Thread: My 16 year itch

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Originally Posted by BIG-JIM

The transmission dipstick is buried deep behind the headers so getting to it while the car is running to check it is fun. I have high temp gloves and a sleeve so they came in handy. I had to get creative when it came time to fill it. I used a small PVC tube and a squeeze bottle to fill it. It took 10 ounces. I just got back from a 25 mile jaunt and shifting was perfect the whole time. Nice and crisp. And the door didn't pop open on me so it was a good ride. I'd be lying if I told you I didn't think about it from time to time.

Was the trans just low on fluid Jim, or did you already swap out the trans? Sorry to hear of your issues. But, it definitely looks like you got your $30k worth by the looks of your car! I'm not far off from that price on my 40 and it is a quarter of the car you have! Congrats on the award. The RH door on my 40 would mysteriously pop open from time to time too. It's not a good deal when the person is leaning on it at all. Bear claws are in it's future too. Hopefully it's something simple in your case.

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

Was the trans just low on fluid Jim, or did you already swap out the trans? Sorry to hear of your issues. But, it definitely looks like you got your $30k worth by the looks of your car! I'm not far off from that price on my 40 and it is a quarter of the car you have! Congrats on the award. The RH door on my 40 would mysteriously pop open from time to time too. It's not a good deal when the person is leaning on it at all. Bear claws are in it's future too. Hopefully it's something simple in your case.

Yup seems the transmission fluid was just low. I took it over to my buddy Bob's place and he took it for a spin. He has owned a lot more rods than I have so I value his opinion. I'm still getting used to it (driving it) but he just hopped in and backed it down the driveway like he had driven it a 100 times. He drops it in gear and before I knew what was going on we were doing 85 mph. Driving with one hand and discussing the finer points of the interior all the while I'm thinking I hope the door doesn't pop open. Then he brings it back down the hill in front of his house (on a major road) and he pulls to the wrong side of the road stops and backs it into his driveway in one fluid motion. He actually did a little hole shot in reverse going backwards up his driveway. Did I forget to mention that there was a car heading towards us as he pulled to the wrong side of the road? I trust him wholeheartedly and would not hesitate to hand him the keys to any of my vehicles. Then he starts comparing it to his car (37 ford 5w Coupe 460HP tremic 5 speed) and my wife's car. He says it is less powerful than his car but a lot more powerful than the wife's. Says it is louder than both hers and his and it has almost no rattles (unlike his that rattles like crazy). He told me "If I were you, I'd go terrorize some pavement and drive the $hit out of it"! So that's just what I did...

As for the car being worth what I paid for it? The paint does have it's flaws but nothing I can't live with. It has some bubbles around the belt line just above the trunk, some stone chips and road rash, and the paint looks a little thin in area's like it was painted by a beginner. The paint almost looks like a candy but it isn't. The running boards have some chips from the P.O. dropping the seatbelts on them. Like I said before I'm just happy I finally found a 30's coupe I actually fit in. Getting in and out of it must be funny to watch but once I'm in it fits me great. The funny part (for me anyway) is I found a car I don't want to change. I changed the headlight outer trim because the old ones were powdercoated chrome and they were dull. I need to get some new front tires (they are from 2002) and one vent window needs to be replaced because it is plexiglass. And I think that's about it. I want to change the gauges because I can't see them but I'm going to give it some time to see if I get used to them. They are grey background with white numbers and they light up red at night. There is almost no distinction between the numbers and faces and the needles don't light up. But to me these are all little things and will only enhance the already nice clean look of the car not change the whole appearance like I did with the wife's 32. Sorry for the long read. I get caught up in the moment sometimes.