Janousek

All right Frank, you made me google it also. Figured it was just some BS acronym for something on the internet. I still call it Dupont and probably always will but I didn't want the internet police bustin my balls. I've since gotten rid of the metal liner and drywalled with fireboard so it's much easier to maintain. This Olds engine was done in there and I like the color.

I have no idea what RAL stands for. I did restore a 59' and used Axalta chroma premier single stage matched from the valve covers. It's a spectramaster Code DS192N No idea if this will help you but it looks right and is a quality paint that works good for engines.

We had a good time at the event this year. In fact, we sat in our chairs and visited with Ericmac until the rain came. The tour of the house is really worth seeing. The father's day date kinda blows though. The pictures don't show anyone behind the cars because it was hot. Everyone was moved back into the shade, but owners were allowed to sit behind the cars, Box lunch with plenty of seating. Lunch was ok, not great but when are they at this type of event. We stopped in the rig parking lot to drop the top on our 31' Buick and it looked like plenty of parking. Maybe they have fixed most of your complaints? I've been on plenty of PA roads just as bad as Michigan one so that complaint is a wash. My only complaint is the gps kept sending us on 8mile road in a 31' Buick. Slightly uncomfortable at times but I had a .45 double stack with extra clip was at my feet. Not a good way to head East out of there. Once we weave over to Pontiac then It's smooth sailing the last two hours home.

Epoxy primer would be the best solution but in order to do it right you would basically be prepping the metal for paint. Epoxy is the only primer that seals the metal and doesn't have to be top coated. Urethane 2k's are filler products not designed to adhere to bare metal, and self etching primers are just a strike coat to allow the topcoat to stick. Think laquer primer with an etching agent which is junk by today's epoxy standards. The best alternative to epoxy would be some the rust oleum spray bombs list above. Just cover the metal to somewhat protect it and plan to completely remove it before prepping for epoxy at a further date. Metal is porous so anyone putting oil over the metal is asking for disaster. Never used Ospho but I've heard it works if neutralized correctly. "If" is stressed because it will ruin a paint job if not done correctly as it's an acid based product that I always avoid. Never wipe laquer thinner on the metal as it leaves an unseen residue plus most laquer thinners available today are recycled solvents and have bad stuff in the mix. Lots of good waterborne and solvent based products available at a body shop supply. I recommend both types as each has it's advantages to clean the metal. Don't mineral spirits, naptha, laquer thinner, etc...

I find the thin head gasket hard to swallow. Clearances aren't that tight on these engines. The hot rod guys talk about decking .25 on a 248 head to bump the compression. When I built our 31' I had pistons made that were much taller than stock and still had plenty of clearance after the block and head were both decked. Makes me wonder if the wrong pistons were installed.

I don't think grinding away in the area that hits is a proper fix. Yes it would probably work but something else is wrong. I'm with you on the head being decked to much. It might be an overheater if the compression is bumped up that much. I measure .060" on a couple copper gaskets I have laying around that have been installed once. I'd look into the 36-38 club also. 1. Look into the head or block or both being decked to much. 2. Possible improper hardened seats that raised the valves. 3. How are the valves working? Lift and sealing completely? 4. Play with some clay and see what your valve clearances are with a new head gasket. 5. Not sure on the "domed pistons" but a little quick research should tell you if they are compatible. I think they are as my old motors manuals show the early engines bumping the compression a little each year without stroke changes. I would build the bottom end with the new dome pistons and then start your measurements for clearances keeping the possibility of another head in mind. Or just buy another head. Cant have too much of this crap lying around.

I run a knife along the sides and pull it out. Not always that easy and might take several passes and sometimes a screwdriver on the end to get it moving. They used to use a thin setting tape that sometimes acts like glue as it aged. I run a bead of windshield urethane in the channel and squeeze the new glass in place. Makes a nasty mess but a razor blade cleans up the excess that squeezes out and final clean with some solvent on a rag. It does a nice job, but It sucks for the next guy to get them out. You might be better off tackling this yourself unless you can find a good/old glass guy that knows what he's doing.

You can also buy a 3000lb supersack of slag for 300.00 at most commercial blasting joints. The problem I have with the dustless would be scraping wet mush from rockers, trunk floors, floor pans, and inside quarter panels. I've looked into buying one of these but I decided to stick with dry blasting because of the mentioned mess it would take to dry up and cleanup.

I'm not sure what epoxy you are using but most have a 7 day window where no scuffing is needed. If I can't get to it in 3 days then I will red scotchbright to open up the epoxy just to make sure it has good adhesion. I would use a glaze over the pits instead of regular body filler. It's smoother, sands better, and applies better without pinholes.

