McLovin
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Posts posted by McLovin
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59 minutes ago, Andy J said:
For small radiator leaks or other minor coolant leaks,I have used ground black pepper.Put a couple of teaspoons of pepper in the radiator and drive away.Of course,it is just a temporary fix,but a few times it lasted up to three years for me.An old mechanic I used to work for showed me this trick.
1 hour ago, Andy J said:For small radiator leaks or other minor coolant leaks,I have used ground black pepper.Put a couple of teaspoons of pepper in the radiator and drive away.Of course,it is just a temporary fix,but a few times it lasted up to three years for me.An old mechanic I used to work for showed me this trick.
That old remedy is about as old as it gets, I've never tried it but it's supposed to work! 🙂
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55 minutes ago, Bhigdog said:
Sodium silicate or water glass......bob
That's what the lot attendants used at the Dodge dealership that I worked at for many years on cars taken in for the Cash for clunkers program where they had to intentionally kill the motors before they sent the cars to the junkyard since the motors we're not allowed to be resold. They would pour it in the crankcase and run the car at 2000 rpm until it froze up. Most engines seized up in about a minute but I remember an older Ford conversion van with a 302 that went on for almost 5 minutes before it finally gave up, it was sad to watch as it could have gone on for many more years! Sodium silicate is great in your cooling system for leaks but don't accidentally put it in your crankcase! Lol! McLovin.
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28 minutes ago, Porsche 68 said:
Marvel mystery oil my friend uses it in his 28 Whippet I blew a head gasket when I pulled the head off not one speck of carbon on the pistons I’ve been using it ever since Also BG 44K is an excellent de carbonizer. John
Amazing stuff! Can be used in your fuel tank and crankcase. McLovin.
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On 11/24/2023 at 4:40 PM, EmTee said:
I had a '67 Lincoln Continental with 100K miles that would pause 3~5 seconds before engaging reverse. I mentioned the problem to an older transmission guy who poured 2 or 3 ounces of brake fluid into the transmission. As i recall, the problem was gone the next day and the transmission functioned perfectly. That small amount of brake fluid was enough to swell the leaky seals.
Emtee, 67 lincoln, nice car! The metal from a car like that would make probably five Kias. McLovin.
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56 minutes ago, dship said:
When I owned cars manufactured in the late fifties and early sixties, I used to pour STP down their carburetor to burn out any/all crap out of it.... always seemed to work. Also, I used a sawdust "additive" to transmissions to cure them from slipping!
Dship, I was fooled by the sawdust "additive" once when I was buying a 70 LTD, thing ran great until I changed the oil LOL! Always checked under the oil fill cap for that from then on when checking out cars. McLovin.
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On 11/23/2023 at 1:07 PM, Deadpurpledog said:
Experiencing seal leaks and considering having them replaced. Before going to this expense, am wondering what your experiences are with “stop leak” products. If helpful, are some better than others?
Had a blown head gasket on an 85 tempo back in the late-90s, blowing clouds of white smoke like crazy! Went to Walmart and bought a $7 bottle of Barrs block seal. Used as directed, flushing block of antifreeze and running it with block seal and water to temp, drained, left lower hose and radiator cap off for the night to dry, filled with 50% water and antifreeze mix. No more white smoke, oil clean, and drove the car for three more years! I sold it still holding so I don't know how long it worked for! And yes I did disclose that to the new owner, knew it was the right thing to do LOL! He was just happy to get a good running car for cheap. McLovin.
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I've found that most automotive additives do very little if anything and are a waste of money. There are three that I have used though that work quite well. 1. STP oil treatment in the original blue bottle at every oil change, it's a great viscosity builder and contains zinc which is great for reducing wear in older engines. 2. AlumAseal radiator stop leak, as lame as it sounds to use it it really works on the smaller radiator, heater core and water pump leaks but is not compatible with antifreeze as it states. One needs to drain all antifreeze, refill with water and diluted stop leak, run again to temperature, finally drain and refill with 50% antifreeze and water. 3. Iso-Heet in the familiar red fluted bottle is a great fuel line antifreeze and water remover since it's mostly isopropyl alcohol. It also helps clean carburetors and injectors for easier starts, especially in winter. One bottle treats 20 gallons, once a month is normally fine. McLovin.
