HarryJ

Exactly,,,,,,,,,,even if you plate the pieces and they look perfect; the crystalization is there. These handles were made by the Ternstadt Co. They may have added the lead to the alloy to make it cast easier. I don't think they were planning for these to last 79 years!

Dean..............and you can do upolstery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..........Awesome!

Dan, simplyconnected is right. Zinc and most of it's alloys are excellent choices for use in fabricating rigid parts requiring strength and high detail; however, zinc alloys of the past contain lead which causes internal granular disentergration (crystalizion). No matter what you do to the old part today it will continue to crystalize, leading to a brittle/fragil state. I have heard you can coat the original part with ceramic, fire the ceramic and then remelt the piece inside and restart the crystalization process; which only delays the ultimate outcome. Reproducing the parts is as far as I can see the only answer to this problem. I have been studying this issue for some time, as my '28 Chrysler has door and window hardware diecastings that have severly deterioted. It looks as though a modern form of investment casting coupled with laser scanning technology (see Big Dog garage re: next engine) may be the answer. More anon.

Don, I found my vise in the back of an old barn my parents had in the early seventies. It was a little rusty when I found it; but all I had to do was clean and put a little oil and grease on it to get it functional again. I would not trade it for any vise I have seen since. By the way, it is called a blacksmith vise.

I would strongly suggest you build your workbench of recycled old growth pine. Wood is great for a auto workbench. Here are some pics of my home made work bench. It is built of recycled "used" timbers. I built this bench some 40 years ago from wood that was from a baseball statium; which was built in the 30's utilizing lumber salvaged from a cotton warehouse. So this is the third life for these timbers. It is rugged enough to put a transmission or engine on.

oakland..........I have a two post lift in my shop. I have lifted several vehicles built in the twenties and thirties on it; including my '31 "PA", and '29 "A". I have not lifted my '28 "L" Lincoln on it; however, by utilizing the telescoping arms and the fold up props I can easily lift early cars. The safety suggestions from West and special 55 should be observed plus any of those suggested by the lift manufacturer.

Chris.........the smaller sizes are pretty much available from hardware stores supplying furniture makers; the larger sizes are a little bit harder to find. Especially, size 12 and up. These used to be faily common.

Quick update......I found a shop with a CNC Router. The hole is cut in the floorboard and another battery access cover has been cut. I attended a seminar last week on diecasting (remember I am still looking for a solution to restoring/replicating the door hardware). I am studying up and preparing to restore/replicate the two floor grommets; steering column/brake/clutch pedal grommet, and the shifter/emergency brake grommet. I had brought this subject up earlier; my plan at that time was to replicate these using rubber sheet material. I have subsequently rejected that course of action; and now are going to attempt to recast them. I am still in search of a sandblast booth.

hddennis.............thanx, this is most interesting!

It is not weeping either. It needs to weep slightly, Tonight I drained the car of 99.9% of it's coolant.I will let it stand for a few days with the radiator cap off and the drain open. This should dry it out reasonably well. I will refill the car in a day or two with an anti freeze/corosion coolant (ie, not tap water).

Progress report....................At present the following steps in the restoration are taking place; the guage cluster is in John Wolf's hands; the horn restoration project is stalled as when I made the original post I thought I had access to a sand/media blast booth (at present I don't); even with this delay Pulfer and Williams are reproducing the manufacturer's tags. I am working on the floorboards. I am very close to saying " Good Bye " to wood working. As of late I have been following Steve Braverman's post relative to casting rubber parts as I am trying to replicate the two rubber floor grommets that sealed the body arround the brake/ clutch/ steering column area and the shifter/emergency brake area.( I will include some pictures in the near future) I have been working with a friend of mine to replicate some roll forming dies to produce reproductions of the running board molding. He has made a set of dies.....I hope we have a match.....more anon. I am still studying re-casting the interior door handles,cranks, escutheons etc. A major question remains...........What did the original front floor covering look like??????? I am studying the chassis prior to re-restoration (the original effort was expended in the mid-sevendies).

CarAdMan..........where is the series 70 ad from? BearLars, that appears to be a very original series "52" you have; could we see some more photos?

So far.........so good....I cut out the basic floor board. It fits great. Now, I have to cut out the rectangular battery access hole. I plan to have this operation performed by a CNC router set up; although, a friend of mine offered to produce a router template.

Nickelroadster, I would also consult the Detroit Public, the Philadelphia Public and The Prelinger Archives.

Anthony..............I would join then study the situation further.

Dave.................regretfully Detroit didn't see the need for possum fur soon enough. Yes, due to this catastrophic failure, we are in the mess we are in today! Hupp36, yes, to replicate the look of the floor boards I must paint these. Anyway,,, here are some pictures of progress. I have glued and clamped the floor board pieces I produced last week.

Anthony, are you a member of the Lincoln Owner's Club?

Quick update, progress is somewhat slow due to the fact I had to backtrack. In the last week; I have acquired several white oak boards, cut them to length, planed them to thickness,cut tougues and matching grooves, and "dry" fitted, and am ready to glue and clamp (see pics). The next step will be to cut the floorboard out of the blanks, and hopefully this time "Mr.Badwrench" won't mess it up! Concurrent with performing the remake of the floorboard I have been studying for the next step and beyond.

Chrysler?????????? is that a transmission park/emergency brake?

Steve,,,,,Thanks for this post. I am preparing to replicate some rubber parts for a restoration I am doing. I hope one of the guys with some experience in this restoration technology will respond with a detailed demo.

CarAdMan.............Thanx, I have never seen this ad before. The body style shown is a "Crown Sedan"; the most expensive standard body style.

By the way..............it also includes 50' ft. of extra select possum fur.........just what you needed for your Stutz.

Junk horde.

Look what I found in my Junk pile. (I have bought out several autoparts dealers of their old stock parts and bought a few select parts at flea markets in the past.) A 18B Klaxon! Here's a picture of my find and the junk horde.

Quick update..........the water pump is still not leaking!