Mark, I enjoyed watching the videos and seeing the progress on the suburban too! Good stuff, thanks for sharing!
~ Billy Old Dominion Stovebolt Society: Exotic Animal Division 1946 Chevrolet Cab Over Engine | In the Gallery | Video | More pictures 1959 GMC 860 | Pictures 1950 Chevrolet 3800 | Pictures I've got a trailer and I'm not afraid to use it!
No work for a little while. Next is valve seal, and two shows. But can't do any valve work since a homeless cat took refuge in my shop to receive medical treatment and care. When this small crisis concludes, work will continue! Which means, noisy compressor on!
Been lazy lately. I did remove the drivers hood hinge and elongate the holes a little. The hood now has nicer gaps and sits a little straighter, flatter. I like it!
Still being lazy. Have been slowly addressing where the new cowl panel meets the old cowl top. Been shaping to match the hood profile. I should probably do the same for cowl to door area, but I think it's close enough to not bug me. I had planned to do some paint, but I don't feel like affording it right now. Plus, I need to decide on a better paint area. Maybe on the side of the house where things are a little wider than in the garage. Line my Easy-ups with plastic or maybe get a temporary garage. I really need to get off my butt and seal the valve stems, at the very least.
Hadn't checked in lately, Mark, so it appears the "lazy" part has hit more than you. Glad to see your still chipping away though. Remember, at least 15 minutes a day will git r done! Now, if I could just take my own advice on the coupe! Paint? I have my coupe lined up for work in about 3 more weeks. We'll see how it goes.........perhaps you could find a "painter" with access to a paint booth and do the spraying over a weekend? I'm just full of ideas for someone else taint I. hehehe
Fine! I'll pull the grill and either have the bars chromed or just get a whole new grill! If I do, I'm going to match the inner bars to the interior color. That will probably provoke me to fix the paint on the inside over the wheel wells where burn through happened from fixing the rust issues on the inner to outer!
I did these a while ago but never posted pictures. So, here you go! Leftover ABS from the headliner job, leftover u-channel from the side panel job. Nutserts in the door, fancy washers under the stainless oval heads. The channel was short pieces so I TIG'd some edges together. The metal would just blow away if I spent too long on it, so the ends only got a quick zot. I like them, didn't have to body work all the little dings in that area of paneling, and they help protect the door! They also match the rest I did inside. I think I'll keep them!!
She's being used as a daily driver while I paint my Crew Cab. The engine is starting to smoke worse on start up, so as soon as I get back in to my daily driver crew cab, it'll be time to replace the valve umbrellas. I need to get the ignition wires tied up better and find a way to tension the belt better. I didn't quite place the tensioner in the proper orientation and I'm getting a squeal on AC start up. I should be able to take up some belt by going to a shorter version and using the adjusters on the alternator.
Alrighty! Well, it's been a minute or two. That good ol' Suburban did it's job. Got me to work and back home while I painted that dually. The moment I parked it and got back in to the crew cab, the CPP master cylinder decided to crap out. I still had the rear half of the dually to paint, bed, fenders, etc., so the poor thing got parked off to the side for a while. I still have more to do to my dually, but it can wait for now. Mid November, I have a show, Nitro Revival, where I will probably get called upon to dragster push car duties. Sooooo, time to work on the Burb!
Found myself a Wilwood master. Because it is configured differently than the CPP, that also means bending and flaring some new lines. And, because I suspect the rear caliper boots always rolled the pistons in when sitting, I'm installing a 2 pound residual valve in the rear line. The brakes always worked great, just required an extra pump when first stopping so the pedal would come up some. Hopefully, all this new stuff eliminates those issues.
This morning I found my valve seals and this evening I bent up the line for the rear brake. It is now installed. Maybe I'll have the front line shaped in the morning. Dodgers and Braves can be a little distracting. I'll take and post some pics after I get the new master installed. Once the master is installed, it will be time for a valve seal job!
I had made a post on social media about the job I was doing. The young guns, peers where I work, all spoke up about worn guides being the cause. Surprise! New seals, no more start up smoke! On to the next!!
