Laughing Coyote

Thanks for all the compliments guys. I'm just trying to preserve the car to the way it looked when it came off the lot in 61. Anytime I come across something that can be duplicated or repaired without changing the car from stock then I give it my best to make it the same. I know it can only be original once, but I want to give the car a second chance and let other people enjoy what a car like this was years ago. Thanks for following the posts and I hope to add more soon.

Looking good. Nice color too. Just enough chrome and black to break up the body color. Enjoy the hard work you put into it.

It's official. The car has been re-married. The body and frame are now back together. I also managed to get the rear differential all done too. I just need my two rubber bushings for the anti harsh ride for the rear. They have to be made since they are not available. I having them done by the folks that did my trans mount and brake pedal pad. I was putting my fire wall insulation back on, but wasn't able to finish. The metal clips that were just like factory are not up to par. Must have been made in China. Not OEM that's for sure. They bent and broke and the ones that did go in just come back out. I will be calling the vendor tomorrow to see what we can do. Still have a lot of little things to do yet. Next I will be getting the engine ready to fire. I have to get the radiator cleaned yet and get the engine test stand ready.

Thanks for the comments. I'm getting all the mounts ready and should be ready to mount the body this weekend. I also have ordered all the parts needed for installing the firewall insulation again and the heater box.

Had a little time this afternoon so I decided to put the markings back on the firewall and the gas pedal bracket. Have to order a few little things before I can mount the heater box and insulation.

Thanks Paul. Your car is coming along nice too. The paint is Limco. It's made by BASF. http://www.refinish.basf.us/ I used a conventional paint gun and compressor type set up at first. It wasn't a high dollar paint gun so I guess you get what you pay for. Then I switched over to my Capspray 9100 unit. It's a 4 stage turbine compress and a HVLP gun. I bought it a long time ago for painting my iron products. It flows out the paint really nice and the air output is always consistent. They're pretty pricey. I paid $900 for mine.

Another day of progress. I got the firewall painted today. Very pleased with the results. Had a gun issue at first and it caused a few little runs, but I switch to the gun I used to paint the dash and it came out nice. The firewall originally had a lot bigger runs here and there. Cars were still painted by people back then and not robots. Makes it look authentic. The clear coat came out with the same look as the factory. I will be adding back the markings in a couple of days. I started to go thru boxes to find some of the little firewall mounted items. Next will be putting the insulation back on, the heater box and motor. I had to remove the insulation before I painted. Got ahead of myself. I will have to order the big flange gasket for the blower motor along with some other items I need. At least I'm heading in the right direction.

Thanks Keiser. Thanks for the tip Spinney. Going to pick up paint tomorrow. $120 for a quart of paint, clear, hardener and reducer. Good thing the original color wasn't a red or black, or even worse a metallic.

"Time to make the doughnuts" I got out the new body mount bushings to see what I need to do to get them ready after the firewall is painted. They don't make a kit for a 61 so I had to buy a 63 kit. The upper ones are the same, but the lower ones are a lot smaller than the stock ones. So I decided to make a fixture that can cut them out. I turned some pipe on the lathe to get a thin wall diameter and did the same with a smaller piece for the center. I then sharpened them up with a little grinder and welded a 1/4" flat strap on top. I made sure I had a hole in the center so I can push the rubber center out and enough room on the sides to push out the bushing. I had a big piece of 3/4" rubber so I cut off a piece and went over to use the press at my neighbors. I sprayed some silicone spray on the die and it cut it like butter. The sides are a little curved in, but they will work. They are the same size as the factory. Cost was great too. $0.00.

Well it was another hot one. Had to put up the pop up to give me some shade otherwise I would have turned into beef jerky by the end of the day. I spent the day sanding and more sanding of the firewall. I managed to get it all sanded and primed. I will do the final sanding of it before I apply the paint. I should be picking that up this coming week. While sanding I came across another set of markings that I will have to apply back on. Have the rear drums coming tomorrow.

I say its a 1951 Packard Patrician 400. Just my thought.

