Jump to content

1938 Buick Century Model 61 - Four Door Touring Sedan - Trunk Back


Recommended Posts

Today I did not do too much on the car project. I had a friend come over and pick up about a pickup truck load of stuff that was taking up space in the garage. Hopefully he will do well auctioning some of it off and can use the rest of it. I am just happy to have the space in the garage. I got the garage mostly cleaned up, although he needs to come back with his trailer for one large item that is still taking up space. I removed the remains of the wiring harness to get that out of the way. I then applied solvent to all of the bolts and nuts that were easily accessible and to let it soak in a bit in preparation of their eventual removal.  If I was not so tired yesterday, I would have probably thought to do that, before putting the chassis inside the garage. I then used a floor jack to manhandle the chassis into a sideways position in the rear of the garage so the daily driver can again fit into the garage. It  will be pulled out again soon for pressure washing and blasting, but it is good to see it in the garage where I can work on it in the air conditioned space for now. 

 

I have some non-car stuff to do tomorrow morning so I don't know how much time I will have to work on the car tomorrow. I also need to spend some time putting together a plan of the best order to disassemble the chassis components and what to actually restore first. I do think that number one on the list is to remove the running board brackets from the chassis. Even though I know they are there, and do my best to step around them, it is amazing how many times I have bumped and/or cut my shins on those brackets in the past few days.

DSC_0590.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning, I took care of those pesky running board brackets. I won't be hitting my shins on them again any time soon. I also removed the tail pipe hanger that I should have removed before removing the body from the chassis. I saw those three screws sticking up underneath the back seat but did not look to see what they were before removing the body, but it was certainly easy to remove it after the rest of the body had already been ripped away from it. I also removed the ignition lock from the steering column. I applied more solvent to the fitting on the brake lines in preparation for their upcoming removal. I took photos of all of the brake lines and fuel lines to document how the replacement lines will need to be routed. I did find one brake line that does not look correct. I can't imagine why the brake line to the right front brake runs over the frame instead of through a nearby hole in the frame. With the splice fitting and that line running over the frame with some rubber padding, I suspect this might have been an old repair so I will have to do some research to see if that routing is correct. 

DSC_0592.JPG

DSC_0593.JPG

DSC_0594.JPG

DSC_0595.JPG

DSC_0596.JPG

DSC_0597.JPG

DSC_0598.JPG

DSC_0599.JPG

DSC_0600.JPG

DSC_0601.JPG

DSC_0602.JPG

DSC_0603.JPG

DSC_0604.JPG

DSC_0605.JPG

DSC_0606.JPG

DSC_0607.JPG

DSC_0608.JPG

DSC_0609.JPG

DSC_0610.JPG

DSC_0611.JPG

DSC_0612.JPG

DSC_0613.JPG

DSC_0614.JPG

DSC_0615.JPG

DSC_0616.JPG

DSC_0617.JPG

DSC_0618.JPG

DSC_0619.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yesterday was a dreary rainy day. Today is a beautiful day with sunny skies, light breezes, and comfortable temperatures. Technically, we are in a state of emergency here in NC since this morning due to the forecast track of Hurricane Irma. Locally, we won't have any potential for any of the effects of Irma for several more days. This afternoon, the forecast track looks a little bit better for us as the forecast track has shifted a little bit west of us. Last night, I had a little bit of normal shopping to do, and was able to stock up on a few hurricane supplies without too much trouble. I topped off the gas tank in my daily driver and filled a couple of gas cans with non-ethanol fuel for my generator in case it is needed. 

 

This morning, I decided that I should at least pull the valve cover off temporarily to have a look. No nasty surprised there. A little bit of sludge, but not nearly as bad as I expected for a car that sat unused outside for over 2 decades. 

 

Next, I decided to remove the brake lines. I managed to get all of the lines off and took photos that will hopefully help me check the replacement lines for correct bends and install them when I am putting it back together. The two front steel lines were both rusty to the point of leaking and basically falling apart. The rest of the lines were actually in better shape than I expected. After being well soaked in solvent in the past few days, I did not have too much trouble getting all of the fittings apart. Some of them were really rusty, but they did come apart for me. 

