51 Hornet 4-door, Tucson area, $2500 --SOLD!

Jon B
Jon B Administrator
edited May 2019 in Vehicles
Not mine.
https://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/d/benson-hudson-hornet/6871506791.html


Comments

  • squirrel
    squirrel Member
    uh...I already bought that car. I guess he didn't take the ad down.

    I got it running, working on brakes, wiring, etc.

  • PaulButler
    PaulButler Administrator
    Good buy :)

  • 53hud54
    53hud54 Member
    Lets see some pics, the originals at our shows draw a big crowd over the ones you don't dare get too close to, more all the time.
  • squirrel
    squirrel Member
    A couple pics. I like the old abandoned cars, getting them running again...I've also completely finished a few cars, and the ones I leave all original are just as much fun, with less work.


  • 53hud54
    53hud54 Member
    Leave her alone but get the "0000" steel wool after that chrome dash and wheel, nice to have some shine with that grime.
  • squirrel
    squirrel Member
    Sounds like a lot of work, when I already have so much necessary stuff to do!  :)  Anyways, I decided to see if the old wiring would still work ok. Inspecting most of it shows that it's not in too bad of condition...mostly...  I added a fusible link to the main feed wire, and cleaned up a few things under the hood, and disconnected the power feed from the gauges. I also swapped in a bunch of 12v bulbs. After turning the light switch on and off a bunch of times, it started working. I also wired a ballast resistor in the ignition circuit, and wired in a 10-SI alternator to the AMP light, and the main battery connection on the starter relay. I disconnected the power feed wires to the overdrive system.

    The AMP and OIL lights don't work, I'll have to investigate that. The rest of the dash lights, and the dimmer switch, do work, I get high and low beams. I also need to install the tag lights, someone previously had removed them and replaced one of the sockets, but didn't finish the job.

    The starter and ignition switches both work, I can start the engine from inside the car now. If only it had brakes, and wheels back on, I could see about going for a drive.




  • 33kc1989
    33kc1989 Senior Contributor
    It looks solid.  Nice ride. 
  • Kdancy
    Kdancy Senior Contributor
    Old original wiring is a path to a big fire!
    The cloth covering is dry rotted and will fall off the wire in chunks. No way I'd drive a car without installing a new harness. 
    Looks like yours has a solid body and parameter frame.

  • squirrel
    squirrel Member
    The only rust holes on the car is at the front of the hood.
  • Kdancy
    Kdancy Senior Contributor
    edited May 2019
    The rust starts on the inside where the front inner brace is spot welded onto the hood skin. The spot welds need to be drilled out with a spot weld cutter, taken off, repaired if needed and painted. The hood skin then needs cleaning and derusting, holes fixed/welded then prepped and painted.
    Then spot weld the brace back to the hood and paint.
      If done this way, all rust is eliminated and not just covered up to rust out again.

  • squirrel
    squirrel Member
    Sounds like the right way to fix it! although I probably won't get that far, at least for a while.

    I went for a little drive today, out of the shop and around the power pole. I guess it's time to see how it does out on the road! I've gone through the brakes, checked the clutch, got most of the electrical system working, two new tires and two better used tires, lubed the chassis, and even cleaned the windows.


  • 53hud54
    53hud54 Member
    Looks like she's the color my "53 used to be, lt. blue with dark blue top? Great to her she rolls, how many miles and how long sitting? Mine just started after 16 years and runs perfect so I'm treating her to headers and glass packs. 
  • squirrel
    squirrel Member
    It shows 71k miles on the clock, but the title I got with the car (from Idaho 30 years ago) says not original mileage. The engine is from an early 1954 model car. Looks like it's been mostly sitting since the late 80s. The original color, as well as the repaint, is dark blue upper, light blue lower (code 67).

    I went for a drive for a few miles down the road, I guess the cooling system is next on the list of things to work on. The water pump leaks, although it was holding coolant all this time. It didn't like being turned! And looking in the radiator tubes, they look kind of plugged, so I probably ought to get that done, too. The car came with another used water pump and used radiator. After my little drive, the IR temp gun showed about 200 degrees at the head. The temp gauge is not powered up yet, that's another thing I need to work on soon.

    And the speedo needs some work, it's acting like it is not happy--reads low, then reads high, then low, and makes some noise.

    But she's rolling again, after all those years
  • squirrel
    squirrel Member
    I've been tinkering...this morning, I decided to see if the wiper motor would do anything. I fiddled with the control cable and got it moving ok, and adjusted. I put a bit of oil into the motor, and lubed the wheels that the cable rides on, and after some manipulation, it seemed to be moving ok. So I put the hose back on, and started up the engine...


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