We've began to pull the engine. I also buffed a small area of the paint, just for the fun of it and to shoe the kids how easily paint can be restored. QUESTION- Is there a god looking, DIY, alternative to buying a new headliner? Could we ditch the beam system? Or not. We were quoted $250 for a custom sewn headliner. Again, we're trying to get this done for as little as possible. If we go that route, we'll be spending as much on a headliner as we do the rest of the interior! Joe
Head liner is a key to the interior look. One that sags or isn't tight will ruin an otherwise good upholstery job. I know you are on a tight budget, but $250 seems like a steal to me. But, ask to see some of the upholsters other work before agreeing to have him do it.
i agree on the headliner. gone are the good old days when j.c. whitney carried them and didn't charge an arm and a leg--but you put them in yourself.
heres the post I did on my custom headliner build. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/custom-headliner-build.829086/ Btw, I still have the wrong one that they sent me for my car. Take a look at the first pick and count the bows, They told me they sent a 51 Ford headliner on mistake. If it will work for you, let me know ill give you a heck of a deal. jeff
Looks like yours is a 2 door? We are a 4, so I assume it wouldn't work... though you have inspired me to consider just sewing one up. It can't be any harder than the seat upholstery... (Which seems to be going well FYI... found a sweet deal for some $9 vinyl.)
If you are on a tight budget, you could buy headliner material like that in a newer car and glue it in. I know it won't look stock, but it will do the trick for about 1/2 the price.
I was highly considering that. I'd just need to figure out how to neatly transition over the parts where the structural support us near the back window. NOTE- I'm still kinda lost on how the windlace goes in. I'm from a generation where things are not tack nailed into cars...
Stick with the proper headliner , anything else will look plain dumb. $250 installed doesn't sound too bad to me. My headliner (the one I posted the link to above) was a buck-80 , and I had to install it. Installing it wasn't rocket surgery IMHO , but takes patience , which I have. Might be a good learning experience for the kids , actually. But for only 50 clams more , it might be best to let that up to a pro and pick another battle to fight with the kids. The windlace gets nailed-on before the headliner clip strips get screwed on above the doors , IIRC. Maybe have the headliner guy throw that on while he's there. Shouldn't cost too much , especially if you can get him to help out a bit on price , being for a school project.
We were actually quoted $250 just to get it made, no installed. We may shop around, that was just the first guy who was recommended to us. We may still look into making it ourselves too.
My headliner was under 200 shipped to my door . You can use some of the leftover wampum of that 250 you were quoted and get windlace material through restorationspecialties.com . It's pretty inexpensive.
Ok, a few pictures. 1- Where can I find the little clip piece that holds the chrome window trim on? I'm missing one. 2- Check out the new covers for the arm rest! Not stapled on yet... 3&4- Just some progress pictures...
As we begin our engine teardown, does anyone have any suggestions about a budget rebuild for an occasional driver? We're not looking for big power or anything. Just want it to run and drive! I'm seeing options for 3 ring and 4 ring pistons. I'm going to mic everything and determine what we'll need to do. If we could get away with just new gaskets and rings I'd do it. We shall see...
If it was mine to do...which it isn't...I'd do an "engine-don't-run-let's-find-out-why" diagnosis and get that old turd to fire and run. Points, condenser and a carb kit should be all you gotta buy. The rest is just the application of tune-up specs out of a book. It may run like dog crap at first, but once you get it running you can evaluate how much more needs to be done to get it running well. Heck, it may just need a valve job - which your students can do with old-school hand tools and lapping compound - and an oil change to get it ready for a test drive. If it makes terminal noises when you get it running, however, best be looking for another motor. Flatheads are expensive to rebuild if they are broken, not just worn. Many an old timer like myself has brought dead cars back to life on no money at all. Don't give up yet. There may be life in that old beast yet...
Yeah, I think we just have a compression issue. We didn't narrow it down to what exactly, but we could only get 1 cylinder to 100psi and the rest were under 70. We did MMO and regular oil in cylinders. Tried over a few day period. So we figure a tear down would be good. God experience either way. Clean out the crud. We had already replaced all of the ignition components. If it would have ran, it should have. On a bright note, I know that there are a few flathead motors at the local wrecking yard. What is the going rate for a complete Ford flathead? Maybe we could snag a few at a good price...
