What are you working on right now?

[keiser31]

[AURktman]

Getting the bodywork started and progressing on my 90 F-250.  It’s going to be sold once my new Ford Maverick truck arrives (3-4 months hopefully) so I’m putting all the replacement body panels on and painting them.  Hood, pass door, and tailgate done. The color is 28/29 Ford French Gray. 
 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by AURktman (see edit history)

[cxgvd]

Working on the paperwork and final reports for a 5-day Snapper's Pre '16 Tour called Historic Chatham Kent.

 

Regards, Gary

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by cxgvd
add photo (see edit history)

[Terry Harper]

Steam cleaned the dump truck

 

 

And spent the day with good friends.

 

Enjoyed the mixed aroma of wood smoke, grease and oil

 

 

 

[JimKB1MCV]

... and the above in motion!

 

[John Byrd]

Still working on the little CB 400-4 that we got at an auction. In the final stages now as my wife and I are learning how to make a little custom "solo" seat. The pic of it in silver was the day I bought it in June, the red is a couple of days ago. Hey, we're slow, lol. We are also refinishing a huge dining room set, and here is Karen scrapping off the old clear.

Edited October 4, 2022 by John Byrd (see edit history)

[tenugent]

48 minutes ago, John Byrd said:

Still working on the little CB 400-4 that we got at an auction. In the final stages now as my wife and I are learning how to make a little custom "solo" seat. The pic of it in silver was the day I bought it in June, the red is a couple of days ago. Hey, we're slow, lol. We are also refinishing a huge dining room set, and here is Karen scrapping off the old clear.

If it's not poly finish try oven cleaner

[John Byrd]

tenugent, she lacked about a foot and a half in that pic, and it was lifting really easy. We do use oven cleaner and other strippers on some things, but this was JUST the flaking top surface she wanted off without messing with the edges. Fortunately, the two leaves have never been put in and look new ! Thanks for the response, and have you noticed that the "new & improved" oven cleaners aren't anywhere near as good as they were in the 70s when we started using them on cars, bikes, grease, furniture, etc. ? 

 

[Lahti35]

Degreasing and engine on my '25 Nash...

 

Much cleaner and tidy now!

 

 

[Bloo]

What color is that engine?

 

[Lahti35]

1 hour ago, Bloo said:

What color is that engine?

 

It's kind of a greenish yellow. I'm not sure what the actual name is. It's a nice shade of baby vomit😁

[keiser31]

Done and done!

[AURktman]

22 hours ago, Lahti35 said:

It's kind of a greenish yellow. I'm not sure what the actual name is. It's a nice shade of baby vomit😁

Looks like the Chartreuse that was on the 57 Chevy 265CID engines.  

[zipdang]

Spent all last Friday putting on the shiny bits on my 1959 Fiat 1200 Granluce to get ready for Saturday's downtown car show in Delaware, Ohio. First time out with the car! Who would have thought there would be a category for Best of Show called: "Best Cute Little Car?" Well, I won even without an interior!

 

[keithb7]

My original 1959 Fender Bassman amp. Its hi-tech compared to my ‘38 cars. This week I built a new speaker baffle board for it and installed new grill cloth. 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by keithb7 (see edit history)

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

Hey @keithb7…….Yes, you are a man of many talents!

Edited October 10, 2022 by Jeff Perkins / Mn (see edit history)

[John Byrd]

I think I'm finally finished one of my "what are you working on's" !!  In silver paint is the day we found it, the red is now with quite a few small changes and some old left over Miata paint. Now, for the next project that hopefully isn't house fixing, lol !

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

Since 95+% of folks who frequent the local cruise in car shows don’t know and have to ask, I added this old cast brass logo to my radiator.

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

Driving season for my Model T Runabout is over now, time to make a much needed repair and to prepare the car for it’s winter nap. The handbrake quadrant was not holding very well so an inspection was undertaken. As one can see the is not much for teeth left so a call to a nearby parts house resulted in a new one. Grinding off the rivets of the old one proved to be a challenge in the cramped quarters. Installing the new one may be to difficult so perhaps hardened bolts would be better. 
As for the handbrake mechanism…..it is very crusty so time for a total refreshing. As any Model T owner knows, nothing under a Model T stays very clean. As for the floor….ugh!

[dibarlaw]

My1925 Buick Standard had been giving me fits as far as troubleshooting my ignition issues.

 Installed rebuilt distributer......Rechecked coil..... tightened up some wiring...... increased some wiring gage, changed out a variety of condensers.... Points still burning and bogging down at speed. Smooths out ocasionally and found out the switch had some burned contacts.

Rebuilt the switch..... 

 Eliminated the high drain halogen lights and went back to regular bulbs. Everything checks at the switch and its operation.

I have a bracket made up so I can check voltages at the terminals to test as in use.

 Still no difference. I dig into the Starter Generator next.

