7.9.07

After several phone calls and emails with Kary, I think I have enough information to decide to buy the Wayfarer. He has answered all my questions, sent pictures that I asked for and I believe him to be honest about the car. Normally I would not advise anyone to buy a car unless they have inspected it in person but I am reasonable secure about it. Kary and I agreed upon a price and I made arrangements with him to go get it on Friday. We both agreed that I would do an inspection when I got there and if the car was not as represented then there would be no deal. He knows that I would not be happy after a 240 mile one way trip to Indiana to find that things are not as he described. He seems to understand my position on this and the fact that this is a big purchase for me. Overall I feel good about it.

Kary's ad posted June 3, 2007 for the car reads:

History: According to the previous owners’ wife: The car was being restored 31 years ago here in Bloomington, Indiana. Then her husband suddenly passed away. She moved the car to a heated garage and left it set there for the last 30+ years. He had replaced the rocker panels and patched the floor pans on both sides. He did a real good job on both. The rockers are perfect and the floor pans were riveted in. That was the only rust on the car at that time. The rest of the car did not need any repair. The only thing I have found since then is a little rust around the weep hole in the trunk spare tire well. The trunk itself is just great. It has the original spare, jack and something I've only seen a few times is the tire pump and an original black tire chock. I checked with my Chrysler buddies, and they did issue a tire chock with the Wayfarers. He then repainted the car with the original mint type green as shown in the photos. The stainless that goes over the rocker needs to be re-polished & attached. The tires (Snows on the back) are very old & cracked. The car has picked up a few little nicks & dings, nothing that can’t be corrected. The car is very solid, runs & drives good, clutch slips a little (needs added fluid) it is fluid drive by the way. He did some re-chroming, not all (a lot of the chrome is pitted but presentable), and then removed the interior door panels to have them redone. Well, that's when he passed away. When I bought the Dodge I had it hauled home and after a new 6 volt battery, some oil down the cylinders and a little hand turning, dumped some gas in the carburetor it started right up (AFTER 31 YEARS). I drove it around our subdivision and had a blast. I have won a trophy with it. All my cars have been started and running the day I bring them home. This is has been my quest for the old car hobby. I've owned 97 cars so far and this one is the best, most rust free car that I've owned. Regards, Doc

7.12.07

Dave a co-worker has offered to let me borrow his F250 truck to tow the Wayfarer home. He is going to let me drive it home tonight so that I can get an early start tomorrow. I was about out of options for a tow vehicle before he offered. I really owe him one for this! I have reserved an Auto Transport Trailer at U-Haul, put in for a vacation day and am set for tomorrows trip.

Jordan an intern at my work has asked to go. It should be a lot less boring of a drive now.

7.13.07

The Wayfarer is at my house. It was a long day. I may have to call the car Lucky 13 because I got her on Friday the 13th and it took me 13 hours to do it all.

Jordan and I got up at 6:00 am and was at the U-Haul when they opened at 7:00. We hooked up the trailer and hit the road. I had printed out directions from MS MapPoint which has never steered me wrong unlike MapQuest or Yahoo Maps. Dragging an empty trailer 240 miles was not what I wanted to do but there were no trailers available in Bloomington. It was just as well because it cost half the price for a local rental as it did for a one way.

We got to Kary's house around noon. We didn't make even one wrong turn although Kary did have to talk me to his house from the highway. I inspected the car and took it for a test drive with Kary. He was kind enough to educate me on the finer points of driving it. He also went over the controls and his experiences driving the car. His advise was very welcomed. After scaring him a bit on the corners, ( He calmly said "you might want to slow down here,") we got back to his house. Everything seemed in good order so we went inside and finalized the deal. Kary was great in that he had all the paper work on the car including receipts and answers to my questions, plus a photocopy of an owners manual.

We then loaded the Wayfarer onto the trailer. If you ever have to tow a car then the Auto Transport Trailers from U-Haul are great. It has built in ramps with strong front wheel straps and safety chains. It is a dual axle trailer and it towed nicely. We started our trip back to Tennesse. We got looks from a lot of people. Two Harley riders rode beside the trailer for a while and then rode up next to the cab and gave us the thumbs up. At a gas stop the cashier lady asked me what I was doing with that old car. I told her that I was hauling it off the dump for a friend to help clean up his property. She got so excited about telling me to take it to her house that I had a hard time telling her that I was just joking. Finally she listened as I told her that I had just bought it and was taking it home to Tennessee.

We got to my house and dropped off the car. Said hello to Sharri and took off to U-Haul. Turned in the trailer at U-Haul and then drove over to Dave's house to return his truck. Dave then drove Jordan and I to work where I had left my car. I dropped Jordan off at the mall where he would get a ride home and went home myself. When I got back home it was 7:00 pm. 13 hours total but the Wayfarer and I were home.

Sharri and I drove to Sam's Club and filled up the gas tank. Making sure to add a lead substitute to the gas. We went straight back home because the tags are expired and there is no insurance on the car. I will have to take care of both of those things next week.

7.14.07

I spent about 4 hours today working and cleaning the car. I topped off all fluids, moved all spare parts to the trunk, washed the exterior and did an extensive interior cleaning. Then I took a bunch of pictures. Barkley and I drove around the neighborhood a few times and he thinks it is his car now. Of course we will allow me to take him for rides as long as I behave.

7.16.07

Today I got insurance and license plates for the Wayfarer. I plan on attending the Memory Lane Cruisers gathering this Saturday night at the Wendy's on Madison Ave. I also secured some interior trim and adjusted the passenger door latch. The door was loose after closing but it is tight now.

My first concerns are to fix any safety problems with the car. I ordered a set of door mirrors today. The car did not have any originally. I am looking into turn signals which were are option on this car but not mine. It seems the only option on the car is the top of the line heater/defroster. After checking all the lights, I found that the interior dome light does not work, nor the drivers side low beam headlight. The tires are all dry rot cracked but I think they will be alright for now. The fronts are worse than the backs and will have to be replaced before any long trips.

7.19.07

I put in two new headlights. I found them at the local Napa Parts Store. That surprised me. They had 6 volt sealed beam headlights in stock. It was funny because when they brought out the lights from the back, it was obvious that they had been there a while. Both boxes had flaps missing from the tops and were not closed plus there was a thick layer of dust on the boxes. The hand prints of the parts man were clearly visible on the boxes and he had to clean his hands before working the cash register. This afternoon I installed the lights and secured the trim around them. The screws were missing and they were just hanging there. When I checked the adjustment of the headlights they seemed right on. I adjusted the throttle linkage because the carb was not opening all the way at full throttle.