... I am curious as to what your mechanic says about it.
And so am I.
... I am curious as to what your mechanic says about it.
It helps to have a little inspiration....
And so am I.
I drove past the shop not five minutes ago and my car had been moved inside, so he is starting t o work. I'm holding my breath and crossing my fingers. The less it costs to get it running, the more I'll have for some body work and paint.Tell him to get busy. The suspense is killing me.
I drove past the shop not five minutes ago and my car had been moved inside, so he is starting t o work. I'm holding my breath and crossing my fingers. The less it costs to get it running, the more I'll have for some body work and paint.
Quite a difference in driving experience between a 49 chevy and a 61....
Any rust?
Thanks for sharing.
The car has never been parked under cover. There is a little rust here and there, but nothing serious except in the trunk. Apparently, while my sister had the car a leak developed and was never fixed. The bottom of the trunk is almost all gone, so that's the main "body repair" I will have to deal with.
Fortunately, I think they reproduce the entire trunk for that car ...
That would work. I had a similar problem with my '65 Ford about 20 years ago. The trunk had carpet on the floor and a leak that had not been noticed (probably for many, many years) rusted out the trunk floor (but not the carpet). I discovered the problem when I heard something dragging under the car. The snow chains I had in the trunk had fallen through the rusted-out floor and were dragging down the highway behind the car. :eeek:
The bad thing about an old car is it will rust. The good thing about an old car (as opposed to a "new" car), it will last long enough to rust and then can be repaired and last that long again.
Fortunately, I think they reproduce the entire trunk for that car. Sort of like this:
I'm on pins and needles waiting to hear more about the '61 Bel Air. Really enjoying this thread!
I got a call this afternoon from my mechanic. The old '61 Chevy Bel Air is now running and the "motor is purring like a kitten." He said he was surprised at just how good the motor ran. They rebuilt the carburetor and put on a new fuel pump, as well as cleaned out the fuel lines and gas tank. The wheel cylinders, brake lines, etc. all checked out fine. Add to that a good service job, and the car is ready to hit the road.
I'd been holding off getting it tagged and insured till I found out for sure that it would be feasible to get it back in running condition, so now that I know it's ready to drive, I'll take care of all that tomorrow. By Wednesday I should be driving the car.
I want to put a couple hundred miles on it to make sure there aren't any hidden mechanical issues, then take it to the body shop for a good paint job. After that, a little interior work (needs a new headliner for sure), and I should have the '61 back in shape like it was when my aunt had the car.
I'll post pictures of the progress.
Awesome! I can't wait to see her when she's all done. I'm not surprised it still ran well with little work. GM knew how to build them small blocks!
That is great news! I look forward to the updates and pictures.