Looking to buy a Fury III, advice on a located car / warning signs?

[LeBaron1973]

I think those ratchet shifters are more for drag race cars, you'll be far ahead with the red one - am sure the dealer will help as they don't need to start American imports with a poor reputation.

Good luck.

 

[system11]

Yeah someone has definitely had fun with the Impala, I found what looked like some burned rubber dust around the inside of both rear arches, the engine is somewhere above 400hp with a shopping list of named parts. That one is a importer who specialise in American cars / upgrades / restoration.

Tech question - there was one annoyance driving the red Fury - the aftermarket headers have one tube knocking the steering box. I'm assuming this isn't going to be very good for it and steering column bearings in the longer term. what's the recommended solution for that - put a dent in the header or is there any leaway in positioning / engine mounts?

I've been thinking about it a lot today, my head is saying the Impala is probably the sensible choice - better paintwork, better brakes (they'd be the first thing I look at on the red Fury), cheaper and parts availability seems to be way better. Buuuut... the 1969 model Fury specifically is just plain nicer to look at, and I'm not buying something to go fast in. They really nailed the front end in 69.

I guess it's time to put the haggling pitch together and call the guy back.

 

[LeBaron1973]

I'm not a technical guy, but a competent exhaust shop should be able to advise after looking at your headers. The knock wouldn't help either header or steering box.

Headers could "probably" be "adjusted" aka "bent" but as they're supposed to improve exhaust flow, I wonder whether that's a good idea. Happy negotiating.

 

[1970cat]

seat covers are here in the c section
Legendary Auto Interiors - The Interior Specialists Since 1985

 

[system11]

Well it's done, I'm going at the weekend to put a deposit down and discuss specifics of the work I expect to be done before delivery:
* Crumbly rust area behind one rear wheel - will need welding for sure
* Weld the tiny hold I found in the trunk floor - a patch is acceptable
* Small dent in the back (looks like someone reversed into a spike)
* An area on the bonnet & top side of the wing needs respraying & as much required to blend it in properly. Looks like specks of antifreeze landed on it at some point - or air bubbles in the original job.
* Cooling system working as it was the first day I saw it (if thermostat doesn't do it I expect them to get it fixed properly) - that motor is running so well it'd be a shame to overheat it. Can't imagine this is serious or difficult, everything looks brand new under there.

Then once I have it I'll be getting the parts together for the brake boost upgrade and sorting out some working audio - someone put a modern head unit in, it's dead. I plan to put an original one back in there with some kind of concealed method of plugging an mp3 player in. Do they still make those short range AM transmitters for this kind of thing? I'm good with electronics so modifying the original head unit to have a switched line-in that uses the dash unit power amp might be possible too.

I've downloaded the official workshop manuals that I could find - are there any really good third party shop manuals for this car? Additionally schematics for the radio would be good to start reading.

The fake side pipes are staying on there until I locate some window side trim so there won't be holes when the police lamps come off. I did some photoshopping and it looks great with neither, fine with both, stupid with only one item removed.

Getting really excited, I can't wait to be able to visibly flip the bird at the first Audi that tailgates me.

 

[FURYGT]

Congratulations and good luck with negotiations etc.

 

[system11]

Well I haggled £1k off the price, deposit is paid - should be 2-3 weeks for them to get the paint done and so on. Time to hunt an original radio and some bits of trim and stuff I want to replace. Also going to see a storage company nearby to check out their facility before I sign up to renting a storage bay on a yearly basis. The temperature and humidity controlled one which looks like the inside of a car dealership is looking best right now.

 

[system11]

And now I own the car, expecting to pick it up in 2 weeks. They did the bodyshop work but .... somehow someone didn't notice the massive paint run on the front wing, so it's got to go back to be corrected. They cut out the rotten metal behind the rear driver wheel and the fabrication is good enough that you'd need to see it side by side with the untouched passenger side to tell it's not original. The paint shade on the rear driver side wing finisher/tip wasn't blended in very well so I'll probably get that redone - turns out it's a Mazda shade! Bonnet has been completely resprayed & the tops of the wings up to the bend and it looks good but now it's super shiny and polished you can see several very minor dents which I think would be very hard to fix, but unless you catch it at exactly the right angle you don't see them. They didn't want to take the moldings off (scared of damaging them) so some of the polishing is not where it should be, I'll resolve that by hand.

The parts are in for the cooling - they're putting Evans coolant in, new thermostat and switching the static non-viscous fan for a thermostat controlled electric one. Does anyone have any comments on that? The parts are there but the work happens next week so I can get them not to do certain stuff.

Next problem is fuelling, I'm looking to run it on 99 Octane with an additive which protects valve seats as well as boosting it by about 2 RON. Need to mail order some of that in now.

