Hello, I bought a SVO and now I am here

[brotharon]

Hi,

My name is Calvin and I live in Houston, Tx with my wife, daughter, and our dog.
Last week I found and purchased a 1986 SVO Mustang in canyon red from a dealer in the Portland, Oregon area. The car is being shipped to me so I do not have any pictures other than the ones from the dealership. As soon as I get it I will update with pictures.

My plans for this car are to make it nice enough to drive to car club meets and go cruising on sunny days. I dont intend it to be a racecar or anything like that.
My first orders of business will be to go over the car and see what exactly I am working with. I know that it was modified by one of the previous owners, and that the motor has recently been rebuilt. I also plan to put back in the air conditioning that was removed by one of the previous owners. You may not need AC in Washington/Oregon, but I need it in Texas. Then I will make a list of things that will grow and grow and never actually all get fixed but will give me stuff to do when I am bored on the weekends while I struggle to keep the car looking and running well enough that I can enjoy it well into the future!

[Cruzen]

Welcome. Post some pictures when you get your car.

[Svofrk]

Welcome Calvin. Looking forward to seeing pics of car.

[MikeFleming]

You should name your SVO "Hobbs". Just sayin'!

Welcome aboard.

[brotharon]

I will take the naming of my SVO "Hobbs" under advisement. I usually let the kiddo name my vehicles...though my wife named my truck so there are no hard and fast rules...if it winds up as Hobbs you will be credited :p

[brotharon]

I had a whole big thing that I wrote about what I encountered when the car showed up, but it took me a ton of work to get images onto this site from my computer and I didn't save my post to a word document before trying and so it got lost when I got a 403 error instead of a posted message. I will post up a longer description with more details when I put up a build thread for this car, which should be soon. Here are some pics (I resized them to 800x600). Overall, I am happy that it is here, but there is a lot of work to be done to make this a good car. Let the fun begin...

https://imageshack.com/i/pnJvJux1j
https://imageshack.com/i/plmQs5ADj
https://imageshack.com/i/plVyEimYj
https://imageshack.com/i/pn2bCHvpj

[MikeFleming]

Party On, Wayne!

Now comet the fun parts!

[KevinK]

Welcome. There are a few members from the Washington/Oregon area that made be familiar with the car.

[brotharon]

Welcome. There are a few members from the Washington/Oregon area that made be familiar with the car.
That would be pretty cool, since I have been unable to really find out much of anything about the car other than what the mechanic that I had go over it let me know before I purchased it, and what I now know since it has arrived. Either way, there is a member here in Texas who is going to become very familiar with the car!

[Raven855]

Welcome! There are some good people in Texas if you have any questions or need help on the new arrival. The car looks good!

[brotharon]

Thanks, Raven. It is one of those looks can be deceiving things right now. I have to get it back to running again and I have to get the things that the state of Texas will be looking at for the safety inspection working so that it can get registered. I dont think it is anything major, but it is a little disappointing to have your new car die on you the day you get it...I have more money than time right now so it is a matter of getting to solving the problems. I can get the parts, but I am too busy to do the work in more than 30-60 minute bursts. I will get to it though, there are some weekends coming up somewhere in the future...not this one though...too busy :p

I also need to remember to get more pictures and get them in my build thread so that I can have a record of all of these fun times that I will likely forget about in a few years.

[tommyb]

Sure looks nice from the outside, good luck with things and welcome to the group lots of good info to be had here!

Tom

[brotharon]

Thanks, Tommy. It is not too bad inside either. The driver seat bolster has a tear and the foam is tired so that will need redone, but not too bad.
I have to get it running again so I can get it out and start enjoying it while I work on bringing it back to life. Mike has been mentoring me up on what parts are and how to find my way around my SVO. I am really appreciative of how patient people are here. I am not a trained mechanic or anything, and I am just trying to learn and figure it out as I go. People here seem to get that, or at least I haven't gotten murdered for posting a question yet :p

[brsvo]

You will find plenty of friendly people here willing to help. We have all been though this kind of stuff.

[Wommbatt]

Hello new SVO owner in Hewston...welcome to the group. I'd look forward to comparing notes as I make some additional modifications to my recent acquisition of an 84 SVO.
A clean looking 86 (not like I would know the difference); what are your plans so far?

[Under Pressure]

Very nice, I like the color.

[Laredo]

Welcome! Beautiful car (from a biased fellow Jalapeno Red owner)!!


...but it is a little disappointing to have your new car die on you the day you get it...I have more money than time right now...
First order of business, buy yourself a good quality fuel pressure gauge! Probably the most needed and used tool for diagnosing running problems on these cars. And anytime you post a question about driveability problems, the 1st question you'll get is - what's your fuel pressure?

2nd, buy a DVOM (Digital Volt Ohm Meter). If you haven't already, you WILL encounter electrical issues with your SVO. If you're not familiar with electrical, no worries. Lots of experience, knowledge and "been there, done that" here.


...I have to get it running again so I can get it out and start enjoying it...
Love to hear that, these cars are meant to be DRIVEN!!



I am really appreciative of how patient people are here. I am not a trained mechanic or anything, and I am just trying to learn and figure it out as I go. People here seem to get that, or at least I haven't gotten murdered for posting a question yet :p
You'll find us to be a friendly and helpful crowd, and we enjoy following the progress on project cars. Post away...!!