March 2, 2024. Started the restoration of my father's 1963 De Ville convertible. Most of the issues have to do with the car sitting in the garage for most all of its life. Dad barely drove the car, that's why it only has 22006 miles on it.

The car last ran during the summer of 2009. At that time, I got it running, for the first time in nearly 10 years, the last time I remember my dad driving it.

I did a basic tune on it first. Replaced the cap, rotor, points and condenser, new plugs and wires, fuel and air filter. I changed the oil, replaced the fuel filter and bought a new battery. It fired right it up, but would not stay running. Determined the carburetor was the problem. Tried rebuilding it but the dried varnish from old fuel just kept if from working right. Replaced the carburetor with a store bought rebuilt and that did the trick. I drove it around for a few hours, parked it back in the garage and there it sat until I started working on it some 15 years later.

As you can imagine, there's a lot to do on this restoration. The tires were so dry rotted that they split apart shortly after I put air in them. I don't think there is a single gasket or seal that's not leaking and of course all the rubber is in need of replacement.

I started the project by pulling the fuel tank and radiator. The fuel tank didn't have any leaks but was full of old varnished gas. Over the years, the radiator had developed a leak in the upper tank and some of the core has corroded. So the fuel tank and radiator are out and getting reconditioned.

For right now, that's where I'm at. I did rebuild the power steering pump. Other than that, I'm accumulating parts and information while waiting for the radiator and fuel tank to return so I can install them and move on.