73 Swinger Project
08-11-2011, 09:53 PM
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73 Swinger Project
I'm brand new to this forum, looked like the place to go what with most of my google searches landing here! I traded a rifle for my buddies Dart a couple years ago, It had been parked in a field a few years before that and the mice had gotten to a lot of the wiring and interior. It's a 73 Swinger with a 318 and a Carter 2 barrel that was rebuilt by Holly (with a strange Model # that I can't for the life of me find a rebuild kit for).
After I towed it home i put new plug wires in and rewired the ignition system under the hood, but couldn't get the damn thing started for the life of me so I ended up blowing it off for the next two years. I took another crack at It about a month ago since my daily driver has been slowly dying and Isn't worth repairing. I guess all i needed was some proper motivation!
So I open the hood and a rabbit scrambles out of its hiding spot on the wheel well next to my battery, and of course it has chewed all of my rewiring on the electronic ignition down the nub of the plug, so I have to make even more butt splices. To make a long story short I read up enough to fix my low voltage to the coil problem and had a buddy come over and tell me my distributer was out 90 degree's so we put it back in TDC at #1 and it fired up like a champ on 5 year old gasoline.
Ive got a ton of questions but I'll try not to post them all at once since this post is already starting to ramble. I have some High hopes for this car, I plan on keeping it as a daily driver for years to come - at least for 3 anyway, as the lady at the DMV says thats when permanent tags start to pay for themselves.
Eventually I want to drop a new Edelbrock manifold and 4barrel onto it, with an exhaust to do it justice, but I only have $800 to work with at the moment and want to make it roadworthy before i soup it up. As it drives right now the front tires rub if i take a corner too hard, I looked behind the wheel and it looks like its sitting only half an inch above some rubber stops, does that gap mean that It's not rusted and broke off and can still be cranked up?
Back to my budget the front wheels are a little rotten and very slightly splayed so it looks like i'm gonna need new front tires and an alignment...but I got to thinking before I have it aligned is there any common problems with the front end I should be addressing first? Up until now Ive just been a parts changer, not much of a troubleshooter so I'm not sure what problems to look for in an old car...it drives like a boat, buddy of mine says the steering column is slightly slanted to the side but he must have x-ray vision I can't see it.
Every light on it works perfectly. The only major problems with it are
1. Car dies if i accelerate too fast from a dead stop, or gun it at any time
2. Breaks are not great
3. Front tires suck, one has a busted stud
3. Whole car sits very low, front tires rub
4. Vinyl top has gone to hell over the last year
5. Couple of threatening looking rust spots
I was planning on getting the Vinyl top redone ASAP to avoid rust, not sure what to do about the existing rust spots above the wheel well and near the hood since I won't have enough money for a paint job any time soon, is there something I should put on those spots to stop any further rusting? I figure the top and new front tires may run about $500 so i will have $300 left to work with. Any Ideas where i should spend it?
Here are some pics!
After I towed it home i put new plug wires in and rewired the ignition system under the hood, but couldn't get the damn thing started for the life of me so I ended up blowing it off for the next two years. I took another crack at It about a month ago since my daily driver has been slowly dying and Isn't worth repairing. I guess all i needed was some proper motivation!
So I open the hood and a rabbit scrambles out of its hiding spot on the wheel well next to my battery, and of course it has chewed all of my rewiring on the electronic ignition down the nub of the plug, so I have to make even more butt splices. To make a long story short I read up enough to fix my low voltage to the coil problem and had a buddy come over and tell me my distributer was out 90 degree's so we put it back in TDC at #1 and it fired up like a champ on 5 year old gasoline.
Ive got a ton of questions but I'll try not to post them all at once since this post is already starting to ramble. I have some High hopes for this car, I plan on keeping it as a daily driver for years to come - at least for 3 anyway, as the lady at the DMV says thats when permanent tags start to pay for themselves.
Eventually I want to drop a new Edelbrock manifold and 4barrel onto it, with an exhaust to do it justice, but I only have $800 to work with at the moment and want to make it roadworthy before i soup it up. As it drives right now the front tires rub if i take a corner too hard, I looked behind the wheel and it looks like its sitting only half an inch above some rubber stops, does that gap mean that It's not rusted and broke off and can still be cranked up?
