One Thing Leads to Another... The Roadster saga continues...

[RoadsterRich]

Well I haven't had the time I'd like to put in to working on Miles, but he is coming along slowly. Preparing to replace the brake lines lead to cleaning the frame. I had no idea what a tedious and time consuming job that was going to be. Perhaps doing it manually with wire brushes and cups mounted in the drill wasn't such a smart idea. I've done between 1/4 and 1/3 of the entire frame, stripped clean and ready for paint. I have alot left to do, and I've put in a good 15 to 20 hours to get where I'm at. Slowly but surely all of the layers of crud and paint are coming off the frame. I've run in to yet another snag that is going to require some work.

In the past someone welded some mounts for something (maybe modern shocks?) to the frame in the rear near where the original shocks mounted. These are welded to the frame and will have to be cut out so I can get the original shocks back in place. I've become fairly handy with the high speed cutter (the one I have uses 3" cutting discs, and is pneumatic). I am just starting to learn the art of grinding. There are tons of left over weld bits I need to grind down, so I will have plenty of practice before Miles is done.

I'll follow up later today (hopefully) with some pictures of progress, and of some of the snags I've run in to and need to address. All of this just to run some brake lines <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Rich

[Guest DeSoto Frank]

Ain't it swell, enjoying (enduring?) the fruits of a previous owner's handywork?

Hang in there....at least you're not trying to reconstruct an "almost completely dissolved" rust-bucket, where the best part is the key !

Almost hate to say it, but while you're under there, see what kind of shape the "silent-block" rubber spring mounts are in.....Steele Rubber lists these on their catalog either as new or a re-vulcanizing service. There were several years around 1929-30 that Chryslers mounted their leaf springs by clamping the ends inside a molded rubber block instead of a pivoting shackle.

[RoadsterRich]

Frank...

Good point. Unfortunately I've already visited there... the rubber is non-existant, and the price for replacement ain't cheap. I'm looking in to molding my own. But the rubber is only a part of that issue. One of the spring mounts is broken and sortof welded together. I have two replacment ones provided by friendly folks with leftover bits. I will have to grind the rivets out and remove and replace the mount (rear mount on the right front spring). I plan to use grade 8 bolts to reinstall it, may not be original but safer than a modern rivet hack attempt I would think. We'll see how the idea of molding my own works out with the rubber. I also have a number of broken bolts that have to be drilled out for the lower cover on the mounts. Quite a challenge there too. As the title says... One thing leads to another. Fortunately there is little to no rust anywhere in the car. There is one patch to the frame just forward of the right front wheel from an old accident, and there is some sheetmetal repair in the right rear wheel well. That is about it for rust issues that I have found so far.

Thanks again for the good insight on places to look, the little things can easily be overlooked, particularly when one is new to a given model, year or car... or just new in general.

Rich

[RoadsterRich]

Here are a couple of pictures of the 'leads to something else...'

Someone welded a couple of bolts to some angle iron and welded it to the frame for some reason. I'm thinking maybe someone tried to mount a more 'modern' style shock on the car? Also, what can't be seen in these picturs is that the shock mounting point is broken off of the spring shackle plate (or whatever you call the piece of steel that goes under the springs that the U bolts which hold the rear axle to the spring mount through (under the spring, opposite side from the axle).

The first side looks like I can likely do a little judicious use of the high speed cutter and weaken the welds enough to get out the foreign object, then grind the left over weld down smooth again... here's the shot of it:

The other side is going to be a bit more tricky. They not only welded the angle iron to the frame, they also welded a plate to the frame (intruding on where the delco duodynamic shocks mount). The plate may prove more of a challenge as I can't easily get the high speed cutter in there. I might could use the micro die grinder with some dremel cutting bits on it to get in there. I'm open to suggestions... here's the shot of it:

Lastly, and by far the absolute most important to me...

This is Dad... doing what he does best these days... supervising, inspecting, and offering intuition, ideas, expertise, and years of knowledge to the project... funny how roles reverse, he does more of the "Go-Fer-in" these days and I do more of the work, some 37 years ago it was the other way around...

Thanks Dad, for all you have done, do, and will do for me...

Rich

[Guest DeSoto Frank]

Rich,

Never underestimate the value of the Dremel! That little machine can do a heap o' work ( a little bit at a time.... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ).

I've used their little cut-off wheels many times with sucess ,although goggles are well-advised, as it does not take much side pressure to cause the wheel to shatter, and you'll probably go through a lot of wheels.

It is neat that your dad is involved with you on this project; I harbor a small hope that my Dad and I might someday get work on restroing his 1930 Chevrolet Special Sedan....

Have fun!

[RoadsterRich]

Frank, Thanks for the good word!

I just started tackling those welds today. Cut as much as I can with the big 3" high speed cutter. Next I will start tackling the welds with the dremel. I need to get new goggles, and more cutting wheels. Time for another trip to Harbor Freight! (Okay so any excuse is a good excuse to buy tools!)

Most of Dad's involvement is arm chair based, but he comes out and inspects my work, does the odd gofer'in, and sometimes when it's not too hot or humid will sit out and chat (when I'm not using the pneumatic tools, we can't hear over the compressor).

I ordered the Windshield frame yesterday for the Roadster. I have a bit of work to do getting the bits off the remains of the old frame as well, yet again the masked welder has struck. I ground off the weld in this case and found that someone had drilled (very off center) and tapped for a smaller 'stud', and I imagine it kept coming loose as there was a good 1/4" of weld around where the stud goes in. Looks like I'll be doing more drilling and thread cleanup work. At this rate I'll be good at it by the time I'm done with Miles. The Mark IX doesn't need much of that so it won't come in handy until car number three or four <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

As a side note, the main reason I bought a car to work on in the first place is that my father and I had talked, day dreamed and pondered it for over 35 years, since I was a kid. It was something I wanted to share with my father and a few years back he had a massive heart attack (not his first, but almost his last). He required significant open heart surgery for multiple bypasses, valve replacements and repairs and a pace maker, all in one go, pretty much they repaired or replaced everything they could. With all of that his heart at best functions about 40% capacity. I decided it was a good time to spend more time with him, and do more things with him. He may not have the stamina, endurance, or the tolerance for crawling around he use to, but he still knows more than I ever will, and makes one heck of a great guy to talk to. Ya'll should all come down to the 2004 National in Melbourne this coming March and meet him <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Okay so I'm biased, he may not be the best at everything, but he will always be my Dad... and in my eyes he'll always know everything and be able to do anything...

And the final note... Miles is the same age as my father, give or take a month or two at most, and is named in part after my father who's middle name is "Miles." So that is the basis of where the Roadster got it's name...

Rich

PS: How come you guys didn't warn me to wear long sleeves when using the high speed cutter! <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />