Yes, I still have it ('76 Volare Premier Coupe update)

[RowanAmethyst]

Well, it's about that time again: time to talk about my Volare. I haven't really touched it since last year, though last time I started it, it fired right up. I wouldn't want to try that again until I drain the tank and put fresh gas + stabilizer in there, the gas in that tank is a couple years old now.

The reason for this hiatus: finances. I haven't even been able to afford wiper linkage bushings, let alone materials to get it back up to road legal. But hopefully soon I'll be employed again, and while I won't have as much time to work on the Volare, I'll have more funds to throw at it. And maybe a weekend or two with my friend and some drinks (soda for me, thanks) and we can get it back up to speed.

To recap: The wiper bushings are dead. Completely disintegrated. The horn has a short in it that causes the relay to click rapidly as the wheel is turned. The oil desperately needs changing, likely the AT fluid too. Other than that, it's just loose trim and a touch of rust, and that can wait.

Now, as for plans: fix what needs fixing, then gut the interior. The upholstery is wrecked, the dash is cracked, everything about it is worn out and broken. But, I'm no longer looking to do a restoration, I have grander ideas for this one. I have two ideas, either lift the rear and make it into a kinda drag-ish car, or lift the whole thing and throw dirt tires on it, and make it into the most hilarious rally car you've ever seen. Obviously it'd be more about having fun than being competitive, but I can imagine whipping around a dirt or gravel road, or getting WAY sideways in snow, with a limited slip rear and a stick shift. I already halfway deleted the A/C, I just need to find or fabricate a bracket (I think you can get alternator brackets that convert it to non-AC), I want to pull off the vinyl top, delete most of the trim (it's broken and falling off anyway), and repaint it the same blue it is now but with a nice glossy clear coat, maybe with white racing stripes. As for the engine: Carb, intake, headers, exhaust, heads, cam, and other various parts will have to be upgraded if I want to race it without destroying it. I considered a throttle body EFI system, but I dunno if I want to go that route. Either way, there's a lot of work to do. Put a couple racing seats and a roll cage inside, and other than that just leave it stripped down.

Apologies for the stream-of-consciousness ramble, it's late and I'm just spitballing. I've never seen a rally F-body (probably for good reason), and I think it would be a fun project.

 

[compubert]

Last time I bought wiper bushings they set me back about 3 bucks. Of course that was 10 yrs back...

 

[RowanAmethyst]

Last time I bought wiper bushings they set me back about 3 bucks. Of course that was 10 yrs back...

Okay so maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but the point is, I can't afford to get the thing street legal

 

[compubert]

I totally understand... tags here arent too bad, unless it is a new car on your tally sheet... then its 200 plus tags..

 

[RowanAmethyst]

I totally understand... tags here arent too bad, unless it is a new car on your tally sheet... then its 200 plus tags..

It's more the repairs it needs than the inspection itself. But I applied for a new job the other day and if I get it, I'll be making enough to start fixing it up. The job is at A Certain Major Retail Store, installing car electronics (which I specialized in while I was at tech school). I'd be starting probably around $12/hr, with plenty of room to go up as I get certifications and experience.

As for the car, I'm starting to think about performance upgrades. Like maybe a turbo wouldn't be a bad addition, if I switch to EFI. Or is a carbed turbo feasible? I've never customized a car before (other than a classmate's Escort back in high school), so I don't know what's possible.

 

[Oldiron440]

EFI and turbos are pipe dreams on $12.00 an hour.

 

[Oldiron440]

Stick with the basic repairs first, get it running and driving then make changes as you can.

 

[RowanAmethyst]

EFI and turn is are pipe dreams on $12.00 an hour.

Yeah, I figured. Still, dreaming can't hurt. More likely I'll just clean up the engine, maybe new headers, carb, etc, and just drive it 'til it explodes. I was thinking of a junkyard turbo setup, and summit has an EFI TB for the 318, or I could probably just pull one off something else. Hell, I could program an arduino to control the injectors if I wanted to go all mad scientist with it. But again, these are just dreams, I'll probably go the cheap and easy route.

 

[compubert]

On the cheap, 2bbl throttle body off an older (80's) v6 would work and not complicate things too much. . .

 

[AJ/FormS]

I like your idea to make it a dirt rally car, or grass.
The most fun I ever had was doing that.
But If the car is already an automatic, I think I would keep it so, on account of that activity is pretty much a one-gear deal. I know in the one I entered with my 100% street car, and survived, I used second in the 4 speed, slammed the gas down and sorta rode the brakes in the turns,but mostly used the gas to steer with the rear-end,lol. No I didn't win, but I was only a few seconds off the prepared car's tail! What BLAST!
A lotta cars broke that day, I mean serious carnage.
I think everybody should try that at least once in their life!
And the best part was it didn't take a lot of power to have fun; so a cheap-thrill

 

[RowanAmethyst]

I like your idea to make it a dirt rally car, or grass.
The most fun I ever had was doing that.
But If the car is already an automatic, I think I would keep it so, on account of that activity is pretty much a one-gear deal. I know in the one I entered with my 100% street car, and survived, I used second in the 4 speed, slammed the gas down and rode the brakes in the turns,lol. No I didn't win, but I was only a few seconds off the prepared car's tail! What BLAST!
A lotta cars broke that day, I mean serious carnage.

Good to know! That'll save me some time and money, not having to convert to manual.

 

[AJ/FormS]

I think there are about 4 applications for a manual trans
1) A guy just always wanted one
2) a small engine, or a low-powered engine, does better, performance wise,with the tighter power band requirement.
3) fuel economy
4) I'm thinking......... There's gotta be a 4th,hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Got it; adjustable stall.