BTW, the guides are fine. It helps to investigate and learn the history of what you're working. Internally, this motor looks low miles. It just old. That'll make any seal harden up and crack!
Keep trucking, Mark. I've had the same problem a few times in my life. Live and learn is what it is all about. That is why we always say there is not such thing as a stupid question. I've told my kids that all their life....that the biggest room in the world is "room for improvement" and sometimes that makes us have to ask stupid questions.....so we can answer them when other folks ask them!!
Keep up the good work...........besides, I needed to check in with you!
Back in 2006, I picked up some steelies for this thing. They came primer, so I had some left over Ferd red that was a match for the Schwinn Phantom's from the 1950's. I had just finish restoring said Phantom. So, I used up the quart for these wheels. This was kinda in the middle of that rat rod craze where everyone was doing red wheels with a primered vehicle. I didn't intentionally mean to copy that fad, but money was tight and I didn't want to waste paint. I kinda don't care about the colors of these wheels. I don't give it much thought. However, for the past few years, I have noticed that on one or two of the rims, there are some unburst rust bubbles. Hard to see unless you are down there drying the water off the wheels after a wash. The tires also have enough age on them and the left front did a lot of rubbing on the fender before I narrowed the front end. The right front is starting to show some sidewall cracking and I never did like the Wrangler tread pattern. I got them for a steal, though, so I lived with them. So, time for new tires. Might as well blast the rims and give them a new color. I think the color will go well with the exterior color I plan to use and matches some of the interior trim which will tie the inside with the outside. Now all I need is a bit of warmer weather. The rainy days stuff around here will never do!!
Tamco DTA epoxy followed by Tamco 5311, which is a bit of a high fill primer just to make it super smooth, then color. Same stuff I used on the C3500 and the Model A. I love this stuff, price is right and it ships to me, across country, pretty fast!
The black stuff on the Burb is SPI, which I don't use anymore. Too tough to get and a lot of waste because of my spraying procedures. Which is, spray now, wait a few months, spray something else. By then the activator is ruined by the atmosphere, even when I store it in the fridge. Tamco has an extremely long shelf life! Even stored at room temp. I'm still using the DTA (Direct To Anything epoxy) that I bought at the beginning of summer! With no ill effects.
It's been a while. Primer in the sun is not good for it. Makes it all chalky. I need to stop messing around and get to painting this thing. Until then, the grill looked sad and I had some "underhood" paint left over from other projects. So the running boards got a coat of "underhood" or semi-gloss paint. I decided I'm going to rechrome the grill bars. Until I do, I got the finest Taiwanese after market grill they make. It was everything I expected it to be. Crappy chrome, grill bars shaped nothing like the originals, and as poor fitting as anything out there. Chroming the grill will cost a pretty penny, but it'll be worth it! Where is the front apron, you ask? Thought I'd try the color I'm going to paint this thing, on it. 1951 Seacrest Green. I think I like it! I'll post the pics later on. I have an event I need to attend in two weeks. So that will be all for now. Time to do some maintenance and clean this thing up!
The show was fun. What made it even more fun is my wife went with me. BOTH DAYS! That's not normal for her and she did great! I was supposed to be the push truck for a nice couple from Texas. For those that follow along, the car I was dedicated to, the one I restored, was given back to its owners and my partner went racing while I went back to building hot rods. So, I volunteered to help this nice couple from Texas. Unfortunately, they had engine issues. So I ended up helping these fine folks from Northern California. A lot of work, a lot of fun, and my wife was a trooper!
So, now I wait for warm weather so I can paint this thing. Plus, I have to find a spot for my friend's '40 Ford Coupe that is taking up space in the paint booth. Maybe while I wait, I'll design and build a cold air intake that'll come in from behind the grill?
Yeah, I'm that thing BEHIND the shiny eye candy thing.
A couple more pics from the event. Pete Jenson standing next to the car, Al Segrini in the seat. Al is a 5 time National Championship funny car driver. He drove the Super Brut car.
So, here's what I'm thinking. Make a tube that snakes from the MAF, over the AC, under the brace, to the indent. From there I have plenty of room in the fender well for a sealed intake box, with drain, then run an intake tube towards the front and through the apron, behind the grill. I can't go drivers side. Even though there is a bit more room, the radiator hose kinda messes all that up. Thoughts?
