"Well we're movin' on up!"
1983 Chevy Caprice!
This is the story of Mr. George Jefferson, the latest addition
to the StillRuns.com family of vintage Chevrolet automobiles...
Mr. Jefferson is being used while Gloria's motor gets swapped out
for enhanced performance. George was a free car. Of course, as with
anything that's free, there's a catch. The brakes were toast. After
replacing the rotors, bearings, pads and calipers, the brakes would
still bind up. So then I find that someone put oil or tranny fluid in the
master cylinder, ruining the brake system. I replaced the master
cylinder and flushed out the system. The brakes work!
Then I needed to address the cooling system. The engine would
get hot, but the radiator would stay cool. Sounded like a stuck
thermostat. When I pulled the upper radiator hose, I could see
that the entire thermostat housing was clogged with junk. I
think it was some kind of crystallized anti-freeze substance.
Thankfully, the entire engine and radiator were not also affected
with this condition. They must've been made out of tungsten carbide.
Flushed out the motor and radiator just in
case, and voila...a great running car with brakes AND a cooling
system, all for about $200-$300 in parts
(and a bazillion hours of labor).
Mr. Jefferson had 187,000 original miles when we got him.
This is the first V6 in the family. We'll see if it's as durable as a V8!
Update: Mr. Jefferson Injured In Battle!
Cracked paint
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Missing stuff
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Dusty motor that sat
for a year!
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Cobwebs!
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Clogged thermostat
housing
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Before brake job
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After brake job
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This is how dirty my hands
were after doing the brakes!
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This is the master cylinder
reservoir gasket. Look how
much the old one expanded
due to the wrong fluid
entered into the system!
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More cracked paint
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Cracked tail light
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Even more cracked stuff!
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When I washed the car, the
Caprice part of the emblem
fell off. I guess it's just
a classic now!!
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After washing!
I was trying to open a used tube of weatherstripping adhesive to
stick one of George's side moldings on the car. I thought I had the
nozzle cleared, but when I squeezed the tube, it exploded, oozing
all the adhesive all over my shoe. Here's my shoe stuck to a brick!
Update: Mr. Jefferson didn't want to pass the emission test,
so I sold his sorry butt for $450 in June of 2007.
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