 

[BudW]

I highly prefer manual transmissions but - will tolerate an automatic (if I have to).

For the most part (until you get into 25+ year old vehicles or older), a manual transmission vehicle is cheaper to purchase, gets better fuel mileage, suffers from fewer breakdowns (than automatics do), when a manual does break/fail, it is generally a lot less to fix, and lastly are more fun to drive.

Now with that said, most vehicles come with automatics, including FMJ body cars.
Some may even dispute there are any M or J body manual transmission cars – but I’ll save that discussion for another thread.

The problem with FMJ’s is the expense to change an automatic over to a manual car – as well as locating the parts for it. Unless you have an unusual vehicle, it might be better off to find a manual transmission car, to begin with.

I have a dream of installing a Tremec 5-speed or a Magnum 6-speed manual transmission into my ’77 Wagon (currently with 318 2-bbl automatic) – but I lack the money needed for the parts for changeover.


The wiper bushings are fairly inexpensive and do crumble over time.
Once you replace them – they should last for another 30 years without troubles. There are multiple threads in our forums on how to replace them yourself. Go to the Search tab (upper Right hand corner) and search for “wiper bushing” or wiper bushings”.

DORMAN has two different part numbers for the bushings
A card of 2 – 49440 ($2.99 at my local parts store)
A box of 10 – 118-301 (8.49, again, at my local parts store).

A person may be able to get 4 (or 3, depending on which bushing style is located on the wiper motor) cheaper on eBay, after freight – maybe.


Is your car the same color as my ’77 wagon?

B5 Blue (Plymouth calls it French Racing Blue)
BudW

 

[RowanAmethyst]

I highly prefer manual transmissions but - will tolerate an automatic (if I have to).

For the most part (until you get into 25+ year old vehicles or older), a manual transmission vehicle is cheaper to purchase, gets better fuel mileage, suffers from fewer breakdowns (than automatics do), when a manual does break/fail, it is generally a lot less to fix, and lastly are more fun to drive.

Now with that said, most vehicles come with automatics, including FMJ body cars.
Some may even dispute there are any M or J body manual transmission cars – but I’ll save that discussion for another thread.

The problem with FMJ’s is the expense to change an automatic over to a manual car – as well as locating the parts for it. Unless you have an unusual vehicle, it might be better off to find a manual transmission car, to begin with.

I have a dream of installing a Tremec 5-speed or a Magnum 6-speed manual transmission into my ’77 Wagon (currently with 318 2-bbl automatic) – but I lack the money needed for the parts for changeover.


The wiper bushings are fairly inexpensive and do crumble over time.
Once you replace them – they should last for another 30 years without troubles. There are multiple threads in our forums on how to replace them yourself. Go to the Search tab (upper Right hand corner) and search for “wiper bushing” or wiper bushings”.

DORMAN has two different part numbers for the bushings
A card of 2 – 49440 ($2.99 at my local parts store)
A box of 10 – 118-301 (8.49, again, at my local parts store).

A person may be able to get 4 (or 3, depending on which bushing style is located on the wiper motor) cheaper on eBay, after freight – maybe.


Is your car the same color as my ’77 wagon?
View attachment 28521
B5 Blue (Plymouth calls it French Racing Blue)
BudW

Mine looks a shade darker than that, but it could just be the lighting. I know what I'm doing with the wiper bushings, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. As for AT vs. MT, I prefer manuals, but an auto is fine for what I want to do with it (hoon around the countryside, maybe come in last at a race or two).

 

[Justwondering]

AJ -- there are two other reasons for a manual transmission

-- car can't be stolen because snowflakes don't know how to drive a stick
-- better quality lower body workout cause your abs have to ensure both feet/knees are a pumping up and down for clutch, brake, and gas.

just saying..

JW

 

[BudW]

Some clutch (petals) do not give as much workout as some other clutch (petals) do.

Clutches that need a high clamping force – which generally refer to either Heavy Duty trucks and to High performance vehicles. Both need a high clamping force on clutch – which means you need to provide more pressure against the clutch petal to counteract the stiffer clutch springs.

The clutch petal on my diesel pickup will give your Left leg a workout.
The clutch petal on a low end car (ie: cheap when purchased new, like a Corolla) will not need as much effort to press the clutch down.
Some days, after driving my diesel pickup around town all day, I'll walk with a slight limp.

-- better quality lower body workout cause your abs have to ensure both feet/knees are a pumping up and down for clutch, brake, and gas.

Hum (and scratching my hairy chin) - that doesn't explain my, um, the spare tire I carry around . . .
BudW

 

[Oldiron440]

Seven years ago I built a 55 Chevy for a guy, I did the body and paint work with some assembly also. The motor and transmission were installed by a good friend of mine. It was a 454 and TKO600 with a hydraulic clutch, it works so soft and smooth that I compared it with a new Honda!
My Volare has three pedals in it, I'm thinking. Three pedals and 645hp hhhmmm.

 

[RowanAmethyst]

Seven years ago I built a 55 Chevy for a guy, I did the body and paint work with some assembly also. The motor and transmission were installed by a good friend of mine. It was a 454 and TKO600 with a hydraulic clutch, it works so soft and smooth that I compared it with a new Honda!
My Volare has three pedals in it, I'm thinking. Three pedals and 645hp hhhmmm.

My Volare has three pedals too! Gas, brake, and parking brake

 

[Oldiron440]

ok. 4 pedals then.
sheesh

 

[Justwondering]

But how many shifter levers do you have?

Some day I will have to share the saga of the 63 Willys pickup ...
this is not mine, but what mine is supposed to look like.

Its been sitting for over a year now waiting for me to get educated enough to begin the restoration process...