Guest Hal Davis (MODEL A HAL) Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 What kind of things have you found when disassembling a car for restoration?I got my car from my brother-in-law who got it from his father, who bought it in 1966. Although it was in pretty bad shape from sitting under a shed for years, it must have been in at least decent shape back then. Upon removing the interior panel of the right front door, I found a cardboard "winshield placard" from when he had it in a car show back in the 60's. It must have slipped between the door and the window glass only to be retrieved 35 years later.I also found a special bolt in the rear of the car. It was a perfect match to one of the three that hold the spare tire mount on the rear. It is my guess that this bolt was dropped by the assembly line worker who just got another one rather than fishing out the one he dropped. When telling this story to someone in the past they quipped that the car had probably always had an annoying rattle that no mechanic was ever able to fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Disassembled a Model A Ford for restoration. The car had non-original turn signals fitted to the front bumper. Holding the wires in place and totally encrusted in road grime was a 1922 bicycle license, originally designed to wrap around the tubular frame of a bike. Made a wonderful wire tie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 I guess the coffee cans I found that were used to patch the firewall in my first TR6 wouldn't really count. How's 5-10 pounds of beach sand in the trunk corners of my Falcon (that I'd already owned 9 years) grab you? <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Well here are two finds for you ...When I got the 57 T-Bird home and got under her - found a dual exhaust system made out of 1 1/4 threaded galvanized piping. The previous owner must have been a plumber.When I pulled the 31 Model A out of the barn that it was stored in for over 25 years, I found more than nine inches of chicken manure on the floor because the birds were using it as a roost all that time. Interesting enough, the manure actually preserved the metal on the floor and frame and there was minimal rust there. Did have to soak in Lysol for a month after shoveling it out before I could bring inside the garage. My wife's garden did very well that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphicar BUYER Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 The hood ornament I mentioned in a previous post was found inside a '38 Ford my Dad bought in the '70s.While restoring my AmphicarI found lures and fishing hooks in the bilge. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />Then there was the Amphi I bought in Wisconsin 5 years ago that I found from 2" to 5" of bondo in 90% of the body. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> That isn't what your looking for in this thread anyway. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I removed the bondo, named her "James Bond-O" and sold her.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenie Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 While working on a cousin's (yuk) Fiat X-19 found a crumpled paper lunch bag, complete with wrappers written in Italian, shoved down into an interior panel. Seems the Italian assembly line worker finished his lunch and decided one trash can was as good as another! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_PackardV8 Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 I found what appeared to be an empty pack of cigarettes under the back seat of my 56 Packard (with known history) along with various other odds 'n ends and a book of matches. The Marlboro pack did not have surgeon generals warning label on it and the book of matches were from a one time famous but now defunct hotel here in Nashville.Upon closer inspection, i found 1 fully intact cigarette left in the pack. For some reason i threw the entire pack in the glove box.Several months later, late at night and on a desolate stretch of hiway i discovered i was out of cigarettes. Several miles later i sudenly remebered that ONE cigartte in the pack i found under the seat. I thot to myself, Naaaa.A mile or 2 later I figured what the hell! I was driving the old mans last car that he ever owned i figured i might as well smoke his last cigarette too. And so i did.I'm sure, had the old man known, he would have probably left me a pinch of brandy and his grand-daughters picture with a phone number on it too.For I AM the man with a BIG V8 - better known as PackardV8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex98thdrill Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 While doing a frame off on our '37 pickup, we found white crayon writing inside the door and along the back wall of the cab. This was never found until we pulled the interior out of the truck. We can't figure out exactly what is was, but it appears to be some form of an initial during the inspection process when the truck was built. Needless to say, we left it. We won't pull the interior out to show you, but it has been captured on film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Gariepy Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 I bought a 1959 DeSoto a few years back. It had a layer of rodent poop a few inches thick under the back seat. (never did get rid of that smell) <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> The car also had what seemed like 10 lbs of moth balls thru-out - but didnt smell like it, so they must have been really old.I also found the skeleton of 3 of them under the front seat (mothballs kill rodents?), along with handfuls of bedding material they'd collected from who knows where. it was mostly a cotton material, but it also had twigs, twine, ribbon, etc.The car also must have been owned by a real casanova, as there were a number of condom wrappers throughout the car. (some of them were fairly new too) <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I can hear it now: "Hey babe... ever see the interior of a DeSoto?" <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 While cleaning out the woodie I am working on,I found shotgun shell casings, empty rifle shells and part of a deer or elk horn.Another car, I found old license plates being used to patch the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Albert Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 I found a hide-a-Key on one car, and in another when I lifted the flood mats found a rusty small tin box about the size of an asprin container, but contained 3 not so well preserved Trojans... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