 

I plan to use a replacement body on this project unless something changes and I have to restore the existing rusty body. I still have some other parts stored outside. With the potential for a storm, I am going to have to move the fenders and anything else that I plan to reuse inside. By the weekend, I will need to have anything that I will be using, stored safely inside the garage. 

  

I decided to pull the hardware off of the trunk lid since I expect to replace the trunk lid, but might need some of the hardware. 

DSC_0628.JPG

DSC_0629.JPG

DSC_0630.JPG

DSC_0631.JPG

DSC_0632.JPG

DSC_0633.JPG

DSC_0634.JPG

DSC_0635.JPG

DSC_0636.JPG

DSC_0637.JPG

DSC_0638.JPG

DSC_0639.JPG

DSC_0640.JPG

DSC_0641.JPG

DSC_0642.JPG

DSC_0643.JPG

DSC_0644.JPG

DSC_0645.JPG

DSC_0646.JPG

DSC_0647.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today's forecast shifted the projected track a bit to the west. If it stays on this track, we will be fine. No matter what this storm does, I think we will be OK. After a 30 year law enforcement career requiring me to to stay in town to work during storms, I am used to being prepared and riding out the storms in place. Even though I have been retired for 7 years, I just can't seem to feel a need to leave. It is kind of nice to have that option available if a really bad storm were to come here, but so far, I have not ever left home due to a storm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning, I disassembled a few other small parts that had been soaking in solvent overnight. First Iremoved the remaining nut from the trunk ornament. It did not want to come off yesterday but came off fine after soaking overnight. Next removed the previously stuck screws from the voltage regulator and horn relay. Then I removed the flexible line from the brake master cylinder and finally removed the cap from the brake master cylinder. It took a while to get that cap off. I was afraid it was not going to budge, but finally with the master cylinder in the vice, a large adjustable wrench on the cap and a few hammer blows on the wrench, I was able to finally remove it. The fluid inside looked pretty good, but there was some crud in the bottom after I poured out the brake fluid. I also removed the battery box from the chassis. The two bolts on that were a rusted enough that it was difficult to get a socket on them, but they came out easily. 

 

Next I removed the fuel line. The fuel line was not too difficult to remove. I then was able to easily remove the gas gauge sending unit from the fuel tank. After that came out, I removed the gas tank from the chassis. After that point, I decided to remove the remaining three hubcaps. Somewhere I have the other one, but need to find it and put it with these three. I then removed the wheel trim rings. Some of them were covering up a lot of rust on the wheels. I hope that I can use all of the wheels. Even if they are all usable, I still need an extra wheel for a spare tire. Finding a 15 inch Century wheel will probably be difficult.  Last, I removed the remains of a mystery hanger from the frame rail near the left rear tire. I suspect it is the remains of a tailpipe hanger, but it was not attached to anything.

 

Sometime soon, I need to figure out what to do with the 20+ years old gas in the tank. It will be interesting to see what it looks like when I pour it out. DSC_0654.JPG

DSC_0652.JPG

DSC_0653.JPG

DSC_0655.JPG

DSC_0656.JPG

DSC_0657.JPG

DSC_0658.JPG

DSC_0659.JPG

DSC_0660.JPG

DSC_0661.JPG

DSC_0662.JPG

DSC_0663.JPG

DSC_0664.JPG

DSC_0666.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The chassis serial number tag was detached from the chassis before I got the car. This was going to make dealing with NC DMV to obtain a NC title very difficult. My initial plan was to remove the body and hopefully locate the chassis serial number that should be stamped on the top of the passenger side frame rail behind the rear wheel.  After removing the body from the chassis, I found that rust on the frame has made that number impossible to read. Cleaning up that section of the frame did not help read the number. I was planning to buy some chemicals that are used to "raise" serial numbers which have been obscured. These chemicals are typically used by law enforcement agencies to help identify stolen property on which serial numbers have been removed or altered.

