Verse
Active Member
It is a Polara 880 wagon, and the woodgrain has been removed. Very nice car. Congratulations!
New Member, New Polara
- Thread starter Stev
- Start date
Welcome! All of the good advice has been driven and I have nothing to add. If it has been in use and not languishing in storage, I'd check the tires and go.
I agree, she's missing her woodgrain. These things look spectacular with the woodgrain on them...I find it breaks up the look and adds a great aesthetic to the old wagons.
This is the Monaco, but you get the idea. In Canada the Polara 880 had this treatment, whereas in the States it was only the Monaco.
I anticipate she won't give you any trouble.
I agree, she's missing her woodgrain. These things look spectacular with the woodgrain on them...I find it breaks up the look and adds a great aesthetic to the old wagons.
This is the Monaco, but you get the idea. In Canada the Polara 880 had this treatment, whereas in the States it was only the Monaco.
I anticipate she won't give you any trouble.
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
[QUOTE="Stev,
I'm assuming the wheel cylinders are toast, a-priori. So i'll pick up four of those and see what happens.
Interesting that the service manual specifies that the grease zerks be only temporarily fitted and replaced with a plug. Is that just mopar weirdness or is that an actual clearance issue? That's very peculiar.[/QUOTE]
Yep, a weird mopar thing. They must have saved a bundle on zerk fittings. I always replaced the plugs with zerks at the first service, just left them in.
A word of caution about "new" brake cylinders. My recent experience buying new got me cheap Chinese parts that I refused to use. Best to just reseal the original cylinders. Unless badly pitted, a quick hone and kit will get the job done.
I'm assuming the wheel cylinders are toast, a-priori. So i'll pick up four of those and see what happens.
Interesting that the service manual specifies that the grease zerks be only temporarily fitted and replaced with a plug. Is that just mopar weirdness or is that an actual clearance issue? That's very peculiar.[/QUOTE]
Yep, a weird mopar thing. They must have saved a bundle on zerk fittings. I always replaced the plugs with zerks at the first service, just left them in.
A word of caution about "new" brake cylinders. My recent experience buying new got me cheap Chinese parts that I refused to use. Best to just reseal the original cylinders. Unless badly pitted, a quick hone and kit will get the job done.
Stev
Member
No this car never had wood grain. I've seen photos of it basically new and it was simply never there.
I believe the colour is also special order as it was bought new by my grandfather's brother and used as a delivery car for his player's cigarette franchise in vancouver, ergo the colour being Player's Blue, and was sold to my grandfather when he returned to the country in 1971.
That's the story as I've been told it at least. I'd have to see the builder's plate to see if the paint code is special order. Either that or day one from the dealer uncle Ian took it to a body shop. But i doubt it as the colour is seamless even under the interior and under the dash.
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Welcome Stev, glad to see a youngster interested in the old cars. Yeah, a 300 mile trip in a dormant car could be dicey. Without seeing the car firsthand, I wouldn't automatically say no, but I'd change the oil and coolant, check the other fluids, and road test it. Best of luck, and keep us posted!
Stev
Member
Well i'm an old man at heart, if that's any consolation. You can see my '48 F3 in my profile image, which is my prospective daily. I just can't stand new junk or industrial design, and I most identify with the modernist era.
All i'm saying is, perhaps somewhere along the way, we went dearly wrong.
Fratzog
Old Man with a Hat
Not sure if already mentioned above but one other quick heads up is to watch for LH threads on wheel lugs on left side of car.
Stev
Member
I didn't know that. That's bizzare.
Fratzog
Old Man with a Hat
I'm sure someone with an engineering background can explain it. Something to do with them being self tightening that way.
Stev
Member
Yeah that's going to be the reason but it's not like there's an epidemic of wheels flying off on the left side due to right hand thread. Sustained vibration is far more liable to loosen bolts than the driving torque of a wheel, which is going to be reversed under braking regardless.
For all the weirdness my Jag's got, that's a new one.
I dig the Solzeneistein quote by the way. Got my copy of Gulag and Denisovich on my desk right here.
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Allacks
New Member
I learned this the hard way. Had to tell my dad I broke a socket
Stev
Member
Well slight update. Still haven't gone up to look at the car yet, but i did find a trove of pictures i had previously taken and forgotten about.
She's no pebble beach winner and it needs a new trunk pan, but despite that most of the undercoat remains. I think she'll be alright to drive down under its own power.
She's no pebble beach winner and it needs a new trunk pan, but despite that most of the undercoat remains. I think she'll be alright to drive down under its own power.
Stev
Member
Found a serial number. Is there anything to decode here or is that all on the info sticker in the door
78Brougham
"Chump"
The more important one is the fender tag. It's on the top of the drivers side inner fender. You can see it in the pic you posted off the engine bay. At about the four o'clock position. The snorkel is almost pointing to it.
If you can get a pic of that when you get the car, these guys can help you decipher it.
If you can get a pic of that when you get the car, these guys can help you decipher it.
Stev
Member
Closest I took was this
Also how do y'all have a '95 XJ12? Unless it's a very late XJS the XJ went away in 92, barring the Daimler at least.
I got me a '79 with the XK6, wouldn't trade it for the world.
You can also see my '49 ford F3 rat rodish thing in progress in the back there. Outdated photo, she's almost done now, hope to have that on the road and slaying tires by july. Though it's got a junkyard 302 in it right now, from day one i've toyed with the idea of putting a jag V12 in it for gits 'n shiggles. The 12's have the old school Turbo 400 bolt pattern on them, so you can slap all sorts of party boxes to them.
I don't have the money for hopping up a double six right now but some day she's gonna get one and it will be glorious.
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70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
It will be fine. Pump the brakes a couple of times if they hold stick it in gear and go.
Stev
Member
Well were it so simple.
Just before he died me and my grandfather talked and he listed the problems. He says it's got some petty things like a misfiring cylinder (probably just contact on the plug), a slow leak in a wheel cylinder and the u joints need replacing. Plus i'll have to do the obvious stuff, plugs, oil, atf, diff fluid etc.
I can do all that without a jack or proper tools, so i'll just go up there and sort it out, but it won't be as easy as "turn key and party". Going by those photos, the brake lines are so unworn that they still have paint on them, so they're fine. So my only true worry left is that that slow cylinder leak won't stay so slow. Also the transmission is a complete unknown quantity, but torqueflites are fine until proven otherwise so that's not weighing on me too much.
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