 

 

[Lahti35]

Just finished up my Guild Starfire V rework. I machined new brass bushings to replace the factory nylon junk along with making polished stainless steel replacement parts and reengineering the way the tremolo assembly fastens together. These newer model guild guitars are Metric so the standard aftermarket stuff available does not work. I commissioned a new custom bridge to match the fretboard radius and picked up a rosewood truss rod cover. These guitars are good out of the box but the manufacturer went with lower quality components in some areas to meet a price point, nothings that couldn't be remedied.  A nice diversion from car stuff which is not going so well at the moment but will right itself soon!

 

 

New rosewood truss rod cover....

 

Custom bridge by tru-arc...

 

New machined stainless roller bar and brass bushings, reengineered to hide all the retaining fasteners. Machined stainless main string bar built to accept a new aftermarket string retainer...

 

 

[auburnseeker]

Nothing really car related going on the past few months.  I only drove my Plymouth a couple of times.  But I was crazy busy trying to beat the weather putting in a new water feature at the house.  A super dry summer and fall,  made the conditions ripe for doing it.  May not happen again as this area was pretty well dried up.  Bought the property first week of September and started digging last week of September as I was finishing up other trails on the new property that I basically turned goat trails into roads to make better access with the side by side.  The wife walks the dog on them every day,  even in the winter,  so it's nice to finally own all the land teh neighbors were letting us use.

 

A couple of rain storms convinced me to buy a pump and pump it out as the clay doesn't allow the water to dry up at all. 

 

Wish I had though of that before trying to work in it for a week. 

 

I'm far from done,  but anything that will get flooded is pretty well finished.  Now just a bunch of work to do up on the banks in the spring.  

Winter cut the project short,  but I'm pretty happy with how much I got done.  

 

Sure would be nice to live in a place where things didn't grind to a hault for nearly 6 months of the year. 

 

Here are 3 before,  3 mid project and 2 pretty much finished up for the year. 

 

My Father let me borrow his dump truck for about 10 days and boy was that a help.  I hauled out atleast 15 loads of beautiful rich top soil and another 50 loads atleast of the clay mix underneath.  

 

It was super nice to finally have digging on the property that didn't involve pulling rocks steady.   Bucket after bucket of just clean fill.  So much I did almost all the digging with a grading bucket.

Many of the rocks were mostly laying on the surface or just popped right out. 

 

Sure wish I had , had bigger equipment for the job.  

 

I built a point that I might put a lean to on down the road.

I still need to finish the causway,  but it was too soft to get the excavator across. If it doesn't stiffen up in the spring I have been cutting logs to corduroy it with from blow down I'm cleaning up.  Another week and I would have really finished it up. 

 

Ironically as soon as I finished it up,  A spring that had seemed dried up started flowing and seems to be increasing in volume every day.  

 

The wife said what happens if it dries up part of the year.  I told. her well it will be easier to mow won't it?

 

Right now everything is frozen and covered in snow.  Can't wait to spring to see what it really turns into. 

 

[pmhowe]

Auburnseeker, I like what you are doing. especially like the stonework. Pretty country. Also pretty tools. I have a Kioti 24 hp tractor that I find invaluable, but would love access to an excavator. What part of the country are you in?

Phil

[auburnseeker]

11 hours ago, pmhowe said:

Auburnseeker, I like what you are doing. especially like the stonework. Pretty country. Also pretty tools. I have a Kioti 24 hp tractor that I find invaluable, but would love access to an excavator. What part of the country are you in?

Phil

We are in Upstate NY.

 

My tractor is a 45 Hp, but times I wish it was a little bigger.   Funny when I bought it and my friend delivered it with his rollback,  he said you will come to use and like it more than alot of your old cars,  and he was right.  I bought it mainly for plowing in the winter , but boy the forks have come in real handy and even projects like this,  the bucket has been real handy, though the dump truck sure beat that out.  A friend that runs a little restoration shop,  got one on the cheap as well on trade for some body work and told me he didn't think he would keep it very long, it was just a good deal.  I noticed a year later it's still there and have seen him using it off and on.  I think he found out how useful they really are if you have a little property and need to move stuff around.  I imagine with his shop,  he uses a set of forks quite often to move stuff around as it's pretty much a one man show. 

 

I originally was looking for a backhoe attachment for the tractor but realized for what I originally needed it for,  that the excavator was a better choice and have never looked back.    It would have taken forever with a backhoe to try to do this job.   Actually about a 1/4 of the way through the project I started looking for a true dozer.  I just missed out on a couple of decent ones at my price point,  but probably best I didn't buy one,   as I was able to manage with the blade on the excavator,  just took alot more passes.  Though a 6 way blade would have really helped.   Be sure to get a thumb on your excavator if you buy one.  That's how I set and moved all the rocks around.  Invaluable.  It was really helpful stripping the sod and stumps off as well.  Especially since I had to strip it off and pile it,  then push it to the edge in a pile,  then pick it all up again and spread it out in the woods, then bury it with some of the top soil.  

[Rivguy]

Most of my stuff would be considered O/T, but if someone can show pictures of a field, I guess anything goes.