 

A few days ago, I received a call from Al Proctor. He said that he was able to track down an old friend who had access to some long lost documents relating to this car. He was mailing them to me. Today, the documents arrived. The 1941-1945 Registration cards show the correct engine number and frame number, as found on the detached chassis tag. After speaking with a local DMV Inspector today, he told me that he thinks that solves any potential problem with getting the title. He is going to schedule an inspection visit in the near future, so I can finally get the process of obtaining a title started.

 

The documents also included some other interesting period documents. It is intriguing to hold WWII era documents such as the gas rationing folder and tax stamps related to your own car.

DSC_0674.JPG

DSC_0678.JPG

DSC_0679.JPG

DSC_0680.JPG

DSC_0681.JPG

DSC_0682.JPG

DSC_0683.JPG

DSC_0684.JPG

DSC_0675.JPG

DSC_0677.JPG

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

His phone number is certainly in my phone. The funny thing is that I have responded to so many forum posts, facebook posts, yahoo 37-38 group emails and questions sent to me at webmaster of the 36-38 Buick Club, that I have typed his number so many times that I have it memorized. I have spoken with him about this project. He has a car that he will probably be parting out in the near future. He is going to call me as soon as he decides to part it out. We have already had some initial discussions about what parts he needs to leave on the car's body so I can pick it all up at once. If that one does not work out, he knows what I need and assured me that he will find one. The body on this car is restorable, but it has so much rust, it will be much easier to simply drop a better body onto this chassis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning, I drained some of the gas out of the fuel tank to get a look at it. It is a bit dark, but it looked clean. I then decided to remove the front end nose piece, the only remaining body part on the car. I drained the radiator. I had previously removed most of the bolts holding the nose to the radiator. I padded the area between the fan and the radiator and then removed the large bolt securing the bottom of nose to the frame. Next, I removed the two remaining bolts securing the nose to the radiator and lifted the nose off and added it to my growing parts pile. I then removed the radiator hoses and radiator. The radiator core looks good, but the bottom of the radiator frame is rusted into two pieces.

 

Next, I removed the gas, oil, and vacuum lines from the engine. I removed the temperature sensor and the oil pressure gauge supply line from the engine. This enabled me to remove the instrument panel from the chassis and add it to the parts pile. 

DSC_0685.JPG

DSC_0686.JPG

DSC_0687.JPG

DSC_0688.JPG

DSC_0689.JPG

DSC_0690.JPG

DSC_0691.JPG

DSC_0692.JPG

DSC_0693.JPG

DSC_0694.JPG

DSC_0695.JPG

DSC_0696.JPG

DSC_0697.JPG

DSC_0698.JPG

DSC_0699.JPG

DSC_0700.JPG

DSC_0701.JPG

DSC_0702.JPG

DSC_0703.JPG

DSC_0704.JPG

DSC_0705.JPG

DSC_0708.JPG

DSC_0709.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This afternoon the weather was so nice, I went outside and pulled a few more parts out of the body.  I reached under the dash and removed the studs and nuts that hold the speaker screen in the middle of the dash. I removed the screen which reveals the best sample of the original dash woodgrain. I struggled for a few minutes to figure out how the dash lock was held into the dash. Finally I found the small screw on the bottom end of the lock assembly which holds the lock in place. Removal of that screw allows the lock assembly to be simply lifted out of the dash. I then removed the lighter from the dash. Removing it is acomplished by first removing the small nut on the back that holds the wiring on the lighter, gripping the assembly in some pliers and using a wrench to loosen the nut that holds the metal piece that secures the lighter into the dash opening. I then removed the two screws that hold the glove box door to the dash, and removed the glove box door.