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Dear Josh, if you haven't already you might try looking through dusty old boxes of your dad's,grandpa's or great grandpas stuff if available as older people worked on a paper filing system that might contain an old insurance card or registration which would provide the VIN number. With the VIN number, your story and your ID you might find a willing and cooperative Glendale Police department or DMV that might reveal who your dad sold it to to give you a start. I wish you the best of luck in locating your great grandpa's old car! McLovin.
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On 11/8/2023 at 7:14 PM, arcticbuicks said:
i no longer have a TV ......since the ones with rabbit ears and tin foil stopped picking up a signal
I remember back in the 60s my family having two 19-in black and white TVs, one set on top of the other. One the picture worked only, the other the sound worked only, had to change the channel with pliers! lol!🙂 But as far as back to the topic, if I ever end up with a restoration project again it'll be something I can complete myself.
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On 11/8/2023 at 7:14 PM, arcticbuicks said:
i no longer have a TV ......since the ones with rabbit ears and tin foil stopped picking up a signal
I remember back in the 60s my family having two 19-in black and white TVs, one set on top of the other. One the picture worked only, the other the sound worked only, had to change the channel with pliers! lol!🙂
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4 hours ago, TAKerry said:
Not a winter beater, but a daily driver. I had a friend in hs that had a big Chrysler station wagon, 65-67 era. We called it the meat wagon. After he graduated as a final farewell he entered it in the derby at the county fair. In 1982 it was just a big ugly station wagon, I know now it would be a collectible.
All these classics that we know and love today we're just used cars way back then. Probably my biggest regret of all the cars I've had and sold was a 69 Dodge Charger SE, with a 383 in front of a 727 auto. Even though I wasn't fond of the factory green paint, it was a real runner and in pretty nice shape, sold it for 1,600 bucks in 1983. Kicking myself in the ass today for that decision, lol!
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3 hours ago, Lahti35 said:
Up until the engine threw a rod 5 years ago I ran a '61 Falcon year round as daily transportation in Michigan. It would go through foot of unplowed snow just fine with the skinny tires. I just kept it hosed off at the carwash and never noticed any appreciable deterioration in the years I ran it. Heater was great, lots of hot! It was in decent shape to begin with but no queen that's for sure. I still miss it, most reliable car I had until the rod went on the little 144 six.
Those old falcons are cool! The predecessor to the mustang, so basic and easy to work on! 🙂
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Back in 1982 in Alaska my winter beater was a 67 mustang coupe with a slightly built 302 out of a 70 and 3 speed manual. The car was missing most of the front clip and overall body pretty rough but all functional. With studded tires on the back and the traction lock axle it did amazingly well, always starting even in 15 below weather when much newer cars didn't! Crazy part is the defrost didn't work well so I would look through a one foot defrosted hole in the windshield bundled up in layers of clothing freezing my butt off! I was only 21 then, certainly nothing I would do now, lol! McLovin.
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4 hours ago, TAKerry said:
McLovin, I think you and I have the same attitude in a lot of ways. I have been dealing with people professionally forever. I always like to think the customer is right but sometimes just not the case. I was in the same situation when having the motor for my Trans Am rebuilt. I know the owner of the shop well. I dropped it off right when covid hit and figured he would have it done in a month or two like the previous motor he built for me. 3 1/2 years later I had it back in my shop. I put my trials and tribulations down on another forum of the long drawn out process. The bottom line was everyone rightfully so thought I was a chump for letting this guy take advantage of me. I knew in the big picture it was best to leave the motor there. I got it back this past summer, just now getting to buttoning up things so I can get it running. But I know it will be a great running motor that will provide me with plenty of enjoyment. As long as the guy keeps moving forward sounds like you will be ok. I wish you the best of luck.
TAKerry,Good stuff, thanks for that!