I have a bay reserved at a car storage facility, that's going to be the cars home from now on - not cheap but it's humidity and temperature controlled, and unlike the other ones I went to see the cars aren't crammed in like jigsaw pieces. This car is unlikely to see rain and certainly not road salt ever again. I've got a nice huge bay big enough to throw both doors open, and you can just drive it straight out. I'd love to talk about some of the cars I saw there, but I had to sign a non disclosure agreement just to be allowed to inspect it!

 

[ayilar]

Greetings from across the pond! You may want to touch bases with your compatriot @Zephyr, if you have not already. He is restoring a 1970 white/blue/white 318 Fury 'vert.

 

[system11]

 

[system11]

Ordered a big stack of parts via a friend in the states.

* convertible top boot which is missing, I've got the well liner but it's torn, should be able to stitch it back together.
* Breather cap to replace the 'tube with gauze and a bit of paper in it'
* new cats whiskers full set as they're pretty much all split.
* a NOS tested/working radio & installation kit, someone threw a dead JVC CD player in there. I need to get an AM radio transmitter from somewhere.
* bunch of manuals - owner set, workshop etc
* actually found a pair of the small silver handles that go on the bench seat release.

I'm going to need to buy a trolley jack again, my last one was stolen. Pretty some axle stands are still in the garage somewhere. I was going to give it a full oil change until I checked what's in there - level is perfect and it's totally clean.

Jobs on the list not in any particular order:

* convert it to power brakes - I'm fine with the drums all round but I'd feel safer with the booster.
* remove the police lamps and fake side pipes - probably a job for next year but a helpful member on this forum is hooking me up with some replacement windscreen trim since mine is drilled.
* repair/fit the well liner & all the new cats whiskers - probably the first job
* sort out the clearance issue with header & steering box
* remove all the hubcaps and polish them up - they look great in the photos but there's some rust in the deepest part of the dish.
* rear driver wing extension is fitted crooked like it's a few degrees anticlockwise - I'm guessing the studs broke off and it's probably held in with badly drilled screws or similar, I've got a used one coming in perfect condition that just needs sanding down and repainting just in case.
* remove the driver side rear door card, something behind it is trying to poke through
* get a friendly garage to put it up on the ramps so the entire underseal can be inspected and rectified where needed
* new paint needs polishing in a few detail areas, like behind the wing mirrors
* bonnet catch needs adjusting, takes a bit of a slam to close it at the moment

There are various moldings I'd like to replace as they're dented here and there, I'll post a wanted ad for those once as I discover what's needed. The one on the trunk lid definitely needs replacing, looks like someone spray painted it.

Not shooting for going back to full stock or anything, just tidying up the less great bits and making it a good presentable, usable classic the way it is, with the best I can realistically achieve in the way of corrosion removal and protection. Maybe in some years time I'll look at having it completely bare metal resprayed as this currently has the original metallic green underneath the red - it's staying red though.

 

[The Goose]

Hey nice ride man !!! From my pic you can see why I’m a fan. Good luck with that red beauty you’re gonna love it. Funny mine was in a hard front end collision and it’s got some green under the red too. The dummies didn’t keep my fender tag when they swapped over the radiator core support. I never cared until I dropped it off for paint R6 red and it came very close to being sprayed F8 or 9? green. Anyways have fun and keep us all updated on how you’re making out with your new wheels.

 

[ImpJay]

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That`ll be a nice ride! Do what you want, but I recommend to get close the car Goose has. Those fender skirts give a nice addition and they are factory-installed.

 

[system11]

I'm thinking of getting some correct fender skirts for it, there are a few sets on ebay but I think looking on here might be wiser.

 

[ImpJay]

I'm thinking of getting some correct fender skirts for it, there are a few sets on ebay but I think looking on here might be wiser.

I`m not sure, what this store offers at the time, but I recommend Fender Skirt Depot or some another store.

 

[system11]

Picked it up today and delivered it to the storage facility.

Additional things I've noticed that need fixing:
* The ignition key / lock are really loose but hard to turn past the initial insertion point, key even got stuck in for a moment - I think I'll just replace this entirely.
* Driver side rear passenger window is scratched due to bad alignment, the cats whisker is gone completely.
* Slight whine from the transmission in 1st towards the end of the journey - it may have been doing it all the way and I didn't notice what with getting used to everything else and all the traffic, I'll check the transmission fluid level when I go to see it again on Friday. It was all working fine, I'm told it was rebuilt.

Brakes are definitely getting boosted but I got used to them with no assist and 4x drums after just a few miles, I'm one of those overweight people who cycle regularly so I could cope with this as-is honestly. Hate the low winter sun, nearly driving blind on one of the motorways as the screen wasn't clean and I was too scared of trying the wipers as I've never used them before and smearing it all around would have been worse. Engine pulls like a train, I'd be very surprised if it's not putting out more than the stock 383 ratings.

