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1961 Mercury Meteor 800 restore


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Mr. Buelow, regarding the radiator core, you might want to call the radiator shop in my town, Salinas, CA (area code 831). Salinas Radiator is the shop I use and they were able to either get my core rebuilt or find a new one. My car was a 1962 Rambler Classic. Your radiator core should be even more common than mine. Good Luck, Joe.

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Pacerman,

I found the exact blank from a company in Canada for $130 plus shipping. I also have another source that another member found and they have the complete core for $195 plus shipping. They do not have any in stock at this time. I had a radiator shop check it out and it's way to gone insde. Had pubbles coming out everywhere when they checked it. I can call them and see if they have any blanks or a complete one. Thanks for the info. Like any restorer, trying to keep costs down if possible.

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More progress on the old Merc. Finally had time to get the pan in and sealed up. Just have one little hole to patch and the floor will be ready for a scub down and some rust proofing paint. I also have to chip off the old seam sealer and clean the seams and reseal. My buddy got the regulator decals made up for me so I go that finished and was able to prime and paint the brake booster.

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Hi there, I am new to AACA & this is my first Post. It is great to see another Mercury saved. I own 2 Mercurys, a 1956 Monterey 2 door hardtop & a 1967 Mercury Park Lane convertible. For something different to hang on my wall, I have a collection of FoMoCo Hubcaps. While I was assembling this collection, I had a friend in the USA buy me a 1960 model, as it was the last one that I needed. When it arrived, to my horror, it was a 1961 model, which I already had in my collection. It was after this that I noticed that Hollanders incorrectly list the 1960 Mercury Full Wheel Covers as 61 models, & they then list the 1961 Mercury Full Wheel Covers as 1960 models. They have these 2 years around the wrong way. If you are going to retain the original look, complete with the correct Wheel Covers, make sure that you get the correct ones. There is a Hubcap Dealer in Southern California who picture all the different Hubcaps on their excellent Web Site, however, they have accepted what Hollanders have listed & therefore have repeated this error for 1960 & 1961 Mercury Hubcaps. If you search out eBay, you will also notice that these 2 year Mercury Hubcaps, 1960 & 1961 are mostly listed as the wrong years. It is obvious that these eBay Seller refer to this Californian Web Page for help in identifying the Hubcap that they wish to sell. So, when you get around to needing Hubcaps, do the research & get the correct ones for your lovely 1961 Mercury.

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Hi Landman, I think that you have the wrong person to ask this question about Decals?

My only comment on this Post was to mention that he make sure & buy the correct Hubcaps for his car, as Hollanders got it wrong in the first place & the error continues to this day, as Hubcaps.com repeat this error.

Regards Mercman <><

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Actually I have four friends that do custom decals, graphics, and signs. There is two types of decals. You can just have vinyl letters cut out in many different colors or you can have a decal made with multiple colors. The decal my friend made was on clear vinyl with silver ink. It's like a color printer, but for each color you change out a cassette of the color you are using and then it burns it onto the base vinyl. The computer programs tells you what color to swap out each time. If you would like to have something done Landman just PM me and we can discuss your project. As for the hubcaps I do have the original ones that came off of the car from 1961. The car was complete with everything when I purchased it. They just need to be shined up and repainted in the centers. I will be putting the correct whitewall tires on also.

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Thanks Keiser31. I love doing this kind of stuff. Bringing back old items to new again. About a week ago I decided to build a sandblasting cabinet. So I cut all the cabinet pieces out on the CNC plasma table and took them today to my buddy's place and had him bend the edges up. Now I'm ready to start building it. I could use my neighbors, but I wanted to have one anyway. I will post pictures of that project as it progresses too.

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Thanks Keiser31. I love doing this kind of stuff. Bringing back old items to new again. About a week ago I decided to build a sandblasting cabinet. So I cut all the cabinet pieces out on the CNC plasma table and took them today to my buddy's place and had him bend the edges up. Now I'm ready to start building it. I could use my neighbors, but I wanted to have one anyway. I will post pictures of that project as it progresses too.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]232207[/ATTACH]

But it's too small for the frame of the car......

