my pig journey

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Thanks for the reply Lou.

I crawled all around under it and from what I could see there was no frame problems or replaced body panels.


I've been doing my homework on vehicle titles, and a 'salvage' title usually just means that there was an insurance claim that was more than the vehicle was worth, so it was declared 'totaled'. That actually happens quite often nowadays, with the quick depreciation of car values, especially on a 1974 vehicle.

I've bought every one of my cars used so far, so I've gotten pretty good at spotting repairs. The guy I'm buying the pig from also seems pretty savvy, and he had bought it for himself as a restoration project at one point, but never got around to having the time to do it. He also has a 68 'stang that he's working on, that's pretty much his baby, so he's selling the Cruiser to not only get his wife off his back (he has six cars), but to get some cash to finish his other project.

The treadwear on all the tires also looked pretty even, and they were worn down a bit and not brand new... usually you'd see signs of frame problems (and alignment problems) in the tires, since they'd wear unevenly.

I'm taking a bit of a gamble on this Cruiser, but I've tried to make it as calculated of a risk as possible.

I'll have to ask you a few questions about your power steering conversion once it's done, since I'm planning on doing that as well when I have the pig torn down.

Thanks again.
 
title

It will definatly be worth your hard work . Yeah, PM me or call regarding the powersteeering, Lance and crew at Iron Pig Offroad are doing all the work so if you have any tech questions you should call them cus I'm not very knowledgeable in detail technical issues yet ,but on a fast learning curve. Keep us posted on your title situation.
Regards

Lou
703-371-8494
 
Sweet looking pig, Pygmalion!

It looks like a pig I had been contemplating buying off Craigslist a few weeks ago.. Did you buy it from Charles in Chico? Just curious. Seemed like a good, honest guy. You will have loads of fun and of course it will drain your wallet. Welcome to the sty! OINK! OINK!
 
I wouldnt wory about a salvage title. if the PO bought the car from a junkyard(b/c some PPO just wanted it out of thier yard for example) it is considered a salvage vehicle if the junkyard declared they possessed it to the DMV, which they have to do, often and accurately.
 
Thanks Lou, I appreciate the offer and I'm sure I'll pick your brain a bit.

Lucy, actually this pig is from a different seller. I looked at the one Charles had for sale, and I was second on the list, after somebody from Washington came down to look at it (they had first dibs). I tried calling him back several times to see if he still had the Cruiser for sale, but never heard anything, and then he finally called me back the day after I bought this one (doh!).
Anyway, that was a pretty stout pig too, and only surface rust on the body panels and a small amount of rust-thru in the front floorboards. Of course I got this one for about $1200 less, so I'm not complaining. ;)

Brett, thanks for the encouragement. Like I stated before, if I didn't know that this pig had a salvage title, I'd be hard pressed to find anything structurally wrong with it (well, except for rust of course). I'll have to pump the CO for some more information regarding it's salvage title status, though I don't think he has that information... could be worth a shot though.

Thanks again guys and gals.
 
Sweet! I was hoping that I wouldn't have to spring for a new radiator. That saves me a couple hundred bucks at least.

Sorry it took so long to get back... work's been kicking my ass this week, and the little time I've had I've been trying to prepare for the cruiser getting here next week.

Thanks again for the info.
 
I say keep the chevy motor if it runs o.k. and the conversion looks like it was done fairly confidently. It will make it much easier to swap in another chevy v8 later should you want to. Adding the scout power steering, or fj60 power steering, should take care of your lack of space...and then you'll have power steering! Its the best thing I have done to my Pig so far.
 
I'm definitely keeping the 283 for the time being.

The conversion doesn't look too bad, and it's got an Advance adapter (judging by the sticker in the engine bay), plus it's got an RV cam in it too. The torque band looks pretty close to the stock F engine, plus it's about 80 more horsepower. I'm going to have to modify the exhaust to get it out from between the front springs, and I'll probably pull the engine and regasket it, just to give it a good once-over so I know what I'm dealing with. Plus the PO left the intake and exhaust manifolds untreated so they're starting to rust like crazy.

Another thing is that I've been eyeballing the spark plug problem, and it appears to me that you can get at it with a regular wrench from underneath the vehicle. The steering box only blocks overhead access, though it is still pretty shallow.

Power steering will be one of the first mods I do, probably when I pull the engine. That way I have access to do the drilling so I can sleeve the frame from the inside.

You can check out my other thread I started here: Well it's finally here.

I probably should've kept it all consolidated.

The pig is going to need a lot of work, but I think for a modest investment of time and money it'll be a vehicle I'll want to keep for a while. I'm just anxious to get it running. :)
 
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