Well, that was Clyde the day we brought him home in late 2004. He's had some alterations since then. We bought him from a family who was in the auto body trade, he'd been a project of theirs and cosmtically he was in great shape. The paint's fading a bit now and there's some chips in it, but even so he's ay:still a good "15 footer"
Mechanically he needed some work though. The trans needed to be replaced, the brakes were almost gone, the motor ran a little rough, and the majority of the mechanicals were almost 40 years old and needed attention. I spent most of the first year we owned him taking notes and fixing what absolutely had to be fixed, and just enjoyed him.
The transmission finally gave up 2nd gear, and that precipitated what's become an onoing rolling restoration. We've done all the mechanicals on the car, including replacing the transaxle and the motor, brakes, hard and soft lines, bushings, rear torsions, front suspension drum-to-drum, and tons of "little" things.
Here's a what he looks like today:
He's sporting a 4" narrowed adjustable beam with shock stoewers and drop spindles up front, down 2 outer splines in the rear. Front tires are 195/50's and the rears are 225/60's Shocks are Empi oil filled up front, and KYB gas-a-just's out back Rides a little stiff in town, but it floats like a dream on the freeway. The paint's PPG Sunburst Orange, and the photos do it no justice. I drive this car daily and it literally stops traffic eveywhere I go, even with the paint starting to show it's age.
Motor's a 1641 D/P, 094 dizzy, 34 PICT 3, header and stinger. Car's been converted to 12v, but I haven't gotten around to an alternator conversion yet. When we got, it had a strong 1500 in it that ran a little rough. The carb that was on it had some issues and I never really got it dialed in. I traded it straight across for the 1641 to one of my club mates, as he was looking for a nice 1500 for his '69. Transmission's a Ranco '67 stock rebuild, with short axles. I wanted the '67 trans because it's got the reverse light plumbing for my Original reverse lights (though I can only find one right now)
Interior's almost completely stock. It's got front buckets from an early 90's model Mistubishi Eclipse in it, they came with the car. I've got a set of '66 lowbacks with recliners sitting in the garage, but they're frames only and need to be covered before they go in. I've also got the original Sapphire, though all the wires have been clipped right at the back of the radio so it's nohing more than a dash filler
We also swapped the stock shifter for a Scat Drag Fast short throw and installed a roller pedal. I also installed a pod under the dash with oil pressure and temp gauges. Living in the desert, these are almost mandatory, especially when the asphalt can hit 160F in the summer.Future plans for this car are going to be up to my oldest son. I've got new project in the garage (63 ragtop) and he's getting to the age where he wants to learn how to turn the wrench and maintain his own car, so I cut a deal with him. e learns how to take care of Clyde properly, and he can drive him when he turns 16.
Guess that's about it for now.