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Guest 07fomoco

Martin I like the work you are doing on the Meteor. I am just getting started on my 61 Meteor 600. It is a stick 6 bare bones car but I have a 460 and a toploader 4 speed for it.I am in need of a grille and info of hood interchanges.I need a hood and would like to put a fiberglass one from Crites that he makes for the Galaxie . He does't know if it will fit the Meteor.I have heard yes it will fit and from others no the ford hood will be 5" short.Do you have any knowledge on this or where I can get a positive answer. Thanks Mike

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Thanks 07fomoco,

So you have a 61 Meteor 600? I think those are even harder to find. Is it in pretty good shape? Missing alot of parts? I have been finding out that they only made this body style for 1961. Trying to find trim pieces, body panels and some interior items are very hard to locate. I have found some things on ebay. Actually there is a center grill on there now. You can search by 1961 mercury parts or 1961 Meteor. As far as the hood, that would be an iffy call. You may have to pull measurements on width and length of your hood now and have them give you the psecs on the other. I know the hood hinges are same. These cars are tough ones for crossing parts. Alot of full size fords will cross (driveline, engine, brakes, etc.) and some stuff doesn't. I know the 600 was the base model for that car and a 6cyl may not be all that fun, but my opinion would be to keep it stock. Just my opinion. Mine came with all the pieces so that's why I'm going the route to restoring it back to original. If it was missing alot (engine, trans, trim, etc.) then I would modernize it. All my friends wanted me to bag it, clear coat the rust and put a big V8 and update all the brakes and trans. The thing is they all have Chevelles, camaro's, and Nova's. Cars you see alot of in a car show or around town. The Meteor may not be as desireable as the more popular cars, but that's what turns the heads and makes it unique. Not everybody has one. Start up a thread on your project so we can see how it progresses.

I did manage to work the blasting cabinet today and got a good start. Actually looks like one. I also sanded on the steering wheel epoxy that I put on the cracks awhile ago. It sands like Bondo. Real powdery, but has a nice finish. I will post some pictures of that this week. Also the material that I used. Not sure if it can be purchased anywhere other than the company. Says industrial use only on the package. Never know unless you ask.

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Edited by Laughing Coyote (see edit history)
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Thanks r1Lark,

I own a metal fabrication business so I work with all types of metal all day long. Getting the metal isn't a problem, as far as the other parts I have found Ebay is a good source. I have found the gloves and gun fairly inexspensive. I can get the glass at a local glass shop. I designed the cabinet on my CNC plasma program and was able to print it out on paper and make a small paper cabinet before cutting it out of metal. Once the cabinet is done then I will fabricate the hopper part. It will be a must have for my restoration. Your restoration is looking pretty nice too.

www.laughingcoyoteironworks.com

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Martin,

Great work - the restoration threads that hold my interest are those that show steady progress, like yours. It's always great to follow a project that's being done by someone who 1) can make a decision and 2) execute!

Keep up the great work!

Geoff

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Thanks Geoff,

I like to do a little something everyday on the car. Even if I only get to pull a few bolts here and there or a small part. It may not be big strides in the project yet, but it gets me closer to the finished project. One piece at a time. I posted the pictures of the steering wheel so far. It's going to take a while with all the filling of the cracks, drying time and then all the sanding. So far it's looking pretty good. I sprayed some primer on the repair to see how it would look when I get to the final stage of paint. I also included the stuff I used. There are two types. One is grey in color and is thicker (paste) and the other stuff is pink and is more like a two part epoxy. Did some more work on the cabinet. Got the door made and hung and the bottom grate support in. Will be getting on the pan again this weekend. Have that little hole to patch. I would like to get it all wire wheeled and sealed up and ready to paint the floor.

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It's super bowl Sunday and I'm not much of a football guy so I decided to work the car today. This past Friday I put down the seem sealer and pulled the brake peadl linkage. After dis assembly I had two of the nylon sleeves break apart. I was going to order them until I saw the prices of them. I thought it's just nylon not gold plated. So I took a trip the the local hardware store and see if they had some in the hardware isle. Nope out of luck, so I looked around the store and the nylon barb fittings caught my eye. I went thru the selection until I found the right ones that would work. The hex was a little smaller, but good enough. Spent $8 in parts. Got home and got on the lathe and started turning. About 45 minutes later I had all my bushings. Then I got to put the brake linkage all bake together and off to the next project. I figured I would clean up the brake pedal mount bracket and paint it. Well one thing led to another and now the instrument cluster is out and I started to clean it. Then I pulled the steering column and then decided what the heck, pull everything. So out came the dash too. Have plenty of room to work now. This weekend I will be putting down the POR paint on the floor and the next weekend lay down some color. From under that dash all the way to the back seat area. :)

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It's been a busy week so didn't get to do much. I have all the brakets for the defrost vents, steering column and dash all cleaned up and painted and waiting to go back in after the inside gets painted. I also pulled the wiper motor and the arms. Got the arms all cleaned up, painted and lubed so they work like new again. Looks like I will be doing the rust treatment paint on the floor this Sunday. Then next weekend lay down the color. I managed to remove alot of surface rust and dirt from the wiper cowl area and undercoated it. That should help seal out the water if it gets washed or rained on. I will also be painting that area too next week. Can't wait to see a big area look like new again.

