Ian_Greenlaw

Well that escalated quickly...removed everything.....bonnet sides and top.....Found the water pump was leaking out the main seal. Took the water pump off to the repairer and took the radiator to another repairer. In the mean time, lined the engine bay with polythene sheets and flushed the engine out into a large tub under the engine......looking like surgery....but nothing got wet which was a bonus. Smoothed out the bypass pipe to try and get the best fit as possible. Got a call and the water pump was ready already.....very quick service. Now to start putting things back and now waiting for the radiator to turn up.

Very true....love my kids and now the little one. Well....took the car our for a test and it was dripping water. Made the decision to remove the radiator. Reached up and undid the plug we tapped in by hand so it would not have lasted. Removed the Generator, Belt, Hoses and water pump and bypass. Levelled the base of the bypass to get it ready. Next is the bonnet and radiator I'd appreciate the thoughts of the group here......Do I just use a gasket, or a high temp silicone gasket sealer or both. I've read a lot and seems to be a mixed train of thought. I used a paper gasket and a smear of the high temp stuff on the bypass and only the high temp stuff on the water pump and never had a leak but that was while I was restoring the car. Bear in mind there are probably a few pits in the metal here and there.

Thanks Matt, Not sure if it is a fix. There was bugger all metal to tap a thread in....I'm terrified that it will pop while driving so the bottom line I think the radiator will need to come out. I shouldn't have taken so long doing my resto !

Yep, A Class Metal Finishers in South Australia....wasn't cheap but what is these days !...the quality was amazing compared to what they were. So if your in OZ and looking for someone to do Zinc Die Cast Repair and Chroming then you can't go past these guys. Believe me, I went to 6 different people and no one would touch the horns. Even the guy I take with me couldn't believe how many people you have to go through to get someone really good.

So everything was returning to normal and my wife had to have the Trapezoid bone removed in her hand and tendons strung up and down to replace it. Out of action for a month or so, which means not a lot of time to work on the car. Also my daughter had a baby so first time a grandfather ! I was getting it ready to take down for a Roadworthy and notice a bit of water on the drive popped it up on the hoist and a pin hole leak appeared. To do a temp fix thought I'd drill and tap just to get me though the Roadworthy. Went to drill a pilot hole and the drill bit went straight through.....bugger. Drilled a wider hole and tapped and inserted a plug. I had to bend the little handles up otherwise it hits the chassis. I fill with water this Thursday and see how it goes. If no go, then the radiator will have to come out. Not sure if I can remove it without moving the cowl ? On a lighter note, I have ironed out the engine issues and its about 90% now and we took it for a few test drives ( illegally ) up the road. Also mounted one of the redone horns in place....a lot better than the first attempt.

Thanks for Posting Matt and to Ron taking the photos. Boat Tail is special and amazed at the talent.

Its been a while since I posted anything. Back and forth to Hospitals with my wife and she is now sorted I'm glad to say. Just got her sorted and my daughter said she's having a baby so been making things for her. I have still been working on the Dodge. I was never really happy with the horns ( Zinc Die Cast ) which had been Chrome Painted initially and have tried five different people to try and get them rechromed. No one wanted to touch them as they said they are very difficult and if not done properly then you'll be back to square one. One guy stripped them back and you can see all the pitting. He said if you don't get rid off all that you have to start over again. I came across a place in South Australia and they said they would do them after I sent detailed photos over. Totally amazed at the difference. I don't know their process they use but very happy with the result ( now all I have to do is put them back together again ) One question I do have......how on earth do you get the hubcaps off a 34 without buggering up the paint work. I have tried everything. Still got a few oil leaks and tuning issues. I've sorted the trim problem out and am happy with the result. Hoping to drive her on the road soon. ( I've been around the court where I live but not down the street as it won't make it back up yet ) Cheers Ian

If anyone can do it you can Matt !!

Thanks Kevin, Not sure if its accessable but I'll definitely suss it out tomorrow. Cheers Ian

Well done with the film Richard.....looking forward to having a look.

Hi Guys, Sorry to hear about Spinneyhill.........its hard when someone you've communicated with is no longer here. Thankyou for your kind thoughts about me wife. My wife had her operation.....I told her it sounded like me working on my car.....google flow diverter to repair a brain aneurysm....... Weird thing was if we went Private it would have costed $20,000, if she went to the Alfred it would have costed nothing. Anyhow shes doing well and will experience headaches for the next 3 months......she had a Angiogram the other day to check and everything is where it should be. I did mention to her that after the op she did say I could buy another car..........but she doesn't remember that :( I do have a car question though : The fuel gauge isn't working and we traced it back to an earth issue. When I installed the tank I put in rubber supports to absorb vibration. Now I believe that the tank, mounting straps and frame would have created the earth. If I connect a small clamp to the fuel line and a coiled wire and earthed it to the body the fuel gauge works fine. My question is, is this a safe method to earth this ?..... Apart from a friend of mine who suggested a self tapper in the fuel tank ( yeah, he was joking ) there's not a lot of options. Any thoughts ? Cheers Ian

