Laughing Coyote

I did get some time in to work on the car. The rocker was caved in pretty good. it was covered in the old green/grey bondo. Once it was cleaned up I used a stud gun my friend let me borrow for the project. Works pretty cool. It spot welds a metal pin to the metal and then you put the slide hammer on it and bang it out. A lot of the damage came out. Not to much left to do. May have to use some filler on it, but not a 1/4" thick. The body guys that worked on it before just punched a hole thru the sheet metal under the door threshold and pounded out they could and covered it up. So I will have to patch that hole too.

Very nice

Broke off from work early today and decided to get the front panel painted. Did all the final sanding and priming yesterday. Now if the weather is decent tomorrow and I get the honey do list done quick enough I will start on some rocker dent repair.

Thanks John. Yes they are a matching left and right. One looks different because I still had the studs in the back of one when I took the picture.

Those wheels will look classy with the cap and rings on them.

Picked up my outer rear trim panels from the powder coater. They look good. I will start to get them ready for primer and set them aside for later when I get to the painting step. I managed to work on the front filler panel today. I still have to do some final sanding and it will be ready for paint. I still have paint left over from the fire wall so I will shoot it when i'm done with the prep work.

I have the rear trunk trim piece almost ready for paint. I fixed all the little dings and scratches that were in it. I wet sanded and primed it several times to make sure it's nice. I just have to wet sand it with some 1500 and do the final primer sealer coat. I will be working the front piece next and then I guess start working on the rockers. The passenger side has a area that needs some work. I will post pictures on that when I start.

Nice work. Great attention to detail. It will be one nice looking car when you get it done.

Thanks for the comment Jeff. I hope everyone had a good Turkey day. As for an update, I stopped by the powdercoater and picked up the front filler panel and the trunk rear finish panel. I had them blast the filler panel with the AO media and used the plastic media on the trunk panel. I just took off the paint and left the red oxide primer. I didn't want them to blast it with the AO stuff and have it generate to much heat and warp it, it's a cast part. I also dropped off the rear corner finish panels while I was there. They too are the cast material. I wet sanded the trunk finish panel to remove the primer so I can look it over. I will be applying new primer and using glazing putty afterwards to fill any small scratches and pits before I do another coat of primer. The front filler panel will get a coat of primer and maybe some paint. The weather has been unseasonably warm so I best take advantage of it and start getting the body work going.

Looks good. I like how the aluminum parts and nice clean looking hardware breaks up the black on the frame. It gives it that little detail that shows you took the time and not just painted everything black once it was all together.

Outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!

I took some time off today and worked on the car. The transmission pressures have been adjusted and the power steering is all hooked up and works nice. So much easier to steer. I'm going to drop off some sheet metal parts to the powder coaters so they can plastic media blast them.

I can relate to the whole work thing, but any progress is better than no progress. Keep at it when you can. I'm chomping at the bit to get back on the Merc.

That's one sweeet ride. If I had an extra $6K just laying around I would be all over it. (NOT)

Haven't had much time back on the car, but hoping with the holidays coming up that work will ease up. I do have some final adjustments to do with the transmission (pressures and linkage adjustment) and get the power steering hooked back up. I did manage to get it filled and no leaks, but when it gets pressurized it going to be a different story. I looked at my thread start date and it's 4 years today that I've been working at it. My how time flies.

Way Cool!!

Could've at least put some black paint on it so it doesn't look like a piece of wood. Just sayin.

Welcome fellow Arizonian. These guys and gals here are great. They have lots of knowledge to share if you ever need answers or advice. We always like pictures.

Don't know anything about the cars, but here's one up for sale in Tucson. https://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/d/1936-chrysler-airflow/6356557125.html

Victory! The vacuum hose that came off inside the booster was the issue. I feel much safer double checking all the brakes, hardware and lines. I now have brakes. Had the car out today and it ran sooooo much better, smoother, and had better acceleration. I now have 20 lbs of vacuum. I actually was able to drive it up and down the side street. It was a great feeling. You just hit the gas pedal down and it just takes off. The feel of old horsepower. Now I have to get the power steering belt hooked up and get that working and make sure there aren't any leaks. Then the front end alignment and the body work begins. Got to get moving on it again.

I have been pulling tires and drums and re checking everything again to make sure that there isn't anything weird going on with the brakes. I'm sure the vacuum line inside the booster was the problem. I thought it was strange that I could never get the vacuum over 10 on the gauge when the car was running. You can see in the print where the line is at inside. It hooks up the the air cleaner "T" fitting on the back plate. I have full travel to the floor now, but I still have to re bleed the lines and go from there. I hope it's fixed.

My exhaust manifolds had cracks in them after cleaning them up. I borrowed my friends Weber charcoal grill and made a fire just like for grilling. I ground out the cracks so I could get good penetration and then placed them on the grate and let them heat up. I made sure the cracks were facing to were I could repair them. After they cooked for a little bit I used my arc welder with a rod for cast iron and welded them up. After I was done I just let them lay there until the grill cooled off. I you don't heat them first they will crack and you have to let them cool down like a cycle on an engine or they will crack. I know there are other methods, but this worked for me. Just clean up the welds after your repair and good to go.

After looking over the repair manual I had a voice tell me to pull the vent and tube assy off the back of the booster. I did that and the vacuum line from inside the booster came undone that hooks up to it. I had to take the booster apart to reinstall the hose. It was acting like a big vacuum leak. I bet it will run better too. I still have a hard pedal, but I will have to run it again to see what kind of results I get with the booster repaired. Yes Lew, the lines all have been bled. Thanks for the input. Aren't old cars fun?

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted any information on the Merc project. My business has been crazy busy for the last 2 months. As it stands right now I have the generator rebuilt, and installed. The voltage regulator is installed. I was able to run the car and get it to move under it's own power. I still have to tweak the carb settings a bit more, but as of right now it runs pretty nice. I do have one issue that is giving me a hard time. I have all new brake shoes, hardware, brake cylinders, master cylinder, and the booster has been rebuilt also. The lines have been cleaned and free of debris.The problem is that I have very little pedal travel and the brakes don't stop the car, it just slows it. I have moved the car under power back and forth for about 20 feet then apply the brakes. They are just hard to push. I checked the brake shoes with the drum off and they move outward and return. They are not set to tight, they turn freely. I don't know what else it can be. Has anyone ever had an issue like this???

Here would be a nice one that falls along the same lines. And its for sale too. https://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/d/1989-mercury-grand-marquis/6333449232.html And one for Grog. https://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/d/1980-chevy-chevette/6323840332.html