 

Next, I removed the headlight knob from the headlight switch by pressing the small lever on the switch that clips to the knob stalk, holding the stalk in the switch. I remember reading how to do that in an old Torque Tube magazine in the past. Without looking up the article, I could not immediately remember how to unscrew the switch assembly to remove it from the dash. I took a few minutes and puzzled over how to get the switch out of the dash until I happened to look at the hole where the swich knob had been removed and realized that it simply requires an allen wrench to unscrew the switch bezel from the switch, allowing the switch to be removed.  

DSC_0710.JPG

DSC_0711.JPG

DSC_0712.JPG

DSC_0713.JPG

DSC_0714.JPG

DSC_0715.JPG

DSC_0716.JPG

DSC_0717.JPG

DSC_0718.JPG

DSC_0719.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While Sunday is typically a day of rest, I had to do a little bit on the 1938 Buick. Today, local AACA and 36-38 Buick Club member, Larry Howard brought over his set of Rollmaster Wheel Dollies that he had offered to loan me for this project. I jacked up the chassis and put it on the Wheel Dollies. This should be handy as I continue this project.

 

After that I decided to remove the orange tape from the steering wheel. I had noticed that the steering wheel did not look like a typical ivory colored "banjo" wheel. After removing all of the orange tape, I then removed a section of the clear tape that was under the orange tape to reveal the remains of the original steering wheel. I found the steering wheel to be something that I had not seen before. It is obviously a cast plastic type material but its color was like a dark wood. After finding this, I did some research and found documentation in the Torque Tube, Volume XII, Issue 2 (Nov-Dec 1993), that showed that 1938 Large Series cars had a Mahogany colored wheel.  These are seldom seen because most have been recast and most have been changed to Ivory colored wheels since most people think that they look better. How that wheel showed up on my 1938 Century is a mystery to me. Perhaps a prior owner liked the look of the mahogany wheel and installed it. I also removed the gear shift knob today. It was obviously not an original Buick part. It appears to be a wooden knob that probably was a pretty good color match for the steering wheel years ago.  

 

DSC_0722.JPG

DSC_0723.JPG

DSC_0724.JPG

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check that TT issue again or ones near it. It's not just large series cars that had the mahogany steering wheels it is every series BUT the Specials. But know one knows that anymore, I was kinda surprised I didn't get asked for documentation on mine. I better get some in the car before I do get asked.

 

BCA member in OH Richard Gumm will recast in the dark brown,he did mine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks. I may need to read back through all of the old issues. I understand that there are no hard and fast rules on any production cars. There are always cars that don't follow "the rules", and any publication can also be found to have errors. While my previous experience is mostly with 1937s rather than 1938s, I found it interesting how rare these apparently are now. I have also yet to see a Special without the optional "banjo" wheel in person. I have only seen photos of one of those steering wheels. I think that the Ivory banjo wheel has become seen as the expected wheel on these cars. Now, I have to give some serious thought to what color I want to use for the steering wheel. Maybe I will get a chance to see your car again and look at it closely before I have to decide on this one.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brian,

It gets even more interesting...

 

While looking for information regarding disassembly of the ignition lock without a key, I found out that even some Specials were built after June 20, 1938 with Mahogany steering wheels in Flint. This information is from Torque Tube Volume III, Issue 1, Page 22 (September 1984).

Specials with Mahogany Steering Wheels.pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning, I had some non-automotive tasks to acomplish but I decided to do a little bit on the Buick project, before getting ready for this afternoon and evening's anticipated arrival of some Tropical Storm force wind gusts and rain associated with the approach of now Tropical Storm strength Irma. I rolled the chassis out of the garage this morning to use my small electric pressure washer to at least get the top level of dust, rust, grease, dirt and other grime off of the chassis. While I had it out, I swept out the garage. I then blew off the remaining water with my air compressor and put the chassis back in its space in the back of the garage. I then used the pressure washer on the fenders and then stored the fenders inside the garage to protect them from the potential wind gusts. I then secured the body's doors outside as well as used some bungee cords to secure the remaining parts that I do not expect to reuse in this project on the floor of the body. I now have all of the parts that I expect to reuse on this project stored inside the garage for the storm. I then stored a few other things that are normally outside in the garage for the storm. I cleaned the gunk from the chassis off of the driveway and now everything should be adequately secured for the approaching storm.  There is not much extra room in the garage right now, but after the storm, I will probably move the fenders back outside to free up some room. I also have some extra engraving equipment from my engraving business that takes up a lot of storage space in the garage. I have decided to sell some of this extra equipment to free up space for this project. In a few days, it looks like my ebay auctions will help me have more space in the garage for this project, as well as a bit of cash to buy parts.   

