mountainkowboy's Ghia

[mountainkowboy]

Went down this morning and picked it up. All in all its in pretty good shape, there's a little rust in the drivers rear pan area, battery tray, and a little in the lower front. The rockers seem to be in pretty good shape, no bubbles or rot from the outside and straight. The nose show evidence of being tapped and has cracking bondo showing, its pretty straight from the inside. I'm sure there will be more as I get into it. Steering feels tight, rolls without issues, and by first impressions it looks like its never been in a major accident. The interior is trashed and needs a complete redo, he didn't say why he quit driving it, but hinted about electrical problems. He bought it in 2001 in New Mexico and drove it to CA, 3 years on the road and he parked it. He hinted that it has a "big" engine and is kinda squirrely unless the gas tank is full. The missing front blade bumper was inside the car and in good condition, with the over-riders, along with a brand new woodgrain dash panel. There was a bunch of new parts in a box and in the trunk, I saw mirrors, and cables, but will go through it later.....after the storm. I was the first one to contact him and made the deal. He said this morning he had 73 emails about the add..... sometimes I get lucky.....$1000.00, I didn't try to get it cheaper IMO he under sold it.

Loaded and ready to go, I sure am glad for my little portable winch!



Made it home without issue and with a few thumbs up on the way.

[ALYKAT III]

Looks good from here. Think I'd probably call that one a score !

[juki48]

looks good. probably needs an alignment. once you've gone through everything.

[Piledriver]

Re: Squirrely on the highway:
Some folks never noticed the tire pressure sticker on the inside of the glove box door.
Run at 32 PSI front and rear, it will want to swap ends constantly.

Tire shops love to help you like that.

[mountainkowboy]

Unloaded it...........after 10 years of sitting the brakes still work pretty good. Bedded it down for the storm and will start on bringing it back to life most likely on Monday.

[mountainkowboy]

The Ghia is now in the work area for now to assess its overall condition of body and drivetrain. I should have a good idea of what it needs and how it runs by the end of the week.

So here is what I'm starting with from the outside.

If you can see it there is some rust under the battery and the cross panel next to the battery tray. I cant find anything that hints of a hit in the rear. You might be able to see the slight wrinkle in the right front spare tire area, but its very slight, other than that and the little bondo that I can see cracking in the nose there is no other signs of damage or hits. Its missing some of the trim pieces and the ones that go under the 1/4 windows don't look so good.

The drivers side is soaking wet after the storms and farther inspection shows that both the front and rear windows are not fully installed in the bottom drivers corners. The rubber is hard as a rock and will be replaced ASAP. The "B" pillar on the drivers side is broken at the bottom mounting point and the rubber on both pop-outs is almost non existent, as is the rubber for the rest of the car, so it leaks badly in the rain. Good thing I'm in the desert and we don't get much. It came with the front bumper in the trunk, and it appears to be compete and straight, over-riders and everything.

That's it for now, I will get to the interior later.

[mountainkowboy]

ITS ALIVE!!!!

So this morning I went and got some fuel line, adjusted the valves, changed the oil, and attempted to start it. The fuel pump is shot and it would only run till the prime ran out. So I ended up with my 1/2 gallon gravity feed tank, its made from an old snow blower and can be hung almost anywhere.

Little prime and it runs, little smoky at first, WD 40, but that cleared up and it runs pretty good. No odd noises in the engine, no horrible oil leaks, and the gen even charges. The throw out bearing is making noise, but other than that I think I'll pull the tank, clean it, replace the fuel pump, and the rest of the fuel lines and take it for a short drive to asses the transmissions condition. After that the engine comes out for a reseal, pull the trans and clean it up, check the CV's, and replace all the rear suspension bushings and all the soft brake lines. I know why it was parked now.............not much works on the electrical side! No wipers, lights, turn signals, and by looking in the trunk.....someone shouldn't have attempted to "fix" it....LOL! That's OK, cause electrical and I get along REALLY good. I think I can have it fixed in a couple of days unless I need parts.

That all for now!

[mountainkowboy]

Got a real late start today, we closed escrow this morning on our new pad and that took all morning to get done. Nothing big just a little pad for me and the wife while we are takin care of the "Mom's" on there down-hill side of life. Closer to them and to the wife's work.

So anyway, today I pulled the tank out and cleaned it. It had about a 1/2 gallon of turned gas in it....yuk.... so I pulled the fuel outlet of and pulled the screen out. Little water and dawn dish soap with about 2 pounds of nuts and bolts....shake well, rinse and repeat till clean.....which it is now. I did my 10ga solid core wire down the fuel line trick, followed by a solvent soak and a compressed air clean out. The fuel line in the tunnel is clear as a bell now.

While I have the tank out I will replace the blue brake hoses and the master cyl looks brand new.....and wouldn't you know, It was originally red....looks to be Colorado Red, just like the vert, and the 71 parts bug....lol!

[juki48]

my ghia tank had some pin holes in it so I sealed it with a caswell plating 10ga tank seal kit. turned out awesome and has held up for 2 years with 10% ethanol gas. not saying you need to seal your tank but if you do, I recommend the caswell plating kit.

[mountainkowboy]

Thanks juki48, I haven't seen any pinholes or evidence of a leak but will be on the lookout for it. Will be getting all the hoses needed today and will try to get the tank and new fuel pump in and..........maybe a test drive.

[mountainkowboy]

Now I know the ultimate reason for its parking......lol, talk about Mr Toads Wild Ride! The drivers pivot bolt on the rear trailing arm was gone. I found it while replacing the fuel lines. I was removing the tire for better access and it was moving all over the place. I was thinking the rear bearings on the stub till I heard the clunking. Replaced the bolt and washers, then finished the fuel system stuff, new hoses, cleaned tank, added filter up front, new pump, and YAHOOOOO....it moves under its own power, at least in the backyard.

[ALYKAT III]

kamon....yer a kowboy...ya kin ride thet critter !!

[mountainkowboy]

Went for a drive late this afternoon, the 32/36 DF is in bad need of a rebuild. It does 2 things idles and full throttle, other than that its one big flat spot. On the brighter side though the engine seems to be in decent condition with good power, but its not a big motor, feels stock. The brakes work pretty good for not being used for 10 years......lol, and the trans is in good condition with no grinds or noises. There is oil leaks and the bottom of the engine is caked in it, so the engine is getting pulled for a 1776 build and the stocker that I have for the convertible will go in it for now. The Ghia is in much better condition than the convertible, rust wise, so I will get it back on the road and tear into the verts rust issues since I will have a full shop and lifts to play with soon.

[Piledriver]

Congratulations, "keep it moving" is 90+% of the battle.

[juki48]

the carb probably does need a rebuild but also make sure the distributor is advancing correctly. also, if the brakes are hanging up or dragging put new flex lines in. when I got my ghia on the road the fronts would hangk up because the rubber lines had swollen and collapsed. new lines all around and it was good to go.