Reviving a 1962 Strato Chief for a drive home - Edmonton to Toronto

Morty · Veteran Member

RE: Reviving a 1962 Strato Chief for a drive home - Edmonton to Toronto

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Like I said, $5-10,000 should get you something solid in a 4 door.

Morty · Veteran Member

I'm just concerned there isn't enough rust on that one!

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Morty, you are losing some of your optimism ?
BTW a true optimist would buy the 60 knowing they will sell the 62?

I am lucky enough that when I bought my first car, I told my wife I was getting a boat. She discovered th boat was a 59 El Camino when I drove in the driveway in the 59. My university age daughter was home for the summer and they both thought the 59 was so funny looking they couldnt stop laughing. That was back when I had money, now Im retired.

Morty · Veteran Member

I'm still optimistic, I'm just laughin at myself. I think a bit too much optimism got me into this situation...so. I guess double down! I do have to dump the 62 before I buy anything else I think. That is unless I want to be eating air for diner and living alone. I'll offer em a rusted out POS and a hug see if they take it.

oshawacliff · Poncho Master!

DonSSDD wrote:
$8500.
www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/edmonton/1960-pontiac-laurentian/1611464215

Thats a great point to start negotiations. The 4 hubcaps are in good shape, the steering wheel does not appear to have any cracks. The 8 ball steering wheel spinner is a classic The blanket of the front seat needs an inspection, but the rest of the upholstery looks saveable.

All of the letters are still on the body which is a plus and the chrome looks like it will pass a close inspection. Even the dealer tag on the trunk shows some corrosion which could be replated. Grill is nice too. Offer $4500 and plan to spend another $4000.00 to make it into your daily driver. Oh, yes the windshield might reveal a horror story!

Interior door panels look pretty good. New front end parts need a full explanation. Whitewall tires bonus.

Also have replaced a number of other parts?

-- Edited by oshawacliff on Thursday 26th of May 2022 04:15:01 PM

-- Edited by oshawacliff on Thursday 26th of May 2022 04:16:24 PM

seventy2plus2 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Are you planning on returning to Saskatchewan, picking up the 62 from Vincent in Foam Lake to drive it to Toronto?

Morty · Veteran Member

I'm playing with the idea of shipping it. Found a guy who will do it for $1400 which is cheaper than having a ball joint go on me somewhere along the line. Also the quicker I can get it here the better chance I have of the film company buying it.

Howmac · Guru

Wondering if this fellow hauling your car back to TO has any more room on the truck/trailer . There are always guys on this site looking to ship parts from the west back to TO . ( Of course if the guy has room )

Morty · Veteran Member

I just filled out the form, I will ask when he gets in touch with me. He is likely to charge for additional stops for sure. I will let you guys know.

oshawacliff · Poncho Master!

On the lighter side!!!.

A great tow rope for you.

10 reps of each then 15 reps together.

Tug boat tow ropes 2.jpg

Mort

Hope things go smoother for you.

My day today started off much better after spending the day with my personal coach yesterday. Completed 5500 Steps

Went and bought a new battery for the Impala.... $217.00 Fired up with a little stumbling quit and ran better on the second start up

Ten loonies in my pocket and off to the coin wash next.

Glenn Musgrave · Addicted!

Morty wrote:
Its funny the ride you go on with something like this, that thread you posted shows the work that it takes to do it right. Great job, he did it justice. Im short on space and so I think the car is likely trash and my best bet is to make it a donor car for another car /sell it/ give it to someone who wants it. It's my mistake frankly, I trusted the guy who sold it to me that it was in the shape he said it was in. I messaged him to let him know that its rusted out, no response obviously. A**hole. In all my dealings with sellers, mechanics, buyers etc I've never come across someone who is into classics who is trying to do you dirty like that. Sure a bit of puffery is expected but dang this car is beat and he had to of known it. Anyway its on Kijiji in Ontario for what I paid, Ill let ya know if anyone bites. In this case I think you just take your lumps, even a guy from the big city can be a bit naive. I do appreciate all the help and consideration I've gotten from this community. I'm looking around for a way to get a Strato Chief that I can use this car as a parts car for. Guy has a runner for sale in Spalding SK but its pricey. Talked to him says the frame and floor are in good shape. Missing a couple cross braces but the metal is good. Hard to know what to do. Keep ya posted though.

