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521 Parts Hauler for "SLOWEST MOVING" project


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I love this truck, I was the guy who pointed Glides{jon} in the direction of it a couple of years ago. I wanted it, but had to many cars and took it upon myself to Help the lady sell it. Never did get the 10% i was promised.

As I'm going over it, I'm learning a lot about it. As I was skating around on the creeper taking stock of the underside (and re-indexing the torsion bars) I was impressed by how clean and corrosion-free it is. The "patina" is clearly a faux "distressed" type finish. I'd like to know what the process was, if you know any of the history. I get the idea that a torch might have been used, obviously some abrasives, and perhaps lacquer thinner.

 

I don't really WANT to repaint it, but every time I examine a section I am struck by how it would be an excellent restoration candidate.

 

For now, though, I'm focusing on mechanical improvements:

1. Repair or replace tranny - I can't stand a shifter that "flops" 6 inches left to right on curvy roads, and third gear crunches unless you hit it right.

2. Some sort of "muffler". The straight pipe bangs on things anyway, so I'll rework it and add a little more quiet so I can run the L16 as intended

3. Procure a few, select, "missing parts". I already have the front bumper and will fab brackets unless anyone has em!! Also a shift boot! It's nice to get a "road condition report in real time" -but I'd like a little more isolation from the view of the pavement passing by underneath - especially on cold days!

4. Wiring - there's just not much, so I want to get everything working as it should. It's not really that hard, and some judicious diagnosis and repair can make our little Dat's pretty sharp- they don't need to be full of electrical gremlins

5. Brakes - a front disc upgrade would be nice but the drums are getting the job done for tooling around, so it's #5 on the list for now

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As far as the paint job, it looked like that when we found it. John just cleaned it up, and painted the rising suns on the side. The lady it came from got it after the original owner died. The story was he really loved the truck and it was always keep it a warehouse. I always assumed the paint got that way from sitting at her house for a few years. maybe not, never consided it was a faux job but definatly could be. i may be confusing you, did you get it from a guy named John{or glides online}? What happened to the airdam that was up front? Also did you get all the parts/manuals with it? She had boxes of stuff to go with when I first saw it.

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As far as the paint job, it looked like that when we found it. John just cleaned it up, and painted the rising suns on the side. The lady it came from got it after the original owner died. The story was he really loved the truck and it was always keep it a warehouse. I always assumed the paint got that way from sitting at her house for a few years. maybe not, never consided it was a faux job but definatly could be. i may be confusing you, did you get it from a guy named John{or glides online}? What happened to the airdam that was up front? Also did you get all the parts/manuals with it? She had boxes of stuff to go with when I first saw it.

The airdam WAS on the truck when I got it. I feared it was hiding a crunched front end, but it's all good. The airdam just wasn't my style. I'm kinda a minimalist. A bumper was hard to find! - but it will go on and complete the "stock" appearance.

The manuals and extra parts either stayed with John or from the subsequent owner. I purchased it from a Gentleman down Charleston S.C. way, and I beleive he mentioned HE got it from Atlanta.

If this wasn't an arid-state car it's whole life it MUST have been stored in a warehouse! IT's amazing underneath! The rusty patina is quite misleading!

 

I'll try to get you a pic of why I beleive the finish was "distressed" on purpose at some point. Thanks for the info, Charlie!

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Cool man, hold on to that airdam, it a very rare item. It had 521 stamped into which i have never seen. It came from florida originally, but it stayed in the warehouse according to the story. Plus the owner was very attached to truck, even to the point of keeping service notes that read like a story, or love letter. Funny stuff, does it still have a bunch of funny stickers and stuff inside and on the back?

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