[AMC-List] First drive

[jackbarncord@xxxxxxx]

Gentlemen,
 
On Thursday of this past week I waved goodbye as my wife drove off to Chicago.  She met up with her mom & number one daughter and caught a plane to a wedding in Arizona.  She won't be back until Wednesday.  I started working feverishly on all the chores that needed to be done like mowing the grass and so on.  By Sunday morning I was free to work on any project I wanted so off I went to the hawgshed.
 
In the hawgshed, up on jack stands since late last summer, was my 1970 Hornet two door.  I bought this car for my fiftieth birthday and it hadn?t seen the road for more than a jaunt up and down the quarter mile driveway.  The car has 13,965 actual, verifiable, miles showing on the odometer.  The last time this car was driven was in 1994 and it had all the problems sitting still causes.  The brakes were stuck, the engine wouldn?t run (due more to the effort of the guy I bought it from than anything) the starter was a fresh rebuilt that was installed with the brush cover bolt pinch between the starter and the engine so it was pretty well torn up.  I straightened out the starter problem, tuned up the engine, put the spark plug wires on the cap in the right rotation & order(that always helps), replaced the fuel filter, the PO had changed the oil & filter and the little 232 popped right off.  It runs so smooth that the original plan of swapping it out for a 401 has been scrapped.
 
I put up on stands last year and pulled the wheels off to find the brakes like new, but the wheel cylinders stuck and full of a mud like substance.  I ran right out and bought all the parts needed to bring things to a smooth stop and then everything stopped.  Winter in the hawgshed is brutal so she got covered up until last Sunday.
 
With the brakes overhauled, bled as best as one guy can and a set of radials stolen from another project car she finally got back on all four.  After sitting all winter and spring just a few stabs of the foot feed and she came right to life.  Tess, my Brittany, jumped in and we drove out of the hawgshed, into the yard and the shade of a row of pine trees where she got a bath and wax.
 
The interior of this car, dare I say, is as prefect as the day it rolled off the line.  The dash is soft and supple, the seats are encased in those clear bubble wrap covers of the 70?s and the door panels have just a smug of dirt from some careless mechanic on the white arm rests(probably me).
 
After the bath and wax job I thought it only proper to take a run to town.  I planned the run out with the first stop being the gas station to fill her up, the second stop was AutoZone for a spare fuel filter, then a ride around town to see if the filter would plug from all those years of storage and finally if she continued to run okay we?d go for a run on the highway.  All went well so we headed for a small burg farther out in the sticks, about a forty-six mile round trip, to visit with some close friends.  About three miles from Loran, the destination, I noted a wisp of something from under the corner of the hood.  I scanned the gage and idiot lights and found the temp gage a bit elevated, but still within reason.  I crested the last hill at 30 mph and started down the other side.  At the bottom I was topping 60 mph with no throttle, gee this car rolls easy.  Around the corner and up into the driveway we went and came to a stop in front of the garage with steam now quite !
 noticea
ble from the edges of the hood.  I shut her off, hopped out and opened the hood to find the radiator cap hanging on by one cleat.  A closer inspection found that the neck of the radiator was missing part of the flared area that the cap grips.  I suppose this can be repaired by replacing the neck its got to be a standard thing.  So after filling the radiator I screwed the cap on to a point half way between the open position and first notch.  I visited with my friends for an hour and headed home.
 
I can?t believe the power steering in this car, there is little to no road feel.  It?s like there nothing on the other end at all.  Oh, the air conditioning doesn?t cool, but that?s not really a surprise I would have been shocked if it had.  I have read some chatter on converting to the, what is it, R134A, but I am easily confused and will need to reread the ins and outs.
 
All things considered I had a great first drive and this morning she is in my parking space here at work.  I should have ridden my motorcycle, cheaper on gas, but I couldn?t resist.
 
Thanks for listening and happy Rambling.
 
Jack Barncord
70 Hornet
71 Hornet
70 Javelin
And looking for a 72 sportabout

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