 

 

 

 

DSC_0727.JPG

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, they are a challenge to store while off of the car. I do have tall ceilings.  I am thinking of rigging up a system to suspend them overhead. If I don't do that, I will probably need to  move them back outside for storage until I am ready to restore them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a busy day today so I did not have as much time to work on the Buick as I would have preferred. This morning, I wasted a bit more time than I probably should have removing the ignition lock. I had read instructions in a few old Torque Tube issues and knew that with a working key, it would be easy to get the lock cylinder out, but without a key, you have to drill out a pin to get it out. After drilling the pin out, the cylinder comes out inside the lock case. I then took the lock cylinder in the lock case to a local locksmith to learn that they could not remove the cylinder from inside the case without a working key. I can probably find a replacement and I probably don't need to, because I anticipate buying a better replacement body for this project and should buy the ignition lock with the body so I will have the ignition key to match the door and trunk key.  Just for the fun of it, I cleaned up the ignition lock assembly a bit and painted the recesses in the On/Off switch. I think it looks pretty good, although I doubt I will actually be using this part. 

 

Later in the day, I delivered my radiator to a local radiator shop. The radiator appears to be in decent shape internally but the bottom strap that holds the core is rusted in two. They radiator shop folks were quite concerned to inform me that there would be a delay because their guy who specializes in that sort of repair would be out for 2 or 3 days due to some eye surgery. I assured them that I had plenty of time to spare before I had to worry about it. I told them there was no rush on the job.

 

This evening, I decided that I had to accomplish something else on the Buick so I removed the engine splash pans. These came off relatively easy, but a lot of crud was wedged up in there so I had to sweep the floor again after getting them off.

DSC_0730.JPG

DSC_0733.JPG

DSC_0734.JPG

DSC_0735.JPG

DSC_0736.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning, I decided to remove the front brake flexible hoses. I ran out of time when I initially took the rest of the brake lines off, so this morning, I finished those. This afternoon I had a visit from my sandblaster. We went over the chassis and made our plans for doing the sandblasting next Tuesday, weather permitting. After that I removed a couple of items that he suggested would be good to remove prior to sandblasting. I pulled the starter off without any problems. I even found a little bit of a mouse next inside, when I removed the starter. I have no idea how that got in there. Next I removed the coil. I then removed the two bolts that secured the vacuum line on the right lower side of the engine.

 

My sandblaster plans to have me remove the wheels during the sandblasting so he can do a better job on the wheels, hubs, drums, etc. Since I will be removing those while he blasts the fenders, I decided that it would be best to remove the lug bolts once here in the garage to make sure they all come off without any problems. I used my impact wrench and removed all of the lug bolts on three of the four wheels without any problems. On the right rear wheel, only one of the lug nuts would come out. I did my best to apply solvent to the remaining lug bolts and allowed them to sit for a few hours. I gave them another try this evening. The impact wrench would still not budge them. In another example of "Kids don't try this at home", I have to admit that for many years, I have successfully used a set of 1/2 inch drive sockets that are not designed to be used with the impact wrench. When the impact wrench did not remove them, I decided to give a breaker bar a try with the 1/2 inch drive socket. I placed the socket on the breaker bar, placed the socket on one of the lug bolts and took one foot and put some pressure on the breaker bar. For the first time ever, the "breaker bar" lived up to its name. The socket snapped. I reapplied some more solvent to the lug bolts and will give them a try after I go shopping for some impact rated sockets tomorrow. I am certainly happy I did not wait until next Tuesday to try to remove the wheels for the first time. 

