Under the hood

We took the Falcon to Albie's house to change the oil (I need to get some ramps and an oil catch) and replace the air filter. I used a FRAM CA184 air filter and PH8A oil filter. Albie's brother James was also there and helped us examine inside the hood.

While we were looking under the hood we noticed a few things:

1. It has a DC generator and external voltage regulator, rather than an alternator with a built-in regulator.
2. The fuel filter is inline with the fuel pump (not under the carburetor).
3. The valve cover gasket was leaking slightly, probably from over or under tightening.
4. The transmission fluid was is very good condition (bright red).
5. The engine timing was pretty bad. Most of the cylinders weren't firing correctly.
6. The spark plugs are worn.
7. The terminals inside the distributor are blackened.
8. The contact breaker points inside the distributor are worn.
9. There is a valve along the hose that runs to the heater core; the valve was closed.
10. The radiator and water pump look newly replaced.
    

Buying the car

We went to Seattle this morning to buy the wagon. We decided it might be good to have someone with more expertise check it out, so we asked Beth's dad to come with us.

After some examination we were still satisfied that it was in good shape and there wouldn't be any problems.

Here's the owner, Cathy, standing in front of her cool house.

And here's the key to our new family wagon. Off we go!

1963 TV ad

This is a great commercial for a 1963 Falcon wagon.

We're buying the wagon!

We decided to buy a 1962 Ford Falcon Wagon. Even though it's going to need some work, it's very appealing (especially the price) and it's going to be my opportunity to learn about cars. We're picking up the wagon tomorrow morning, so until then here's the pictures we took when we went to see it yesterday.