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Well I got the old girl out of her stall and let the sun warm her up a bit before I started. I was able to put two coats of the POR 15 product down to seal out all the areas that needed it. Basicly I did the whole floor. Went on really nice and had good coverage. I found a quick way to repair my rust spots on the door. Masking tape. Same color as the car and no mess. Stick it on and your done in seconds..... Yeah like that will fly. I also removed the passenger door panel since it was the last one to be remove and I had a nice suprise. A build sheet in prestine condition. Clear to read and nice and flat. I found one under the seat a while back, but it was pretty ripped and hard to read. Now as that coating hardens up I will be getting ready to lay some color over it next weeked. Cant wait.

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Thanks. I have all kinds of documents that came with the car that was in the glove box. At least I finally get to see some real progress from all the hard work. Yep it's warm. Actually it's going to be 85 by this Saturday. Hope it's not going to be a real hot one this year.:cool:

Hey Martin, send us HALF of that 85, we'll be happy.:cool:

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I was able to paint the floor today. Pretty pleased with the results. I painted the wire loom clips a few days back and masked them off so they would look nice and new. I know, why waste the time and effort if it's going to be covered by a rug later? :rolleyes: I will give it a few days to cure out before I start haging some items back in the car. I also managed to get the inner cowling painted that I undercoated earlier. My neighbor made me a new speaker mount awhile back out of thin MDF like the factory one and it looks like it would work just fine. Then I decided that I would cut one out of 1/8" aluminum so it won't fall apart in another 50 years. I did find that under the old dash insulation they wrote the word "Gold." Figured they would have know that is was gold since it would have allready been painted before they put the insulation on.

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Thanks Paul,

Nice looking Buick. I think for my next car, sometime down the road I would like a late 30's early 40's year.

Well I had some time today so I hung a few items on the newly painted canvas. I installed the steering column mount, defrost brackets and vents. I also finished the dis-assembly on the dash. Pulled out the climate controls and cleaned them, inspected and made them all pretty again. I will have to go the the paint store and have them match the original gold paint so when I get ready I can paint all the interior metal pieces. In the mean time I will pick away at some smaller items. I will post more results as I go.

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Thanks DJ,

Roger,

The insulation I pulled out from uner the dash was thick and yellow. Looked like old stiff house insulation without the paper on one side. The dash is gold on both sides and the insulation didn't have any gold paint on it. I guess if they would have painted the dash with the insulation on it, it may have had glass shards getting stuck in the in the paint. That's my guess. :confused: Would of liked to see them build these old cars on back in the day.

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You are obviously missing some infos at how a car is built. Fortunately, I was chassis engineer at GM Suisse from 1970 to 72 or 73, so I know more or less well how a car is assembled: first the body is welded together (no matter if on frame or unibody), then the body is going to the paint to get the proper finish At that point, nothing is done except sealer on some joints. Sometimes (as I saw in my Cadillacs from the fifties, insulation is glued on the floor into the doors prior to painting). Once the car is painted it's getting the dash insulation (if that model had to have something like that) and then metal parts are added.

If you don't need again that fiberglass insulation, you should add some sound and thermal barrier. Otherwise, you car will make noises like a drum!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I know I haven't posted in a bit, but things are getting crazy busy with the ironworking business this past week. Got more work than I can handle. Haven't had much time to work on the car. :( Did manage to install the wire loom from the dash area to the trunk and secure it. I also removed the drivers rear quarter window and track. Now that it's all out I can do the rust removal and patch work on the body in that area. Photos to come when I start to tackle that. Hopefully I will be able to get a break here and there for car time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well I finally got to the auto paint store today and got the dash color matched. I matched it where the thickest part of the dash pad was. I will be picking up the paint later this week. I can't wait to spray it and start putting it back together. I will be preping the dash this week so I will be ready by next week to shoot it. I got the window actuator all cleaned up and the window tracks. I also installed the wiper motor. I seperated the rear quarter window from the frame and I got the glass all polished up. I will have to get the front part of the frame rechromed due to pitting and the rear stainless piece repolished. I got plenty of time for that.

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Edited by Laughing Coyote (see edit history)
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