I see you've found the product your going to use but besides powder using an epoxy primer is the best and most durable finish I've ever found for chassis parts. I use SPI black epoxy and have for over 10 years. A blasted frame with 3 light coverage coats and your done. If it's pitted then spray 3 heavy coats and sand the pits away and spray 2 light coats and your done. One product that is designed to stick to bare metal and has zinc to fight corrosion. It's adhesion to blasted steel is far superior to any type of top coat applied to a primer. Those are going to chip and when it does you see grey underneath. One positive is if your going to paint over epoxy with gloss paint then it has a chemical bond with the epoxy if within the 7 day window. This bond is much stronger than painting over a self-etching or 2k style primer. Any of those POR style paints aren't worth putting on even if they are free. Your doing all the labor you might as well do the best job you can do. I'm looking at a very nice model 38 packard right now with big chips in the black front axle/spring with thick grey primer hallows around it. The products I use and technique doesn't do that. Thinner is better.

PPG still mixes Duracyrl acrylic laquer. Very limited though. Finishmaster in the Detroit area is the only one in Michigan that mixes it. It will blend in with the original stuff. In a pinch I've mixed Standox Base/clear blended into acrylic laquer. It worked and looked great but I don't know how long it will last.

I have a 53' 356 in the shop right now where the owner wanted to do his own engine. That was two years ago and I'm still waiting for the engine. It's a vw for crying out loud. I could've done that engine in a few days. I like the owner otherwise he would have recieved the car on dollies a year ago. Heres my take on time coming from a one man band that does as much in house as possible. If a full resto takes over a year then they aren't working on your car. Plain and simple. Other priorities or more important customers are bumping you out of the way. Not turning away work just to get a job in the shop to sit for six months. It all adds up. Their are some exceptions to this time but most things can be done in this time frame. I think a lot of the high pricing comes from shops with several employees that get paid regardless of how many hours they actually worked on your car that week. I have a hunch if they work 3 hours on your car then your getting charged a full day. Just a hunch but I'd be a rich man if I could command the numbers Ed speaks of.

I like the pneumatic locks on my 4post bendpak. I always have shop air so it isn't a problem. I also have a full rise scissor bendback that is 15+ years old and all I've done is grease the pivot pins. I'd do a bendpak, Rotary, or Mohawk. Most of the others look to cheap for me to be under a 5000 lbs car. A buddy has a rotary revolution 4post with a hokey handle that pulls 4 cables to release the locks. The cables stretch and go out of adjustment leaving one lock half locked sometimes. He saw my bendpak with the air locks and commented how nice that would be. Everyones different I guess. I'm adding a 2 post bendpak soon but my go to will probably be the 4 post for service. It's nice to pull right up on it without crawling around on the floor looking for lift points. I've done that years ago.

I bought a set from Napa and they weren't even safe. The shocks couldn't control the weight of the car. I replaced them with that set of gabriels listed above on Ebay. They work good. Not great but good. I had to mill the slots bigger on the Gabriels for the factory bolts to go through at the bottom. One could file the holes bigger also (if they were bored and their time isn't worth anything). Normally I order shocks from Kanter and those are truly what you want. Heavy duty shocks that control the weight of that car. I was in a hurry and didn't have time to wait for the Kanter set.

The Hostetlers were wonderful people that loved their Hudsons. With the passing of both of them the past couple years it allows the city to sell the cars. I doubt anything will keep the collection together as dollar signs for local government will trump history.

I'd be skeptic but they aren't bringing what they once were. That market is really soft right now. Grandfather in law tried to sell his for 3 years before settling in the ballpark of this guys asking price. It has awards from Meadowbrook and a few other concourse shows. It was a mid90's resto but was holding up well. This car presented doesn't look really fresh either.

A lot of good points in here. Chances are slim I'll ever own a coal fired car. Maybe in the future if gas isn't available. We had a Buick Lacrosse hybrid with a 4 cylinder gas engine and a 130volt electric motor to supplement the engine. The thing was a dog and got 27 miles per gallon. Replaced it with a cadillac XTS all wheel drive six cylinder that gets 28 mpg and actually goes when you accelerate onto the expressway. It will probably be a cold day in hell when I dip my foot back into the hybrid pool. Crappy little electric cars that cost as much as a luxury sedan don't make sense to me. The Tesla is cool but it's priced out for most people. Solar energy will work great in Michigan when the sun doesn't come out for weeks on end. Some wind potential but lately I'm hearing stories where the wind generators are catching on fire and causing damage. I know I'm narrow minded or just don't care. The greenies have been crying wolf for decades without any proof (or cooked books) of man made global warming. The US has done a pretty good job with cleaning up the environment just to be told by a bunch of hypocrites that we need to do more.

Gary, that Uro primer isn't designed to be sprayed over bare metal. It needs an Epoxy (best) or a variprime etch style primer sprayed over the bare metal. I'm sure the painter knows this and will be doing so. The epoxy does the best job of sealing the metal and allowing the 2k fillers to adhere to it. Tread lightly telling a painter that "the internet says" but it needs an epoxy or etch before urethane surfacers are used. I've booted more than one internet expert from my shop.

