1960 Valiant Restore: advice welcomed.

junkyardhero said
i'd mexican blanket the interior, rub out the paint and then turn my focus and efforts to the drivetrain and chassis.

upgrade to disc brakes up front, upgrade the rear axle, new uprated springs and shocks, larger more modern wheels and tires. dial in the slant and trans, make a game plan from there if i want to keep it push button, or upgrade the trans to something a little more modern with a passing gear. decide if i want to upgrade the motor or maybe build something a little hotter on the side for install later.

either way i'd leave the cosmetics to last (besides collecting trim and bits along the way that i may need) and the interior would get running repairs to make it liveable. i would 100% update the electrical for safety and better function.

i always find that if a car is running and driving i'm more keen to get specific projects done and get the car back together. i don't know how many people i've seen just start taking stuff apart and get so far down the rabbit hole they can't see the way back up. then 5, 6 years later the car is still at the body shop and all the rest is in the garage half taken apart unfinished because there's no motivation to get a motor done when the car is still in primer.

make it run. make it drive. make it safe. update smartly so that it can operate in modern traffic on modern roads. make it so that it's enjoyable to drive and then do so. worry about making it pretty later.

Very useful overview. I have encountered the rabbit hole phenomenon a little while back on a '64 Ranchero. No matter how far down the hole I went, there was yet another problem. After the first 7K to replace and repair mechanicals from brake lines to ball joints, they failed to install a new thermostat when the radiator was replaced, leading to a fast overheat and a warped head. That's just the tip of the iceberg. I bailed out after 10K.

In retrospect, another 10K I might have actually gotten there.

Fortunately for the Valiant, all of the trim and knobs and stuff is there. Fortunately, it fires up and runs smoothly and steers straight. Doesn't blow smoke. Unfortunately, some of the widgets that are broken are going to be very tough to diagnose and obtain, the speedometer being the first in line. One member indicated that the problem would like lie in the speedometer gear bushing gone bad. So, there's that.

Also on my mind is transmission lurch. It can be softened by letting of the accelerator at the top of the rpm, but it is worrisome.

My Achille's Heel in all this, is that I have had a long, and successful, history with Slant 6's. Now I'm trying to recapture that relationship, hope I don't incinerate myself in the process. Again.

Thanks again for your insight.

ranchero 1.jpg