Saturday, November 13, 2010

1960 Mercury Monterey Cruiser / 2 door hard top



Bubble top Merc. I believe most of the car manfacturers around this year used the same windshields. I wonder if a glass company presented it and the manufacturers built their car around the glass? I found this car for sale for $6500 and when I went to see the car I fell in love. The problem was, the engine wasn't hitting on the passenger bank, and it also poured smoke. The seller explained that he had just changed the oil, but then his son took it for a ride and brought it back with the cylinder misfiring. Given the changed condition, he offered it to me for $5,000. I R&R'ed the plugs, checked the firing order and finding no obvious problems, so I offered him $4,000, which he declined. So I headed home.


Once I was home, I researched the car online and found only three restored online. Still wanting the car, I called the seller and offered $500 more ($4,500 total) and told him I would bring a car trailer, which he accepted. After returning home with the car, I left it in the garage for a few days until I could dedicate some time to investigating the problems with the engine. On a Sunday morning, I pulled the valve cover off and found a bent pushrod. Turns out, he (the seller) had put some thin oil in the engine, right before his son had taken it out hotrodding on a hot summer day and stuck a lifter. Thirty minutes later and a $7.50 pushrod bought at a local auto shop done deal, and the car has been running perfect ever since.


The car came with some 20" wheels on it but the seller also gave me the original wheels which I fixed up and put on the car recently. While the car has been painted, the white body with the red top is original to this car.


On a final note, that is my knocked up wife, due late December.

No comments:

Post a Comment