Stock wiring harness and battery?

[greg g]

Another suggestion for strategy for your car. From your comments you seem to be very enthusiatic about having the old car, but I noticed your questions are all over the chart. Asking about basic stuff, then jumping to speed/performance modifications. So based on observation and watching some other folks with their cars both successes and failures, let me suggest something to you as a process for approaching your car.

First get it mechanically sorted and vialbe as a runner driver. Not necessarily a mechanical restoration, but do those things necessary to get it to the point where you could drive it every day. Engnie repairs, transmission sorted, solid exhaust, working stock brakes, reliable lights, working wipers, etc. Once this is done you can start driving the car. It is suprising how many people will approach you with stories of relatives and freinds who had the same car, on or who are working on something similar. Many of these can and will become parts sources, as other may be rodding their cars and discarding stock pieces.

You can take it to shows and swap meets where you may meet other owners of similar cars, another source for information and parts.

Then you can get the comsmetics done and go for the performance stuff one you have establiched you have a car you want to deal with.

I have seen many folks enthusiastcaly tear into a car with grand ideas, only to see it sold off as a "project car" hauled of in pieces and boxes on some one elses trailer two or three years later.

So keep your enthusiasm high but apply it to a simpler stratagy to have a car rather than a project.

[Young Ed]

Good advice Greg. We are trying to put back together one of those "projects" taken apart in the early 80s and left.

[Jeff.P_46]

Time and money takes its toll on a lot of projects. I would imagine only 25% of the people/projects that originally post on this site every really finish them.

Jeff

[Young Ed]

I will admit money has taken a toll on my p15. Painting is my next step and I've been stuck on that for about 3 years now.

[Shawn F.]

Thanks for the advice guys, and I know where your comming from. That is exactly what I plan to do. As for the threads I posted about high performance stuff I did note that I was just thinking and it's not something I am going to do right now. Like you said, I want to get it running and driving with minimal money and time and then add from there. As for the plug wires I will go with plain black one's like mentioned and the evr dry kit, that is a MUST. Then the brakes. Since the stockers are not even worth fixing and would cost just as much as the disk conversion most likely, I will spend the extra little money on the disk setup and new brakes lines (these stocks are RUSTED badly and I wont take a chance with brakes). The top of my list right now of things I need to have fixed before it will drive are these:

1.) Brakes (disk conversion and all new brake lines and hoses).

2.) Carburator rebuilt

3.) Engine, tranny and rear end fluids all changed.

4.) Air filter.

5.) Plugs, wires, distibutor tune up kit.

6.) Wiring harness (Needs all new wiring, I looked at it yesterday and it's a fire hazard as it sits now).

7.) All new bulbs and headlights.

8.) Wiper blades.

9.) All the hoses in the engine compartment meaning fuel, radiator hoses, heater hoses and the fan belt.

10.) Tires (it has old wide whites on it now with tubes and they hold air but the actual tires themselves have half in cracks in them.

11.) Battery

Those are the main things on the list and I know I am missing a few things on there but those are the basics. I still need to save up the money over the next 3 or 4 months and then start with one thing at a time and get it done.