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This was my second venture into the hotrod arena. A real fun ride! (My wife hated it!) I saw it for sale at the NSRA Nats in Bakersfield, Ca. It was a 10 year old car
& had resided most of that time near the ocean. Needless to say the salt air had taken it's toll & the owner hadn't kept it up. He had the car for eight years and only drove it 2000 miles. He
didn't even know where the oil dipstick was. I found out later he had never changed the oil. It was like molasses. Everyone was walking away from it once they got a closeup. I figured it had potential (and I was
dying to get a Roadster) so I made a lo-ball offer which the owner promptly refused. That was on Friday. Sunday Morning the owner tracked me down at the show & not only accepted my offer but delivered the car
150 miles away.
I spent the next month cleaning, scrubbing, buffing, & polishing as well as replacing the Turbo 400 transmission which it turned out had no second gear. (My fault, I
didn't drive the car before I bought it!) It also turned out the driveshaft was cracked from chrome plating it. (hydrogen embrittlement) so it's a good thing I took it apart. I was pleasantly surprised to
find that underneath all that dirt and grease was a beautiful polished stainless floor pan, as well as the entire undercarriage was chromed.
The paint was faded but after testing some spots I discovered it was red lacquer and it buffed out beautifully. The car was like a diamond in the rough. It just needed a
lot of TLC and some minor repairs. Using some engine flush took care of the molasses and varnish in the crankcase. A new set of Halibrands, bigs & littles and a red dye job on the ugly gray naugahyde interior
and it sparkled like a new car. I added a tripower (I love 'em), and a flame job , along with a new front end look, and this was the result.
Some difference!
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