Well, got home late last night with a '64 Cruiser I bought in Vancouver. Got it off the trailer today, and made an effort to unstick the engine. Removed all the spark plugs, which showed no signs of rust, and used a fogging gun to blow a blend of ATF and Varsol into each cylinder. Removed the breather caps, and gave the valve areas a shot for good measure. It's a 289, two barrel carb.
Removed the starter, and installed my "engine turner", the snout of an old starter with the pinion welded to stub shaft with a big nut on it. Cranked on it with a breaker bar. Result: the engine didn't turn, but I broke two teeth on the ring gear. It was stuck but good, I guess. The engine will have to come out.
Surprisingly, the frame and the underside of the floor look pretty good. If the floor is rusty, it hasn't proceeded to the point of causing the undercoating to scale off. There IS rust in the bottom of the rocker panels, in the rear doglegs at the bottom, and in the trunk floor. Also front and rear fenders have numerous pinholes.
The interior is quite nice, with good original upholstery covered with fuzzy seat covers. Steering wheel is yellowed, but uncracked. Push-button AM radio. Headliner slightly mildewed, but no holes, nor any sign of mouse activity inside the car. Lots of rat sh*t under the hood (or squirrel, maybe).
This is a disc brake car. One can be safe in assuming that all brakes will need a complete overhaul. Something like 96000 miles on it. It has sat in a garage in Vancouver for 27 years, unused.
I really think this poor thing is doomed to become a parts donor, being as it would need a full set of exterior panels plus paint to look good, plus a new carpet. Plus it will need at least an overhaul of the engine, if not a rebuild. Who knows how the Flightomatic is, but I expect it would need seals, at least.
Pretty well all the trim is there and intact, even the circle "S" hood ornament. Glass is all there and intact, too.
If it were a runner, it could be made a driver, but as a non-runner, there are too many hurdles to jump to make it good again, considering the limited demand for Cruisers, regardless of how nice a car they really are.
I will pull the engine and tear it down, but it is not a priority right now.
I'll entertain offers and/or suggestions. FWIW, I paid $500 for it, plus spent several hundred $$ on fuel for the trip to haul it home from B.C. I figure I can get my money out in parts.
Dick Steinkamp had a look at this car in August, and took some pictures. There was a thread on the SDC Forum about it back around then, too.
Gord Richmond