Building a Wagon Queen Family Truckster.

Bummer.

 

So, what were you thinking???

 

Yes, what were you thinking? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

I had to refresh my memory on why I said "bummer." If you get an '83 MY wagon, it'll have Central Fuel Injection. I have CFI parts for the EEC III/CFI, like two fuel charging assemblies (the carb-looking units), of which one has less than 30K on a rebuild, three computers, at least two MAP/BARO sensors, which run close to $400 each, etc. So converting one to carburetion would not be necessary, because to do so has a couple idiotic problems.

 

Any updates on this?

 

Hey Eric, I do have an update! I have been kind of absent on here because there had not been much to report until now. I have been saving up to buy Eric's really nice 79 to replace the 86 and I'm also gathering little parts here and there as they pop up on ebay.

The whole process to buy the 79 should have been easy and only taken a few months but I have had a run of bad luck. I had to pay on my taxes this year, so I save some more them boom, my truck needs a transmission rebuild. I get more saved up and the transfer case goes out taking me almost back to zero. I save some more and the down stairs A/C unit goes out in the dead of summer. Save some more then the compressor in the shop grenaded the pump. I went an bought a cheap one for now but it seems like I can't put back any extra money. None of this stuff is the norm. Rotten luck hammered my saving account all year long but I guess that happens sometimes.

The settlement is still stalled not much to report on that. It's been over a year now, I'm honestly done losing sleep over it.


NOW FOR SOME GOOD NEWS, A CAR FELL INTO MY LAP.


A few days ago I'm in the car headed to run an errand when I got a phone call from a number I don't recognize. It was my wife's girlfriend's husband. Which was really odd. He asked if I was wanting another station wagon. He heard about the wreck last year and said he found me one if I'm interested. I told him it depends, I'm saving up to build another Truckster but it has to be a specific type of car, ideally a 79-1980 Ford. He gave me a phone number and told me to call this guy immediately, he thinks its a late 80's Ford but he didn't know.

Fast forward a half hour.

I get where I'm going and I call the guy. I expected the wrong type of car and a seller wanting way to much money for it. You know the guy.... "I have a 78 caprice with no floors and 300k miles on it. I'll take 10,000 for it, no lowballs I know what it's worth". We have all seen that guy's ad at least once.

Guy: hello
Me: are you selling a station wagon?
Guy: yes, but I need it gone today, are you Roberts friend?
Me: Yes sir, What is it?
Guy: my dad's old station wagon
Me: ok, what kind of car is it.
Guy: a Ford
Me: what year, full size, square grill?
Guy: I don't know it's old, it's $200, I don't even know if it runs, I plan on keeping the wheels and tires. The tires are new and if you want them with the car its $800 if not, you need to remove them and leave them here. It has no keys, no title and I need it gone by tonight.
Me: can you narrow down the year, color, describe it?
Guy: 80 something. It's brown, not wrecked and it's cheap.
Me: can you send me some pictures?
Guy: I'm real busy, I don't have time to sell it. It's $200 if you want it. If not I have a junk man coming.
Me: I want it. I'll be there in a few hours.
Guy: it will be gone in an hour.

He has a junk removal guy that will be there shortly to pick the car up. I convinced him to wait on me and offered him an extra $100 just to do so. It would be an hour drive minimum if I was ready to go now. I'm not even close to ready.

This was lunch time.

So now I'm committed to buy this thing that's an hour away even though it could be a rusted out 95 Volvo wagon. Not only that but I promised to have it gone when it could be bumper deep in mud and hornets nest.

Still not knowing much of anything I race to the house, jump in the truck. Go to the storage yard unload a car off the trailer. Hook up the trailer and head to my shop, pull the wheels off the old Truckster leaving it on its belly. Pull a battery from one of my cars for the winch, load up with tools, hit an ATM and race down to the address he gave me. I didn't even stop for food which was a mistake. It's pushing 4pm when I get there.

This place is a creepy 100 year old building in an old town by the railroad tracks. Its over grown and boarded up. It looks like a set on a horror movie or present day Detroit. He walks me to the side of the building to a gate. Inside the gate there are some shells of late 30's cars that were burned years ago and have since been taken over by kudzu. I'm pretty certain I'm about to be murdered or worse....This is South Georgia and we have all seen Deliverance. We go behind and around to the other side of the building and as I'm picturing myself becoming the world's ugliest skin suit, I see it. A very decent 83 LTD.

I buy the car but he won't give me a bill of sale till it's loaded. That way if it is not gone by morning, he can have it hauled off and I have no recourse. So I am in for a long day with no grace period.

