Greetings! My name is Ed, I'm currently but inexplicably located in Lafayette, Indiana, and I'm the proud owner of a 1983 Custom Cruiser. It's been well cared for, though not so much by me...I've only had her for a few months. I'm trying not to screw it up though. Maybe I'll even leave her better than I found her. That would tend to require either skill or money, and I have neither. Yep. Just you guys.

I present to you: HORIZONS 1

exterior front.jpg

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Found her at a nearby Ford dealership and only paid 850. Been my daily driver to work and school and very reliable. All I've put into her so far is oil change & filter, air filter, and a whole lotta gas.

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Not a terrifically well-equipped specimen, but power locks and windows all round, and they all work. 3-way tailgate works great. Some unfortunately deep rust in mostly hidden places, which I'll show in my next post, but the paint is absolutely flawless everywhere else...I'm assuming it's not original. Interior is in incredibly good shape too. Aside from a small rip in the drivers seat and some wear on the 3rd row seat panel, it looks minty fresh.

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The ghettolicious led lamps stuck above the speedo are, obviously, because the speedo lamps down work. Also not reporting for duty are the rear defroster, cruise control (worked the day I drove her home, but not since), and the AM part of the AM/FM stereo. The mechanical electric clock "works", but doesn't keep correct time. It just ticks really, really, really, really loudly and annoyingly. I wanted to pull a fuse just to shut it the hell up but I guess it shares a fuse with the cigarette lighter...which I need for things like ghettolicious led speedo lamps.

 

Now the ugly bits, leading to one of my questions...what the heck do you call this broken plastic fender bit, so I can search for replacements? Googling "plastic fender bit" doesn't yield much. Other side's broken, but not clean off like this one.

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More plastic that got brittle and fell off, revealing ugly (but far from the worst) rusty metal.

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Penetrating rust along the bottom edges of the doors, though you have to get down on all fours to see it, and very ugly penetrating rust on the spare tire well. On the plus side, it has a full-size spare!

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Most of the door gaskets are in pretty good shape, but the rubber along the bottom of the rear window is rough, inside and out. It rubs and slows the window going down, and that outside rubber has to be letting a lot of water into the tailgate, although there's no rust on the gate and the power window works well.

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Here's where I mention that I know f-all abound engines. Well...maybe slightly more than f-all. I could explain to a middle-schooler basically how internal combustion engines work...the difference between 2-stroke, 4-stroke, diesel vs. petrol...but I have no practical experience beyond adding oil and changing my air filter out. Any time I try to do more than that I seem to screw something up.

Once upon a time I was hand-tightening a bleeder valve for the coolant system of an '86 Civic, when the valve along with a 2-square-inch jagged chunk of... literal ENGINE... just pops off in my hand. Had to glue it back on with JB Weld. I could think of similar examples, but I don't want to look like any more of an *** than I already do. It's only my first day.

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So, she cruises well, but idles rough, and will often die at stoplights if I don't keep just the tiniest smidge of pressure on the accelerator. Any of those pics up there look bad? I looked for angry gremlins or little snowmen whose hats had fallen off but I didn't see anything obvious. From reading various forums I have a short list of things I want to check...PCV valve, electric choke, idle control whatsamjigger..that thing that causes high idle on cold starts. Mine seems to work a little too well. If I start it and walk away, the idle will slowly climb and climb til it sounds like it's racing, until I tap the accelerator.

These are just a couple of blind shots under the car that probably have no signifigant diagnostic val..hey, a driveshaft!

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Also, is it normal for the wipers to go all the way down to parked position after every swipe in delay mode? It's still effectively delayed, but the extra motion in and out of the parked position seems like a lot of unnecessary wear-and-tear, in addition to being annoying as heck.

Thanks for reading and taking this little journey with me. I've been reading quite a lot here before I signed up and and admiring your rides, this seems like a great forum!

 

Nice looking car. You should also go over to the Station Wagon forum (www.stationwagonforums.com) and get signed up. Lots of interesting people over there with an unusual interest in common.

 

Welcome aboard

Nice ride

Thanks for the pics

 

http://www.familycar.com

They should have the filler panels. Probably 2-300 bucks though.

 

Welcome, not a bad looking car, especially for the money. You might want to reinforce the spare tire area before the spare falls through.

 

welcome, nice car

 

Welcome to CO Ed. Nice looking car. I just saw an '84 Custom Cruiser yesterday and wondered if it was for sale or not. It wasn't nearly as nice as yours.

 

Hey, thanks for the welcome!

Thanks for that. At least now I know what I'm looking for: bumper fillers! They had the rears, which I do need, but year they were like $250... so... yeah... I dunno.

They didn't have the front ones I need for the Custom Cruiser, but they had them for the Delta 88... I assume it's the same piece, right? They were closer to $150, which is still more than I hoped I'd have to pay for a couple chunks of plastic but of course I'm not surprised by the price.

Maybe I'll make my own. Put a little real wood on this woodie.

As for the spare tire, it's pretty well secured to the frame with that big bolt and wingnut, but I'm definitely keeping an eye on it.

Thanks!

 

Nice stationus-wagonus.
3-way tailgate??
I know of two ways they can open?, what's the third way?

 

There are a bunch of wagon guys on the site you'll meet them all in time. Best ones to nag fors part information

 

This is gonna sound like a stretch, but...

..aside from dropping the window and opening like a pickup tailgate (1), you can open it like a door with the window up (2) or down (3). I know, big whoop , but the first dual-action gates like this could only be opened with the window down, so that's what it's called sometimes.

 

its pretty {:

 

Welcome to our site! I like you already.... you have a sense of humor!! She's a nice looking car for the money. I'm glad you discovered she has a driveshaft! They tend to drive easier when they have one, LOL!! My guys here are the bestest, and are just full of knowledge....amongst other things!!

 

I get it now.
It is a pain to have put the window down every time you want to open it sideways like mine.
I liked the old liftgate window and tailgate combos.

 

I love the way the tailgate works, but each time I lower the window I'm afraid that's when the motor's gonna go out on me... I wish there was an option to crank it manually if you absolutely had to.

There's a lot to be said for the simplicity of a liftgate. The worst that'll happen is you find out you need new air shocks when it comes down on your head. (speaking from experience...my first car was an 89 Taurus wagon and both the hood and liftgate were out for blood)

And just like that I like you too! Thanks for the welcome, and please don't hesitate to pinch me.

 

Welcome to the Land of CO! Sounds like you got a deal on your wagon. Lots of us enjoy the LongTops, and some of us (not me) have some genuine knowledge that might be beneficial to you. Glad you are here!

 

Thanks, Aron!

Well you ducked that bullet then, cause I plan on being a tremendous pain in the *** in that regard

 

LOL!!! That's funny!!