Haven't had a lot of time to work on the car and haven't kept up to date with much. My wife started getting headaches and double vision a number of weeks ago. 3 Hospitals and 2 Neurosurgeons later they found an Aneurysm in the brain which will need to be repaired so we are just waiting on Tuesday when we have an appointment with the Neuro guy and he will book her in for the op. As soon as I'm back on the car I'll update some more on the progress. Cheers ian

We did suss it out so only very sparingly we used it on the initial start up. Engine idles really well now but when you accelerate it dies so I'll rebuild the carby as I feel that the plunger seal may have dried up. I have a rebuild kit coming so that should do the trick....I hope. Bought a custom car cover for it so I'll take a shot when that arrives. I can then tuck the ole girl up at night.

He may not have said it but I bet he was thinking it sometimes.....probably with a lawn mower....lol

Just in case no one believes it, heres a pic of the can

Ok so now I've come back to earth after the show its time to get her on the road. Filled her up with fuel.....slowly and checked for leaks.....ok so I had 5 leaks. One at the fuel tank due to a fitting I put in crooked, a fuel hose split in two places, a leak where the fuel goes into the fuel pump and the fuel bowl....basically most of the fuel system. Good news is that they were reasonably easy to fix. Fixed them and turned her over to find I had 3 oil leaks. Again my fault as I must have forgotten to tighten up a joiner of the oil line that went to the Oil Pressure Gauge. Tightened them up and found the last one was where it went into the block. I got a bit excited and snapped it off in the block. Using my Easy Outs it came out ok. Replaced the fitting and no leaks ! Moment of truth....using a can of "Start Ya Bastard".....yep its really called that....she fired up. A smokey at the start but after a short run it was idling really well. I have a video of it but not sure how to post it...Its a MOV file. Anyhow went to take it for the maiden voyage and it wouldn't go forward. Tried everything with the gears etc....then we figured out the wheel chocks were still in place.....rookie error.......tried again and my mate yelled out to me to stop.....I forgot the battery was sitting on the hoist ramp and was temporarily connected....decided the first run could wait till next week before we really did some damage...Saw this Dodge add for the blindfold test so we figured this might be a better option the way we were going !!! Cheers Ian

Thankyou so much for following the resto and the kind comments. It was an amazing setting for the show and thousands of people came through. The amount of photos people took were simply staggering. I'm not use to all that attention and it was a bit surreal. I haven't finished the car as i have the engine to sort out and other things to do...like Ron I need a roadworthy so stay tuned ! Cheers Ian

Well everyone, today was the day. Transport arrived and loaded the car and he was able to back basically into the front entrance of the Exhibition Buildings. We made it !

Hi Mark, Yep I got mine....he goes away a lot and is really slack with replying. Took me overall about 6 months from memory to get mine.....mind you he did have a lot of trouble due to the deep dish of the 34 hubcaps were splitting when he pressed them out. Have you tried to ring him ? Sorry I can't be of more help.

Thanks Matt, Car show, wedding then a funeral in 4 days......I think I'm losing my mind !

Here's the other two pics I missed.

Hey all, Haven't posted anything for a few days as my wife's brother passed away the other day. It's certainly been one of those years ! Got the front seat fitting properly after finding the bolts holding the frame down were stopping the rear of the seat pushing in. Replaced them with a mushroom head bolt and the seat sits a lot flatter than it did before. Also replaced the tack nail in the trim piece with a round headed screw...I think that finishes it off a little better than it was. Removed all covers off the seats and my wife sat in the front seat for the first time. Also spent 3 hours getting the horns working. Very fine tuning for these and a slight turn one way stops them working.

Thankyou, Years ago I said to my wife all I want to do is have my car in the show. Not to win any trophies but just to have it in the show and people look at it and hopefully say ...gee, that looks nice. Finally to get to that stage is really something....I know its not 100% original but you give it your best shot and end up with something unique.

Thanks mate, I'll take some shots of her in the Exhibition Buildings during the show. Must say its a dream come true and really looking forward to it.

Thanks Guys, I must admit, I do like the look of the front of the 34's which is probably why I was drawn to it in the first place.( sorry about the polishing cloths ! ) Cleaned the grill for the first time since she's been painted. Cleaned off heaps of glue the upholsterer left so I'm happier with the interior. Fixed a few bits and pieces. Basically the car is finished so now I'll concentrate on the alignment and getting the engine running. I drained the gearbox so that pesky leak has stopped....hopefully the thicker oil will alleviate that issue. Engine is full of oil. New fuel pump gasket and filter screen fitted.....cleaned the spark plugs too so I'm getting ready to start her up. I still should have bought the original 4 digit number plates....20 years ago he wanted $3,000 and we just didn't have the money. They are now worth $50,000 to $60,000.....ho hum