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[Blue Tempy]

Hi everyone. A few months ago, I came into possession of a '68 Tempest Sport Coupe. This car is very special to my family because it was bought new by my wife's grandfather. It ended up sitting covered and unmoved for the last 27 years. My in-laws were kind enough to let me have it. I did a few weeks of prep work and got it running. It moves & stops under its own power, though I have more work to do before it's road worthy. Looking forward to interacting with the group. I'll share what little knowledge I have, and I'll be asking some questions.  Here are two shots -- one is the car right before I started working on it, and the second is how it looks now.

 

[Frosty]

Welcome to FP.

Nice looking Tempest. It's amazing what a simple bath can do to a car.  At this point, I don't see a whole lot of rust or rot - on the outside.  I see this is also a post-car and not a coupe.

So what have you done so far to get it running and what are your plans for the future.?We don't mind you asking questions, even if, to you, they may seem dumb. This how we all learn. I own a '72 LeMans Sport convertible myself.

[Ringo64]

Amazing Tempest! Love hearing family stories like that. Good luck and look forward to seeing you around.

[Blue Tempy]

Thanks, guys. I didn't have to do too much to get it running. The first thing I did was pull the plugs and squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinders. I let it soak in for about 10 days. While that was happening, I flushed the radiator and changed the oil. I pulled the fuel tank, which was interesting b/c the car was in a space where I could not use a jack. So I spent alot of time crawling under the car. I got the tank dropped and emptied. It was rust free & intact, so I put a new sending unit in and put the tank back up. I changed the differential oil & gasket. I put a new battery in & cranked out that Mystery Oil. I put in new plugs, cranked it a bit & was happy when that oil light went out. It fired right up -- rough, but it was running. Amazingly, the brakes were working. A friend adjusted the timing. My father in law put a Holley 4 barrel in back in the '80s and it seems to stumble a bit when I put my foot into it. The car has dual glasspacks/cherry bombs on it now --- it's loud but sounds really cool. I'm not sure if I'll put mufflers on it or keep it as is.

Here's the first start -- first time running since '89 or '90:

I bought a disc conversion kit for the front brakes, and I'm upgrading to 15" wheels. I also need to put on tailpipes (the glasspacks are right under the car.). It has a few cosmetic issues but is very solid. I hope to have it on the road by Fall.

[JUSTA6]

Amazing....Looks in great shape overall.  Good Luck N have fun with it.

[Joe Carrier]

Great looking survivor! keep the glass packs! Still have the q-jet it came with? Nice car.