Millions of Little projects
After pulling the engine, It became very clear that there was no turning
back. I could see the full extent of the destruction under the hood, and it wasn't
pretty. Inches of sludge, rust and decay beyond description. All this on a car
that looks pretty good from 10 feet away. I couldn't imagine ever having time
to fix all of it, but I did!!
I've seen worse, but this was bad enough for me. The firewall was caked
in grease. The wiring harness was trashed. The Master Cylinder and vacuum booster
were covered in rust, inches of grease build up was covering the suspension, and
frame. Even Chemtool couldn't help here. I got a bucket and a paint scraper, and
went to work.
Getting the fenders off was the best thing I ever did. I could now easily
move around the car in my garage, and get to the dirt. I also pulled the rest
of the firewall mounted devices. Master Cylinder, Wipers and Wiper motor, blower/vent
box. Heater Core and AC core. I had to remove the dash to get the heater core
out. All of these parts as well as hundreds of others were bead blasted, and repainted
OEM color.
Here is the wiper motor. It is just one example of the hundreds of
little projects which I needed to complete. I took every engine compartment
unit apart, bead blasted the body fixed and cleaned the guts, painted as
needed, and reassembled. Each little project takes about a week. I usually
have about 3 little projects going at the same time.
The fuel pump that came on the car was an incorrect later unit, so I bought
a core from my local junkyard, and rebuilt it. This is the body before bead blasting.
After I blasted it I sprayed the outside with automotive clear coat, and installed
new parts from a rebuild kit.
Look at all of these parts. This is an Air valve from the Air ride system.
Also there are body to frame mounting bolts, and wheel well mounting brackets.
I usually soak all parts in Chemtool, and then blast them. After blasting I cleanouts
them so they won't rust, this isn't the best way to go, but at the time I hadn't
learned about plating yet.
One of my best friends in restoration, Chemtool.. and the pickle jar I
use to dump parts. After 24 hours of soaking in Chemtool even the thickest sludge
gives up!!
Painting the firewall
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Author: Bill McKenna
email bill@mckennasgarage.com