Okay, status update. My paint booth is jammed up with a friend's '40 Ford Business Coupe. I'm committed to painting the Burb this summer. So, the only place I have to put the '40, is out in my front driveway. Since I don't want the city to think it's scrap metal and haul it away, I'm going to grind it down, give it a coat of primer so it is all one color, then install the windows. Temps are great for spraying so, a painting I will go. Trying some new stuff. Orion Automotive Finishes, gray epoxy primer. I've done the roof on the '40 and I'm liking this stuff so far!
Then, it will be time to roll the Burb in to the booth, send the rear window trims out to the chrome shop, maybe the grill, and have a block party on the body. Usually a party of one, so don't get too hopeful that you'll see constant updates. Although, you might.
I looked at my barn doors and decided they sit too low in the opening. The upper hinges can use a little bending to pull the door tops out. But otherwise, the side gaps and center gaps are pretty close. I dug back 10 years through the Burb and Panel Forum and found little on door adjustment, except for where Tim seems to remember some adjustment on the door side. I'll start there. I think I need to go up with both of them 1/8"-3/16" and the tops need to come out about 1/8" between the two. Wish me luck! That'll probably be the first thing I do before I start prepping for paint. For my front doors, the latch side is proud of the body by 1/8" or so. But they are square in the opening, so I can live with that 1/8". This is gonna be fun. I have the epoxy I need to finish the Ferd. I have the hood and front fenders to sand and finish, then out it goes!
Okay. Got that '40 presentable. Time to roll it out of the way and roll the Burb in. But, do I go to the L.A. Roadsters show father's day weekend first? Before I start? It's the difference between parking inside the show or walking a quarter mile to get from parking to the show. Decisions, decisions. Maybe I'll spend the next two weeks getting the rear doors just right before I go to the show?
Car show Friday then in to the booth. Gonna need to make a small pile for the chrome shop. Bought 4 wheel dollies from Harbor Freight in preparation for moving the '40. I guess my old ones are permanently borrowed.
Just took this pic at the local In-N-Out while waiting for my order. Killing that epoxy in the sun days are numbered.
Okay. The roadster show is over. Not much in the swap meet. Oh sure, they had the 12 spoke Americans I wanted, but not at $3000. There was one guy who had a closer to proper price of $1700, but I wasn't ready to spend that much for a part time toy. No blowers or blower parts. Well, some baby blowers, but no 6-71's. No M/T Hemi valve covers. Plenty of old rusty iron, but I already have enough of that! No Hemi blocks. Plenty of manufacturers with new shiny stuff. Not much in specialty parking nor roadsters. It was a Friday/work day, after all. And this is the first time after 2 years that they had the show. A few 3100's, one COE (project for sale, $40,000), one '54 panel, and my '51 Burb. I'm sure there were others, but I didn't spot them.
Went to lunch. Came home and went lazy for a minute or two. Went outside and noticed my paint booth tarp is tearing again. This is number three. The first one tore and I warrantied it. Hopefully, I can warranty this one. It's been less than a year since I purchased it. If not, I might have to pick up the 10 year version. Rolled the '40 out of the way. Washed it to make it look a little better. Rolled the Burb in to the paint booth. Block party time! Plus a ton of disassembly. I'll start from the top and work my way down. Two days ago, I adjusted the rear doors some. I'm happy with the results. Although I might give the upper right hinge a little tweak in the press. Rear window trim needs to go to the chrome shop. Plus, I'm thinking of throwing the light bezels in to that pile. I need to up my stainless fastener game as a lot of those Nickle plated screws are rusting.
But, lets not get ahead of ourselves. Tape off the roof and start perfecting the crown. Plus, I can feel a little wowie over the drivers windshield. Once everything is to my satisfaction above the drip rail, I'll pick one side or the other and work on that. Target is to be done and in color by October. I'll try to put in a minimum of 2 hours after work every night, prep for painting on the weekends. And, I'll probably complain to myself that this work is horrible and I'll probably swear that I'll never do it again ( as the Model A sits quietly in my garage........)
