impala

Be careful at Goodwill and check out the vehicles as thoroughly as they'll let you. A friend recently bid on and won a boat at another location of Goodwill. The boat looked beautiful and as above nobody could believe such a nice piece was donated. When he got it in the water he discovered the block was cracked in a hidden location where it couldn't be seen at inspection. We guessed the previous owner knew of the crack and didn't want to sell it for fear of reprisals so he donated it. Without starting/driving a vehicle you're taking somewhat of a chance unless you get it dirt cheap. impala

Right, you can't do anything about polishing it but the best way to get rid of minor rust and tarnish is to use very fine (0000) steel wool. It won't scratch the chrome. impala

I've not tried it yet but I read a report on penetrating oil that said the best was a 50/50 mix of acetone and automatic trans. fluid. The results were impressive compared to the commercial ones available. impala

As a heads up, for some reason that site lists an email you won't get a response to and they only check phone messages once a week. The correct email is fallmeet@hersheyaaca.org not the one they have listed under contacts. impala

As a trucker I need to give a tip. On the PA turnpike when you approach the toll both you'll notice a metal strip in the pavement. These are axle scales. Creep across them because if you go too fast and hit the brakes bouncing the scale you could bump yourself into a higher weight class and more money. You'll notice the steel haulers doing this, especially owner operators who have to pay their own tolls. In the old days we actually rubbed the curb on the right side to try to get a lower weight class. Some toll takers let you get away with it but some made you go around again. Of course this only applies to trailering where you might be borderline on weight. impala

After 17 part time years of restoration I'll be in class 27D. 61 Impala convertible as a first time entry. Ermine white/Roman red white conv. top. Some pics at 61impala's photos and albums on webshots Warren (impala)

Hmmm...I always thought NORS stood for "new old replacement stock". As an example an old, never used aftermarket dist. cap by whatever mfg. made exactly like an AC Delco (OEM) dist. cap. impala

That's very true, several types of seals were used but I rebuilt many Q-jets in the day and never had one leak there. There is only about 5 psi. give or take so almost anything will seal it. It sounds like you have a crack in the threaded portion of the cover or the nut or the flared part of the fuel line otherwise the O-ring should have worked. impala

Your friend sounds more like someone who is mis-representing a car for sale than someone accessing a car. He might be knowledgeable in something but it's obviously not cars. Deal with him! Yeah I would deal with him by making him realize you spent 8 hours driving and incurred expense to look at a piece of crap. Only use knowledgeable people who's knowledge you can verify. impala

I vaguely remember that as being the case while working at gas stations and garages back in the day. Thanks for re-affirming that and jogging my memory. impala

Thanks for the great feedback Todd. The car will probably be used quite frequently in the summer months. I think the benefit of the bubble would be to have the car visible so in my mind putting a cover on would defeat that feature. I'm still not totally discounting it but would like to hear more and especially from someone who might be using a bag like this one: CCCC - Anti-Rust Car Storage Bag Thanks, impala

That's correct. I should have mentioned that it would be indoor use only. Concerning the inflatable bubble I'm wondering about the difficulty and possibly scuffing the paint when dragging the heavy 10 mil plastic over the car body. impala

Does anyone use either a car storage bag or inflatable bubble for car storage? Here are the links to both systems I'm referring to: CCCC - Anti-Rust Car Storage Bag CarCapsule CarCapsule Indoor Storage Capsule - JCWhitney I'm looking for pros and cons of either system. Thanks, impala

I agree, a great site. Also google "Kirby Palm, XJS book" (word document) for a ton of info on the XJS. I don't agree that the notoriety applies to the 82 or newer XJS's. That's about the time they went to fuel injection and got rid of the troublesome Lucas electronics (Joe Lucas was the man who invented darkness!). I've owned 2 of these, one an 82 HE and now a 94 (face lift) and only had minor issues with both. I believe by 82 they went to mostly Bosch electronics and Bosch fuel injection which made the cars reliable. They also have GM automatic transmissions. Like any older car you're going to have some issues but careful shopping applies here like any car. I personally like the 12's and my last 3 Jaguars have been so equipped. These cars are very low priced now a days and I wouldn't pass on a clean, fairly low mileage V12. At least in my experiences they are smooth, quiet (probably the 6's and 8's are too) and get decent gas mileage. impala