another old car Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 when I took 41 apart I found oil change stickers ( the kind they used to stick under hood or door jam ) old registation for about same time as oil changes ' wrote to address never got reply , early sixtys . but the one thing I didnt find was change , guess somebody beat me to it, car did have large holes in floor so it had a fair shair of field mice , they were gone when I got car , boy did they tear it upfun car now - only on sunday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critterpainter Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 I sold a 41 Ford PU in the mid 70's. In the early 80's I got a phone call from Colorado (I live in Ca) asking about the pickup. He found my phone # on a sign that had fallen inside the door and the pickup had been abandoned at his gas station and he was going to junk it. I asked him the milage on it and then told him that the engine had been rebuilt lessthat 25K miles ago. He decided then to fix it rather then junk it since I could vouch for the mechanical condition. On another ocasion I found a battery opperated "pleasure device" under the drivers seat of a wrecked car.....I always wondered what caused the wreck <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 About 25 years ago I was doing the body work restoration on a 1911 Huppmobile. This was a real nice one owner car. When I stripped the paint off the right front fender, the original sheetmetal looked just like new. Bright and shiny, except for the rusty hand print of the guy that originally made it! Felt bad about sanding it off before it got primed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29 Chandler Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 While cleaning the dirt and grime off the right side of our Chandler engine I found a number hand written with crayon or grease pencil. Was not sure what the number was until I took the oil pan off and found that every moving part was stamped with this number! I just love the adventure uncovering the hidden secrets this car holds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Clark Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Huge Rats Nests in the headliners made from seat stuffing.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Green Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Pulled the Amphicar motor out a few months ago and down in the bilge by and under the oil pan I found a non factory automatic float switch with wiring harness floating around, clock knob, fine adjustment carb idle screw, misc tools, various nuts, bolts, springs, sandpaper, brackets, etc. Pulled the engine and discovered a hole in the bottom bilge sheetmetal (1" around) brazed shut. Someone must have hit a rock when driving in the water and punctured the hull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Indiana_Truck Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 While removing the sheet metal from the side of the Indiana cab, I was very carefull to keep track of every screw but I noticed one hole where it looked like the screw was out of place. After I took the pannel off, I found half of the drill bit the guy from the factory broke off in the wood still clean and just sticking out of the hole where it had been since 1925. I was able to just pull it out with my fingers. I have seen duct tape and steel wool under bondo on some of the cars that came into the body shops I have worked in. One shop I worked in used paint and thinner cans as patch pannels for body and fender repairs on cars. I didn't stay with this guy long when I saw that. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 23, 2003 Share Posted January 23, 2003 Pulled the drivers seat-back cushion out of a 1936 Cadillac Limo. and found "rich a-hole" written in chalk. (yes I cleaned that one up a bit) JB <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brh Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 Heard a story vey similar to the post on the caddy. Someone owned a Cadillac that was kept in mint condition but had an anoying "clunk" everytime he turned a corner. Finally the panel was pulled only to find a coke bottle suspended on a string and a note from a factory worker stating "well you finally found the noise you rich s.o.b.. Dad and I got a 34 Olds and the mice goofed up the interior, so the decision was made to pull out the interior. We found a 1935 nickel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_PackardV8 Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 amazing isn't it. a rich man drives a nice car and gets harrased by poor people. BUT, if a rich man drives an average everyday clunker then everyone thinks him miserly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyDale Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 I was in a so called body shop one day ,guy was bragging about how he uses NO after-market repair panels.He was doing some ROT work on a G.M. car and was impressing me with the use of a piece of cardboard from a G.M. parts box to stuff in the hole before he mudded it up.UNBELIEVABLE,diz <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Street rod story. Guy buys this nice looking rod with a classy paint job. Has a minor accident in the fender area and discovers the rodder had used a cardboard tube from a coat hanger to form the fender roll on the early fender. Beware that shiny paint. Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Reminds me of my cheaper days working with my 39 Plymouth. Had a seriously rotted out rear (under the trunk lid) panel ---very common with those old Plymouths. Filled the humongous gaps with everything imaginable. I mean rocks, pebbles, old newspapers, window screen, anything I could think of to throw in there to fill the space, and then slapped on a lot of Bondo over the whole mess. Strange thing is, 30 years later, there is not the slightest deterioration in that part of the car. I would say 30 years is pretty long life for jury rigged crap. Actually, so far, has outlasted easily the original factory metal panel. PS I could have actually bought an OEM rear panel for the car about 20 years ago for about $50. In a way am glad I didn't. It probably would have rusted away just like the original did. The bondo and other crap seems like will last forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 This is probably a little iconoclastic for the purists, but I think all the jury rigging, Yankee ingenuity, make-do-with-what-you-got stuff is just as much automotive history as what came off the assembly line.Chacun a son gout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyDale Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Dear Plymdodge 3972,You can use all the BIG words and PHRASES you like,i do not think American ingenuity and COB job should be used in the same sentence.Guess i just always TRY to do it right,sometimes it doesn't even cost anymore,just takes a little longer.As always just my 2-cents.diz <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 To each his own. I get a kick out of a good jury rig that holds up. Either mine or someone elses. Have to admit I am not a purist, but a pragmatist. I don't believe in modifying or customizing cars, but as for the rest of it, just makes antique cars more entertaining. What big words or phrases? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_SKYSTHELIMIT Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 On my Skylark it looks like the bottom of the drivers door got torn away and someone used screws with (NOT WASHERS) but actual car keys and other keys substituded to hold the panel on the door <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />. Also found was all of the original paperwork and some warrenty papers from brake work done on the car with the date 1968 written on it but the cars a 70 <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyDale Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Like a car salesman friend of mine use to say 'there is an ass for every seat' takes all kinds,diz <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 If anyone finds a 60's something Falcon with the rear inner fender wells (in the trunk) filled with concrete, my father-in-law is responsible...He did it for better traction in winter...made the rear squat a bit though...mixed it up in a wheelbarrow and shoveled it in...troweled it off smooth...put his initials (RS) in it..he was proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Restorer32! You guys didn't have any cinderblocks lying around the backyard? Most houses down here had blocks for backsteps except in the winter time when they were in the trunk. "Watch that first step!" <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Speaking of snow...Before I saw the light and moved to the deep South, I would fill the back of my pickup truck with snow and then wet it down.Gave me 1000 lbs at least of weight back there and made for much better handling. Plus in the spring, it would just melt away.No moving blocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cars47 Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 While restoring our Model A, I found the original Model A key-A802-attached to a small leather key case inside the drivers door. Unfortunately, it was a plain case without a dealers name and location.On our 47 Plymouth wagon, there is an access/clearance hole in the rear wood floor above the differential. It was originally covered with a round metal cover that resembles a WWI Doughboy helmut. When I was removing the carpeting that the previous owner had nailed to this rear floor area, I found the opening was covered by an 18x12 fallout shelter sign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil w Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 To restorer 32:While restoring Jaguars in salty s.e. PA. i've found a row of empty oil cans inside a rocker, covered with filler. It came close to the right contour. Also an XKE with 30 lbs. of concrete poured into the B posts to stabilise it from rotting completely apart - it held it together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Well...we're in salty South Central Pa. Recently finished a '58 XK150 in which the almost totally rotted away sills had been covered with steel apparently from a refrigerator or washer/dryer...or was white porcelain the standard finish used inside Jag bodies? Everything had been "pop" rivetted together and the whole mess covered with bondo...the owner thought he had purchased a nice original car...the white paint should have been the tipoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 plymdodge3972 say what you will about us,but I don`t think you should wish gout on your son!!!!! floydjer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 Whad' I say about anybody??And I have 2 daughters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 '25 McFarlan was knocking bad on acceleration and leaking oil, took the bottom end apart and found rod bearings #3 & 6 were made of some sort of epoxy compound and the front crank seal{which should have had an oil slinger behind the cork} was white plumber's teflon tape.Clutch had plastic shims too, no wonder it was cheap...............Did I mention the sawdust in the differential????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyDale Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 Dear LI, Sounds like the guy that RESTORED the McFarlan did his shopping at Home Depot rather than the local auto parts store.diz <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Albert Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 People will try any thing for body work, did a safty cert on a newer SUV , body looked great rest of truck was ok , Two weeks later the new owner brings it back to us, the dog leg fell off.. someone had used the alum silver tape for duct work to form the dog leg and covered it with bondo, Ok till the new owner washed the truck.... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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