Fix what you have if at all possible. If you start with a motor that's been sitting around on the floor for years you'll just be swapping your issues for a new set. If you can hear it run and check it out then maybe swapping out is ok. The Wizzard
No, we're definitely working on the one we have first. I was just happy to know that we've got a few nearby if we need parts. On a bright note, it did spin freely right off the bat with little effort. Starter worked. The ignition system worked. I did pull plugs to check and we had seemingly strong spark. If we do a teardown, do you guys think we should stick with stock pistons if they are within specs? If not, any suggestions on a cheap/smart option on what to replace them with? Again, we're on a tight budget. We're not trying for anything super special, but don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot either by cutting corners.
hello fellow shop instructor (kitten herder) congrats on the cool project, I will share with my students soon keep up the pics here is a link to our projects thread http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-school-students-doing-good.950588/ need to start a shop instructors page/reasource
Many a budget overhaul has been done sucessfuly by doing a ridged hone and knuerling the pistons to fit. Fitting .010 over rings to each cyl as needed. Cost is nothing more than the Ring set you would buy anyway. The Wizzard
Well, we've got a rigid hone. No equipment for knurling the pistons though. Just got it pulled today. Excited for the tear down. It's funny how things are so different on these motors. Just makes for an interesting teaching experience.
Anyone what it'd cost to have pistons knurled? If I can't do it, worth paying for it to be done, or at that point would a budget set of pistons be better?
I think you'd be better off talking to a local machine shop for prices. To do this type of job the block needs to be preped first then each hole is checked to see how far over piston size it is. Then each piston is knurled to fit that hole. Price is going to very depending on what it takes. It used to be a standard practice. It should still be cheaper than boaring, hot tanking and new cam bearings (you must remove cam bearings to Hot Tank a block) The Wizzard
I would highly recommend new pistons if needed. Not very expensive, but believe me I know what its like building stuff on a trade school budget. check ebay and any older local parts stores make sure you use a machine shop familure with these motors
Well, we're most of the way through our tear down. We'll start taking measurements soon and see what it looks like.
You might think of having the block tanked & check (maybe at K&U) before you buy rebuild parts. Most of these blocks seem to be cracked or broken.
We've used K&U before. We'll probably run the block through the parts washer cabinet a while and do an initial inspection, but that may be the route. Also- Any thoughts/votes for removing the trim? We're missing a piece of hood trim and side trim, and a third piece is badly damaged. Some are good, but a couple others are dented. It was proposed today that by simply removing the trim and filling the holes, we'd probably have LESS cost in the end. It'd be a bit more custom looking too.
Kids want to go matte black. I'm considering it. I'd need to find a good source for matte black paint though. Different approach them I'm used to.
Can't get any cheaper than John Deere Blitz Black. About 30 dollars a gallon at any John Deere dealer. Also available in spray cans for touch up and hard to reach places. Only thing is you should use their thinner as stated on the can. Experiment with the thinning so it doesn't come out textured.
I'd agree with the idea to remove the trim and fill the holes. If you're going with matte black, you might consider red wheels, it's a classic look. In addition to using the parts washer, you might read up on using electrolysis to remove rust from the water passages, flatheads often have a lot of rust and casting sand in the nooks and crannies which can make them overheat. I remember reading somewhere about taking a long flat screwdriver and scraping out the water passages and then using an air hose with a homemade extension on the nozzle to blow it all out.
Yup... we've got the electrolysis setup. Rarely use it. We've got a large drum, rebar rods going all around, and we hook it to our large battery charger. First we need to get the DIRT off! Holy moley... On top of the transmission we have about an inch thick of crud. Literally a legit inch! I've got teams of students whose sole job is scraping gunk off with screwdrivers... CHECK OUT THE MOCK UP OF OUR CUSTOM DOOR PANELS!!! I'M HAPPY!
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