Morty, one of the guys sent me the link with your story. I am still reading it but when I got to this part it was deja vu. A similar thing happened to me only real difference was I drove to Ontario to have a final look before it went on a car hauler to be freighted back to NS. Mine hadn't been on the road for 30 yrs, fresh out of storage etc. The rebuild thread the guys referred you to is mine. This Sept it will be 5 yrs since my son and I began to sort out what it needed and start the long road. We built a shop to do the work, bought body tools I didn't even know existed before and I'm more than 30K in parts and still going. I call it my new 62. It's been a labour of love when we have time to work on it. We ended up shipping a parts car from Manitoba to get a "good frame" only to find it too need a lot of work but we got it done and have no concerns there. I haven't been on the site much this past year, sadly been real busy with work and life, but if you do get another 62 and want to reach out with any questions I'd be happy to help. You'll have to msg me on this site and it should come to my phone and I'd be happy to call you back. I do have a few more pics that I need to add to my post and hope to get those up in the next couple of days.

Now I'm anxious to read the rest of your story but it will have to be after supper.

Glenn Musgrave · Addicted!

That was quite the experience you had and hopefully the movie company will take it off your hands. I agree with the guys on the car from SK. I thought the frame and bumper brackets looked better than most, that's about $1,500 in value. But holy Moses there's a lot of rust everywhere else! I think you'd be in for a complete floor which if ordered as a unit will come with all the braces and the inner rocker. That would leave the middle rocker system and the outer rocker, a fair bit of door work and other body work plus interior. It wouldn't be a car for the faint of heart or someone on a fairly tight budget. A little something I learned along the way: to check the middle rocker, from underneath put your hand up between the front wheel well and feel the area between the floor and outer rocker. I haven't checked one yet that wasn't gone there. You can't buy that stuff you have to make it. The car we are building didn't have anything there but luckily the parts car had enough to use as a template. Outside body panels for 61 & 62 can't be purchased new anywhere but you generally don't have much trouble finding body parts for other years. Luckily, our Canadian Pontiac's are built on Chevy frames so floor pans etc. are easy to get and modify for our Pontiac's.

In my mind, it comes down to what you want to end up. Factor in your skill level, space to work, age, timeline and budget. Most guys simply want a daily driver, not a trailer queen but that said, decide if you want your driver to be a drive around town car or something you'd take on long and hopefully trouble free trips. In my case, I was looking for a car my son and I could build together and you can see in our posts it is a long, educational and at times a fun journey. I have no doubt we will be beaming with pride when we are finished but there have been times, knowing what I know now, considering time and cost, that I wished I found the cash to buy one that was at the standard I want this car to be. No one can make those decisions but you, I thought I'd pass along my 2 cents in the hope it helps you reach your goals. This old car hobby is a lot of fun and as you already know, you meet a lot of great people. Hang in there and you'll find a car that is right for you. The 60 Don sent you looks promising.

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

If you feel like you got hosed, you certainly wouldn't be the first one in this forum to buy a vehicle in a fit of enthusiasm and then later realize what you actually have. I know I've done it and more than once too. Its part of the learning in this hobby and in life. Once you get past the realization you have to decide just how much the car is worth to you. Some really ordinary cars have an emotional value much more than the monetary value, some are actually rare and desirable (those two concepts don't always go together either) and will pay off the work and some are just destined to be a life lesson. You have to decide where this one sits.

