kishy's 1985 Country Squire
Opting to branch-out from my other thread, My Rides, since this one just seems like it needs a bit more room.
During vacation on Pelee Island, Ontario in 2014 (possibly earlier, but I have a photo from then at least) I noticed a Panther wagon with Ohio plates sitting in a driveway looking quite neglected. I have yearly "checked in" on this car since first seeing it and the owners have never been around. Finally, on vacation this year, they were there so I could ask them about it.
It's a 1985 Country Squire, 302, with EEC-IV CFI and a 'Y' (3.08 open) axle. The 5-digit odometer indicates 48k miles; the Ohio title from 2005 indicates it said 42k then with "odometer discrepancy" indicated as well.
Supposedly, it was brought up from South Carolina, and shortly after was sold to the Ohio owners I mentioned above. They bought it and used it as an "island car" at this vacation spot, notably for launching a boat. It has been exposed to winters, but presumably only since 2005, and there was no salt exposure any of the time it spent on Pelee Island. The flip side of its history, though, is that it was also never oil sprayed. Accordingly, it has rust levels typical of a car that was new in 2005, never oil sprayed, and was winter driven. Not ideal, but maybe not scrap yet. Maybe.
Anyway, I spoke with the couple that owned it and the basic story is that it developed some electrical gremlins and was parked. I was also told it has a knock, but the distributor is turned around at an odd angle and I'm thinking there's a chance that may have been a timing related knock. If the actual mileage is 148k, I wouldn't be surprised if it jumped time. If it's actually 48k, the problem may be less straightforward (more early EEC-IV wiring gremlins, which it almost certainly has anyway). The expense involved in hiring a tow truck to visit the island was prohibitive and they had another vehicle so the wagon just sat. Annoyingly, with the parking brake set. They told me if I wanted it, I could have it (free), which prompted me creating a thread here asking about technique to extract the wagon since I'd never done such a thing before. My confidence in the procedure was good, so I told them to sign the title and a bill of sale for me so I could pick the car up, legally import it to Canada (though it was physically in Canada, still titled in Ohio), and figure out a plan for it.
The strategy was to get it home then evaluate if it's worth putting back on the road, because scrapping it could more or less break even if I pulled some parts from it in the process.
As discussed in that other thread, I rented a Uhaul F-250 (2016, 6.2L, 4x4) and their Auto Transport car trailer, due to required mileage got it at the commercial daily rate, and packed up a bunch of gear to ensure I'd be prepared. I left on a 10AM ferry from Leamington, ON to Pelee Island, arrived 11:30, popped in for some baked goods at the bakery/deli then headed for the wagon and got to work. It was a very hot, humid day with an occasion but inconsistent breeze and it wasn't particularly fun fighting physics in those conditions. Around 4PM, the car was on the trailer and truck was packed up again, so I headed for the Canada Border Services Agency office to get my Vehicle Import Form 1 completed. Due to age, one of the usual fees ($300!) didn't apply, so it should have been free (only import duty based on the sale amount, until they asked if it had A/C...then a nonsense $100 tariff was applied. No refrigerant in system and no belt on compressor, should have just said no, it wouldn't have really been a lie. Drove a lap of the island introducing my buddy to the place, grabbed dinner, then queued up for the 8PM ferry home. 9:30 back in Leamington and hit the highway back to Windsor. The drive was uneventful and the truck and trailer drove like a dream. Dropped buddy off and drove home to unload the wagon and get the truck and trailer back to Uhaul.
The import paperwork is in a processing stage that I'm waiting to hear back about. In the meantime, here are a bunch of photos taken at three major time periods: when I first checked it out in May of this year, the recovery process on June 17, and starting to clean out the garbage and inspect its condition on June 18. For organization's sake I'll put each in a new reply.
During vacation on Pelee Island, Ontario in 2014 (possibly earlier, but I have a photo from then at least) I noticed a Panther wagon with Ohio plates sitting in a driveway looking quite neglected. I have yearly "checked in" on this car since first seeing it and the owners have never been around. Finally, on vacation this year, they were there so I could ask them about it.
It's a 1985 Country Squire, 302, with EEC-IV CFI and a 'Y' (3.08 open) axle. The 5-digit odometer indicates 48k miles; the Ohio title from 2005 indicates it said 42k then with "odometer discrepancy" indicated as well.
Supposedly, it was brought up from South Carolina, and shortly after was sold to the Ohio owners I mentioned above. They bought it and used it as an "island car" at this vacation spot, notably for launching a boat. It has been exposed to winters, but presumably only since 2005, and there was no salt exposure any of the time it spent on Pelee Island. The flip side of its history, though, is that it was also never oil sprayed. Accordingly, it has rust levels typical of a car that was new in 2005, never oil sprayed, and was winter driven. Not ideal, but maybe not scrap yet. Maybe.
Anyway, I spoke with the couple that owned it and the basic story is that it developed some electrical gremlins and was parked. I was also told it has a knock, but the distributor is turned around at an odd angle and I'm thinking there's a chance that may have been a timing related knock. If the actual mileage is 148k, I wouldn't be surprised if it jumped time. If it's actually 48k, the problem may be less straightforward (more early EEC-IV wiring gremlins, which it almost certainly has anyway). The expense involved in hiring a tow truck to visit the island was prohibitive and they had another vehicle so the wagon just sat. Annoyingly, with the parking brake set. They told me if I wanted it, I could have it (free), which prompted me creating a thread here asking about technique to extract the wagon since I'd never done such a thing before. My confidence in the procedure was good, so I told them to sign the title and a bill of sale for me so I could pick the car up, legally import it to Canada (though it was physically in Canada, still titled in Ohio), and figure out a plan for it.
The strategy was to get it home then evaluate if it's worth putting back on the road, because scrapping it could more or less break even if I pulled some parts from it in the process.
As discussed in that other thread, I rented a Uhaul F-250 (2016, 6.2L, 4x4) and their Auto Transport car trailer, due to required mileage got it at the commercial daily rate, and packed up a bunch of gear to ensure I'd be prepared. I left on a 10AM ferry from Leamington, ON to Pelee Island, arrived 11:30, popped in for some baked goods at the bakery/deli then headed for the wagon and got to work. It was a very hot, humid day with an occasion but inconsistent breeze and it wasn't particularly fun fighting physics in those conditions. Around 4PM, the car was on the trailer and truck was packed up again, so I headed for the Canada Border Services Agency office to get my Vehicle Import Form 1 completed. Due to age, one of the usual fees ($300!) didn't apply, so it should have been free (only import duty based on the sale amount, until they asked if it had A/C...then a nonsense $100 tariff was applied. No refrigerant in system and no belt on compressor, should have just said no, it wouldn't have really been a lie. Drove a lap of the island introducing my buddy to the place, grabbed dinner, then queued up for the 8PM ferry home. 9:30 back in Leamington and hit the highway back to Windsor. The drive was uneventful and the truck and trailer drove like a dream. Dropped buddy off and drove home to unload the wagon and get the truck and trailer back to Uhaul.
The import paperwork is in a processing stage that I'm waiting to hear back about. In the meantime, here are a bunch of photos taken at three major time periods: when I first checked it out in May of this year, the recovery process on June 17, and starting to clean out the garbage and inspect its condition on June 18. For organization's sake I'll put each in a new reply.
Although I took Ashley for a ride in it and now she wants it 
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