MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
60 Hours that is,
On Tuesday 11/10 at 9:30 I see the post for the convertible and make the call, literally.
The car was still available and was highway worthy so I contact a friend who had a friend that was interested in buying a 69 CHP car, by 2:30 we had confirmation the car was sold. I call DVAP back and let them know I was interested and would be driving in from LA tomorrow, I was told the owner would not be there but would be on Thursday, not an issue as we wouldn't be there till just after closing.
That night I prep the car, clean out my stuff and collect stuff that needed to go with the car and stuff we agreed to include in the deal.
5:30 in the morning I head out and head south, 8:00 I was in LA at a gas station he owns,
9:45 cash in hand we hit the road to Phoenix
6:00 we get to Phoenix after a few stop for gas and food, too late to see that car we drove by to see if it was cleaned up or even where we could see it, didn't see it.
11/12 8:30 we go to DVAP and the car is in one of the bays to be cleaned, apparently they needed to fix something on the exhaust also.
Right away we started looking the car over and it quickly became apparent the car needed work. After a cursory walk-around we got and fired it up, it fired right up and sounded healthy (bad exhaust leak halfway back on the head pipe). We tried the windows, they went down sort of, tried the top, nothing, hear the pump, just no movement. After a little work we got the trunk open with the key (then put WD-40 in the latch and cylinder), lots of spare parts. Checked the quarters and the pan and they looked good so we had them put it on the lift so we could look at the bottom.
There was surface rust but no cancer. We checked the engine/trans numbers and they were correct. The exhaust was a mess, lots of over the counter parts all cobbled together and it was hanging low, the other side had a split in the pipe that was a 1/4 inch away from failing. We did our best to tie them both up with bailing wire. there was a c-clamp on the starter that we need to look into.
The grill, side trim and wheel covers were all polished and no paint on them.
After we were done looking at it they washed it and we went and talked with someone inside about price, he made some calls and said the owner would be there in a little while.
We took the car around the block and tested the brakes, steering etc. and everything felt fine. we get back and go to lunch, after lunch we get back and still no owner but we had an agreed upon price so we move on closing the deal.
While out we got some transmission fluid and some exhaust tape in an attempt to patch the leak.
1:15 we headed out and topped off the tank, good thing, dead gas gauge. Initially when I got to about 75 the car would shimmy so I backed it down and held it there. After about 30 miles I stopped noticing it so I just went with the flow sometimes passing other at 80.
About an hour out I stopped at a rest stop to give my friend a report and check on speeds. When we went to leave it didn't want to start, so we tried to jump the starter relay, nothing. Then we looked at the fusible link and noticed a connector that was about to fall off, it did. I had some test leads in my tool bag so I tried on and still nothing (my Harbor Freight voltage meter was dead). So back to the starter relay, jumped it with a screwdriver and it fired right up, quickly I noticed that the test lead was HOT, not heavy enough, shut it off.
We took the connector and started trying to get it opened up and remove the wires. After a little time and the help of a trucker we got it to where we could get the wire in it, my friend had a crimp tool in his trunk so we got it fixed and tapped up. Still needed to jump the relay, what are the odds of having those both fail at the same time.
...
On Tuesday 11/10 at 9:30 I see the post for the convertible and make the call, literally.
The car was still available and was highway worthy so I contact a friend who had a friend that was interested in buying a 69 CHP car, by 2:30 we had confirmation the car was sold. I call DVAP back and let them know I was interested and would be driving in from LA tomorrow, I was told the owner would not be there but would be on Thursday, not an issue as we wouldn't be there till just after closing.
That night I prep the car, clean out my stuff and collect stuff that needed to go with the car and stuff we agreed to include in the deal.
5:30 in the morning I head out and head south, 8:00 I was in LA at a gas station he owns,
9:45 cash in hand we hit the road to Phoenix
6:00 we get to Phoenix after a few stop for gas and food, too late to see that car we drove by to see if it was cleaned up or even where we could see it, didn't see it.
11/12 8:30 we go to DVAP and the car is in one of the bays to be cleaned, apparently they needed to fix something on the exhaust also.
Right away we started looking the car over and it quickly became apparent the car needed work. After a cursory walk-around we got and fired it up, it fired right up and sounded healthy (bad exhaust leak halfway back on the head pipe). We tried the windows, they went down sort of, tried the top, nothing, hear the pump, just no movement. After a little work we got the trunk open with the key (then put WD-40 in the latch and cylinder), lots of spare parts. Checked the quarters and the pan and they looked good so we had them put it on the lift so we could look at the bottom.
There was surface rust but no cancer. We checked the engine/trans numbers and they were correct. The exhaust was a mess, lots of over the counter parts all cobbled together and it was hanging low, the other side had a split in the pipe that was a 1/4 inch away from failing. We did our best to tie them both up with bailing wire. there was a c-clamp on the starter that we need to look into.
The grill, side trim and wheel covers were all polished and no paint on them.
After we were done looking at it they washed it and we went and talked with someone inside about price, he made some calls and said the owner would be there in a little while.
We took the car around the block and tested the brakes, steering etc. and everything felt fine. we get back and go to lunch, after lunch we get back and still no owner but we had an agreed upon price so we move on closing the deal.
While out we got some transmission fluid and some exhaust tape in an attempt to patch the leak.
1:15 we headed out and topped off the tank, good thing, dead gas gauge. Initially when I got to about 75 the car would shimmy so I backed it down and held it there. After about 30 miles I stopped noticing it so I just went with the flow sometimes passing other at 80.
About an hour out I stopped at a rest stop to give my friend a report and check on speeds. When we went to leave it didn't want to start, so we tried to jump the starter relay, nothing. Then we looked at the fusible link and noticed a connector that was about to fall off, it did. I had some test leads in my tool bag so I tried on and still nothing (my Harbor Freight voltage meter was dead). So back to the starter relay, jumped it with a screwdriver and it fired right up, quickly I noticed that the test lead was HOT, not heavy enough, shut it off.
We took the connector and started trying to get it opened up and remove the wires. After a little time and the help of a trucker we got it to where we could get the wire in it, my friend had a crimp tool in his trunk so we got it fixed and tapped up. Still needed to jump the relay, what are the odds of having those both fail at the same time.
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