Re: My (new to me) 1967 American

[farna@xxxxxxx]

Matt, is this going to be a perfectly restored car or more of a driver that is shown some? If driving is more important I'd leave the tranny and cooler alone untiol/unless you have easy access to a later model radiator (Concord radiator fits, may have to change the mounts on the side). I wouldn't worry with the fuel pump at all -- whatever you get is a standard replacement item unless you put an electric on there. Hoses and clamps the same -- mostly show or go? If it really bugs you, like the heater hose, figure out a way to make it look better. Not necessarily stock, just better. Something bugs me about the 3/4" and 5/8" fittings. Maybe the water pump was replaced at some point and the replacement part number has been changed due to consolidation of part numbers. It's actually a big car pump (or at least pump body) but will physically fit the American. I don't think you can get a 3/4" to 5/8" bushing type reducer, not enough room. But you might be able to use a copper fitti!
 ng on the heater core end -- cut the ridge off the heater core and solder the copper fitting on, then push the 3/4" hose up to the firewall and clamp. Then use a 3/4" hose all the way. Will make changing the heater core out harder (would have to desolder the fitting), but you shouldn't have to do that for a while (unless you do something like the above to make it harder to change...;> ). If you have storage space you might want to get the air cooled trans just in case, but I'd keep the later fluid cooled one for reliability/longevitiy's sake. 

On May 22, 2005 Matt Haas wrote:

> I don't know about a vacation. I think it's just a different set of
> concerns and the stuff I'm already worried about with it is probably harder
> to deal with. I'm already worried about stuff like:
> 
> - Should I have the original fuel pump rebuilt or just buy a new one?
> - Should I look for factory looking fuel hose and clamps or should I just
> use typical parts store fare?
> - Should I find an air cooled automatic from a 1967 American (the guy my
> friend bought the car from may still have the original which would be
> ideal), rebuild it, and replace the existing M-35 that came from a 1968, or
> should I just track down the correct 1967 radiator with a transmission
> cooler, or should I just leave it as it is (wrong tranny, original radiator
> which doesn't have a tranny cooler, and an after market tranny cooler)?
> There's nothing wrong with the current transmission (and I'm sure the
> aftermarket cooler is much better than the factory one) but it bugs me a
> little that the wrong one is in it.
> - How much effort do I want to put into finding a better looking heater
> hose (the one from the engine to the heater core)? What I have works but it
> detracts from the otherwise clean look under hood. The original heater
> hoses were about to burst a few years ago and when I helped my friend who
> owned it at the time change them out, we found the heater core has a 5/8"
> fitting and the engine has a 3/4" fitting. We ended up using a copper
> reducer fitting to splice the two sizes together. It works but neither one
> of us really liked how it looks.
> - When the car gets repainted (the paint is in really bad shape on the roof
> and thin on the hood), is the body shop going to be able to make the over
> spray look right on the door jambs and rockers? I have no doubt that
> getting over spray in those areas isn't going to be a problem but I don't
> want it to be too perfect.
> 
> Then there's the normal stuff that still needs done: dash pad, one of the
> arm rests is cracked, some of the door panels are warped (luckily, the
> vinyl's perfect), there's a cigarette burn in the driver's seat, carpet
> needs replaced, wind lace and weatherstripping have had it, and it needs a
> little rust repair.
> 
> I can hardly wait to get started!
> 
> Matt


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