OK, I've come the realization that I'm never gonn'a get all this stuff running again. As much as I hate to, I need to let my beloved Dasher go to a new home where it will be loved and put back on the road (or crushed, used for parts, yard art, target practice, or whatever).
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly: It was my daily driver until the head gasket started leaking. It wasn't getting water in the oil, but it was sucking the water into the cylinders and blowing it out the tail pipe. The head should be OK . . . I never ran it into the red on the gauge. I've got a new head gasket and new head bolts and washers, but it has sat for a little over two years and the engine is locked . . . probably from rusty rings. A good soaking with Marvel Mystery Oil may free it . . . maybe not. When I got first got it, the water pump and radiator was leaking. I replaced them both. The new replacement radiator had the top hose in a different position, so I had to replace it with a new universal hose. I replaced the thermostat while I was at it. I also installed a relay to feed the fuel pump to replace the toggle switch that was in it to replace the factory relay on the fuse box that was notorious for going bad.
Other than the head gasket, it was a darn good driver considering we are talking about a '79 Dasher. The automatic transmission shifted great and despite the control lever unit hanging loose in the dash, the heater and defrost worked great. Has factory air, but the compressor is bad. It has a busted right front strut which made it kind’a feel like a boat going down the road, but I've got new struts, bump stops and dust covers for it . . . I just never installed them. Wal-Mart over-tightened the right front wheel and stripped out one of the lug bolts . . . I got a tap stuck in the hub trying to clean up the threads. Now it has three lug bolts and one broke tap holding the wheel on. I've got a new hub (and I think I even have new wheel bearings), but never installed it. I think I've replaced the front brake pads, I know I did the rear shoes. The left rear brake tightens up when you back up. It was doing this when I got it, and I’ve had the drum off 3 times and never really figured out what the problem is . . . I think it has something to do the unusual wedge contraption they used for the self adjusting brakes on this model. At any rate, the brakes worked great going forward . . . but again, it’s been sittin’ for 2 years. I found a new CV axle for one side (don’t remember which) on eBay for next to nothing so I bought it . . . I never installed it, I just bought it for a spare because it was cheap. The front tires have about 10,000 miles on them and are in good shape. The back ones are sort’a round and hold air. The interior is pretty good for an original interior that’s over 30 years old. Most of the car still has the original paint . . . the rest has good coating of surface rust.
Oh, it has something like 89,000 original miles. I bought it from the previous owner’s mechanic. The little old lady who owned it bought it in 1984 when it had about 25,000 miles on it. When I bought it in 2006 it had about 75,000. There was a home-made “No Smoking” sign stuck on the passenger side dash. The driver’s door worked great, but the other three doors were stuck. I don’t think anyone had sat in any of the seats except for the driver’s seat for the past 20 years. I spent several days getting the doors and windows freed up, lubed and working like new.
So, what do I want for this little beauty? I’ll trade it and all my Dasher parts (most of them brand new!) and if I can find it, a Bentley manual for it for a small storage building. If I sell it, I need some place to store all the junk I’ve got sitting in it. I’d also consider trading for labor to swap out an in-line 6 cylinder in my ’70 Chevy C-10 or removing and cleaning the interior in my ’88 Buick Reatta. Other than that, I can’t think of anything specific I need, but I’m open to any offers, cash or trade. I don’t have a GA title, but I will give you a bill of sale.
Email your offers to zenph@comcast.net . I’ll make you a REALLY good package deal on this and a 1993 Mitsubishi Expo LRV. The engine is shot, but I’ve got a spare that needs a head gasket (it had a oil galley start leaking to the outside of the engine) . . . I’ve got the gasket set, just never got around to installing it.