Well as I had assumed there would be a difference of opinion on here. That's why I presented the question to Herb as Susan suggested. His answer is clear that there should be no deduction if the spare is a different manufacturer than the four tires on the ground. I will print out his response and present it for judging if necessary as he suggests. As I said earlier the car came with either Firestone Deluxe Champions or BF Goodrich Silvertowns and since it's a convertible the size is 8:00 X 14. Since you can no longer get the Firestones in that size I have no choice but to go with the BFG's. Yes it did leave the factory with five Firestones which is now not possible to duplicate. I personally see no problem with four BFG's on the ground and the original Firestone spare and AACA doesn't either. impala

A quick and dirty test lacking any diagnostic equipment is to disconnect one terminal of the battery with the car running. If the engine stalls the generator is not providing any or enough voltage to keep the engine running. Of course a volt meter will give a more accurate reading. impala

Yeah I realize that the top has to be up. The well liner has nothing to do with the top being up or down. It always stays in the same place on top of the spare. impala

I will send Herb the question as there is a slight doubt in my mind about the spare being a different mfg. But thinking more about it my 61 is one of the ragtops that has the spare mounted on the upper shelf and I believe the top well material lays on the tire preventing any identification without picking the material up off of the tire. Yes the four tires on the ground will be identical. impala

Thanks to both responses. I was wanting to keep the original spare for nostalgic/originality reasons but was unsure how the judges would rate a different mfg. spare tire. The rules seem clear as to my situation. impala

I can't seem to find the rule book on the site anymore (am I missing it?) so I have a question. My 61 Impala convertible originally came with 8:00 X 14" Firestone Deluxe Champions or BF Goodrich Silvertowns. The Firestones in that size are no longer available so I'm going with the BFG's. The question: The original Firestone spare has never been used so for originality issues I would like to keep it as the spare. Is there going to be a point deduction if the spare is a different brand from what is on the car keeping in mind that both mfg's are correct for the year and model.. impala

Not necessarily failure but possibly contaminated fluid or restricted fluid flow. I had one in the shop a while back that was making a similar noise. The fluid was dirty but most noteworthy there was a plastic screen within the reservoir that was partially plugged. I removed the reservoir, cleaned it in the parts washer and got as much old fluid out of the system as possible. I refilled and added some Lucas ps conditioner and the noise went away. Just something to check on before replacing the pump. impala

Susan, to answer your question as to why an incorrect color top would be installed. There are two issues here. First is judging and second is what colors appeal to the owner. I know it's my decision and I eventually have to decide what's more important to me, judging or a unique looking car with the colors I happen to like better. impala

Your friend is correct in that they didn't come with a red top. Most were black as standard but white could be ordered. According to those in the know you could get other colors by special order. This of course would have to be documented for judging purposes. You wouldn't happen to have any pics of your friend's with the red top would you? impala

I feel like you that red would be sharp too and would make it unique. As far as points, for the 17 years on and off I've been working on this car my goal has always been to go as far as I can in AACA. There is so much competition out there that a 10 point deduction might prevent me from achieving what I want. At this point I'm probably going to go with the white. No, the top color should not effect the value but an AACA senior grand national award will. Thanks for your input. impala

Referencing an old Motors manual (35 to 48): They list 41 as having the spring but not 42. You probably have a late 41 build if you don't have the spring. Anyway it says under camshaft end play: up to 41, "controlled by spring and plunger at the front" and 42 up, "forward thrust is taken by a semi-circular flange in the front engine plate, while the cylinder block takes the backward thrust". Unfortunately they give no dimensions. I would guess if you see no wear on the plate or the back of the block you're OK. impala