whtbaron

Oh well...guess I struck out on the bumper, but I am sure those new front guards are narrower than stock, which means another bumper without the extra holes and welding will probably be the easiest way to go. My 52's had add-on turn signal indicators, whereas this one is built into the column. Not sure if that's from a later car, or if it was an option. The holes for the Cranbrook/Cambridge insignias on the sides of the front fenders have also been filled, so there's a good possibility that this is not the original color.

My best guess without knowing how heavy the metal is, would be that it is the front bumper off a 53 Desoto inverted and moved to the back. Probably bolt right on. I think I know why your front bumper is painted too. It looks like they moved the bumper guards in closer to the center when they added that brush bar. Since the original guards were also bumper bolts, the original bumper bolts would need to be ground flush and welded in to disappear, so after they messed up the chrome they painted it. The original guards were shaped more upright at the back, less so at the front and didn't have exposed bolt heads either.

More likely that whoever figured out another bumper would fit, posted it online and somebody else followed suit.

With no rad, he may have some issues running that V-8 as an air-cooled... Hacking up old VW's has become so mainstream for so long, I'd have a hard time losing sleep over it.

My condolences as well.

She's pretty sweet, but I'm a little late at starting to save my pennies...

There are no provisions on those mags for the factory hubcaps, and most wheel discs won't likely fit. Congrats on the find. My first car was a 52 Plymouth and I hope to put it back on the road some day. Right now it is much rougher than what you have. Maybe someone else can chime in here, but unless some of the 51's had a dramatically different rear bumper, that one looks a way too square to me. I've never seen one with that bottom lip either, all the ones that I have seen are more rounded like your front one.

All good advice. Mice apparently have weak bladders and "leak" as they run. This leaves a trail for the next horny little mouse to follow. A lot of the deodorizing techniques are to cover that odor, but it won't prevent an infestation that is already under way. Get lots of traps and bait stations out there and inspect them frequently. We have public insurance and I have seen them write off a lot of expensive motor homes due to mouse damage. People are not allowed back in them to remove personal items or even tires due to the threat of hanta virus. I'm in a colder climate than you, but that doesn't discourage mice either. Be very careful and diligent about cleaning where they have been.

As noted the toys need to be in near mint condition, and preferable with their original packing boxes to fetch top dollar. Ebay searches will tell you what they are worth, but my experience is that if you are selling low dollar items shipping and Ebay fees will eat what little profit you were going to make. I think you would do better at a local flea market or pawn shop so you at least know up front what you are getting paid, but I would expect most of those items to be in the $3 to $5 range. Unless you have a lot of them, it's hardly worth the effort.

Sad news indeed.... he had a special talent.

I've never seen the pickup version of the Mini before... great work. I loved your "rotisserie" as well. Hope to see the finished pics soon.

Absolutely. I'm pretty sure that 90's front wheel drive everybody is raving about will magically appear in your driveway anyway after you've borrowed Dad's good car a couple times. There's nothing like building something yourself. Even if it never moves under it's own power, it will teach you mechanics, body work, painting , glass , interior stitching and unfortunately, maybe a little about investing. What you learn from that rusty old Pontiac may not give you a great car this time around, but it's the education for that points champion you are building 10 yrs from now.

When I was 16 I let my parents talk me out of a $500 55 Chevy 2 door post car because it was an "old" car. Biggest mistake I ever made because I could have resold that car 3 years later for $3k. The 62 Comet 4 door I eventually settled for was a gutless POS that never did appreciate in value. Forget all the naysayers about old unsafe vehicles and get on it. Your time with grandpa now is priceless. In 5 yrs you'll be up to your butt in diapers and bills and gramps will be too old to help if he's still around. No money is a drag and always will be. If the tools are there get to work and don't quit until you've got plates on it.

Hey, you're doing great! I have an April deadline too... I just haven't decided which April yet.

Awesome ....that is a beast! I love it. Got some cool looking rides in the background too.

Try asking your question about boring and internal parts in the Buick forum... there's quite a bit of activity down there, and quite frankly I'm not sure. In general most old blocks seem to have a lot of wiggle room for boring because they were so big and heavy, but I really don't know about yours specifically.

Does this mean you got the rear axle issues sorted out?

So if it's not that hard on painted surfaces, would it be aggressive enough to clean up a differential that was all covered with rust?

I've been kicking around the idea of getting into working on old cars as a sideline and have considered offering some specialized services to people in the hobby. Does DIB require specialized equipment, or is that done with a normal sandblaster?

I pulled the head off a 48 Chevy back in the 70's (before unleaded gas) and it had a similar level of carboning. The bottom end had seized because all the crud on top of the pistons had held moisture and stuck to the cylinder walls. I ground the valves, cleaned it up and drove it after. Never did get plates on it, but it ran well.

I was thinking that by 1928 the Delage was much smaller at the rad. This appears to have come from a very large car with a tall hood, or possibly even built on a small truck chassis.

That looks like a steal of a deal...wish I was closer.

That's actually fairly well done. The ones I saw around here in the late 60's early 70's typically got a sheet of plywood for the cab back. If only Detroit had known that they could sell the Aussie styled Utes here as well. Well....before the Ranchero and El Camino.

What state or province are they located in? What size of wheel were they made for?

I see that now. I was having problems getting that pic to expand but it's working now.