Joe West

I used Dayton to restore a set of chrome wire wheels on my 1964 Corvair Spyder Convertible. I have mixed feelings about their work. For example, they plated the center hub on the back side and the plating flaked off within a month on two of the five wheels. Underneath the flaking chrome was rust. It seemed that they did not prep the back side of the wheels very well. The chrome and spokes on the front side of the rims were beautiful, and they restored four knock-offs to amazing condition. They were quite expensive at around $6500 for five wheels and the knock-offs. Honestly, I would probably not use Dayton again because of the issues I had. Joe

Update: All the wheel cylinders have been rebuilt and all brake lines replaced. The brake linings were used enough to barely scuff the surface of the lining, so I cleaned them (asbestos so I wore a mask) and reinstalled them. I greased the wheel bearings and every grease fitting I could find (and holy smoke was there a lot of them). Transmission and differential fluid are changed, and the undercarriage received it’s first power spray which I swear removed 3 pounds of grime and grease... and there seems to be more where that came from. I drained all the fuel from the fuel tank and gave it a rinse with fresh fuel, and then I drained that. Engine oil is drained and I will replace it as soon as my NOS filter comes in. If the filter has any rust internally, then I will install an aftermarket canister filter. I will drop the oil pan, clean the oil pickup and inspect the bottom end. Next up is to rebuild the master cylinder and bleed the brakes to see if I have any working brakes. Then drop the oil pan, rebuild the carb, clean the fuel filter, and flush the cooling system. With any luck, I should be ready to start this in a week or two. Joe

I did. Thanks so much. I replied.

I had to show this to my wife... absolutely amazing. It would be cool if you could leave it cosmetically unrestored... but there is NO WAY I could do that myself. This said, I do think it would be better left as is with only a mechanical restoration. Awesome find! Joe

That certainly explains it. Thanks for taking the time to look this up. What (if any) book did you get these numbers from? I need more books. 🙂

I’d like to thank everyone for their inputs. I have been a member of many online forums, and this group has set the standard for interacting with a new member... I am so impressed that I joined the AACA today. What an amazing group of people. Thank you SO much. Joe

I will search for a place to recline the shoes. I wonder why six cylinder shoes are plentiful but not eight cylinder. I would have thought that there would be more eight cylinders on the road, but perhaps there was a large disparity in production numbers. Ideally, I will try to find a used set and have them relined so that I can always have a spare set. I am in the process of rebuilding all of the wheel cylinders and the master cylinder now... and replacing all of the non metal brake lines. My very first step is to make the brake system perfect... then I will think about firing up the engine (as soon as I have a key made... lol). Thanks so much for your recommendations! Joe

Actually, I will offer more than market value. Of course, the big problem I am running into is exactly what market value is. The first step is to determine the condition of the car (1-6). Based on the text describing the different conditions, I would place this car at a 3-4, but I have NEVER tried to determine the value of such a car before. This one is rare enough that I must wonder if the standard definitions of condition do not apply. I could really use some help in this area. Here is what I know so far: Paint is falling off in chunks. Tires are bad. The entire brake system needs to be rebuilt. The interior is nice. Almost all of the parts are present. There is no rust (other than surface rust) anywhere but the bottom of the battery box. I don’t have any keys so I have no idea if the engine runs. I suspect at a minimum, it will leak from every point possible due to the age of the seals and the lack of routine maintenance. I will continue to upload pictures so that anyone here can offer guidance on the condition of this car. Joe

I will offer him full market value plus some... the problem is, he will not even let me talk money now. He told me he didn’t want to talk about money when I brought it up, and when I spoke to his wife when he was not around, she said just leave money alone until he brings it up. For now, I will continue restoring it and wait for him to raise the issue. I will however, check with his wife periodically when he is not around just to see what I should do.

Thanks so much! I would appreciate any leads.... although I can do all of my mechanical work, I am finding that there are some parts I cannot even find... such as the factory 11” brake shoes. I am so out of network with this car, any and all leads are very much appreciated.

Hi All, I posted my story in the general section of this forum, and I do not want to duplicate all of the material contained in the original thread so here is a link: I thought it would be appropriate to continue any specific discussion here. Best, Joe

Good eye and thanks for the post. The tires are at least 30 years old and may be 50 years old. I will look for a date code. Regardless, I will replace them before I start driving. I have checked several hubcap sites and cannot locate anything. I will keep an eye on ebay and perhaps one will pop up here someday. Thanks again for taking the time to post... I appreciate you looking out for me. Joe

For the record, s(he) wants $2,500 for the steering wheel without the horn button.

I definitely will not assume he is giving me the car. His wife told me to stop discussing payment and to not say or do anything with respect to paying. She said “He will let you know when it is time to discuss payment... in a year or two... or perhaps never”. Honestly, I would prefer to pay quickly, but both he and his wife indicated I should drop the discussion. I will sit tight and show him what I am doing to the car.