89 year old woman and 40 year old car .... still going strong

[Stinky The Clown]

The link to a video, here:

http://growingbolder.com/media/technology/vehicles/romancing-the-road-259598.html

[Dennis Donovan]

1. That's awesome! Good ol' American craftsmanship...

...a 64 Merc!:thumbsup:

[Sancho]

2. My first car was a 1962 Mercury Comet! This was a great story.

Mine was pepto bismol pink, though. I got it with over 100,000 miles on it from a friend of my grandmothers. Dated, drove it to college, and went to work at my first job in that car. Wow. My wife and I loved the video. Thanks for the memories.

:toast:

[SoCalDem]

3. We still have my mother-in-law's car '70 Gran Torino 33K original miles

357 Cleveland engine..

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. That would be a 351C

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There is no 357 that I know of

351 Cleveland is an awesome engine

[SoCalDem]

9. you're right.. I typo-ed:)

:)

[Stinky The Clown]

11. I think the Comet has a 289/2bbl

[yellowcanine]

12. Some of the early 64s had a 260 V8. I had a 2 door hardtop Caliente with a 289 4 bbl and a factory

installed 4 speed. That was one sweet little stock hot rod. Burgundy metal flake paint. She shined up real nice. I would start early Sat. morning with a wash, then polish, and then hard turtle wax. I usually finished up mid afternoon. That sucker looked good.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. My friend had a 65 Cyclone - 289/4B 4sp

Very fast factory hot rod.

[yellowcanine]

19. You could get the 289 Hi Po in the Cyclone. If it had a "K" on the VIN # it was the

HiPo version. Even more HP than the standard 289 4v.

[Stinky The Clown]

22. His was the high perfomrance version

He (his Dad, to be honest) had to order it and wait for it to come in. It was really a factory hot rod.

[ConcernedCanuk]

14. 289 was a sweet engine - light and snappy - I don't remember the 260

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I'd bought a 67 Mustang fastback for my wife back in '76 for 200 bucks -

289 - 3 spd auto(floor shift) with the roof/ceiling console and bucket seats

she traded it in on a '72 Chrysler New Yorker(boat) in '77

She kept the car, and traded me in for a different guy in 78 . .

oh well . . .

[yellowcanine]

16. The 260 preceeded the 289. Basically the same engine, as was the 302 which succeeded the 289.

The 260 was installed in the first Falcon Sprints in '63, as well as other Falcons, Comets, Fairlanes, early Mustangs and Shelby Cobras. I believe it was first used in 1962 in Shelby Cobras. The Falcon Sprint 260 was tricked out with chrome valve covers, air cleaner housing, oil cap, radiator cap, and dipstick - probably one of the first attempts by a major auto company to pay attention to engine appearance in a stock factory model.

Ford 260 Engine Specs:

http://www.carmemories.com/cgi-bin/viewexperience.cgi?experience_id=130

I should note that the 260 could get excellent gas mileage for a 60's era V8. I had a friend who had a 1964 Fairlane with a 260 and automatic transmission and he could get 23 mpg around town if he paid attention to driving habits. Of course most of the folks in Falcons and Comets with the 260 and factory 4 speed were not driving in such a way as to maximize gas mileage.

[TheMightyFavog]

18. Ahhh, the 302.

The Old man had a '76 Bronco with a 302 that had been sitting in his garage for over a decade after the master cylinder started going on th fritz. A local farmer decided to buy it for the snowplow. After 20 minutes of tinkering That thing started up on the first try.

[yellowcanine]

21. Yes, the 260, 289, and 302 were all horses that would run forever if you took care of them.

Unfortunately they could also be oil burners if the valve seals got hard and cracked. I was told this happened when they were over revved too much hot rodding. Could be. The fix was easy enough. If the cylinder head was pressurized to keep the valves from dropping down when the keepers were removed you could replace the seals without pulling the heads.

[ConcernedCanuk]

23. Interesting that you used the word "horses"

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Ford used that image from the Pinto to the Mustang

and yup - I used to have a tool, home-made from a spark-plug to a compressed air fitting, to keep the valves closed while replacing the seals . . .

Thanx for the memories

Thse were the days when you could repair engines without a friggen' computer.

(sigh)

[ConcernedCanuk]

24. Caliente - I had a friend in the 60's that had one with a six-overhead cam in it

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That wee six-banger would blow most 8 cylinders away

Besides, the Caliente was a light car - I imagine in its time it would be quite a challenger with a V-8 in it!

[Ikonoklast]

15. And the 351W is even better.

As a Canuck, you should take that as a point of pride. They made an awesome motor at those engine works.


Dad, Mom, Uncle, Cousin, Brother, and too many others to count that I know worked at the Cleveland Engine Plant.

[ConcernedCanuk]

17. Oh yeah - I remember the 351 W - it USED to be the favorite engine for cop cars up here

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I think that says it all . . .

W = Windsor for those that are curious

[Ikonoklast]

20. I remember when I was younger the 'hot set-up' was milling Windsor heads

and putting them on your 302. With the canted vavle angle and the higher compression, those motors flowed air like nobodies business and would rev through the roof.

[ConcernedCanuk]

25. yup - (sigh) - when we were younger

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cant even legally change/upgrade engines up here anymore

progress . .

[Blue For You]

4. Nice story. Thanks for posting.

[csziggy]

5. That is neat! I thought my Mom was doing good at 88 with her 1977 Cadillac

Sedan DeVille, but she does not travel in that car. She mostly uses hers to take her DAR buddies to meetings. Last time I checked, it had under 50,000 miles on the odometer - a far cry from Rachel's Chariot!

[pansypoo53219]

6. in the 80's i got a pea soup green '73 delta 88

with 52k on it. was amost near 90k when i had to sell it in the 90's. i loved that car. her emissions were better when i sold it than when i bought it. sller didn't know all it needed was a coolant reservoir. and i had '72 delta 88 i got up over 100.
sigh, her car reminds me of the '67 catalina i had. i miss those steering wheel. THE POWER STEERING.

[nradisic]

7. Great story!

A true piece of Americana! Very cool...

[stevedeshazer]

10. This gives me hope.

:)

[MrMickeysMom]

26. Me, too...

:-) :-)