Back to my budget the front wheels are a little rotten and very slightly splayed so it looks like i'm gonna need new front tires and an alignment...but I got to thinking before I have it aligned is there any common problems with the front end I should be addressing first? Up until now Ive just been a parts changer, not much of a troubleshooter so I'm not sure what problems to look for in an old car...it drives like a boat, buddy of mine says the steering column is slightly slanted to the side but he must have x-ray vision I can't see it.
Every light on it works perfectly. The only major problems with it are
1. Car dies if i accelerate too fast from a dead stop, or gun it at any time
2. Breaks are not great
3. Front tires suck, one has a busted stud
3. Whole car sits very low, front tires rub
4. Vinyl top has gone to hell over the last year
5. Couple of threatening looking rust spots
I was planning on getting the Vinyl top redone ASAP to avoid rust, not sure what to do about the existing rust spots above the wheel well and near the hood since I won't have enough money for a paint job any time soon, is there something I should put on those spots to stop any further rusting? I figure the top and new front tires may run about $500 so i will have $300 left to work with. Any Ideas where i should spend it?
Here are some pics!
08-11-2011, 11:49 PM
#2
If money is tight Why not just remove the vinyl top and paint it. Be careful of the chrome trim..A few cans of spray paint. Rear tires are probably shot too... Then rebuild the brakes.. Change all the fluids / hoses and belts....
08-11-2011, 11:58 PM
#3
Top alone will probably cost $500 parts & labor
http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/f...ain2.asp?cat=1
top only $200
http://www.yearone.com/serverfiles/f...ain2.asp?cat=1
top only $200
Last edited by TVLynn; 08-12-2011 at 12:15 AM.
08-12-2011, 10:48 AM
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I was gonna call around town today to see if i could get someone to do it for under $300, if it comes to it i will try to do it myself, http://www.dantesparts.com/vinyltop.html has one listed for $150. I love how sharp that vinyl makes it look, don't think I could bring myself to paint it.
A buddy of mine was saying to take the A/C off for more hp, but it doesn't look like the belts would clear the front of the motor...would I just need to swing the alternator all the way down or do I need to fit some kind of pulley in place of the A/C to get clearance? I don't plan on ever revamping the A/C in it, but i'm not sure If i should bother pulling the condensor.
A buddy of mine was saying to take the A/C off for more hp, but it doesn't look like the belts would clear the front of the motor...would I just need to swing the alternator all the way down or do I need to fit some kind of pulley in place of the A/C to get clearance? I don't plan on ever revamping the A/C in it, but i'm not sure If i should bother pulling the condensor.
08-12-2011, 11:09 PM
#5
I personally would NOT try to install a vinyl top. myself. To do a good job you need a glue pot, contact cement and sprayer and sever helpers to stretch it. Removal of the air requires different
pulleys and adjustment brackets. It can be done by installing an idler pulley in place of the compressor- still need the compressor brackets
pulleys and adjustment brackets. It can be done by installing an idler pulley in place of the compressor- still need the compressor brackets
Last edited by TVLynn; 08-12-2011 at 11:12 PM.
08-13-2011, 12:31 AM
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I pulled the passenger side front wheel off today to change out the broken stud and found gouges in the rotor almost a quarter inch deep, plus the side facing out was only about half as wide as the inside part of the rotor, like it had been turned down quite a bit before it was regouged, looks like the last guy to see it just said screw it and put new break pads on...they are equally gouged but not rubbing metal, I guess that would be most of my lackluster breaking problem. I went looking online found OEM grade rotors all around $100 each...should I get new wheel bearings or just wait till these start squeaking?
Going to sell the washer and dryer for rotor money!
Going to sell the washer and dryer for rotor money!
08-13-2011, 04:04 AM
#7
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Install new bearings and races while you're putting the new rotors on. Check the calipers to make sure that they are not frozen and the slides to make sure that the caliper can slide freely.
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