1960 Valiant Restore: advice welcomed.

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Well, they cleaned out the radiator and re-installed it. They said it was the worst they had seen and nearly plugged solid with what I do not know, rust, I imagine. Maybe calcium salts? This leads me to wonder how often the engine ran hot and if this means I'm looking at rebuilding or replacing. Either way, I committed to getting this over the finish line.

Presently getting tires, the old tires were rotted out. The fuel tank got relined and a new fuel sending unit, so now all the gauges work, again. With the tires off, having the brakes investigated. I imagine every rubber bushing or seal is dry-rotted out, too, so I have no idea what will happen when I go down that rabbit hole.

I'm not keen on replacing the brakes with current standard discs and all the rest of it. As long as they are reasonably reliable and the parking brake works if they fail, that should be enough. I'm a safe driver, but Murphy's Law is just around the corner every single day.

This process seems to drag on endlessly, but sooner or later they have to run out of rotted out parts to replace. I hope.

Interior is next on the list. I am not hot to save 50% by taking it over the river to have the upholstery done. I hear horror stories of cars getting packed up with drugs and a homing device for the trip back over the border. I would like to think that never happens, but the reach and control of the Cartels over the local economy cannot be underestimated. There is absolutely no fall back plan once the car is over there.

This new woman President Mexico elected may be automatically assumed to be allowed to have won the election by the Cartels.
 
Some like it hot, some not. So, I pick up Mabelliene in time for the local car show, and she starts overheating. First the temperature gauge stays normal, then it slowly climbs to overheated range, then slowly works its way back to normal and then goes slowly back to overheating.

This seems like a thermostat issue, but they tell me they replaced it when they refurbished the radiator. If not the thermostat, then what??? Is it possible the water jacket, that being the ducts for block coolant, are clogged solid, too???

Needless to say, I didn't attempt to take her to the car show.
 
Gadabout said:
Some like it hot, some not. So, I pick up Mabelliene in time for the local car show, and she starts overheating. First the temperature gauge stays normal, then it slowly climbs to overheated range, then slowly works its way back to normal and then goes slowly back to overheating.

This seems like a thermostat issue, but they tell me they replaced it when they refurbished the radiator. If not the thermostat, then what??? Is it possible the water jacket, that being the ducts for block coolant, are clogged solid, too???

Needless to say, I didn't attempt to take her to the car show.
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I would get an infra red temp gun and shoot it in several places to verify it is over heating. Shoot the thermostat area, both on the cylinder head side and the radiator hose side. Shoot the top hose right where it goes into the top tank. Shoot the bottom hose where it goes into the water pump. This will tell you how good the radiator is working. There should be a vast difference between the two if the radiator is still effective. It's possible you have a bad temp sending unit, but you need to verify the temperature first.
 
Interesting. The radiator was recently restored, and the coolant was replaced. Can the Slant 6 get plugged up internally? The travel of the temp gauge was slow and steady.
 
Gadabout said:
Interesting. The radiator was recently restored, and the coolant was replaced. Can the Slant 6 get plugged up internally? The travel of the temp gauge was slow and steady.
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Any engine can get clogged. Ever take an old engine apart?

I have not used the "receipe" for awhile, where I flushed the whole system with a diluted acid ( I won't mention what so no one will destruct their stuff), then flushed and neutralized it all. Engine blocks and all can get really clogged up.
 
Gadabout said:
Interesting. The radiator was recently restored, and the coolant was replaced. Can the Slant 6 get plugged up internally? The travel of the temp gauge was slow and steady.
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So, I gently nursed her 25 miles back to the shop. Within 15 minutes the temp gauge pegged, but soon after slowly dropped to the intermediate, operable, range. When getting off the highway, the gauge started to peg again, but then reversed course and slowly eased back to the intermediate range.

Mr. Burek took out an infared gun and the temp at the radiator intake was 192F and the block inlet 172F, which corresponded to the gauge reading a bit over dead center, but still in the operating range. His opinion that nothing was wrong. I remain unconvinced. Any ideas?

Another bit of news, the parts for the original radio came in and it runs on 12 volt tubes! I find that wonderful.

And I gotta say, driving this lovely old girl is like riding a magic carpet made of marshmallows, and no, I'm not smoking any jimson weed. Usually, I hate driving, and would be happier on a bus or a train, but this is a totally happier experience.
 
barbee6043 said:
Any engine can get clogged. Ever take an old engine apart?

I have not used the "receipe" for awhile, where I flushed the whole system with a diluted acid ( I won't mention what so no one will destruct their stuff), then flushed and neutralized it all. Engine blocks and all can get really clogged up.
Click to expand...
 
Good to know, makes sense. Jim said they peeked into it and didn't see anything badly amiss when they were replacing the radiator. Upshot is that it showed temp gauge showed her running hot again, same pattern of rising, staying, then falling. Brought it immediately back to the shop and again they put the infrared temp sensor to it, and found all the temperatures normal, so the crusty old temperature sending unit is now suspect.

Now that the transmission (and all other) fluids have been replaced she shifts (3 speed auto) much nicer now without the heavy ka-lunk. Also, if I back off the accelerator just before she shifts, the transmission is almost seamless, without the lurch.

I took it in for a second price quote on the upholstery at Leo's Collision and they also quoted me 6K, but with a catch. They guy fell in love with her at first sight and will do the entire interior, dash, engine, and paint for 6K. Not a bad deal considering both paint and upholstery are shot to Hell and back.

I was surprised to find the old visors, what was left of them, in the trunk. A St. Christopher's medallion was discovered on one, so that's a keeper.

My original thought was a mild Sea Foam Green, which doesn't really match the interior, which is red with white and black accents. I asked Leo what he thought, and he said if it was his he'd go with a bright red. Given that so many accents are red already, that seems like the best idea, so I told him to run with it. He told me he was going to make her look brand new. He really liked the car. And, well, so do I. It would be my sixth Slant Six. I wish I'd kept all of them, except the '67, which looked like a badly made ham sandwich.
 
barbee6043 said:
I vote MAROON!!!!!
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I had never thought of that...that would be mega cool...probably going to go with the suggested bright red because that was an original color, it matches the interior, and it shouts out, "I'M ALIVE," which for all the craziness that I visited on myself, is a statement unto itself.

Also, so many motorists seem to be hooked up on marijuana, or other assorted junk, that it provides a slight increased in visibility, at least during the day. Though maroon would be ultra classy.
 
I have loved maroon since I was a senior in HS and the kid bought a new 66 396 Chevelle!!!!!! Yea, he had a job after school and sat. and paid for it. (Dads didn't buy kids new cars in 1966 where I came from!) I did too. I just bought quarter horses!!!\

I still can't believe back 50 years ago when I got into old cars,. I did not go after a 66 396 Chevelle!!! Loved that maroon sucker!!
 
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