69 Valiant in progress

[saskvaliant]

Here's what I started with:







It's a 69 Valiant with the original slant six, main areas of concern were the rockers, front floor pans & several holes in the body work. I have no garage so had to rent a place for a couple of weekends, managed to plate all the bodywork, fit the new outer rockers, weld up the floors and get started on the dints & dings. The majority of the car is in pretty good shape with all the dials, lights, wipers etc working.

This is where I had got to 2 weekends ago:








The car has been at my local mechanics since last thursday having the entire fuel system drained & flushed, the engine persuaded back into life with the aid of a reman carb and they have done a general check of the safety. My main purpose is a daily runner, it's not going to be a showcar by any means and I intend to update her as I go along. next step will be finishing the bodywork

 

[EvilScamp]

Welcome to the board! :evil2:
Your Valiant looks to be in decent shape,i love the grilles in the 69 Valiants i just found a decent one to put in my Scamp.

 

[saskvaliant]

Picked up the car from my mechanic tuesday afternoon, leaving my wallet $680cdn lighter. She started right up and it sounded a lot like an old ford zephyr 6 my father had back in Wales in the early 70's. Pleasently suprised by the ride, some odd creaks & rattles but not bad, the suspension coping with Saskatchewan potholes quite well. I complied with my mechanics advice & let her toodle along without revving the whatsits off her.

Things that make you go 'Hmmmm??"

1. Driving along, the steering is, shall we say, a little on the 'loose' side!! Gonna check out the tech forums & see what can be done to tighten it up.

2. No nasty noises from the tranny but there is a distinct 'clunk' when it shifts from 1st to second, oddly enough, 2nd to 3rd is smooth as silk.... go figure. Suspect a tranny service is in my future.

3. Holy snot the brakes are not as good I thought when you want to stop when moving, pulling a little to the left and needing a good heavy foot. Again the mystic gypsy forsees an upgrade to at least a brake booster in the future.

4. After nearly three years as an immigrant in Canada I can now count myself a true Canadian as I used a roll of the 'handymans friend' (duck tape) to fix up the rips in the front seats. I did resist the urge to buy a roll of 'Camo' duck tape though....lol.