This is Meathead, one of the latest additions to the family. Be sure to see Archie, Edith and Gloria too!
News Flash! Meathead had his first crash...just 10 days after getting the car!! Read all about it here!
These are the photos I saw which made me decide to buy the car!

First thing I did to the car was an oil change. Will probably do another one after 50-100 miles of driving. Also need to change the tranny fluid once or twice. Maybe I'll have a tranny shop flush it for me.

Here's Meathead being delivered from Massachusetts, deep within the rust belt!

First problem I noticed with the car is that it didn't roll very well. I thought it was due to the flat tire. Then I suspected that the emergency brake was stuck in the 'on' position. Turns out that the front calipers were seized up. I figured it would be best to redo the whole brake system. This way, they should last for a long time without any trouble.

Here's a bunch of photos I took just minutes after getting the car!

One of Meathead's wheels was rusted to the car. Tried yanking and pulling. Then I tried prying. Then I tried banging it with an old axle. Then I tried air hammering the axle while pulling on the wheel. Then I screwed an 8 foot long 4x4 to it to give me some leverage. Finally stuck and air chisel in the hole where there was a missing wheel stud. Managed to pry it off like that. Good thing there was a missing stud!

I repacked the wheel bearings, had the rotors turned, installed new brake hoses, calipers, pads, shoes, drums, springs, wheel cylinders, power booster and master cylinder. If there's any problems at all, it will be related to the brake lines or the proportioning valve. If necessary, I guess I'll replace that stuff too.

Yes, the rear brake lines leak. I will see if the guys at RufRoad want to tackle the job for me. Update: They didn't want to do the job because they don't stock long enough brake lines and would have to build one out of sereval lines which they said may be more likely to leak. Now there's an honest shop. Rather than the old dollar signs lighting up in their eyes, they spoke the truth. More shops should be like them!

I went to the DMV today and got a temporary license plate. I drove the car around the block at about 5-10mph. Anything more would have been scary because of how much the car wobbles (and because I didn't have any rear brakes). I know that at least one tire is out of round. Hopefully that's the only thing causing any wobbling!

I rebuilt the carburetor tonight. It didn't look too bad in there. But there was no fuel filter…none at all. And the spring for it is not there so I may just cut the fuel line to install an in-line filter. The hose on the fuel pump needs replacing. I should probably replace the pump too. The shocks are shot. They may be one of the harder things to replace due to rusted bolts.

Installed new air filter and tightened some loose vacuum hoses.

Need to get new tires tomorrow. One of the rims has a dent which causes the tire to lose air. So I'll have them put one of the tires on the spare rim instead.

Then it's off to emission testing. They just passed a bill here which exempts older cars from the test if they are collector cars. But that would require that I get collector car insurance which I can't do because they expect it to be in a garage…which I don't have.
I figure the car will pass emissions pretty well as the motor sounds nice. If not, I'll put Gloria's carb on there. It got Archie through his test last time!

Once it passes the test, I should (finally) be able to drive the thing a few million miles!

Ok, got the new tires. And the car no longer wobbles uncontrollably! Still need to find a brake line. RufRoad said they'd install it for only $60. What a smoking deal! Problem is that they don't have any brake lines that long. I'll keep looking for a solution.

I put new spark plugs in. The old ones didn't look bad at all, but at least I now have a slightly better chance of passing the emission test.

Lubed the front end.

Changed the tranny fluid and filter. The gasket was torn a little but I used it anyway. Now I have to do it again because it leaks a little.

Here's a list of things I still need to do:

Check coolant to see if it needs changing. (Done)
Get car emission tested and registered. (Done)
Install cd/mp3 player and speakers (Done)
Install fuel filter
Upgrade ignition to HEI
Replace shocks
Get new radiator cap
Get locking gas cap (Done)
Get rim and tire for spare
Get seat covers
Fix passenger door handle & lock
Install StillRuns.com bumper sticker! (Done!)

Here's how much rust I was able to pull off the frame with my fingers, within about a 4 inch length of the frame. Current Drivability Status:

Car Stats:
Color: Greenish yellowish off-white
Year: 1972
Make: Chevrolet
Model: Impala Convertible
Engine: 350 small block 2bbl
When I bought the car: May, 2005
How many miles it had when I got it: 200,000
Original price I paid for the car: $1200

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