After the divestiture of my Jaguar affliction, I managed to hold onto my '96 Mustang. I picked up an easy project, an example of a vehicle that I believe is already collectible, though is still eight years short of qualifying as a vintage vehicle.  I found a low mileage, ( 109K) great looking and running 2005 Lincoln Navigator. Just needs a little repaint of the front bumper, a little repair to one seat's upholstery. I bought this in lieu of a legit old car, but it sure reminds me of my '70 Coupe de Ville.  Since it's introduction in 1998, in my opinion, the Navigator has been Lincoln's best vehicle. Maybe not for everyone, it didn't appeal to me for a long time, but it reminds me of the great land yachts.

[Andy J]

I'm installing the grill on my '51 Pontiac Chieftain. What a PITA! It's going to look good,but it's killin' me.

[edinmass]

12 hours ago, Andy J said:

I'm installing the grill on my '51 Pontiac Chieftain. What a PITA! It's going to look good,but it's killin' me.

PITA? 
 

Fact of life number one……..ALL old cars suck.Especially when your working on them. But driving around in them makes up for all the headaches ten times over. 
 

That’s fifty years of experience speaking.

 

 

[Terry Harper]

Current project is another structure for the museum. This one will be for machinery related to the mill complex. Here is a preliminary (Low Res) rendering. Once they approve the design - roof configuration etc. I can start finalizing the plans, sections and details. I did throw a big T-head engine in just to keep it somewhat automotive related. (LOL)

I find hand rendering with markers and/or colored pencil far more satisfying however, the 3D renderings allow me to rough out the design quickly and its very easy to accommodate changes and revisions.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[edinmass]

Terry……it’s not big enough. No matter how large you build it. 👍

[Jim Bollman]

24 minutes ago, edinmass said:

Terry……it’s not big enough. No matter how large you build it. 👍

I knew a fellow that built a similar shed type structure but deeper for car storage and every time he ran out of space or had a little extra cash he would add on to it. It eventually stretched most of the width of his property and it wasn't a narrow lot.

[Terry Harper]

33 minutes ago, edinmass said:

Terry……it’s not big enough. No matter how large you build it. 👍

Got that right!  I am beginning to think it just might have something to do with the size of the toys.... nah... couldn't be.

 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by Terry Harper (see edit history)

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Not too much to see just yet but all three cars will get electrical/ignition attention over the winter.  The Packard has a rebuilt distributor on the way and I plan to go through whole ignition system.  The MB is getting plug wires, cap, roter, per Spring plan that never happened and I am thinking about a wiring harness for the A.  The wires to the taillights somehow got caught in the motor mount, causing a short.  Lucky this occurred at home...  Anyway, while I think it has been done before wiring looks older, and not too hard on this car from what I can tell.  That is probably going to do it other than cleaning up the Packard a bit more and usual Spring road preparations.

[edinmass]

 

Eight Litre Bentley.......seems every time I have my good clothes on, I need to do battery work. Big Phil was managing the technician. 

[edinmass]

 

1940 Series 75 convertible road test. 

[Milburn Drysdale]

1 hour ago, edinmass said:

 

Eight Litre Bentley.......seems every time I have my good clothes on, I need to do battery work. Big Phil was managing the technician. 

How do these big Bentleys compare to a Duesenberg?

[edinmass]

They are a truck……a very fast truck. But a hell of a lot of fun. I would own one if I could afford it……Speed Six is my favorite.

[TTR]

Here’s some of my currently ongoing projects:

 

- 365 GTB/4, annual maintenance and slightly invasive micro-surgery on carburetors (pictured) to correct occasionally misbehaving idle + few other minor repairs & services (most have been already accomplished).

- 812SC, diagnose and repair transmission malfunction(s) + several other “while you’re there” repairs/services.

- 300 F (not pictured) complete engine & transmission rebuilds (latter pictured and ready for final assembly).

- ‘56 Imperial Crown Coupe (not pictured) a frame-off, major restoration.

- A few minor improvement & maintenance services on my own cars (not pictured).

 

+ couple of other client cars on a waiting list.

 

Just wish I could find competent/reliable help to hire.

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by TTR (see edit history)

[32buick67]

For our 32-67 Buick, I had an exhaust leak, so off came the manifolds, found the old copper-asbestos gasket degraded...and in case you were wondering, a true miracle occurred, all of the 90 year old studs removed without breaking, I am incredibly thankful, appreciative and blessed.

I also traded greasy wrenching for delicate and clean art painting skills on the spark plug cover and oil cooler cover.

And, I got the replacement clutch relined and metal plate and springs coated with anti-corrosion at Fort Wayne Clutch.

 

I am now working on installing the correct Marvel heat riser system and throttle body, and coating the exhaust and intake manifolds prior to reinstallation.

No more driving this year, too much snow, salt and cold for us.

 

 

[Dan Cluley]

I'm currently reconstructing the front end of my 2004 LeSabre after hitting a deer 10 days ago.  This means I'm daily driving the '65 Chrysler convertible.  Turns out the heat is iffy, but at least the snow is holding off for now.

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

Just finished  the annual cleaning/detailing of my daily driver, 1991 Miata. Last item on checklist is oil + filter change. Then, back to the main garage for its’ winter nap.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Jeff Perkins / Mn (see edit history)