Re: IML: The Slow Rebirth of My 1960 Imperial

[Tim Durrer <tdkd99@xxxxxxxxx>]

This reminds me of when I got my 73 Imperial last
Summer. The car had not been started since 1995. The
gentlemen I bought it from had it sitting in his
garage in Jacksonville Florida. A friend of mine and I
rented a car and drove down to to pick the car up.
After a new battery and 5 gallons of fresh fuel in the
tank it started right up! Lots of lifter noise and the
engine missed the first few minutes. We then drove the
car non stop back to Virginia. The only problem I had
was one tire lost its tread due to dry rot. My wife
still thinks I was crazy to drive it that far without
getting it checked out first but, that was all part of
the adventure!

Tim Durrer

73 LeBaron Blue Sky

--- randalpark@xxxxxxx wrote:

> Rattle some more, we love it! Especially the part
> about memory 
> restoration! I have had similar experiences, but so
> far no improvement 
> has carried over to my current thoughts and recent
> memories. Sometimes 
> those old memories come back when I am posting to
> the IML. That is why 
> I tend to use a lot of words like may, might, and
> maybe ;>.
> 
> The external gas can is a trick that I have used
> over and over to 
> bypass the original tank on cars that have been
> sitting. If I get 
> around to it, this summer I will have to do that
> with my '60 LeBaron in 
> order to move it to a spot where I can change the
> tank. I have rinsed 
> it and flushed it out, only to have the tank and
> fuel spoil again, much 
> more rapidly than before. I think once a tank has
> been damaged that 
> way, the only alternative may be to have it coated
> inside, or replace 
> it. I chose the replacement route, since either way,
> it needs to come 
> off. NOT looking forward to that job. The carburetor
> also needs work 
>  from having bad gas sit in it. I'll keep the old
> tank and coat it if it 
> can be saved. All of my cars have GREAT brakes, I am
> happy to say after 
> refurbishing each of them one at a time during
> 2002-2003 with all new 
> parts, and using DOT 5. In the past, if they sat
> more than a year or 
> two, the brakes were the first to go. There is a lot
> of moisture in the 
> air in this part of the country. Condensation in the
> lines is a real 
> problem for cars that tend to sit around a lot.
> 
> Thanks for the great story!
> 
> Paul W.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jdlpdx@xxxxxxxxxxx
> To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:22 AM
> Subject: IML: The Slow Rebirth of My 1960 Imperial
> 
> Hi everyone -
> 
> Thought I'd bring the group up to date on my
> Imperial's transition from 
> barn fixture to living breathing (and God knows gas
> drinking) 
> automobile.
> A week ago Sunday I went out to the "Rust Farm" to
> bring my baby home.  
> Gary was all ready with the tilt bed and I got busy
> getting it running 
> to drive it to position to be loaded.  I came armed
> with a new Group 27 
> battery, coil, new plug and coil wires and various
> fluids.  I rigged a 
> new fuel supply system by stealing my lawnmower's 2
> gallon gas can, 4 
> feet of rubber fuel line and a new clamp; running
> the hose from the 
> can's place between the grille and radiator support
> to the fuel pump.  
> I pulled the plugs, hooked up the battery and ran
> the starter for about 
> 2 minutes sporatically to get the oil flowing in the
> engine.  I then 
> reinstalled the plugs, swapped out the coil (the old
> one was leaking 
> oil out of the tower) and plug wires crossed my
> fingers, gave her a 
> dose of Starting Fluid and turned the key.  Nothing.
>  We tried it again 
> and on the third attempt - my creature came alive! 
> The lifters took a 
> few minutes to quiet down, but there was no blue
> smoke out the pipes.  
> It wasn't long before the auto choke kicked down and
> she settled down 
> to a nice quiet, even idle.  Even the guages were
> working.  The 
> transmission was a little more reluctant but after a
> while even that 
> got with the program.  I then got behind the wheel
> and drove her over 
> to the tilt bed shut her off and loaded her up and
> we headed for 
> Portland with lots of stares and finger pointing
> along the way. About 
> 45 minutes later (Gary doesn't mess around behind
> the wheel - it 
> usually take me an hour to make the trip) we pulled
> into the alley 
> beside my house, unloaded her and I started her up
> and gingerly backed 
> her into the garage.  I say gingerly as one system
> that definately did 
> NOT come back to life were the brakes.  Needless to
> say the push 
> buttons on the transmission got quite a workout.
> Last Thursday, armed with a new master brake
> cylinder I attempted to 
> correct the braking issue.  I replaced the master
> cylinder and 
> attempted to bleed the brakes but all in all I
> pretty much wasted my 
> time.  The lines are hopelessly clogged and corroded
> as I pretty much 
> though they would be.  My next main project is to
> replace all the lines 
> and wheel cylinders when the weather gets a little
> warmer (I'ts 
> supposed to snow tonight here).
> On a lark, I decided to see what the engine was up
> to so I reconnected 
> the battery, gave the gas pedal three slow trips to
> the floor turned 
> the key..... and she fired right up - with silent
> lifters and no smoke. 
>   The transmission was back to normal too - at least
> as far as response 
> goes.  Naturally with no brakes I haven't had the
> guts to go around the 
> block to see how the upshifts are doing, but I'm
> hopefull.
> Later this week I'll replace all the fluids and drop
> the gas tank which 
> thanks to this group I now know how to drain.
> Just before today's sunset, I gave her a much
> deserved and much needed 
> bath and I must say she cleaned up pretty good.
> At some point in the future I'll send this story
> along with some of the 
> many pictures I taken of this project along to the
> website, but for 
> now, I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing.
> One interesting sidelight out of working on this car
> again  is pain, or 
> should I say the lack of it and memory.  I have been
> all over and under 
> this car in the past two weeks doing things that
> when working on my 
> other cars and with my arthritic back usually lays
> me up at least a 
> coupe of days.  Also I spent a lot of time working
> on this car when I 
> was in my early twenties and a lot of time has
> passed since then.  
> Interestingly enough when working on her this past
> week, my poor old 
> brain was able to recall what size sockets and
> wrenches went with what 
> bolt and nut.  I couldn't tell you what I had for
> breakfast yesterday, 
> but I remembered the bolt at the top of the master
> cylinder cover took 
> a 7/16th box.  Now I know we tend to make a lot of
> claims for our cars 
> in this group and I'm not quite ready to say that
> with this Imperial 
> I've found the Fountain of Youth,  but when I'm
> working on her I'm 
> thinking better and in much less pain than I
> experience doing simular 
> things on other projects.
> But enough of that.  More to come when time, money
> and progress 
> permitts.
> 
> Thanks for letting me rattle on
> 
> Jim L. in OR
>
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