Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Where's @Jester when we need him the most?
@Stretch and I undertook the recovery my latest project this morning, a 1970 Swinger 340/4-speed painted that rarest of hues, Panther Pink (code M3). It went far better than expected, with the majority of the several hours spent being just talkin' cars and checking out all the other cool stuff the seller still has lying around. Unfortunately, the pole ban containing all this stuff isn't powered, so there's very little light and even flash photography's kind of useless. He still has a '71 Swinger, a '68 Barracuda fastback which I believe is a Formula S (I didn't look at it today), a '74 360/4-speed Road Runner, the 1966 Valiant Signet 273HP/4-speed formerly owned by a friend that was in my possession for a short time back in '03, a '65 Barracuda 4-speed car (now with a 340), and more hip first-generation Javelins than you can shake a stick at. Every one's a project and none of them are for sale. Prying the pink car out of his possession took over three years.
The seller's son, Mike, had his late-model race car out of the way before we got there, which gave us a straight shot out of the barn. That was important, since the steering column is locked on the Swinger and he didn't have any keys. Amazingly, all four tires took air, and held long enough to get the car on the trailer. Three are still holding air now, 12 hours later. We pushed the car into winch range while Mike heaved the front of the car sideways a couple of times to influence its direction a tad. It was on the trailer and strapped down in no time.
The interior was chock full of parts, not all from this car. Who knew an E-body column would fit into an A-body? I need to find a column; of course it's 1970 only due to the reverse-gear column interlock.
Hello, beautiful. The original hood scoops were still in the car, sitting atop one of the seats. They still show pink paint in some areas. The original bezels are missing (so far) but I have a pair of nice ones I bought at a swap meet last year. Beneath the seat, the original driver's-side door is partially visible.
Safely deposited in my back yard, I immediately grabbed the now-black scoops and found that miraculously, not one of the mounting studs is broken or pulled. I immedately "installed" them, because that's what one does. They're just resting in place because if there's hardware, I've yet to find it.
I then commenced to automotive archeology, discovering what lies beneath the dirt. I pulled two complete back seats out of there, one obviously from the parts car and one from a '70 with a white Custom/GT interior:
There were also white door panels from the Custom/GT interior:
When first I saw this car in 2001, it had the white GT bucket-seat interior installed. Since that day, I've believed the car was built that way. Had that been the case, this car would be one of only two known so built. Unfortunately the data tag says low-line black bench-seat interior, which makes me sad. I believe the cheap black bench makes it one of around 14 or so, but the reason I'm sad is because the white GT interior would be so beautiful on this car.
Moving right along, as I excavated further I found a grille, which probably wasn't broken when it went in there, but is now:
There was another grille, which I believe is the original, stuffed in the trunk. It's even more broken than the first. Deeper toward the floor I found these lying in a stack on the floor, all 1970 but two were painted black over the light argent:
The original LH door as mentioned previously, with the original mirror still attached:
Not sure what was happening with the blue paint, but the factory door decal remains, clear as a bell (digitally altered sequence) over pink paint:
@Stretch and I undertook the recovery my latest project this morning, a 1970 Swinger 340/4-speed painted that rarest of hues, Panther Pink (code M3). It went far better than expected, with the majority of the several hours spent being just talkin' cars and checking out all the other cool stuff the seller still has lying around. Unfortunately, the pole ban containing all this stuff isn't powered, so there's very little light and even flash photography's kind of useless. He still has a '71 Swinger, a '68 Barracuda fastback which I believe is a Formula S (I didn't look at it today), a '74 360/4-speed Road Runner, the 1966 Valiant Signet 273HP/4-speed formerly owned by a friend that was in my possession for a short time back in '03, a '65 Barracuda 4-speed car (now with a 340), and more hip first-generation Javelins than you can shake a stick at. Every one's a project and none of them are for sale. Prying the pink car out of his possession took over three years.
The seller's son, Mike, had his late-model race car out of the way before we got there, which gave us a straight shot out of the barn. That was important, since the steering column is locked on the Swinger and he didn't have any keys. Amazingly, all four tires took air, and held long enough to get the car on the trailer. Three are still holding air now, 12 hours later. We pushed the car into winch range while Mike heaved the front of the car sideways a couple of times to influence its direction a tad. It was on the trailer and strapped down in no time.
The interior was chock full of parts, not all from this car. Who knew an E-body column would fit into an A-body? I need to find a column; of course it's 1970 only due to the reverse-gear column interlock.
Hello, beautiful. The original hood scoops were still in the car, sitting atop one of the seats. They still show pink paint in some areas. The original bezels are missing (so far) but I have a pair of nice ones I bought at a swap meet last year. Beneath the seat, the original driver's-side door is partially visible.
Safely deposited in my back yard, I immediately grabbed the now-black scoops and found that miraculously, not one of the mounting studs is broken or pulled. I immedately "installed" them, because that's what one does. They're just resting in place because if there's hardware, I've yet to find it.
I then commenced to automotive archeology, discovering what lies beneath the dirt. I pulled two complete back seats out of there, one obviously from the parts car and one from a '70 with a white Custom/GT interior:
There were also white door panels from the Custom/GT interior:
When first I saw this car in 2001, it had the white GT bucket-seat interior installed. Since that day, I've believed the car was built that way. Had that been the case, this car would be one of only two known so built. Unfortunately the data tag says low-line black bench-seat interior, which makes me sad. I believe the cheap black bench makes it one of around 14 or so, but the reason I'm sad is because the white GT interior would be so beautiful on this car.
Moving right along, as I excavated further I found a grille, which probably wasn't broken when it went in there, but is now:
There was another grille, which I believe is the original, stuffed in the trunk. It's even more broken than the first. Deeper toward the floor I found these lying in a stack on the floor, all 1970 but two were painted black over the light argent:
The original LH door as mentioned previously, with the original mirror still attached:
Not sure what was happening with the blue paint, but the factory door decal remains, clear as a bell (digitally altered sequence) over pink paint:
