New and going to ask for opinion right off the bat - To rebuild or not to rebuild

Hello,

I met one of your members through another car board a few months ago and he periodically sends me links to things that he's posted here so I finally decided to join.

Anyway, that aside, I have a 1968 Ranchero 500 with a 279 or 289 (one is Ford and one is Chevy and I can never keep them straight) that has been in my family since day one. Grandpa bought it new and when he passed away, Mom inherited it and now that she has passed on, it has become mine. I am in the process of starting the restoration on it. It is being stripped down completely and sent for a dip to remove all the rust this month.

The car has been in relatively damp storage for about 5 years now. The interior is a shambles from warping and mildew - especially the door panels and steering wheel. The body is not too bad and the bumpers are solid. It's the floorboards and the area under the bed behind the seat that are completely gone. There are a few other little things that need to be dealt with - some missing chrome, hairline cracks in the lenses etc. I debated not undertaking this project at first as it is requiring so much work but it's such a sentimental thing that here I am working toward getting it done eventually.

So here's my question that I asked on my other board and now that I have, I got such a mixed review of what to do so I'm looking for a little more input if anyone has the time to offer their thoughts before I make a concrete decision. What I'm wondering is what you would do here...the car has been in storage for some time but has been started periodically over the years. The car always starts and prior to being in storage has always run flawlessly. Would you rebuild the engine and tranny now or just do a tune up, clean it up and leave it alone for the time being? Some have said do it and others have said not to fix what ain't broken. Anyone else car to throw their two cents in? Oh yes, the odometer has already flipped once and is either 30,000 or 300,000 miles back into it. Sorry I can't for the life of me remember which of those numbers it is.

I've attached some urls to my pics...however, I don't know if I'm linking them right. They are on the supermotors.org site and therefore, may not be accessable without registration. I've got them on my hard drive just not linked anywhere but that site. Sorry. Should anyone really want to see a few, I can always email them to you direct if this doesn't work.

The first link was kind of my log of what needed to be done and the second was the car being pulled out of storage and heading on the tow truck to the shop.

http://www.supermotors.org/registry/...=18641#content

http://www.supermotors.org/registry/...=18640#content

Oh yeah, I forgot to intro me...LOL! Kristen, 28, married for 8 years though some days not happily - LOL, mom of three boys, and a mortician. Though I'm on an extended mat leave right now and only work on-call evenings and weekends. Live in British Columbia, Canada with them all.

Okay...I'm winding up this long winded initial post now.

Thanks for having me,
Kristen

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: KristensRanchero on 7/9/04 9:09am ]</font>

First off welcome to the board[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img]As for the car the first thing you need to do is decide what you want.Do you want a concours show car?A car that goes down the road and thats about it?Or maybe a driving restoration meaning you drive it as works in progress.If the motor/trans is in good running order you could leave that for now and start work on the body and collecting parts here and there.One thing for sure on any car that old and that sat that long all the rubber and seals will need replacing.If the car is in decent shape to start with and it's what you want go for it.One piece of advice if I may,have a plan before you do anything.Most everybody here has bought a part for their car and later find they should have bought something different or a better one.I have bought way to many things twice because I bought this one when I should have bought that one.


I took an second look at the car and from what I see and if it were me I would disassemble the whole car fix and paint it then reassemble it.Looking thru the dirt and rot the car looks to be in fair shape and could make a cool ride.
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The Ride

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: FoMoCo on 7/9/04 9:35am ]</font>

I'm sorry...I wasn't thinking. The car is mainly for just the occasional drive...I can't fit three carseats in it. LOL! It's not going to be a show car and never will be. I think I'd go nuts if someone climbed under it or in it to take a peek. I just want it back to the simple way it came from the factory. I like it that way. I don't have need to fancy it up, modify it to make it bigger, better and stronger - know what I mean?

Thanks for taking the time to drop me a line. You are along the sentiment of what I have...just leave it be. While it's being stripped down, we are making a list of what it needs so that we can go from there. Invaluable advice. Thanks for the compliment on the car. My links worked - whoo-hoo!

Kristen [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

HEY, you stalking me [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] welcome to the forum, glad you decided to join. You know my take on the motor/tranny, so I wont mention it here. Good luck on the ranch.


Rick
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Yeah, that's it...I'm stalking you. Nothing better to do with my time. LOL!


Thanks Rick - I do know your thoughts on it. Darn near started a war on the other forum, eh? They are...ummm...passionate, aren't they? We are now at a 50/50 split with nothing that jumps out at me as a definite yes or no. Arrrgggghhhhhh!

Tune it up and leave it alone. The 429 in my torino has less than 1000 miles on it since built back in 85, and it always runs fine when its brought out. Save the money for the rest of the car, and if the engine ever cuts out, you can decided then how the car project is moving along and whether stock will cut it anymore [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
[addsig]

well, the cars been sitting awhile, not driven, so she should get it refreshened at the least (new rings, seals, gaskets, oil pump and shaft, steel timing chain, etc.) and the tranny serviced. Thats my take, [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
Yeah, the other forum, some guys are quite anal. Life goes on [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] Thats what make a forum so great, so many different responces and angles.

Rick
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Luv70sFords - Thanks! You have now tipped the scales towards leave it as is for the time being.

I know that's what I want to do but with little experience in this sort of thing, I doubt my decision, however, as I'm sure you know, when you ask a question you get many different answers and no one agrees 100% so I'm still left to weed through and hope for the best.

But alas, it's one of those things that if it needs to be done, then it needs to be done and I'm not worried about the expense either.

Thanks for your time!
Kristen [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Rick,

I would think that it does need the basics done...it's just an all out rebuild that makes me hesitate strictly because it's been a good running car up until it went into storage.

The different responses and angles are great except that when no two people give even something similar, I'm still left hanging.

Later,
Kristen [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

getting a motor gone over by someone you trust doesnt mean a full rebuild. I know a few guys at the mainland that can do it. Just rings, hone the cylinders (if thats all it takes), pump and shaft, new chain,etc.) will make it last another 100,000 miles. No need for a full out rebuild unless its FUBAR'd

Rick
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