The building is a defunct parts store his dad used to own. It doesn't have any parking for a truck and 20' car trailer because they put a few dumpsters in the way. I have to park a block away and carry everything to swap the wheels. I'm picturing my truck on blocks and the trailer gone within an hour, this was not a pretty area. The car is wedged between a forklift with no keys or propane and a giant tree. I drag the fork lift with a come along because the only winch is on the trailer and I can't snake back to the car with all the junk in my path and tight quarters. The car is locked except the back door that's against the tree. I don't want to break a window so I wedge myself in the car. I dented the crap out of the tail gate to get in just so I could crawl through it to open it up. I don't find any keys. The wheels are hard to the right. I come along it back and forth sideways to go around the building. I have to drag the forklift back where it was to get the car around the building. Finally I did get it to the gate, inches at a time and it's dark now. I pulled the drive shaft so it rolls but the wheels are still cut. I block the street and get the front bumper on the trailer and strap it down as best I could. I drag it a block with the tire squeeling the whole time to the parking lot and proceed to winch it up with the front wheels up on jacks. Did I mention it's 90 degrees and humid as a swamp. Plus it might be a ploy to get me to load up the car and then I still become a skin suit.

I go back to get a bill of sale once it was loaded, it's almost 10 now.

They were throwing tons of stuff in the dumpster, vintage parts, manuals and parts books, tools you name it. I was honestly so tired from winching the car I didn't even go dumpster diving. I are sure the keys were in there somewhere.

So the car belonged to his dad who ran this little parts store for decades. When he died they boarded it up. The car is one of 2 identical wagons he bought brand new, a his and hers. His mom still drives hers, that's were the tires from this one are going. His dad passed a while ago and they either got an offer on the property or permission to sell it. I had tuned out at that point and just wanted to go eat. They were clearing everything out at record speed to clean it up. Getting this car was really lucky. I was an hour from never knowing it existed. It was just dumb luck that the wagon being sold was brought up to my wife's friend. He told him "hold on I might know someone who would want to fix that wagon".

I held up my word, I gave him $300. I got it cleaned up, it is in the original gold paint, has nice brown interior, 75,000 miles but it is missing the electronic ignition box. Likely it was put on the wife's wagon. I don't know if it runs yet but I got keys cut to make unloading easy. It has clear glass which is what I needed and no grid on the rear window which is rare as hens teeth and impossible to find. I think this car has been sitting for at least a couple years. The car was covered in slime. I pressure washed it with some pretty stout degreaser. I have to clear a little out of the shop to bring it in.

The first Truckster is pretty stripped out. I'm still swapping the stuff into the Mercury as time allows so nothing is wasted. I need to finish that. It's chassis will go under a pickup. The roof skin is going into a friend's 34 Ford. The interior will go in the Colony Park. Nothing is being wasted. Then the sand interior from the park will go in the new Truckster......

Also I did end up with 2 very rough parts wagons, both white with sand interiors. An 86 and an 82. I gave $100 for the pair. The 86 was in a roll over crash and the 82 was used to store parts. I don't think either is good for anything other than parts.

On top of that I got a very decent 87 in trade for putting a floor in a friend's 66 Country squire. It's tinted glass but has the correct interior to recreate the wagon used in the beginning of Revenge of the Nerds. That car will get is own thread when I start on it.

 

Nice score. For $300 plus fuel I'd say that is a great deal.

I enjoyed your story.

This right here:

Made me laugh so hard.

 

I have 1983 MY underhood parts. PM me with a list, and I'll tell you if I have them or not. I do at least have the ignition module (brown grommet).

 

And it appears you have Gremlins in your shop.

 

I will do that. It will be a day or so until I can really get a look at what is missing. I have not gone over the car yet.

Yup, 3 Gremlins. A Pacer too. You can see one with the hood still popped thats the Hurst car. The green one is an XR-401 clone and has a stout 401 in it from a 71 Javelin. That car is stupid quick and downright terrifying at the same time. The other I'm thinking of making it a gasser. I still have some rust to weld up.

 

Power-to-weight ratio, amirite?

 

Gremlins are so ugly they're cool. A 401 in a Gremlin sounds like a rocket powered roller skate.

 

And a 401 in a Pacer is a rocket-powered pregnant roller skate!

 

Nice find and an interesting story. $500 extra for some tires that were probably 15 years old and dry rotted?

 

I’m glad you weren’t turned into a skin suit I get a kick out of people who act like your bothering them when you call and ask about a car for sale