Questions for other owners:

1) At around 50 it seemed reluctant to change to 3rd unless the engine was under almost no load, when it does around that speed I'd estimate the RPM are between 1200 and 1500, does this sound about normal?

2) Car seems harder to start when warm than cold - the previous overheating issue is a fading memory, they put a really damn big pushing electric fan on the radiator as well as leaving the engine fan in place pulling, it goes up to about 75% of the gauge left idling, runs about 25% of the gauge when moving at 40-50. Is there an auto / manual choke on these cars? Disclaimer there's a great big Edelbrock air filter on top, I don't know if the carb is also aftermarket.

3) We had to use a really bad road at one point (80% of the journey was single lane back roads) with loads of small humps in it, car felt like it was going to ground the suspension or lift off - normal or something needs checking? Fine on all the other roads, including bad surfaces, bumps etc.

4) Going in a straight line the steering wheel is off by about 10 degrees - I'm going to get the general alignment checked, is there some kind of splined shaft that goes into the steering mech so I could move it back a tooth, or is there another way to adjust this?

I'm expecting to find a huge shopping list of issues as I learn more about the car, but I'm pretty much happy with what I've seen so far. It's a long term committment - it'll all get fixed. For a while on some of the less awful roads, before the sun completely blinded me in the middle of 70mph juggernauts and 90mph Audis, I was really enjoying driving this thing. Have to be really careful with lane positioning though for obvious reasons - we drive on the left here and UK roads are often not as wide as ones in the US. I'm not yet used to how much of the passenger side of the car I'm potentially sticking into the oncoming lane... My dad tailed me all the way and said I did ok with it for a first drive, it's definitely very different to the '71 Trans Am I had years ago.

 

[1970cat]

sounds like your transmission kick down rod needs adjustment. the slotted rod seen here

there are threads on this site to guide you on that.
torqueflite transmissions can have a bit of whine in 1st. if this noise is excessive is hard to tell without being there to hear it. same with the suspension. these are large cars and tend to "float" down the road. it is hard to say what is excessive without driving it. the alignment is done through the track rod ends.

 

[system11]

Thanks - it's not very very loud, I guess it's only a little louder than the slight whine I get on my 2014 XJR in second.

Still can't believe I actually bought it, in a good way. I'm going to the storage place on Friday to look at one of the minor issues before it turns into an ugly one. I need to remove that rear drive side door card and change out / saw down the screw which is trying to push through the card vinyl. It's probably been like this for a while so there's going to be a residual 'bump' in the material but I just want to make sure it doesn't turn into a hole - the interior is in almost immaculate condition except for some denting to the speaker grille. Does anyone make repros of those? Seems a common issue.

Cannot wait to show this to the guys at work but I want to get more comfortable with the quirks and the driving experience first. I also asked the storage people if they notice any cosmetic or mechanical issues of any kind no matter how minor to let me know. Got a spreadsheet here I'm putting every single little thing into.

I really love how the thing slightly rocks the whole car when revved - not going to be popular with the neighbours though, I think there might be only a single silencer each side. I'll find out soon, one of the first jobs is getting it up on a ramp to touch up the underseal - car dealers driveway ended in a really nasty curb which scraped the underside on several occasions. I think the fake side pipes might actually be the lowest point on the car though, they hang lower than the sills by at least an inch - so there might not be anything needed and I'm intending to remove them in future.

I'll order the waterproof breathable cover (has to be custom made over here for something this big) tomorrow - I need to get one before I can keep the car at home overnight, won't be a regular occurrence.

Of course when we stopped to fuel it up I'd used the pump closest to the station door, you can imagine how many people wanted to compliment it or ask what it was. One tow truck guy even asked if it's the one he towed a few years ago. Doubt it unless he does transatlantic car rescue, the UK registration papers only came through 2 weeks ago.

 

[The Goose]

Mine does the same thing. Wants to hit 3rd at about 55. It’s the hwy gears I think. It holds second gear waaaay longer than I’d like. I just lift and it pops right in top gear. I think I’m just too used to 4speeds and 391 gears. I just went thru the trans so it’s a nice shift not hard like a racecar and the passing gear works fine.

 

[system11]

Well I can see why the transmission was a little whiny - the oil level barely covers the twist at the end of the dip stick... Followed advice found stamped on the dipstick itself to check at idle in neutral when warmed up.

Did a lot of other checks - the carb is definitely not standard, the tyres were bought in 2006 (receipt in the glove box!!) so those are going to need replacing, at least I know exactly what was fitted, wiring behind the ignition key is 'kind of bad' and I'll have to re-do it, the actuator on the rear passenger window is slipping (it's not the handle) and probably needs replacing.

Also the car leans to the drivers side, so I scooted over to the passenger seat and it leaned that way instead, perfectly level with nobody inside. I forgot this is a thing on old cars - it's telling me to lose more weight...