Hot afternoons are here in SE Texas, so I'll post some latest pics of our progress, then maybe get out after 5 and do some more work. 

Nothing too glamorous to update, just some seat work and installing a 2 speed wiper motor (which are apparently scarce as hen's teeth and twice as pricey... we got lucky and picked up one along with the wiring harness at our local salvage yard).

 Pretty, huh? Knocked the rust back and then applied some Eastwood rust treatment product. The backs are pretty shot, but hopefully our little trimmer in the next town over can work with them and rebuild...

 Yuck!

 Here's what the inside of your classic early 60's FOMOCO 2 sp wiper unit looks like...

 Cleaned up, painted and ready for reassembly.

 Daniel illustrates the diff between 1- and 2-speed wiper units.

Next up, chasing down some electrical/wiring gremlins...

Enjoy!

Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

can you tell its 100+ degrees this afternoon in Houston from this picture?  Daniel removing the front bumper in preparation for removing the old radiator support and installing a better one recently purchased of epay...

 patching up the front turn signal housings...

 bit by bit... turn signal housings from the front bumper, on the way to being restored.

Daniel's off to two weeks of summer camp in a couple of days, so dad will get the fun of removing frozen bumper bolts and the old rusted radiator support.  We found a better one, so off comes the old one and in goes the newer one!  We also have (hopefully) a correct rear seat on the way from up north in Gatesville, TX.

... and on it goes...!

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

Thnks for the update.

As someone said earlier, you're a great dad.

55f100

West Monroe,La.

Daniel's off at church camp, so dad is getting some "grunt" work done... oh well, isn't our title "... now Dad's the helper"?

Enjoy, but don't stare at some of them too long... you might get grease under your fingernails!

 off comes the radiator support... rust never sleeps!

 Dang! real bumpers are heavy... remember those days?

 yeah... that cardboard and drain pan will do a lot of good... except the drain pan leaks and the cardboard is already oil-soaked from previous A/T filter-fluid change!

 old battery box out and new one to go in... once the old...one...can...be...removed... dang, I hate rusty nuts and bolts that have years of undercoating in their threads!!!  On a positive note, aint it great that almost any fastener on old cars takes a 1/2 or 9/16 inch tool!!??

 "new" radiator support ready to go on... well, not really new, just without 15 lbs of rust on it like our original... oh yeah, and its either a year newer, or from a Montclair instead of a Monterey... or else its from a Galaxie... another reason to love old cars... mostly its not rocket science... a bigger hammer and a GBF screwdriver will usually carry the day when it comes to making stuff fit!

 newer battery tray and support at the ready...

 bumper supports resting in my "rust-removal" tank... vinegar!

 bit of a late-afternoon glare on some cleaned and freshly painted nuts and bolts... my favorite part of the job!

 car is now 75 lbs lighter w/out radiator support and its accululated 66 lbs of rust!

 who says "patina" is cool??!! this is the "... bad and ugly" radiator support finally off, after some busted knuckles and cuts to fingers.  The "good" one is in the process of being painted.  Also bought some Gunk and assorted de-greasing products tonight at Adavnce Auto to clean up the engine before reassembly.  Also bought another can of GoJo... be out for 2 weeks and my wife is threatening to buy me some Lava soap!  Remember Lava... the only stuff we had for cleaning up... besides gas!

Pretty pictures on the way soon, I promise.  Daniel returns from camp next Wednesday, so I've got to get this thing back together!!

M

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

  Finally!! a pretty picture... well at least to those who know the slow process that preceeds the first real re-install of a major component.  New radiator support... well, new to us.  And if anybody asks, a 64 model is not a direct bolt on for a 63... so, a bit of "fabrication" had to be done... hammer, vice grips and hack saw!  yeah, that's how we roll on the cheap!

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

 Daniel's removing all the trim in preparation for the trip to the body shop for all rust repair and getting the body into primer. Scheduled to drop off next Saturday.  Now we just have to figure out where to put all the removed parts in an already-full garage!

 Dad tries his hand at "body work", in this case, the rusted out front valance panel that goes behind the bumper.  Holes filled with a foil roasting pan lid, cut to shape, then glued in place with JB Weld, then...

 flip the piece over and proceed to...

 fill with bondo and sand to shape.

 the other side... still to be done.

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

Merc's at the body shop getting the body work done...

... not enough in Daniel's budget to get the floors done yet, however.

Been spending time cleaning up and repairing the window regulators and other stuff removed before it went for bodywork.

Also just did some repair work to the carb on my Fairlane, so when the Merc comes back, that will be the next thing to do.

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

Of - course i would say this story encourage a youngster as well me.

broken bolt removal

The great thing about this build, besides the father son part, is that it is no easy fix. Your son, and you, are learning a lot about everthing from stuck and broken bolts to body work. I don't think he will be afraid to tackle other projects in the future. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Good work, your son wont forget these times...



"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"