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17 minutes ago, alsancle said:
Here is the issue in a nutshell. If you send a car in for a finite task like an engine rebuild, or a paint job then you have a decent chance of it getting done and you getting the car back. If you send a car in to any shop for a full restoration that project will take years. The reason is that a full restoration requires all kinds of external dependencies that will slow the project down. You could send the chrome out and never get it back. Or wait on some special part or instrument rebuild that could take forever.
When the restorer is waiting, for any reason the car gets pushed in the corner. Sometimes that reason is the customer can't keep up with the billing. Once it is in the corner it could sit there for months or years.
Also, the subject car of this thread is not a "restoration" in the traditional way we use it on this forum. Clearly you are changing what is original. The good news is that means you can cut corners and get the job done much faster. For example you are not trying to find date coded parts to your car.
I had a friend who restored a 1969 Mustang to perfect standards. That project took 20 years and 160K. It started and stopped for long periods for lots of reasons. None of which were the restorers fault.
The biggest mistake I see many restorers make is taking projects that they know in their hearts are doomed. But they hate to turn away business. But in the end they probably wish they turned the customer away. I believe there are as many bad restoration shops as bad customers.
Some good points and I appreciate it. The shop that has it primarily builds race cars and also custom fabricates for that purpose. This is right up his alley and he was excited to take it on and pick up where the last shop left off. Almost all sheet metal replaced, mustang two suspension, front floor pans, windshield pillar repair, subframe rail repair all done. Floor tunnel needs to be enlarged to fit the 6-speed tremec and 428 FE motor to be fit over new suspension. Older body and paint guy and his son who works for the owner have been waiting close to 3 years for the powertrain mock up fitment so they can finish the body and paint and interior. Quite a project, I know and if I hadn't had it since 1983 I probably wouldn't have bothered. 11 years ago I drove
to the first shop, shock towers cracked, suspension and steering worn out, 351 Windsor and fmx leaking and tired but still running. I've found out that nostalgia can be a very expensive type of emotion! lol. Thanks, McLovin.
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On 12/2/2023 at 6:55 PM, TTR said:
Dear McLovin, I appreciate your comment and understanding, along with your willingness to acknowledge/admit your own responsibility.
Unfortunately, your predicament is more common than most realize or are willing to admit.
There are "good shops" out there, but unfortunately also plenty that aren't and finding one to fit each individuals expectations can be more than difficult and frustrating.
Following comment is not directed at you McLovin, but intended as generalizing
based on my 30+ year experience and "industry insider" observations as a professional restorer (& nearly 45 years as a enthusiast/hobbyist):
Same can be said of “restoration” customers.
There are good ones, but many more who don’t understand they shouldn’t attempt or commission restorations for any/many number of reasons, including cost, quality & time expectations, etc so when two “bad/flaky” representatives from each camp decide to do business with each other, chances of a disaster or unhappy outcome are multiplied.
Just this past week I received two unexpected/unsolicited* requests for complete/comprehensive restorations, but (almost)** managed to talk myself out of both by just explaining what such jobs actually require.
* Mind you I don’t advertise/solicit for jobs anywhere and never have.
** Well, one requestor(sp ?) didn’t seem faced by my reasoning of general financial & timeline expectations (i.e. “reality check”) etc, but instead, asked me to reconsider/think about it for awhile and the put him on the waiting list, even though the costs alone would far exceed the perceived value of his car, actually a few times over.
Hey TTR, I liked your perspective on the bad customer scenario as I've seen that to be true myself throughout my 40 years in retail sales before retiring 3 years ago. Some customers you want to hug, others you want to shoot and everything in between! One of the first things I learned is to take care of the customer and if you promise something you damn better deliver on it. It's proven that a negative experience is five times more likely to be communicated than a positive one to others. I think being on the receiving end of business complaints for so long and putting out the fires has made me more tolerant than most as a customer which has been to my detriment in the Mach 1 restoration. Since I've shown sympathy to his past explanations of poor staffing, his divorce, his aging parents, etc, I have apparently conditioned him to "slow walk" my project assuming I'll understand. Since retirement I've had more time to drop by and have more serious conversations with him, expressing my anger, disappointment and frustration for his continued broken promises of progress. He always apologizes, promises progress and the cycle continues. One thing I just can't get used to is a man making a promise, looking you in the eye, shaking your hand and not delivering as that's not how I was raised or how I conducted business in my career. I'll continue to push forward, stay in contact and perhaps with some luck and persuasiveness by the end of next summer will finally have it back. Thanks, McLovin.
