Old Man's Hotrod P72

[Louis]

Well I guess at my age I qualify for the 'old man' title although I'm not that old.....anywho, I'm the very happy new owner of cp1987's '87 P72 four-door. Michael was great to work with and made for a very pleasant transaction.

I plan to document here the renovations I have planned for the car along with progress photos. Bear with me on the photos....I have to do some re-configuring on my ancient computer in order to upload/download pics, but will get it figured out.

I intend to preserve the car in its entirety, in other words no plans whatsoever to strip it for parts, make it a demo car etc. I'll address the rust issues, preserve as much of the original paint as possible and then repaint the repaired areas using Interlux Perfection Jet Black marine paint. By now everyone is familiar with the plethora of $50 paint job how-tos on the web, all involving mind numbing and laborious wet-sanding between coats. I have been researching the roll and tip technique on several boating/yachting boards and they all appear to point to the Perfection 2-part paint as being the way to go. Two coats is the norm and when thinned properly with the Interlux thinner, the paint apparently lays down like glass and then self-levels with an almost 'shrink-wrap' result.

I'm picking up a junkyard right front fender for it from a junkyard later this week and that will be perfect to practice on.

More to follow!

[jaywish]

Nice fleet you got there.

[johnunit]

Welcome! glad to see that car has a new, enthusiastic home. The video of it hooning through a Chicago tunnel were a real influence in me getting my vic.


Please keep us informed on the progress on it, and the rest of your fleet of boats.

[1987cp]

It's "1987cp", but never mind.

This would be the tunnel vid referred to. This was from when it had the old 351W with open air cleaner and 2.25" Flowmasters (no exhaust crossover). I tossed in the roller 5.0L after the 351 developed a tick and I balked at the procedure for breaking in new non-roller cam bits. (no vids with the current exhaust and cold air intake, sorry guys)

[packman]

Aaaawwwwwww yeah! *strokes lower lip hair*


Packman

[gabegt90]

glad to see the pos lives on

[Louis]

It's "1987cp", but never mind.

Whoops!

Thanks for the nice comments guys, hope I can have some pictures up for you soon.

[79lincolnlover]

Good luck with your new project

[87gtVIC]

Cool! Definitely looking forward to the rebirth of that car.

[MrMarquis]

I'm interested to see how the roller paint job goes. Will be watching, good luck with it!

[torquelover]

Good to see the car found another good home. Have fun with it!

[Louis]

I want to thank everyone again for their nice comments. Just thought I'd provide a brief update as I have had some time recently to hang out with the car which is currently sitting in storage. Getting close to finally posting some pics but have been experiencing "technical difficulties" with my older camera.

First off, I really like the car....its the feeling I get with a new car when I know that the purchase was a good idea and the car somehow talks to me and says it feels good at its new home. That may sound nuts but that's OK as most people would think that I am nuts for having now 5 vehicles of which I seldom drive any of them being that I am retired while also paranoid of being hit by a texting driver. I don't worry much about being hit by drunk drivers as I practically never drive at night.

I really don't have any radical plans for it, just rust and paint renovation, a few add-ons here and there and overall just keeping its current vibe which strikes me as being both semi-rugged and somewhat sinister. I'm big on originality so I will repair rust as opposed to replacing fenders. Eventually I will have rust issues on both this car and my Towncar handled by a professional who can weld in spot patches as well as replace body mounts. In the meantime, I will try my hand at Eastwood Rust Converter and Evercoat Tiger Hair for the rust repair.

I need to replace the rear brake line and I'll remove the A/C components, change out the fluids and detail the interior. I'm fairly confident that I can restore the paint on the decklid, roof, sail panels and the body above the door handles with Meguiar's Pro-line products. I did a couple test areas with pretty decent results. For the hood and the body below the door handles I will attempt the roll and tip method I described earlier using Perfection Jet Black paint once the rust repair is complete. It may not match exactly and it certainly won't look like a pro paint job but that will be in keeping with its semi-rugged Hot Rod vibe.

Now for some eventual add-ons that realistically will not occur for awhile due to finances and the fact that I move about as fast as the guys on the show 'Graveyard Carz' ....

Speedway lowering springs
Flowmaster 40s with dumps (although I may purchase 2.5in tailpipes from 1987cp)
Powdercoat the police steelies in Gloss Black (will look perfect with polished chrome center caps)
Powdercoat the super cool dual snorkel Chrysler air cleaner designed by 1987cp in Semi-Gloss Black
Cobra valve covers
Detail/clean/touch-up the engine compartment without going overboard, i.e. keeping the nicks/scratches from its past but adding a glow with Meguiars Hyperdressing
Tint for the rear window only, will hide some of the interior sun fading in the back but still show off the red interior

These things will come in time as my budget allows but that's the fun of it as a hobby car, not having to rush anything. Plus I promised my Lincoln that I would get her up and running first after a 2 year hibernation. (And why I joined GMN in the first place, seeking help on a starting issue and I end up buying another car ).

More details and photos coming soon!

[1987cp]

Glad you like the air cleaner! Somewhere I should still have the bit I trimmed off the bottom to make it fit between the hood and the Offy intake-cum-spacer. The original idea was to section it and weld the factory lip back on so it sat more nicely on the carb neck, but with time running short as ever, motivation lagged once I found I could close the hood. Just remember to get filters for a Challenger 340-2V, not a 4V, or you might get as annoyed as I did at people having made three million sizes of circular air filters.

Oh, and

j/k.

[Louis]

Well, just wanted to give a quick update on the old gal as she gets ready for winter hibernation.

Haven't really touched it as I was determined to complete other projects first. Finally got my Buick up to show car status and rebuilt the lift mechanism on my old camper ("71 Apache Ramada). I'm no longer a spring chicken and one thing about growing old, projects requiring physical labor seem to take alot longer to complete.

Got the oil changed with a new filter and changed out the anti-freeze with a gallon of fresh just to tide it over the winter. Michael had included an aluminum radiator that I will install next year with a complete cooling system flush. Took it out for a 1 mile quickie (no plate, no insurance) and it runs strong. So since early August, in my ownership it has clocked 1.5 miles.

It is now sitting in outdoor storage along with my Lincoln, both encapsulated utilizing my "Harbor Freight Cheap Tarpaulin Method" (don't laugh, it works and provides for cheap storage).

Picked up a few trim items for it over the last few months.....a nice nos 'Ford' emblem for the dash, new Dorman gearshift lever cap and dome light lens. chrome pedal trim from 87gtVIC, Walmart Clutter Catcher that I will paint red to match the interior and an LTD emblem from the sail panel of a '68 that I will afix to the lid of the Clutter Catcher. Also picked up a refurbished all chrome AM radio for a '60 Impala that I may try to mount in the ashtray area. Seems to fit perfect, angled up and I like the sound of a tube radio. Plus it adds to the subtle use of chrome that is growing. I'll play that thru door speakers and I have a pair of Bose Bookshelf Speakers that I bought back in the early '80s...in my other cars I plug it into an inverter and play my ipod and can easily transfer that into this car.

That's where she sits, can't wait to get started on it in earnest come Spring.

[1987cp]

AM tube unit, eh? Going to be about the opposite of a rumored previous life where it had a modern CD headunit and a thumpa-thumpa amp in the trunk! (I pried up a board that had been glued to the shelf to secure the amp above the fuel tank area - as a safer option than running mounting screws into the fuel tank.)

1.5 miles is more than it'd been driven in my possession since Jan. '12 - including the trip from my house to its storage location!