Technical What did you do with your car today? * NEW*

I hope everybody has one of these babies; only about 95 degrees out, figured I better get it done. I also hope nobody thinks this shit is easy all the time:

 

Installed a six blade fan on the Sunliner today,I wanted a radiator with a trans cooler so it had to go back in the factory V8 position which made it hard to find one that fit with a 351-w. All I could find in the junkyard was a fan off a 65 Fairlane with a six but it wanted to get a little hot at idle in traffic,ot looks like a fan for a 170 is not enough for a 351.

 

June 16th 2021 Fellow HAMBer from Sweden, J.Hansen suggested using a file in lieu of the brass hammer to trim the masking tape. Tried it and had moderate success. It's a skill I have to hone some. Masked the rest of the crankcase and turned the block right side up.

Used the old throw away juice lifters to mask the lifter bores. That saved some time. The cam bearings, not so much. Fingers are too big to get the masking tape in the confined space. Had to retreat for some deep ponder mode thinking.

Brought a paper towel roll tube back to the shop with me from the office. It was a smidgen greater diameter than the cam bearings. I was able to slit it and cut it into rings that masked the cam bearings nicely.

Cleaned some creeping flash rust with wire cup in Dremel tool and blew off with electric leaf blower. Gave it a few cycles of PRE Paint Prep dosings followed by more leaf blower blow-offs.
Painted as much of the lifter valley with Glyptal red insulating enamel paint as I could reach by brush and finished up what I couldn't reach with spray-bomb. Background music was Dylan and the Dead.

 

LeonBee, I had to borrow one of those to get the rear end done on my '64 sport fury

 

Went joy ridding.................

 

Been a damn thrash for 2 days ever feel like changing hobbies? Maybe stamp collecting? Lol

 

From the BillyBob Shop log

June 18th 2021 Flipped the nailhead block over tango uniform again and painted the cathedral nave crankcase with Glyptal after the PRE Paint Prep treatment and repairing some of the masking dislocated by the first flip.

Installed new freeze plugs with Permatex Form-A-Gasket #1. This operation is terra incognita to me and I buggered the first run at it as I'm apt to do. It was a do over but by the time I installed the fourth one, I was feeling semi-pro and a little cocky.

Ordered a pair of block drain petcocks. Started the second stage of masking for the nailhead green engine paint from Bill Hirsch. This involves sealing the block interior areas and trimming the masking tape using the gasket set as guide templates. Beer of the day was Bent River Brewing Company's Uncommon Stout Oatmeal Stout with Coffee.

 

Had another dream about those old T-bird seats. Think I might check if he still has them....an early anniversary present to me

 

I went to our first car club meeting this year!!
It was great to see the guys and their cars and trucks!

 

I see you have got the proper tool for the freeze plugs, better than the only way I have ever done them , with a socket.
What was the Oatmeal Stout with Coffee like good and flavorful.

 

I was reminded one tiny rubber washer can fugg ya all up. Rubber washer on top of my oil filter canister gave out, started the car and oil went everywhere. Glad I was in the driveway still. Fixed it and changed the oil, since most of it was now on my driveway anyhow. Good to go for cruising tonight....

 

I thought about them. Even mentioned them.

 

I'm more of a common sewer than a connoisseur and I couldn't detect either coffee or oatmeal. Nothing to distinguish it from the other stouts I've tasted. It would take a better tongue than mine.

 

I have my rear spring mount finished so the rear suspension is complete, providing it works like I am planning for it to ! If so the brackets can then be welded in place.

 

Finally got a ambidextrous young person to get the rear A pillar nuts started and got the windshield all tightened back up to the body.
So today I got the cleaned up seat frames back together and the reupholstered drivers seat back in so I can take it in for the new carpet install. Then I can get the rest of the new interior back in.

 

Attend a local city car show that was cancelled last year. Over 300 cars, truck’s and vintage trailers. Live band for music was ok and not too loud or obnoxious. Venders around the edges of a grass field at our recreation center. Used the AC I installed over the winter for the first time… what a treat.

 

had that happen once.oil filter not screwed on correctly
how quick oil sprays out,mess in driveway

 

Worked on mounting a hand brake lever between the seats.

 

Drove It To A Fathers Day Car Show While Others Toiled On Theirs... .Thanks Guys...

 

Today I drove the 36 Cabriolet out of the garage, under it's own power, for the first time since I tore it apart to fix a few things and paint it...a year and a half ago. It's all painted now and just putting it back together. Will have the whitewalls, skirts, headlights and bumpers on this week. Shooting for a 4th of July debut

 

Today was more support systems mock-up on the mid-engine Model A.

Then I worked on my '60 Falcon for a while, to devise a plan to cram an AC condensor in zero space.

 

From the BillyBob Shop log

June 21st 2021 Got the bottom block masking in place and trimmed, then came across three assortments of paint masking hole plugs I picked up on an impulse buy in the last century. These plugs saved a lot of time masking the numerous holes on the sides and back of the nailhead block.

Gave the sides and back of the block the PRE Paint Prep treatment which led to a setback. The old Pontiac blue paint did not like the paint prep and started to flake off. I retired to the deep ponder mode chair. Father's Day background music was a Dean Martin mix CD my Mom made up in my Dad's memory. Slow Boat to China made me think of his time in the CBI during the war.

 

Borrowed a cam bearing tool and removed the ones from 1959.


Put in some new ones, and gave the oil gallies a last good cleaning.

 

Have you tried the "file method" any more to trim the masking tape?

 

No. At this point I was removing overtaping on flat surfaces by laying down pan, oil filter mount and front cover gaskets, tracing around them with a sharpie, and cutting just inside the marked line with an E-Acto knife. I'll be doing the same thing on top with valley cover and head gaskets when I flip the block right side up to paint the top.

 

Just couldn't do the un-painted look anymore.
Much better!

 

Had a single tail pipe installed on the 64 to replicate OEM Thunderbolts. It's only for aesthetics (Cosmetic reasons) and doesn't really make any difference to the sound or performance. I used NOS brackets and had them replicate exhaust take off (Bottom photo) with balance tube. Muffler is close to OEM shape and size.

 

I did that once...It was real exciting!

 

Accomplished the end of the rats nest under the dash. Started installing the new circuit kit.

 

On my last contribution I was under the dash of my A Coupe doing some wiring. Still have a bit to do on that but I side-tracked myself by assembling a 283 that had been sitting with all the machine work done for a couple months. Now that it's together, rather than parts, and boxes of parts all over the place I got back on the Coupe.

Front fenders have been done for a while and I had been putting off working on the rears, with a lot of help needed from a friend who has the patience to do hammer/dolly work. That situation got simpler when I bought a much better set of fenders, but they still needed some work, although not nearly as much. So the fenders have been on and off a couple times already and one is almost ready for paint.

I had also mounted A taillights under the rear crossmember, since I didn't want fender mounted taillights sticking out and now the wheels are all brown instead of grey on the front and red on the rear.

I had thought I would bob the fenders a bit (3" - 5"), but now I think I'll do a roll pan similar to those I've seen in recent fender-bobbing threads. I'll leave the roll pan for "refinements" to the car AFTER it's on the road and will just live with the "mud flap" fenders until then. This project has been moving along much too slowly!

After the fenders are done and installed I'll go on to the next task that's been put-off, and that is
installing the aftermarket radiator into the shell and onto the car. Needless to say, it's going to require modifications to work out. Imagine that!

Lynn