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On 12/1/2023 at 2:19 PM, Peter Gariepy said:
Not meant to be funny.
Yes. You picked the shops. No doubt hopeful at their ability to do the job. But you also left the vehicle at the shop for years. 6 years by your own admission in one case. The shops may have been bad, but your lack of holding them accountable played into it as well. Take some responsibility.
I stand by my comment: Your post and topic are both hyperbolic and anecdotal. Not all shops are bad, and your experience is NOT representative of most restoration shops.
I never said all shops were bad. My question and title was "are all auto restoration shops flaky"? Which you felt the need to alter. It appears you are the moderator of this forum and it would seem that in that position you wouldn't be giving your own defensive opinions, Perhaps you get a kick out of other forum members responses to them? Peter, I do realize I need to take some responsibility for the time frame but I am the customer and the business did come to me with a written estimate and time frame of one year that has turned into six. When your car is in a million pieces and your three year old paid parts order with them is still incomplete it's hard just to pack it up and take it somewhere else, especially in Alaska where options are few. I have and will be putting as much pressure on the shop as possible as it's really not that far from the finish line, just beyond what I could do myself. I apologize for the response to TTR as I didn't take his response as a joke as I should have. McLovin.
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On 11/29/2023 at 4:25 PM, Scooter Guy said:
This is, unfortunately, not an uncommon scenario.
My observation and opinion is that many restorers and shops are run by folks that really do love cars and may be exceptionally good at working on them but that those same people often have no interest or skills in the business side of the operation. That is, things like scheduling/timelines and project management. Some struggle with communication to their customers, others have issues on the financial side with invoicing and collecting payments. Some just plain bite off more than they can chew and complicated projects languish while the shop decides to fish or cut bait, and some don't even realize that they've done it until they walk in one day there isn't anywhere else to park one more car.
What to do about it depends on how badly you want the skills of any particular restorer. It really comes down to tolerating the way they do business or moving on. And I don't mean to minimize moving on either: if you've got a car torn apart in someone's shop, it's much easier said than done to tell someone to cut their losses and move on. There certainly are those unicorn shops out there that don't have issues but they're really few and far between.
Well put Scooter, you described this guy well. Thanks.
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22 hours ago, Xander Wildeisen said:
Here is a 69 Mach 1, bought this for my wife at the time. Surprised her with it, told her it was a customers car. She drove it around for a couple of years, would drive her son to kid related things in it. I think other parents (fathers) got rubbed wrong when she drove away in her driver, and they jumped in the mini van. If I had a shop going, I would be more than happy to take over the project. I jumped into a lot of half finished projects that were pulled from other shops. Sorry to hear about the problems, I try to throw humor at some of this car BS. Only thing that stops a person from drinking on a daily basis.
![69 mustang outside _2 057[1].JPG](//content.invisioncic.com/r277599/monthly_2023_12/69mustangoutside_20571.JPG.ff19c847fb7f226af01cca0f3ae968bb.JPG)
Thanks, very nice! After all these years, still my favorite model.🙂
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On 11/30/2023 at 9:30 AM, TTR said:
I'd say yes, ALL restoration shops are and have always been flaky.
How else would we ALL stay in business ?
While I don't deal much with general public (who needs the headaches ???), I've managed to get away with being a flake for my small but select clientele over 30 years and still have a waiting list.
And now, after few years of searching, finally found a very promising new apprentice/assistant, I will eventually need to teach him all my secrets of how to be flaky if he wants to be a part of and succeed in this business.
Well hopefully your new recruit will have more integrity than you and keep his word and promises as a real man should.
