car. It, too, was corrosion free, beneath the dirt.

The body panels and chromework had some minor rust that I have treated and painted/polished. The rain gutters on the roof had the worst of it, so I literally filled the gutters with Ospho (something we use by the gallon here on the island), converted the rust back to metal, and repainted them with Rustoleum gloss black.

I meticulously coated the entire underside of the vehicle -- everything -- with POR15, an anti-corrosive coating that I have used with great success on other vehicles. The Chief is as rust free as a new car.

We store it in our airplane hangar, which is 9 miles inland (KTFP). The Chief has only been on the island once, and that was just for a few hours! The environment here is simply too corrosive to keep anything like the Chief outside for long.

Corrosion is a big problem here, but I think I've got it mitigated as much as possible.
 
BTW: Here is a pic of the bottom of the Chief, taken BEFORE I cleaned and corrosion proofed it.

As you can see, it is remarkably pristine.

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Jay Honeck said:
BTW: Here is a pic of the bottom of the Chief, taken BEFORE I cleaned and corrosion proofed it.

As you can see, it is remarkably pristine.

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I love old stuff that just keeps on working. My rotary phones kept working throughout Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, when power was out for weeks (so no cordless phone service) and cell service went dark. My Royal typewriters work fine (and there's a US vet-owned supplier of new red/black ribbon).

Jay, your car is a beauty. I'd love to drive something similar. Just not practical for my setup at the moment. Perhaps someday.

Keep up the good work, and thanks for keeping us posted.
 
Jay, go to a 12 step program immediately. You are sliding down the slippery slope to the dark side of the force. Stop before it is too late. Look at Jay Leno. No help for him now. Flee. Flee for your life.

sez I, sliding one hand along the erotic slope of the rocker covers on the matching part numbers of a 454 big block chevy engine on the stand next to me. The wife says if I start sleeping out here, that's it!
 
Dr. O said:
Jay, go to a 12 step program immediately. You are sliding down the slippery slope to the dark side of the force. Stop before it is too late. Look at Jay Leno. No help for him now. Flee. Flee for your life.

sez I, sliding one hand along the erotic slope of the rocker covers on the matching part numbers of a 454 big block chevy engine on the stand next to me. The wife says if I start sleeping out here, that's it!
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We are in New Braunfels (Gruene, actually) for Mary's birthday. A couple of days of pampering away from the island is just what the doctor ordered.

What's our next stop? A classic car dealership... lol!

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Jay, what is the large basically rectangular gizmo to the left, in the opposing quadrant of the frame's "X"?

-Skip
 
Skip Miller said:
Jay, what is the large basically rectangular gizmo to the left, in the opposing quadrant of the frame's "X"?

-Skip
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Opposite the muffler?

That's part of the heater. Believe it not, this 64 year old car had an under the seat heater!
 
Jay Honeck said:
Opposite the muffler?

That's part of the heater. Believe it not, this 64 year old car had an under the seat heater!
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Interesting, I thought HVAC when I first saw it, but thought surely not, lol. I remember there being a drum brake master cylinder on the frame rail on a similar old Pontiac I've been under and thought maybe that was a crude debris guard for it.


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Mason said:
Jay, you need to bring your Pontiac to the IOLA CAR SHOW.
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I'm not sure about driving a 64 year old antique car (with no air conditioning) 19.5 hours to Wisconsin!

But here are a couple of pictures from our first parade last weekend. It was the "68th Annual Shimporee Festival" parade, and we almost died of heatstroke.

But we had fun, nonetheless. The siren was a "YUGE" hit!

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I am SO glad you got the proper wheels on that car.
 
If you could find a 6 volt version of one of those ice-powered portable AC units that are being marketed to pilots.....
 
Skip Miller said:
If you could find a 6 volt version of one of those ice-powered portable AC units that are being marketed to pilots.....
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lol This is EXACTLY what Mary said I should do!

Before our next parade, I'm gonna build something similar. It's only got to run for a couple of hours, so I will make it battery powered.
 
Classic car update: In a bizarre quirk of fate, Mary WON a tricked out, souped up 1980 Chevy El Camino (buikt by South Texas Performance) this past Sunday -- so we now have two classic cars in the stable.

Here's the amazing story.

Two weeks ago, when we were at the last car show, I came across a wad of cash laying on the ground. There was no wallet, no identifying paperwork -- just $92.

I looked around. No one was nearby.