November of this year will be 3 for me. Hoping to be done in 3 more.

Thanks Paul. Looks like your moving along on yours also. I got the rear differential all ready to go when I get the body back on the frame. I also have the front spindles all done too. Didn't get to the auto parts store to get some brake fluid so I didn't do the wheel cylinders. Now it's time to work the firewall.

Today me and my neighbor did the 3rd member. He was working on a VW transmission for a customer, but he's at a stopping point until he gets parts. He decided to work on my stuff while I made a mount for his lathe so he can mount a small post grinder on it for grinding pinion shafts. Tomorrow I get to put it in the housing along with the axles and backing plates. Have to run to the auto store and get some supplies.

Yes, Bleach. It was a tar type substance on mine too, but it was sprayed on. This weekend me and my neighbor are going to work the 3rd member and get it all set up. Once it's ready then I will put the rear end all together and set it aside until I'm ready for that step. It's been pretty wet around here since the monsoons's have arrived. I guess I can rebuild the wheel cylinders, brakes, wheel hubs and install the new drums also this weekend. Happy 4th everyone!

Thanks, Paul. The car actually had a greenish teal color painted on the bottom of the body then they sprayed a undercoating over the top of it. Some areas were heavier than others and some not at all. Mainly heavier in the wheel wells and areas of the pan where it would be protected from stuff flying off the tires like water, snow and road salt. I'm sure they had guide lines on how it goes on. I cleaned off all the old stuff. Re seamed a lot of areas to and applied a bed coating to help protect it. I wanted to paint it the body color so when the frame gets mounted to the body it makes the black frame and components stand out more. Will show more detail and look cleaner that way. The black would have made it all blend in. I like things with detail and pop.

Thanks for the information, Craig. I did get the bottom of the car painted today. I just have to get the firewall cleaned and painted next and then I can place the body back on the frame.

Thanks for the info so far. The brake system has been totally disassembled and cleaned. The rebuild kits for the cylinders are new aftermarket and not NOS.

I am ready yo rebuild the wheel cylinders on the Mercury that I'm restoring and I would like to get some input on what type of fluid would be best. Dot 3, Dot 4, Dot 4 with silicone or Dot 5. I've read Dot 3 can attract moisture over time and you will have to rebuild the wheel cylinder often. Dot 4 is better and the silicone base prevents the moisture. The Dot 5 is best if your not going to be driving the car as a daily, but the pedal is spongy. Thoughts, opinions, etc. Thanks

Yes Paul, we are higher than Phoenix. I do believe those folks got to 117-118. It's just way too hot this year. It's still 107 at 7:00 pm. That's just crazy.

As promised I coated the bottom of the body. It was not to fun, but it's done. Had to get up pretty early since it was going to be hot today. Next weekend I should be ready to add some color to it and then I can go do the firewall next. I also cleaned up the rear differential tag.

Thanks Keiser. I'm glad the under side is nice and solid too. Saves me a bunch of work. I did buy the front shocks today and installed them. I forgot to get some brake fluid so I can rebuild the wheel cylinders and do the brakes. I will pick some up Thursday when I'm in town again.

Looking good Paul. Keep picking away at it. One thing done is one thing off the list of many things that needs to get done.

Progress report: I rolled the body out early today and finished cleaning the under side and sealing the seams that I removed the original sealer from. It's all ready for the coating and some color. The coating will go on next week. I wonder why Ford used a teal green paint for the under side of the car??? I went to the auto parts store and picked up the front brake shoes and brake hoses. I decided to get the front suspension all put together also. I had time so I just kept on going. Just have to assemble the wheel cylinders and put the shoes on. I have new drums coming this week too. It's actually starting to look like a car again. The body looked so nice sitting up high on the dolly. Even with the front clip removed and the body needing repair the style and lines of the body still looked nice or maybe it was from too much sun.

Impressive Roger. One question. How do you you keep taps from breaking when your threading holes that small? I know when a tap breaks it's a real pain to get the broken pieces out.