DSC_0737.JPG

DSC_0738.JPG

DSC_0739.JPG

DSC_0740.JPG

DSC_0741.JPG

DSC_0742.JPG

DSC_0743.JPG

DSC_0744.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning, I bought some impact sockets. With the new 3/4 inch socket, after they had soaked overnight with solvent, I was easily able to remove the lug bolts from the right rear wheel. In preparation for the upcoming sandblasting, I need to remove the trim from the body parts that will be sandblasted. I remotrved the stainless steel trim from the front nose assembly. The nuts on the bottom couple of trim clips were so rusty that they required an angle grinder to remove.  I was able to disassemble the hood halves by sliding them off of the center stainless steel trim. After getting them apart, I can see that the hinge portion of the hood halves is rusted even worse than I suspected. I was able to scrape many years accumulation of grease from the left engine splash pan. Underneath the caked on grease I was able to find a patch of the original black paint. I removed both front fender lights. All of the hardware came apart easily using only a ratchet and socket. Then I removed the tail lights from the rear fenders. One of those nuts was rusted so much that a socket could not grip it, so I used vice grips to remove that one. I stacked the fenders and hood halves on the chassis in preparation for moving it all to the sandblaster's soon. 

 

I still have to remove the leading edge trim on the hood halves. I have the hardware on those soaking in solvent so that I might be able to remove the hardware without resorting to the angle grinder. My pile of bagged and labeled parts is getting larger. Hopefully in the near future, as I sell some of my extra engraving equipment, I will have a little bit more room and will figure out an organized storage system to organize the parts in a more orderly system to make it easier to find things as I start the restoration and assembly process.

 

I just noticed that today marks one month since I arrived home with this project. I am happy with the amount of progress that I have made in a month. I am afraid that the pace of this project is likely to slow significantly soon. 

DSC_0745.JPG

DSC_0746.JPG

DSC_0747.JPG

DSC_0748.JPG

DSC_0749.JPG

DSC_0750.JPG

DSC_0751.JPG

DSC_0753.JPG

DSC_0754.JPG

DSC_0756.JPG

DSC_0757.JPG

DSC_0758.JPG

DSC_0759.JPG

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started out the first few days using PB Blaster. I have always had good results with that. I have always heard that a 50/50 mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid was the best and cheapest solvent to use on rusty hardware. I never had a need for enough at one time to justify buying a gallon of acetone until now. A few days after I got started on this, I bought a squirt can, a gallon of Acetone and a few quarts of ATF. When the can gets empty I fill it half full on ATF and then top it off with Acetone. I don't know how much I have used but I am sure it is much cheaper since I think I used nearly a can of PB Blaster each day until I switched to mixing the ATF and Acetone. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had to spend quite a few hours today on some non-Buick projects so I only had a few minutes to work on the Buick today. Despite extensive solvent soaking, the nuts did not want to come off of the front hood trim pieces. I think the main problem is that it is just too difficult to get enough leverage using a screwdriver and a wrench as opposed to two wrenches on things like this rusty hardware. After unsuccessful attempts to remove the four nuts securing the two remaining pieces of trim to the hood halves, I took out my trusty angle grinder. After a few minutes, the nuts were off and those two last pieces of trim were off of the hood halves. I also removed the small rubber bumpers from the hood halves. I think that I will remove the muffler and tailpipe, but after that, I don't think that anything else needs to be removed from the chassis before I take it to the sandblaster. 

DSC_0769.JPG

DSC_0770.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning, I was able to do a little bit more disassembly on the remains of the body. I had previously soaked the firewall pad bolts and the windshield molding screws in solvent. First I tackled the firewall pad. I was able to drag an air hose out to the body in the driveway and use a small impact wrench on the nuts while reaching through the doorway and holding a screwdriver on the screw head on the other side of the firewall with my other hand. I was able to remove 8 of the nine bolts using this method. My arms were not long enough to reach the bolt in the top center of the firewall pad. On the ninth one, I was just able to grip the outer edge of the screw head with a pair of vice grips. The weight of the vice grips was heavy enough to hold the screw head in place enough for the impact wrench to remove the nut. 

