Someone hit me over the head...

[FElony]

Man, make an offer on the unibody '62 pickup, or even maybe the Duece (strictly for resale). Forget the Merc.

This seller is a body/paint shop owned by two guyz. The unibody is a parts truck for a customer's project. The deuce and many other nifty vehicles there belong to customers. A couple real nice custom paint jobs inside. This Merc was a partial trade against labor on the owner's other car, after he had removed a bunch of trim and other parts to have it painted, and subsequently lost interest. All the parts are inside and in the trunk.

mtburger, who knows/follows these cars better than I, mentioned to me that this Montego was for sale by the same people a couple years back for about 3 grand. If you follow Craigslist, you will see that this is typical for similar items currently. Evidently, nobody was enough of a Mercophile to take it. The price was lowered this week to 450, and that's what I paid.

Given some rust repair in the lower wheel wells and an engine/trans, this car can be a relatively easy resto. Is it "worth it"? Probably not. But it was a giveaway, basically, so it had to come to papa.

[FElony]

For god sakes take your winter coat...93..brrr.   

Today was the only day in the week's forecast that showed cloud cover with no rain, so I figured I would outmaneuver the heat and make the run. I left at 3am and approached Yuma at near 6:30. Remember that old commercial, "You can't fool with Mother Nature"? So, over the last little mountains, and not only are there no clouds, but there is a northbound duster wreaking disarray hither and thither. Not quite the dust storm we've seen in videos, but it was getting stupid annoying. I spent a whopping 30 seconds looking over the car before loading it up, and had to keep spitting sand while I strapped it because, of course, I did not think to bring a particle mask.

I got some ping upon leaving going into a headwind, so I refueled with 91 instead of 87, and all was well. Over the hill, and just breezy. I guess Yuma just don't like old FElony. Go figure. The 5.4 could use another 100 horsepower (what can't), but it and the trailer track straight and stable, so what the heck.

I bet some of you have better fetch stories.

[FElony]

... I'll double check the carrier.

Yep, N case. BUT, the data tag shows a 2 axle code, which is a 2.75 open. Anyone ever see a 31-spline N case with an open diff?

[jayb]

Yep, my '71 Ranchero with the 429CJ came with the N case, 2.75 gears, and open carrier.  Go figure...

[FElony]

Yep, my '71 Ranchero with the 429CJ came with the N case, 2.75 gears, and open carrier.  Go figure...

Hmm. That ratio had to have been a special order with a CJ, as I think the default is 3.50 or maybe 3.25 in that year. Weird. Maybe I should see if anyone has retrieved a '72-up case that isn't a nodular. ?.