FOR ME, RESURRECTING or restoring any older car is a matter of working from a list. To create that list, you need to take a good hard look at what’s in front of you and assess what needs to be repaired or replaced. If that sounds obvious, why do so many people get it wrong by stripping a car to nothing and then becoming overwhelmed by the process?
After towing this 1980s Falcon home from its 15-year slumber at Flynn’s Wreckers in Cooma NSW, I began my list of parts and processes to get it back on the road again.
Some of the list is blatantly obvious, such as the need for new tyres. But under any car there is a multitude of parts, – especially suspension and brakes – that may or may not need attention, depending on condition and age. The only way to be sure is with a methodical inspection. So as I usually do with a new project car, I give the underside and wheel wells a thorough clean, this time on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
I was pleasantly surprised with how tidy the car was underneath. A clean and degrease of the engine bay revealed just a tiny spec of rust in the plenum area – a notorious Falcon rust trap – with the engine bay components and plastics (such as the cold air intake pipe) were unexpectedly in good condition … Usually they are gone!
There was a dark, damp oil streak along the underside of the car, probably caused by the engine’s rear-main seal leaking. I’ve had success with oil additives in other engines over the years, so hopefully a $15 bottle of goop will fix the leak.
Esta historia es de la edición Issue 484 de Unique Cars.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición Issue 484 de Unique Cars.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Richard Barker 1988 MAZDA 626 TURBO
I acquired my 1988 GD Mazda 626 Turbo hatchback via an advert I saw on Gumtree. negotiated a sale price with the owner over the phone and transferred a deposit, sight unseen!
2005 VAUXHALL MONARO VXR500
BRASH, BLOWN AND BACK ON HOME SOIL, LINDA AND CHRIS DEUTER'S VAUXHALL MONARO VXR500 IS LUTON IN LABEL ONLY
THE NUMBERS GAME!
IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH IT'S A BIT LIKE A TATTSLOTTO DRAW IN ROB'S MIND, WITH ALL THOSE NUMBERS WHIZZING AROUND
GALLIC STAR
FROM BEING A ROPEY RUNNER, TO A WRITE OFF, TO A SHOW WINNER THIS CITROEN HAS HAD A DRAMATIC LIFE -
GADGET GRIPE
TECHNOLOGY CAN HAVE ITS ADVANTAGES IN THIS MODERN WORLD, AS LONG A ITS IN THE RIGHT HANDS
Fantastic FIXED HEAD
THE XK 120 WAS CREATED TO SHOWCASE ITS DOHC INLINE SIX-CYLINDER ENGINE THAT REMAINED IN SERVICE OVER FOUR DECADES
TRIPLE TREAT
Can anyone ever forget the 'man on a mission, Kowalski, in the original classic-car chase movie Vanishing Point as he fled the law in his pearl-white '70 R/T Dodge Challenger, leaving a trail of carnage, wounded cop egos and sadly, in the movie's final scene, an explosive fireball of Mopar car parts (or were they?).
MODERN CLASSICS - M 1000 R
BMW'S M-BRANDED NAKED BIKE SETS A NEW BENCHMARK FOR THE CLASS
MAZDA RX 1970-78
LOOKING MORE like something out of a washing machine, Mazda’s twinchamber rotary power unit, was an engine with performance to dwarf its compact size.
MAINTENANCE & PATIENCE
MAINTAINING OLD CLASSICS IS BOTH PAINSTAKING AND REWARDING. WILL ANYONE BOTHER WITH MORE MODERN MACHINERY?