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On 11/30/2023 at 10:00 AM, Peter Gariepy said:
Your post and topic are both hyperbolic and anecdotal.
Lots of good shops out there.
You're a new forum user here and your opening topic was to strike a negative tone. Maybe you should consider you're part of your own problem.
Yeah, very funny pete. Was just trying to get input of others that might have fallen into the same position. My only part in the problem was picking the wrong shops. I'm not a negative person in general, just been very frustrated at the process and I guess quite honestly was venting as well.
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5 hours ago, R Walling said:
As a shop owner or 54 years, I can answer your question why work on your car does not progress.
When I first went into business, I would take in jobs where the owner was in "no hurry" as long as the price was cheap and I could do the work when I had no other work.
(You can see where this is going)
Well when business got going good, I found very little "extra" time on my hands, so into the back corner it goes.
I soon learned, and I only took in work that I could do right away. Even then, some little job that would only take a few hours came in from a good customer that I couldn't refuse. (Now you really can see where this is going!)
Now that I have men working for me that I have to keep busy, I take in work and repair them in the order that they came in... (except for the little jobs that you can't refuse)
And then, there is the inevitable waiting for parts to arrive...🙄
Ps, there is never a time that there is nothing to do for a new shop owner.
There is always sweeping, , putting out the trash and going to the dump with all the old fenders.
Oh, did I forget cleaning the toilet?
I appreciate your reply Mr Walling and your experience but I can assure you this has been no charity case as I've been paying him all along and way over original estimate as expected. This guy just takes in much more work than he can handle, greases you up and tells you what you want to hear and then doesn't deliver. I've seen his finished work and I know he's very talented but seriously lacks integrity. Recently I've had discussions with him about this problem of his but nothing gets through.
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47 minutes ago, alsancle said:
Like everything there are good shops and bad shops and everything in between. Just like there are good customers and bad customers, good projects and bad projects.
It looks more like you are building a resto-mod to me than restoring the car. At this point it would be 10x quicker and cheaper to buy a finished one.
I understand what you're saying but unfortunately nostalgia plays into it since I've owned it for 40 years and have lots of good memories driving it. Couldn't stand seeing it in pieces once I got it back from the first loser. The only really mods are the mustang 2 suspension which the first shop did, eliminating the shock towers and the second shop needs to install a 428 FE motor with a 6-speed manual tremic behind it. This guy builds race cars, it's what he does, he's just been slow walking the project big time and I'm running out of patience as I've been certainly more patient than most would be.
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1 hour ago, f.f.jones said:
IMHO, I think we have past the age where the average Joe can afford or justify having a car restored. If you're not able to do the lion's share of the work yourself, you are MUCH better off purchasing the best complete, running, reliable car you can afford. In my recent experience, shops today cater to and are supported by the big money collectors and investors. There is no way most hobbyists can afford attorney level hourly rates for a shop to wrench on their old car, or patiently wait the months or years it takes to complete. Even those with more than average resources find it difficult to justify resurrecting a project vehicle when good to excellent examples can be found for a third of the dollars one might spend on a restoration.
There will always be those who will have the ability and/or finances to complete a new build, but,as we see today, project cars go wanting while their reliable and attractive brothers frequently find good homes selling, in many cases, for a modest premium over the project.It's sad to say, but the world is changing. Home and car ownership is down and wages lag behind inflation. As these trends continue, the standard of living we once enjoyed is deteriorating.
As I see it, the way we will continue to enjoy our hobby at the average person's level is by appreciating and maintaining what we have and what becomes available, not necessarily stretching resources to transform projects into prizes.
Well put! Thanks for the reply.
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to the first shop, shock towers cracked, suspension and steering worn out, 351 Windsor and fmx leaking and tired but still running. I've found out that nostalgia can be a very expensive type of emotion! lol. Thanks, McLovin.
![69 mustang outside _2 057[1].JPG](http://content.invisioncic.com/r277599/monthly_2023_12/69mustangoutside_20571.JPG.ff19c847fb7f226af01cca0f3ae968bb.JPG)
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