So, I went up to the announcer's stand, and asked him what to do. We decided to announce that a wad of cash had been found, and if anyone could identify the dollar amount (or something close), it was theirs to have.

No one claimed it. No one even tried to guess the amount!

So, at the end of the car show, I walked over to the Warrior's raffle tent, figuring the best thing to do with it was to give the money to charity. The tickets were $50 apiece, so we put $8 with the $92, and bought two tickets.

They drew Mary's name! Who would EVER believe it?

Now....what the heck am I going to do with a custom hot rod? :)

A study in contrasts... Yes, it's got a roll cage and the same 5 Point harnesses we have in the RV.
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The motor is a tricked out new Chevy LS, kicking our 350+ horsepower.

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flyingron said:
Turn it into another fuel truck?
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I already did that with my F-150. ;)

I'm having my mechanic check the brakes (which, although they are new components, don't stop worth a darn), so that it can stop as fast as it goes. It actually hurts your neck to punch the throttle, if you're not braced for it.

I wish it didn't have that butt-ugly flat black paint, but that's all the rage with the rat rodders now.
 
No heater or A/C in the El Camino...?

Man...I must be getting old if that is the first thing I noticed...

I know..... 265 A/C.....
 
Love Caminos, have had two of them. Sold my 87 awhile back, wish I still had it. I'd definitely give that baby a paint job.
 
comanche pilot said:
Sweet Car Jay!! I like all the improvements!
Here's two of my other classics, besides the '60 Comanche!
4dvn8.jpg

oqxcv9.jpg
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Love the 914! I've had two 2.0-liter cars (both 1974 vintage), but one became a 5.7-liter LS1 conversion (pictured) that I sold to finance the RV-9A build. Short of a Lotus 7 or Ariel Atom, it's hard to find a car that's lighter and more direct.

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Bill Jennings said:
Would make a hell of a crew/guest car, but the liability of giving a high powered vehicle to customers may be a downside.
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lol! Someone would definitely kill themselves.

Remember -- we had to replace the windshield in one of our courtesy cars (a Subaru Outback) TWICE because people kept pulling the hood release at 60 mph. Now, imagine what would happen with a 350 horsepower street rod that can do 0 - 60 in 4 seconds! ;)

Heck, I wouldn't even be able to insure it...
 
Zeldman said:
No heater or A/C in the El Camino...?

Man...I must be getting old if that is the first thing I noticed...

I know..... 265 A/C.....
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Yep, the builders stripped that all out. It's made for the track...and nothing more.

Driving it 1.7 hours back from Victoria, Texas in 95 degree heat was brutal!
 
mscard88 said:
Love Caminos, have had two of them. Sold my 87 awhile back, wish I still had it. I'd definitely give that baby a paint job.
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lol Believe it or not, that IS a new paint job! That's the new "rat rod" look that everyone seems to love.

But I agree, I think it looks like a primered POS, except below the waistline, where the paint is shiny, and they put all the names of the companies that donated parts and time to the building of the car. I'll see if I can post a pic of that...

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Well, I'd say drive the hell out of it for a few months, then sell it. It's an El Camino, so the only people who love them are people who drove (or their parents drove) one growing up. Not much good as a sports car, not much good as a truck. Can you tell I don't like 'em?! Lol. Father in law has 2 of them (67 SS, 70SS) and they are the only vehicles he has that I have no desire to drive.


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SoonerAviator said:
Well, I'd say drive the hell out of it for a few months, then sell it. It's an El Camino, so the only people who love them are people who drove (or their parents drove) one growing up. Not much good as a sports car, not much good as a truck. Can you tell I don't like 'em?! Lol. Father in law has 2 of them (67 SS, 70SS) and they are the only vehicles he has that I have no desire to drive.


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Yeah, it's not exactly my cup of tea, either.

Mary says I need to grow a mullet in order to drive it. I told her she needs a Confederate battle flag, and daisy dukes short shorts if SHE wants to drive it.

My aim, at this point, is to fix it up, sell it, and then buy a nice, clean vintage Corvette.
 
Jay Honeck said:
lol! Someone would definitely kill themselves.

Remember -- we had to replace the windshield in one of our courtesy cars (a Subaru Outback) TWICE because people kept pulling the hood release at 60 mph. .
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?????

What in the Sam Hell do people think they're trying to do when they pull the hood release? Wow, new levels of stupid.
 
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