Getting the big Fairlane back on the road.... Going the whole 9 inches

[RC104ever]

I think everyone here is missing the obvious question - how is it that you are driving a 77 Fairlane as a daily driver? I'm guessing because Australia doesn't get any kind of winters so there is no real corrosion to speak of? Wow, I can only imagine how cool it would be to drive an old car every day like that one.

If I may ask though - why aren't you parking this car and just buying a $500 running car that will get you to work every day so you have time to work on the Fairlane in your spare time?

[Sixtysixdeuce]

how is it that you are driving a 77 Fairlane as a daily driver? I'm guessing because Australia doesn't get any kind of winters so there is no real corrosion to speak of? Wow, I can only imagine how cool it would be to drive an old car every day like that one.

Winters don't cause corrosion; hunmidity and (especially) salt do. Plenty of winter here in CO, but 50+ year old CO cars are usually almost rust free.

My '78 Aspen Coupe was a daily driver until I put a Dana 44 in it with 3.73 gears, watched my fuel economy drop from ~16 to under 9. Shoehorned a 440 into this critter:



Buddy of mine commutes daily in his '53 International R110 pick-up, too.

[RC10th]

That Aspen looks similar to one posted on the Dodge Charger forum.

I've always had old cars as daily drivers. Back in California my daily was a lifted 77 F150 4x4 with a worked 400ci. Luckily I've never had to commute more than 30 mins to work though. Gasoline is quite expensive here so the LPG makes it fairly cheap to run, $40 a week although it has been creeping up to $45. I could easily burn through $20 in fuel in my truck in a couple hours of cruising (back when it was $2.30-$2.50 a gallon.

We do get winters but no snow and road salt so corrosion isn't an issue, similar climate to CA. The beauty of the big Fairlane is that your not worried too much about it. It's got rust here and there, dents here and there, scrubs up quite well and hasn't missed a beat (till recently)

[Sixtysixdeuce]

That Aspen looks similar to one posted on the Dodge Charger forum.

Link? If someone is pirating my photos and claiming ownership, I'd like to be aware of it.

Happened to me once before (that I know of) with the '66 Dodge D100 I had. Later, that fellow actually tried to claim it was his truck! Unfortunately for him, I had a clear title. County sheriff gave dude an earful, made very clear what would happen if he bothered them again.

[Brocklee]

One more thing, check your valve lash to make sure it's within its operating limits. If it's too loose or too tight it will run very rough and be hard to start when cold. That's assuming the carb is tuned correctly, you're getting spark, and the timing is correct. It's something that's easy to overlooked but makes a night and day difference.

Not saying it can't happen, but in 17 years of professional wrenching, I have never seen valve lash become so extremely tight or loose that it caused hard starting or misfiring. When you have valves failing to open or close, it's another issue. Stuck or collapsed tapped, bent pushrod, flat cam lobe, damaged rocker or rocker shaft/stud/pivot, busted valve spring, etc.

Almost all engines use a hydraulic tappet system for a reason; they self adjust well, are able to compensate quite a bit for normal wear and temperature variations. Unless some idiot gets under the cover with a wrench and botches the job, it's extremely unlikely that a valve is hanging open or not opening enough on account of simple lash adjustment.

OP also tells us it runs fine on gasoline, which means his problem with LPG is almost certainly fuel delivery.

I've had it on an 87' Toyota supra and more recently a 02' bombardier ds 650. The ds 650 I couldn't even fit a .0015" feeler gauge under it (I also bought it as a project planning on rebuilding it anyways), however both of these had over head cams with shim/bucket on the valve, I forgot that not everything has this kind of setup. I've just finished a build/rebuild on the engine and trans for the ds650 and so my brain is in motorcycle mode where this kind of setup is more widely used lol.

[RC104ever]

So jealous that you guys have easy access to old / vintage vehicles that you can actually drive on a daily basis. Around here, any old cars you see are garage queens so the sightings are few and far between. I'd love to have an old VW Beetle or Fastback / Squareback to drive. Or maybe something like an early / mid 80's Toyota Supra.

[Brocklee]

So jealous that you guys have easy access to old / vintage vehicles that you can actually drive on a daily basis. Around here, any old cars you see are garage queens so the sightings are few and far between. I'd love to have an old VW Beetle or Fastback / Squareback to drive. Or maybe something like an early / mid 80's Toyota Supra.

The supra was awesome I miss mine, I sold it 3 years ago right before I got married. Here's a couple of old pictures of her I had on my phone. Id like to pick one up again eventually, before I sold it I was seriously considering doing a 1uzfe engine swap. Although as of late I've been seriously thinking of collecting parts to start a t-bucket with a BBC or possibly an old buick nailhead, those speedway catalogs have been a bad influence...

[Sixtysixdeuce]

So jealous that you guys have easy access to old / vintage vehicles that you can actually drive on a daily basis. Around here, any old cars you see are garage queens so the sightings are few and far between.

Isn't it fairly easy to import vehicles from the states? Where I live, you can't throw a rock without hitting something made between 1930 and 1975. Next weekend I'm picking up a '65 Dodge A van.............for $300! Not the one I'm buying, but representative:



I've just always had old cars (yes, plural).

Sold this one last week:



This one in 2012:



This was parted out in '09



Let this go in '10:



Still have this:



And this (on the right):



And this:



And the camping rig:



As well as a '90 Comanche and my 2002 Deville DHS.

[Brocklee]

So jealous that you guys have easy access to old / vintage vehicles that you can actually drive on a daily basis. Around here, any old cars you see are garage queens so the sightings are few and far between.

Isn't it fairly easy to import vehicles from the states? Where I live, you can't throw a rock without hitting something made between 1930 and 1975. Next weekend I'm picking up a '65 Dodge A van.............for $300! Not the one I'm buying, but representative:

I love those old vans, what are your plans for it?

[marlo]

If its a solid car, a you really love it, get a new motor/trans. In Canada a car like that would have been scarped a long time ago, but I'm with the train of thought, "don't scrap them, restore them". A vintage ride is very cool, and fun......... but its all in the budget.

[RC10th]

This is the old girl. Not really a solid car but one of the most fun cars I've owned.

[bully]

Just a thought you could remove that blue oval thingy and see how that goes mate...

[85Edinger]

I'm curious, what else is wrong with it that makes you say it isn't a solid car?

[RC10th]

Mainly rust and such. The heater box is disconnected. The brakes are a bit iffy but I think that's why it handles pretty good as it has a tendancy to lock the rears first. And the car is overall generally "very free". The rear also tends to jump around on the road a bit.

When you drive it it's like putting on an old pair of shoes or catching up with an old friend. Against all the cookie cutters of today it has a bit of road presence about it. When I took it to the last mechanic I dropped it off for a couple of hours and had lunch. While sitting down about an hour later I heard something rumbling along but couldn't see it behind the trees, when it finally cleared the trees it turned out it was my car !!

[Coelacanth]

I'd say that car is worth the upkeep. And you're right about the exhaust note...I don't recall you mentioning what you had in there. Is it a 351? My cousin had a '72 Torino for a short while with a 351 Cleveland...very strong motor per cubic inch. Nothing compares to the sound of a vintage V8 burbling away at idle. Speaking about heater boxes, this winter I restored my Charger's heater box. I'll be reinstalling it either next week or the week after.