Originally Posted by Falcongek
THANK YOU for all these good resources!
I've managed to get the engine/transmission/driveshaft installed into the 61 and now it drives; same engine problems as before but at least I'm sitting in a seat when I test drive! Also with brakes and a windshield, I've even had it on the highway several times. Plenty of power to get up the hills in such a lightweight rig, but that's in spite of the 144 being grossly out of tune. Still dealing with intermittent missing and if I don't keep it half-choked then it will die. In addition, now that I've been able to drive all the way into town and back (about 20 minutes each way) I've discovered that it also begins to overheat after awhile.
Does anyone have recommendations for mechanics in the Olympia area who won't shy away from 60 year old technology? I have some mechanics here in Shelton who I think have the skills to work on it if they wanted to but when I talked to 2 of the shops I got the distinct impression that they weren't eager to deal with a "project car" and all of it's problems. Honestly I'm not looking for them to fix "all of the problems" though, just a tune-up would be nice. I've definitely maxxed out my current level of knowledge/experience and don't know really what the next step should be to make it run smoothly.
Also I'm starting a new job soon (I think) and thus my free time might be waning. And while it might be possible for me to learn about adjusting a 1-barrel Holley from scratch, I've already done the heavy lifting on this project (literally) and would love to have my engine in the hands of competent mechanic who already knows what they are doing and can transfer this engine from the "running rough" over into the "running adequate" column.
On a side note, I did fix the last of the electrical issues yesterday. When I first put the battery into that 61 with the new engine, most of the exterior lights worked but most of the dash bulbs didn't. I swapped the pressure switch over from the 62 and that gave me brake lights. Between the 61 and 62 there were 7 good dash bulbs which gave me the full 6 needed plus a spare. But 5 of them still wouldn't light up! ... so I ran down those issues one by one. The final one yesterday was just a bad hi-low floor-mount dimmer switch, and then I took it for a drive at twilight just to see ALL my dash lights working for the first time!
In other big news, I went down to SMS Auto Fabrics this week (just south of Portland) and met Doug. His website boasted the ability to make every type of interior fabric for any American car from 1940 through 2000. I had to see it for myself! He showed me a sample of his branding-iron Ranchero seat pattern that was an EXACT match for the highly detailed interior I was trying to recreate! I've only seen this particular interior (officially known as Trim No. 54 in 1961) in 3 Rancheros, ever: My dad's, plus this one I'm restoring, plus a Ranchero I saw in a youtube video earlier this year. Anyway my order for new seat covers has been placed, and I'm super excited to see the product that Doug turns out when I go down to pick it up in about a month.
Anyway that's the latest for now. I don't have plans to finish the body/paint phase until after I get it running well enough to go safely for longer distances. I certainly don't want to limit myself to just body/paint shops in my home town but I'd feel better shopping around in other cities (Olympia or Tacoma) if I knew the Ranchero could comfortably drive there.
I haven't completely ruled out learning about carburetor tuning myself, but definitely would consider hiring it out at this point, to the right shop/person.
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