I think that is a fine choice for the axle and transmission. That will flow into the needle bearings and bushings better than the 680. This is where the lubrication is needed.

Gary, 140 wt is what it should have. The concern is the lube being too thick to actually flow into the the shafts with bronze bushings and needle bearings on the countershaft. That being said I've taken things apart with much heavier and I never saw any damage. It is nice not having drips and I'd probably leave it alone since it's done.

Drop the fuel tank and inspect pickup. Preferrably a new tank and sending unit will save a lot of headaches. Then rebuilt your fuel pump and carb so you know the fuel system is working good. It's what guys do to build reliable old cars.

Probably 8 years ago I drove over the Hot Rod Nationals in Kalamazoo to check it out. Not a hot rod guy it's a 35 minute drive on a nice september day. I was expecting to see the best of the best in terms of build quality and design. I wandered around maybe a hour before deciding my time was better spent working in the garage. The cars looked all the same with very few exceptions. The guys pick their color from 10 different sprayouts, with fenders or without, 350 with occasional 302 if they wanted to be on the wild side, whichever Foose or Coddington wheel was in flavor when they built the car, dorky looking ididit steering column with a rediculous looking steering wheel, etc... Doesn't bother me at all if they cut up a good car though. It's their car and if done right they can be worth more than an original especially if it's a done right pro-touring car. The great 8 cars at Autorama are interesting though. I really appreciate what goes into cars at that level. Even those cars depending on the year built seem to fall into fads but the work is excellent. A few years ago I bought a mint green 59' GMC 250 with a straight six and 4speed. It was going to be a shop truck. Not a restored truck, just a beat up old truck with a new interior. I ran new brake lines, wheel cylinders, tuneup. I drove it with a cruising speed of 30 mph and hitting 45 with motor sounding like it was going to come unglued. This wasn't going to work as I have things to do and 30 mph wasn't gonna cut it. I weighed my options. Gearsets not available and cutting a new one was around 3k. Motor ran good but it smoked. 1 ton stack of springs that rode like a truck used to. Well now I suppose it's a hod rod. I bought a 08' Chevy 1500 complete van chassis from my buddy with a bodyshop. Swapped the truck body over to the van frame with a 3k mile 4.3 and drivetrain. I paid 2grand for the van chassis/motor/rear end. Now I have a truck that is usable and it looks correct because I built it to look original. I ran ads in craiglist to get rid of the good running motor/drivetrain and couldn't give it away so it went to the scrap yard. Their wasn't any interest in that old motor. That truck is on the road a lot now with thumbs up everytime I drive it vs. sitting in a barn not usable.

BTW..... I feel bad posting this stuff because Gary is busting his butt on a nice job.

I had a 90' Chevy truck back around 2000. The chassis/floorboards under the carpet were rusting. I wirebrushed the frame and removed the carpet and did the drivers floorboard with POR15. The truck looked nice other than the rusty frame. I brushed the floorboards and sprayed the bottom of the truck. Two coats each. I ran it through one winter and the frame was black with tons of brown bleed through of rust creeping. This made me lift the carpet and it looked about the same. I prepped according to the directions and learned it was a total scam. My old way of spraying Rusfre brand undercoating from an undercoat gun looked better longer than the Por ever did. Barry over at Southern Polyurethanes did some salt spray testing with different brands and the moisture cure products didn't do very well. The regular epoxy primer brushed over the rust way outperformed the POR stuff. This was on the old website forum but was lost when they made a new website. It's total BS to tell someone you can paint over rust and it kills it. When I was a kid I tried all of the rust coversion type products with poor results. The stuff looked like milk, turned the rust black, and the rust came back within 6 months. Blast it, wash it, epoxy it. Our 31' Buick had the frame blasted and coated with dp40 epoxy and then topcoated with Imron back in the early 80's and their isn't any rust under that car and the frame is still presentable. Non heated storage for the first 28 years. Not to mention automotive paints don't adhere properly to POR type of products if you want to topcoat with something else.

Lamar, early on we were just replacing a couple of the short spokes that broke. But then we ran into problems with the spokes around the broken ones beind loose and the stainless nipple was gauled to the spoke. They would just break at that point. Buchannen the spoke people sell a special anti-seize to prevent this when lacing up a new set. Some people used to speak of embrittlement from the chrome process and that is why the switch to SS. I think it was just cheaper/easier to make for the aftermarket. The owner of American Arrow Corporation that makes the mascots and wire wheels has a Skylark. He knew of our problems and decided to engineer a new set of spokes back when we were restoring his Skylark. He an aeronautical(however it's spelled) engineer and his are SS but larger diameter. He never gave me a price to do a set of wheels. I didn't push either as the Skylark wasn't ours. I know he will sell a set of spokes and lace them up but I know your paying for peace of mind and your going to pay for it. Won't be cheap but it will be right.