In Alberta almost any old vehicle I have bought had the words "As is, Where is" on the bill of sale and the implications of that don't always sink in till later. That has to be really made clear to the buyer if you're the seller, and if you're the buyer as soon as you sign the bill of sale and hand over the money it is alllllll yours. Some people respect that both ways, others don't.

I would advise that if you sell it on to be honest about what it is. I have never been able to sell anything very easily because of that but I just don't want some irate guy hounding me later on, especially since I live in a small town.

Morty · Veteran Member

Hi 66 Grande Guy + Glen,

Thanks for your responses. Glen I am not equipped or motivated to the extreme amount of work this old darling requires. Just not in me. The whole reason I bought it was because the guy assured me the frame, body, floor were all solid. Not perfect but serviceable and complete. Couldn't be further from the truth but it was my choice to trust him. I think what you and your son are doing is amazing, the skills you will learn and the enjoyment will be well worth it. I appreciate you tossing up your photos because it really helps someone visualize just how much work it all really is.

Grande Guy - I totally got hosed. I've purchased 2 cars from Western Canada and they were both beauties, very little rust, and just great people selling them that were honest. I flew a bit close to the sun this time and didn't do my duedilligence like I normally would. I appreciate you saying I'm not the only one who's done this, helps a bit when I look at my bank account. If I can get it home soon I have a decent chance at selling it to the picture car company, and yea I would never pass this off as a decent car. They don't ever plate the cars they just put them on trailers and they roll around commercial/tv/film sets. Fingers crossed on that, will still be out some money but hopefully not all the money.

Thanks again guys

oshawacliff · Poncho Master!

What is the status of the truck/trailer for shipping your "lump".... he says kindly.

Cliff

seventy2plus2 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Silly question: When you got to Edmonton to pick up the car, did you take a look at it, including the underside? Or did you just jump in and start driving?

Morty · Veteran Member

Status is the guys called me today - I asked them to email me our agreement ($1500) they said they couldn't find the email I sent so Im again waiting before I send them a $500 deposit.

I did crawl under it but it is so low to the ground that it was hard to see just how bad it was. Frankly my mind was on getting going and I knew it would be rusty. When stuff is missing altogether it's harder to notice ;)

68vert · Guru

Hi There, been reading this thread for a while and sorry to hear it didn't turn out as planned but I commend you for the effort!! I like others have bought a few cars on adrenalin without fully checking them out, now I tend to overthink and nitpick everything....not sure which is better LOL. Hopefully you can recoup some of the investment and let us know when your next road trip will be!!

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Not as nice as the 60, but cheaper.

www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/st-albert/selling-classic-car/1611331592

1963 4door, $5,000, 3 on the tree.

-- Edited by DonSSDD on Tuesday 31st of May 2022 09:32:07 AM

Morty · Veteran Member

Called the guy and he sent me more pictures. His brother was on his way to refurbishing it, took the body off and cleaned up the frame and body in 2011. Engine runs, trans was rebuilt interior was redone. He send me the pictures he could take from just lying under it. Its in my price range for sure. its in Onoway Alberta If anyone is near or goes thatxway. He also said if I didnt like it he would refund my cash, was his dads and he wants it to go to someone who will use it/care for it. Anyway its an idea. Lemme know what you think of the pics

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I'd jump on it. Looks good underneath, likely just some minor and doable stuff to deal with.

DonSSDD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

cdnpont wrote:
I'd jump on it. Looks good underneath, likely just some minor and doable stuff to deal with.

I agree, Looks like a lot of work done to it, it sure looks good from here Morty.

Morty · Veteran Member

Thanks guys - I agree. The family that owned it cares for it. Guy seems genuine as well. Gonna see how it feels in the morning. This time if I do it Ill grab a few extra parts as well like a fuel pump, and look it over better. Would be nice
To drive it home. Even if it needs new tires which I assume it does. Thanks for the input again.

cdnpont · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Keep the dream alive.