 

After that I tackled the windshield molding screws. In spite of several applications of solvent, I was unable to simply use a screwdriver to remove most of those screws. I did find that if I gripped the screwdriver in one hand and twisting it while simultaneously using a hammer to deliver blows to the end of the screwdriver, I was able to finally get all of the molding screws out. After I removed the screws, I was able to remove the windshield molding. While in the area, I also removed the rear view mirror. After that, I removed the two horns from the firewall. 

DSC_0771.JPG

DSC_0772.JPG

DSC_0773.JPG

DSC_0774.JPG

DSC_0775.JPG

DSC_0776.JPG

DSC_0777.JPG

DSC_0778.JPG

DSC_0779.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the hardest bolts to remove on this car so far were on the fenders. The fact that this car was abandoned outside in Massachusetts for over 20 years did not help anything exposed to the weather. The windshield molding screws were very difficult to remove. Those fasteners with hex heads on both the bolts and the nuts are certainly easier than those with screw heads. The front hood trim bolts would not come off. I had to grind them off. This evening, I removed the front license plate bracket from the front bumper. Those nuts were so rusted away, that I just used the angle grinder to remove their remains. I sprayed down the bumper bracket bolts so they will be soaking in solvent over the weekend. I also sprayed down the muffler and tailpipe clamps with solvent. Hopefully I can get those bumper brackets and muffler clamps off on Monday.      

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Matt;

Your project is coming along very nicely.  By FAR the hardest bolts to remove were the bumper bolts and the body bolts.  

The Bumper Bolts were the very first thing I removed and I was thinking "this is going to be a tough job"!

The Body Bolts were one of the last I removed, and i thought, "still kicking my *ss"!!

 

They do go back in place MUCH easier!!

Keep up the great work!

Gary

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started out this morning by climbing into the body (on the body dolly, so I can now confirm that the dolly will hold 200 lbs more than the body alone) and removing the back window moldings. I also removed all of the muffler and tail pipe clamps, although I think the muffler and tailpipe might stay on it until we are doing the sandblasting. Next I removed the brackets from the bumpers, so the sandblaster can blast the bumpers. I am not yet sure if I will reuse the bumpers or replace them. I took quite a few photos that I think will help me reassemble the bumpers and bumper brackets correctly. 

 

This afternoon, I stopped by and picked up my friend's truck and trailer. I had some other things to do today, so it was about 8 pm (and dark) when I got around to loading for the sandblaster trip in the morning. With the fenders, bumpers, and a few other parts still sitting on the chassis for transportation, I rolled the chassis out of the garage and out into the street behind the trailer. I used a 2 x 4 board as a lever to move the chassis around since there is not a good place to push on the chassis and it is difficult for one guy to move it around. I then used a cable comealong and a couple of chains to pull the chassis onto the trailer, after removing the extra parts and placing them onto the flat bed of the truck. I secured the chassis to the trailer with 4 straps and then used some smaller straps to secure the spare parts to the bed of the truck. I loaded up a few tools so I can remove the wheels for the sandblaster tomorrow at the appropriate time. I took some photos of the project on the Truck and Trailer but it was too dark to get good photos. 

DSC_0800.JPG

DSC_0801.JPG

DSC_0802.JPG

DSC_0803.JPG

DSC_0804.JPG

DSC_0805.JPG

DSC_0806.JPG

DSC_0807.JPG

DSC_0808.JPG

DSC_0809.JPG

DSC_0810.JPG

DSC_0811.JPG

DSC_0812.JPG

DSC_0813.JPG

DSC_0814.JPG

DSC_0815.JPG

DSC_0817.JPG

DSC_0818.JPG

DSC_0819.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...