'62 Signet comin' my way

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WhyteRoots

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Having lurked around here for not very long, I already have a reason to start my own thread. Around New Year's, I caught an ad in Kijiji for a rough looking '62 Valiant Signet, free. Aw, what the heck, I called and kinda fell in love with the car and its story. Original owner, now 75, started to restore it then realized he is too darned old.

Well, I was the second caller and the car was promised to the other guy. Okay, no problem, just give me a call if he doesn't take it. I got that call today.

Oh boy. It's up on blocks and the front wheels and tires are missing. He sold the engine because he wanted to replace it with a 225 (ooo, reckless speed demon). Bright side, the bucket seat interior is complete and it has a fresh rebuilt TorqueFlite and a shop manual. Yes, the body is rusty but, north of the 49th, they all are. Learning to weld is on my bucket list.

Barring blizzards, next weekend I'm going to get my next project. Pictures at 11.
 
Awe its just napping you can wake it up lol. Wish we had some of that "snow" here its just plain cold
 
Congratulations! Looking forward to a resto thread :blob: maybe you can wake
that great 62 up and take the blanket of snow off :D


Believe it or not! This is a 85 ramcharger :D
 

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I was getting set to go to Regina to claim my prize this weekend but then the weather turned freakin' cold. Wind chill of minus 35 overnight. I'm planning to take my station wagon down there and load up as many of the loose parts as possible, including the rebuilt transmission. The owner, Ken, has already cleared the snow from around the car and is getting excited about my coming to save this poor brave Valiant.

It needs a pair of front wheels and tires mounted and the hood either removed or secured, before it can be loaded on a carrier and brought home. There is no sane reason to make these preparations when it's so danged cold. The forecast is for close to freezing within ten days (which is considered working weather around here) and I can just as well go then. I've confirmed with Ken and Mrs. Ken that I'm coming and the car is very patient.
 
Good luck and may the force be with you :)
I just love these cars, I have 3 objekts myself, on from each year 60,61,62 :)¨
I just dont have a signet, they didn´t import them to Sweden, they did prefer the Lancer insted :(
I will run the 62 in this summer and then go for the 61.
 
Were the Valiants and Darts exported to Sweden with left-hand or right-hand drive? I read recently that the whole country switched from driving on the left side to the right side of the road on a single day, in about 1969.
 
WhyteRoots said:
Were the Valiants and Darts exported to Sweden with left-hand or right-hand drive? I read recently that the whole country switched from driving on the left side to the right side of the road on a single day, in about 1969.
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The Swedes had a good reason for switching to drive on the "normal" side of the road. You see, they were driving on the left side but with left hand drive cars. That's not very practical but then they never were too bright :D (I'm allowed to say that as I'm from the country next door).

To answer your question, they sold a huge number of Valiants in Sweden in the 60's and they were all left hand drive vehicles.
 
hehehe.
No you see, they didn´t switching the whole country at the same time. They start with the Heavy trucks and then the day after the cars... B)
 
It was an economic stimulus plan. Instead of Cash For Clunkers, it was Crush The Clunkers. New Volvo and Saab sales skyrocketed later that year. Among the survivors, anyway. >:^]
 
Finally, this is the weekend. Next Saturday, I'm driving 8 hours to take possession of a car that just might be completely worthless. The weather forecast is not bad, so I've just gotta take this as a mid-winter holiday, minus the coloured drinks with little umbrellas in 'em. Wish me luck and not too much rust.
 
WhyteRoots said:
Wish me luck and not too much rust.
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Not bad. Not bad at all. This little toad is just in way more pieces than I'd understood. Except for the doors, glass, and rear axle, everything was taken off the car and stashed in boxes. Talk about yer jigsaw puzzle...
 

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Looks to be real solid. And since it's taken apart, that is half the job, now you ONLY have to put it back together! Great project, thanks for saving another Valiant!
 
Looks like a pretty good solid project car.

Keep us posted, maybe start a members restorations post ?
 
Sure, when I really get going on this project, I'll start a restoration thread. Meanwhile, I'll be asking a bunch of Early A-Body question here, like "Who's a good source for steering and suspension parts for these things?"

The car has about 140,000 gravel miles on it and the previous owner took the whole front end off. It's likely to need ball joints, control arm bushings, tie rod ends, etc. He managed to get the torsion bars out, too, without losing any limbs. I have the shop manual, so must start reading up on these jobs.
 
I love road toads! You're gonna have a nice project there. Have fun with it, keep us updated and good luck with your great score!
 
Kanter Auto Products in Boonton, NJ is an excellent source for all suspension parts - the early A-bodies included. The strut rod bushing they offer is the original style, which works fine just a trick to install.

Good luck on the project.
 
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