Brought home the 72 98, now there are a few things I know it needs like valve cover gaskets, upper control arm bushings, and some electrical connection cleanup. The question is do I go looking for trouble or just do the required work and maintainance. The 98 only has 51k but it is 40 years old.

 

Was it sitting for a long time before you got it?

 

Take care of pressing things like the CA bushings first. You want the car roadworthy. Valve cover gaskets are no biggie on these cars. Electrical stuff? if something's not working, go ahead and handle it.

Get the car on a lift and do a thorough assessment of needs. I think at a minimum I'd replace all the rubber fuel lines with ethanol resistant material, and then look into rebuilding the brake system including new hoses.

One thing I can get peculiar about are water leaks. If a windshield or rear glass is leaking, I like to get it sealed up. Same goes for trunk- put yer boy in the trunk with a good bright flashlight (or yourself if you don't think he knows what to look for) and spray all around the trunk lid and bottom of the back glass and see if any water's getting in. Trunk weatherstrip is readily available for these cars and is a good afternoon project.

Other than that, if the big beast runs well, just address things as needed.

 

Any time someone asks this question, the answer is always YES.

If you've got to ask, then you already know the answer.

I agree with the others - give it a good going over and fix what's broke, including a very close check of suspension bushings and hoses.

BUT, you know the truth - you're just looking for trouble.

- Eric

 

Whatever you do, get the boy out there to help you...he may not be a mechanic for the rest of his life, but what he can learn now will save his butt in a pickle or better, provide him with a decent paying temporary job when the economy tanks again.

 

I would check all the safety items first, brakes, suspension, u joints, wheel bearings, leaks, and tune. Then go forward from there.

Trouble is exactly what your looking for. But it's called preventative maintenance.

 

well about 6 months this last time I'm driving it local to get some feel for the problems.

 

Check the brakes first. Remove the drums look for fluid leaks, and wash them out with water.
Check the front end for looseness by rocking the tops of the front tires and shaking the tie rods.
If the front end seems ok, grease all the fittings (up to 12 of them).
If any electrical connection seems bad or looks burned, do not drive the car until it is repaired. Most connections are easy to fix - search for "Rob's skule of terminal repair".
If you have any wiring hack jobs by previous owners, remove any unneeded stuff and repair.
Bushings might be able to be postponed if no obvious issues. 50k miles is not much at all.
Replace all rubber fuel line - at the gas tank, along the frame, and under the hood.
Also do any coolant hoses that look old.
Get new tires if they are very old and show signs of deterioration.
Address leaks soon. Valve cover gaskets are not too bad.

This will get you started.

 

That's not too long of a time sitting. Cars of this age one problem will lead you to next thats just how it goes. Time and money

 

I wouldn't specifically go "looking for trouble", but doing the things the car needs has a tendency to lead to MAW, or might as well projects. A serious case of the MAWs has been known to lead to complete restoration. Know where your limits are. If you want to continue to drive the car, don't let MAWs take over too much. They are useful though, when not doing them means you're going to skip jobs that you might have to come back to later. Sometimes the smartest thing is to do a more far-reaching job to avoid doing some jobs twice. Just remember when you're screaming and swearing and covered in grease and sweat with little bits of rust stuck in the corners of your eyes that you're doing it because it's fun, damn it.