1969 FHC Project

All,
I recently found and bought a 1969 FHC I have been looking for. It is the recent barnfind from BaT and has been stored for 38 years or so. It matches exactly the car my Dad had when I was young and the car he taught me how to think like the engineer I became. I am going to make the car a tribute to him. I had seen the car prior to the auction and now that I have it, my detailed inspection has not found anything really surprising which is good!

I am starting with a rebuild of the cooling system then will move to fuel so I can get it running then will move to clutch, brakes and tires. I intend to wash it as soon as I get the rear hachh glass in it and will polish it and live with whatever patina it has for a while.

Upon disassembling the cooling system, I found a corroded blob that was the water pump impeller from the cooling system not being properly drained prior to storage, I also found corrosion of the thermostat housing and what looks like chunks of gel that I assume is congealed glycol in the manifold. My plan is to remove the heater core, connect a hose to the heater pipes and try to back-flush the cooling system before I re-install a new water pump. The congealed glycol has me a little worried though. Does anyone have any idea of a compound I should run through the system to try to remove as much debris as possible by flushing? I eventually will add an aluminum radiator but plan to get the stock one cleaned and rodded and use it for a while to catch any debris while I am getting the car sorted.

I am sure this will not be my last question on the car so thanks in advance for the help and advice!

I use a heated solution of Evaporust and water: I will let it soak in a close cooling system, then power-flush it. It may take a second cleaning.

The red one? The 1970 coupe I bought last winter was also stored for many years. The last inspection sticker was 1985. My water pump was making some noises so I replaced it along with all the hoses. I hope to fill the system this weekend and check for leaks.

Good luck with it!! The folks on this website have helped me tremendously.

Yes Dave, the Regency Red one.