Back in the Saddle - Re-Introduction

[jamesw]

Well, my car arrived on the trailer today, so I'm officially a roadster owner again. My first roadster was a '66 1600 that I owned between 1993 and 1996 when I was at school in the Bay Area. I sold it when I graduated (kicking myself!!!!)

But I'm back - my '69 2000 (SRL311-07371) arrived today and I was grinning ear to ear when I finally got a look for myself. All I had to go on since I purchased the car was a few photos that I asked the previous owner to take. I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived! This is the most complete roadster I've seen really - I can't find a thing missing (but I haven't gotten under the car yet).

As far as I can tell from the paperwork - The car came w/ the original owners manual and filled-out service manual - the car was purchased from A&M Imports in College Station on 11-17-1969. The original owner was James C. Gilmore fwiw. In the 80's the car made its way to William Carll - also in College Station TX, who passed away in the 90's. The widow sold it to a long-time friend - who sold the car to me. I think the history of the car is so cool! It has a few Aggie stickers on the vent windows and my wife thinks the original owner purchased it w/ the red/maroon interior because of the whoop spirit

The car was laid up in the garage by the widow since 1993 and has a TX registration good until 1994 It also has TX vanity plates that read "2000" - how about that!

I'll be uploading some more photos as I go through the car but in the meantime here's another piece of history - what I THINK is the original keychain and keys but who knows?



The car's far from perfect and hasn't been run in 17 years but I think it's a good start.

Cheers
James

[notoptoy]

It's great that you know so much about the car, and that the history is so short. The keys are really cool, whether original or not!

[wgb1]

Neat story. Welcome to the forum from another Texas roadster owner.

[sleepyzzz]

welcome from another 69 2000 owner. my serial number isn't too far from yours. goodluck with your roadster.

[zippy67roadster]

More pics ASAP!!!

[jamesw]

Here's one from underneath the valve cover - not bad for a car that's been sitting for 17 years!



And here's one I wasn't so excited about:



Do I need to act on that?

I'll roll the roadster out of the garage and get some better pix overall this weekend.

Cheers
James

[notoptoy]

The internals do look clean. But also judging by the clamps and RTV there has been a lot of maintenance or work done on this car in the past. Do you know any of the engine work history? Is that wear recent (looks it) or left over from a previous repair. I would say you definitely want to find the source/age and correct it regardless. Unfortunatley I don't know much about the 2000's as I don't have one

[Skyman]

Yup, looks like the chain is kinda loose. Wonder if the tensioner is just stuck?

[jamesw]

Well it's been sitting for 17 years - so I'm sure there will be a lot of leaky gaskets in my future. I'll probably "de-gunk" the engine once I get it running, then I can really see what leaks. Then I'll pray it's not the rear seal

Not sure about the tensioner - I'll know more once I get the engine running and can check oil flow/pressure, etc. And I'll give it a wiggle - good idea.

Cheers
James

[dbrick]

If you hear the chain rattling on initial startup, it's a sign. Lots of posts on tightening the chain tensioner in the tech section. If you end up being nervous, new chains can be found reasonably, it's the rest of the parts that get expensive

[Gregs672000]

Cut the evil-L off before it comes through the cam cover and trashes your motor!!!! OK, that one is not that bad, but clearly it is being hit and is now compromised... remove it via hack saw and just fashion a wood wedge to hold up the chain if you ever need to (Like on an L-series motor). A paint stick sharpened a bit is about the right width. I'm sure that this is what happened to my original motor before I bought the car.

[jamesw]

I think I'll just keep an eye on it for now