Laughing Coyote Posted March 6, 2022 Author Share Posted March 6, 2022 Today was a pretty good day to work on the old Merc. Warm, but not hot and not windy like it has been for the past week. I got back to sanding the rear quarters with 220 sandpaper. Had a few low spots ,but not very bad at all. The passenger side was a different story since it was the worst of the sides. I had quite a bit of low spots so I had to do little skim coats. Still have a little more to do on the passenger quarter and then on to cleaning up the door sills and finishing any additional work on the rockers. Then I will put down some nice heavy smooth coats of primer and finish it out with 600 and hopefully be ready to paint it and be done with them. That would be a big section off my back. That's the plan anyway. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank29u Posted March 6, 2022 Share Posted March 6, 2022 Martin, it has to feel good to get back to the Merc! It will look great! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE POLLARD Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Does that look cool ! I like those fins on top of the quarters ! Steve 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 Another nice day to work on the Merc. I finished the passenger side panel and I'm happy with how it came out since it was in bad shape. The other thing I will have to address is the passenger door. As I look at picture of other Meteor 800 hardtops I noticed on them that the door trim strip doesn't line up with the rear quarter trim strip. I know these old car trim would be off a little, but it clearly shows in the pictures that it's way off. I'm going to have to work the trim holes on the doors to have it line up or it's really going to bother me. The door will need a little adjustment since it's also low at the end. Speaking of holes you can see the nice holes the factory made for the quarter end caps. Looks like they used a flat blade chisel and made a hole close to where it needs to be. You can see how far it's off when the cap is in place. I managed to grind them so the end cap will fit nicely. More to come. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 A chisel... just wow. Car is looking great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 16, 2022 Author Share Posted March 16, 2022 Jeff, I don't think they used a real chisel, but they sure don't look like nice stamped holes from a die machine. Today was a nice warm spring day, Pushing 80 so this afternoon I went ahead and prepped and put the first coat of primer on the trunk trim panel and tail fin end caps. They came out great. Tomorrow I will get them sanded and ready for the seal coat followed by a final sand and then to paint and clear. More pieces off the list. I love it when things get done. Finally. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 (edited) Yes, the prep work and finished result looks great! Your adjustments will make the Mercury look better than new! Martin, I have a couple of questions about my car. I was going to PM you, but thought maybe some others could benefit from your answers. I hope that's OK. - Do you know what make and model of carb you have? It looks exactly like mine from the photo you posted, but sometimes I miss small details. I'm putting a photo of yours and a photo of mine on this post so if you can see any differences let me know. (I can see I'm missing a screw and nut on the fast idle cam linkage.) I've been told by a friend that it's a Ford 2100. Not Holley or Autolite. The reason I need to know is I ordered a elec. choke kit from Mike's and the one specified for my car in their literature doesn't seem to fit. The shaft in the choke housing comes out too far so the new choke cap and spring from the elec. kit won't fit. Perplexing. If I have the same carb as you, I'm 99% sure mine is original, but the kit they spec. won't work. Electric choke is one of those non-original things that's easy to retrofit back to original, but makes life easier in Nebraska winters (I don't drive it in winter, but start it up.) -Also, I noticed you used Kilmat on your hood. Will you use that on the interior/floor of your car, too? I'm asking for the benefit of my '65 T-Bird, which has the interior stripped out. Kilmat's a whole lot less expensive than Dynamat or Damplifier Pro. Thanks Edited March 17, 2022 by JamesR (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 13 minutes ago, JamesR said: - Do you know what make and model of carb you have? It looks exactly like mine from the photo you posted, but sometimes I miss small details. I'm putting a photo of yours and a photo of mine on this post so if you can see any differences let me know. I've been told by a friend that it's a Ford 2100. Not Holley or Autolite. The reason I need to know is I ordered a elec. choke kit from Mike's and the one specified for my car in their literature doesn't seem to fit. The shaft in the choke housing comes out too far so the new choke cap and spring from the elec. kit won't fit. Perplexing. If I have the same carb as you, I'm 99% sure mine is original, but the kit they spec. won't work. Electric choke is one of those non-original things that's easy to retrofit back to original, but makes life easier in Nebraska winters (I don't drive it in winter, but start it up.) -Also, I noticed you used Kilmat on your hood. Will you use that on the interior/floor of your car, too? I'm asking for the benefit odf my '65 T-Bird, which has the interior stripped out. Kilmat's a whole lot less expensive than Dynamat or Damplifier Pro. James, Mine didn't have the tag on it, but yes it's a 2100 Motorcraft. I don't see why it wouldn't work. Let me see what I can dig up. I just used the Kilmat for under the hood area. I'm going to use the original jute padding under the carpet like it came from the factory. It is cheaper and I'm sure it will make it more quiet too. I will get back with you with what I come up with. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 12 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said: James, Mine didn't have the tag on it, but yes it's a 2100 Motorcraft. I don't see why it wouldn't work. Let me see what I can dig up. I just used the Kilmat for under the hood area. I'm going to use the original jute padding under the carpet like it came from the factory. It is cheaper and I'm sure it will make it more quiet too. I will get back with you with what I come up with. Hey Martin, no need to research the carburetor/choke issue. I just heard back from Mike's and they verified what you said: it's a Motorcraft 2100 carburetor. Their specs didn't list that carb as one that was available for these cars and that was the problem. (It obviously was available since both your car and mine are equipped with it. Not a lot of the full size '61's still running around, so that may be why their specs are incomplete.) ANYWAY, they are going to send me the correct kit, which is part # CU 1110A. This kit will apparently provide the needed clearance for the longer shaft in the choke housing. Sorry for the distraction from your restoration thread. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 Not a problem James. Glad it got straightened out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 Got the base coat on. Going to clear later today. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 All finished. They sure look purrdy. On to other parts. Got to get this thing rolling. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 19, 2022 Author Share Posted March 19, 2022 While I had the car out to run it today I went through some boxes to look for the trunk lock cylinder and I found the gas door. Also on the shelf with other parts there was the trunk torsion rods. I wish I would have seen them early before I did the other parts. Oh well, so today it was sand and prime the parts. They will be all finished by Monday. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted March 20, 2022 Author Share Posted March 20, 2022 Clear coated the pieces this morning and ready for install on the car later on down the road. I've also been getting a shopping list together for all the weatherstrips. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted April 15, 2022 Author Share Posted April 15, 2022 Well I guess I have some more work that came up today. I went to run the car and it wouldn't start. I ran it a week ago and it ran great. I pulled the air cleaner to see what's up. Well the fuel filter was just about empty, opened the throttle and no squirts of gas in the carb. While cranking it over there was no fuel going into the filter. I do believe the fuel pump has died. So now I'm going to have to get a rebuild kit and fix it. Always something. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 If I don't start my '56 Fairlane for a few weeks the fuel evaporates out of carb and most of what's in the pump. I have a glass bowl on my pump so I can see how much fuel is still in it. Most of the time I prime the carb a few times directly with a little fuel. It will start and sputter a few times until fuel gets pumped into the carb. That's been my start up process on all my carbed vehicles that I don't frequently drive for the last 20 years or so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv2Wrench Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 On 4/15/2022 at 5:11 PM, Laughing Coyote said: Well I guess I have some more work that came up today. I went to run the car and it wouldn't start. I ran it a week ago and it ran great. I pulled the air cleaner to see what's up. Well the fuel filter was just about empty, opened the throttle and no squirts of gas in the carb. While cranking it over there was no fuel going into the filter. I do believe the fuel pump has died. So now I'm going to have to get a rebuild kit and fix it. Always something. It really is always something! A huge disincentive to have an old car. I really like things are get done and stay done. I see I'm in for a world of hurt in the old car arena. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 Nothing to exciting to post. Before pulling the fuel pump I pulled the fuel hose from the steel line to the pump to check and see if it had any blockage. Nope, still looked good. Then I blew some air down the line to the tank and heard bubbling and then pulled a vacuum and gas came out just fine. So I pulled the pump and ordered a rebuilt kit. More to come. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 On 3/20/2022 at 2:51 PM, Laughing Coyote said: Clear coated the pieces this morning and ready for install on the car later on down the road. I've also been getting a shopping list together for all the weatherstrips. My painter calls these types of parts “wind chimes”. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted April 29, 2022 Share Posted April 29, 2022 My trunk torsion rods must be shot...the trunk only stays open about 16". Or can they be adjusted? I'm ashamed to admit it, but that never even occurred to me until right now. 🙄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 I do believe they can be. There are additional notches that the rod ends go into on each side of the mounts. I will PM you the manual page on them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 (edited) 21 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said: I do believe they can be. There are additional notches that the rod ends go into on each side of the mounts. I will PM you the manual page on them. THanks Martin. Sorry, I should've read your post before responding to your PM. The tool looks like something I can make. I kind of amaze myself with some of the things I just live with on my old cars before it occurs to me: "Duh! That can actually be FIXED!" Edited April 30, 2022 by JamesR (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted April 30, 2022 Author Share Posted April 30, 2022 That's okay James. I made the tool and is waiting for the day I have to reinstall the rods. If you need anything else let me know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted May 5, 2022 Author Share Posted May 5, 2022 I received the fuel pump rebuild kit on Monday. I got the pump rebuilt that day and reinstalled it on Tuesday. I had to wait a day for some small corbin clamps to come in for the vacuum lines that go on top of the pump so I won't have any vacuum leaks. Ran it today and no leaks anywhere and the car ran great too. So now back on to the body work so I can get this thing moving. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted June 19, 2022 Author Share Posted June 19, 2022 It's been a while since any updates. I've been busy with the business stuff. Now it's way to hot for doing body work, priming, and the rainy season is here so it's going to have to wait until it cools down and dry up some. I did start going through parts on the self and decided to tackle the two front stainless hood strips. I have a NOS center emblem, NOS grille, and the rest of the front nose pieces are already polished and ready to install when I get to that point. So these were the only pieces left to get worked. I have to pull the mounting piece out of the stainless piece so I can fix rock dings and to make new mounting studs since the other one were rusted and broken off. It took a lot of work to get one apart since it has quite a bit of rust behind it. I ended up making a soaking box for the other piece and filled with Evapo rust. I will let it sit a few days and see if that helps. I know it's not much, but it's something. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 Today I finished up the front hood edge trims. After getting them all apart they got sandblasted, new mounting bolts installed and afresh coat of primer and paint. After getting the rock dings knocked out, sanded and buffed they were ready to go back together. I put some white grease on the mounting flange that was heavily rusted when I took it apart so it would aid in getting it back together. Sure enough, slid in with a nice snug fit and won't move around. Still have more buffing to do to make them super shinny, but at least the hard part is done. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 WOW! Very nice work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURktman Posted June 26, 2022 Share Posted June 26, 2022 Looks much better than “driver quality”! I sense a side business for ya! Those look very well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hursst Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 Ready for some more updates. If no work has been done, what are some of the next items on the agenda? Love your work and your great car, can't wait to see it finished. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted July 31, 2022 Author Share Posted July 31, 2022 Thanks Hursst, but nothing to report yet. It's our monsoon season so the humidity is high and rainy so I'm waiting until it passes. Once that happens then I'll get on it hard. I have a few dents on the rockers that need to be addressed first, then I'm going to get the jambs and whole rear of the car primed. Hopefully I will just need to do a final sand and then ready for paint. I will also be removing the doors before I do the paint work. Plenty of work, just waiting on the wet weather to pass. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURktman Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 (edited) On 7/30/2022 at 7:51 PM, Laughing Coyote said: Thanks Hursst, but nothing to report yet. It's our monsoon season so the humidity is high and rainy so I'm waiting until it passes. Once that happens then I'll get on it hard. I have a few dents on the rockers that need to be addressed first, then I'm going to get the jambs and whole rear of the car primed. Hopefully I will just need to do a final sand and then ready for paint. I will also be removing the doors before I do the paint work. Plenty of work, just waiting on the wet weather to pass. I miss the AZ desert. Here in Alabama, it’s so humid you can go fishing and the fish won’t die when you pull them out of the water. Edited August 4, 2022 by AURktman (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted August 15, 2022 Author Share Posted August 15, 2022 While looking through the pile of parts the sun visors caught my eye. The chip board is warped and one has a chunk broken off. I decided to work on them for a quick minute. I'm debating on using chip board again or cutting them out of aluminum that's the same thickness then recover them. The aluminum will last for ever. The chip board seems fragile and with movement over time may cause them to weaken and break. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleach Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 I think masonite was used for the boards. You could easily make new ones. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE POLLARD Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 Any updates Martin ? Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted November 13, 2022 Author Share Posted November 13, 2022 Hey Steve, Thanks for reaching out on updates. I was waiting for our rainy season to stop so I can get back on the car, but unfortunately I had a bunch of issues with the daily drivers and house repairs all come up at the same time after the season finally stopped. It's been fixing one problem after another and working the business too. I do hope that this will be it for awhile and I can get back on the car in the next week or two. When it rains it pours. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE POLLARD Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 18 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said: house repairs all come up at the same time Boy, I know that feeling......I'm hoping that next year I'll get going on my Impala SS again.... Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 Well now I have a real dilemma...... My new neighbor that moved in the next street over from me, who is a big time car guy has offered my one of his cars. The car in question is a 1973 Corvette with a 454. The dilemma is that it's offered to me for FREE!!! He said that there are some things that need to be taken care of, but he doesn't want to deal with it and just wants it gone. He told me if I want to take on the repair of the items then I can have it. The items that need to be done are swapping out freeze plugs, replacing the input shaft seal on the trans, swap out the rear leaf that's worn out, change out the battery cables, and re-glue the rear window. The body has some areas of flaking paint and will eventually need new paint. He said the engine was rebuilt not long ago with top shelf stuff and puts out over 500hp. The whole interior is new also. Sooooooooooooo now you know why it's a dilemma. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURktman Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 Oooooooohhhhhhh……. There is no way I could pass up that deal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 19 minutes ago, AURktman said: Oooooooohhhhhhh……. There is no way I could pass up that deal. I know. plus it comes with 2 boxes of new replacement parts. So the Mercury may be on the chopping block. I hate to, but I can use the funds for paint and what ever else I may need and I only have room for one. I don't want to leave anything outside. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1957Birdman Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 How about finding someone who will rent you a space in their garage for a reasonable price? For all the work you have done on the Mercury it would be a shame to let it go in its current condition instead of it being completed. What is the deal with the Corvette needing freeze plugs on a recently rebuilt engine? Unless I am missing something that just seem strange to me. As for taking the Corvette as you describe it for free, no brainer comes immediately to mind. Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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