Auto Restoration 101

The color on the car is called Arancio Atlas. It is a three stage or tri-coat color meaning it has a base color, mid-coat color and a clear coat. After the epoxy sealer flashed for 30 minutes we applied the first color coat which was an off white color, almost light gray.

This is the first color of the three stages.

This is the mid-coat color. It is a very transparent orange pearl.

After the mid-coat color dried we wanted to apply the “Lamborghini” stencil before the final coats of clear. The color was completely dry to the touch so we could handle it without damaging the finish. The stencil was carefully measured out so it fit in perfectly on the flat area of the caliper. I only wanted to stick the stencil once without having to lift it off and try again.

The stencil is carefully applied to the caliper.

When we disassembled the clutch and brake assembly we noticed that the shaft was worn pretty bad and the bushings in the pedals were shot. Especially the clutch side of the shaft.

This is the shaft assembly that the pedals attach to. It bolts to the frame underneath the floor board. Notice the wear on shaft.

To remove the shaft I had to drill two spot welds and break one weld inside the assembly.

I purchased a new shaft from McMaster and then had a local shop machine the two ends for the c-clips.

The new shaft was re-installed and the pieces were welded back together. The pedals were drilled out to accept a slightly larger brass bushings than the factory had installed. The new brass bushings were also found at McMaster. The pedal assembly will now be re-assembled and installed back onto the chassis.

I just found this on caranddriver.com

Why Cash for Clunkers is more a political maneuver than substantive help for the U.S. auto industry—or the environment.

By Steve Siler
June 2009

With news that Congress has passed its ballyhooed $1 billion “Cash for Clunkers” bill, we feel compelled to voice our skepticism about the program. Here’s the bill in a nutshell: Buyers of new vehicles between July 1 and November 1 will be given a voucher for $3500 if they forfeit a post-1984 car or truck that has been registered for at least one year and has a combined fuel economy rating at least 4 mpg lower than their new vehicle. The voucher grows to $4500 if the increase in fuel economy is 10 mpg or higher. The old car or truck is then crushed and recycled.

Here are five reasons we don’t think this program is worth the time it took to draft it, let alone a billion dollars:

1. The voucher replaces the trade-in deal you might otherwise get from the dealership; it’s not in addition to the car’s private sale or trade-in value. In other words, if you’re trading in a car that’s worth $3000, your net gain is only $500. Although if your car is worth $100, CFC couldn’t come at a better time.

2. We’re not sure how many folks driving cars worth $3500 or less are in the market for a new car in the first place. Sure, there’s the occasional fresh-out-of-college new-hire (we’re not sure who’s hiring right now, but we’ll play make-believe) that might still be ready to move from a Dodge Omni to a shiny new Honda Insight, but people driving cheap old beaters are probably doing so because they can’t afford a new car. And $3500 doesn’t go far when the average transaction price of new cars hovers around $24K. The vouchers don’t apply toward the purchase of used cars, for which the majority of old beaters are traded in.

3. People driving large, gas-gulping old cars and trucks often do so because they need the utility those vehicles provide. Old station wagons, for example, have few modern counterparts that are as versatile while achieving better fuel economy. Ditto pickups, which have gotten bigger and more capable but not much more fuel-efficient. And if the government thinks that someone is going to step out of a 1994 Dodge Ram into a Honda Fit, they need to get out of D.C. a little more often.

4. Naturally, we have some reservations about any bill designed to facilitate wiping out—we’re sorry, recycling—any automotive species. And let’s face it, while there are a lot of bona fide clunkers out there, we’re afraid that a bunch of future classics will get caught in this roundup. We propose, then, that a certified auto enthusiast (paid, of course) be placed at all certified CFC dealerships to screen the cars that are brought in, returning the cool cars—including anything with T-tops—to the streets.

5. Besides cleansing the U.S. of gas-guzzling pigs, the other supposed benefit of the CFC program is to provide a short-term boost to the starving auto business. However, we hope these legislators don’t expect it to meaningfully help the domestic automakers. Many of the automobiles with fuel-economy ratings high enough to qualify for the vouchers come from Japan and Korea.

On the bright side, the cost to taxpayers will be minimal when no one actually participates.

The repairs continue on the 1946 Ford coupe.

When the car arrived at my shop it was missing several parts. This is the grille and the rear bumper filler panel that I located on eBay.

The doors were media blasted after the rust repairs. They are shown here hanging in the spray booth awaiting primer.

Shown here is all of the replacement sheet metal that I purchased from Direct Sheetmetal.
Shown is the firewall, rocker boxes, trunk floor, toe boards, running boards and front and rear floor boards with the tunnel.

Finally back to the a-arm repairs. The thread inserts were TIG welded on both sides. The shock mount areas on the a-arms also needed some attention. The right side a-arm was completely broken and had pieces missing. I fabricated a large washer out of some 1/8 steel plate to fix the damage. I decided to add a washer to the left a-arm even though it wasn’t broken. I wanted both a-arms to match and also for strength.

This shows the thread inserts welded onto the a-arm.

The washer is ready to weld in to repair the shock absorber mounting area.

The washer is welded in.

After the washer was welded. The next step was weld in some studs for the lower shock bracket to attach to.

After all of the repairs were finished the welds were bead blasted. We then primed and painted the a-arms. They turned out great and look like new. The best part is that they should be as good or better than they were originally. Suspension restoration and rebuilding should really be taken seriously…. especially for safety concerns.

Trying to find replacement sheet metal for the Wildcat has been a real challenge. There just isn’t many people making parts for these cars. After discussing with the owner the amount of rust in the rear of the car and the time it would take to repair the rust if we had to hand fabricate the panels, the owner decided to look for a donor car. It was not an easy task. He finally found a salvage yard in Idaho that had a rear clip from a 1965 Buick LeSabre that was in excellent condition for its age. The only thing…..it was off of a four door. We couldn’t find any two door parts cars.

The rear clip was sent to me on a large crate that barely fit into the back of the semi trailer. It took three of us using an A-frame and ratchet hoists to get it out.

This is the rear clip off of a 1965 Buick LeSabre four door.

The rear clip is virtually rust free.

The trunk floor is in excellent shape for it’s age. We will now start the process of grafting this rear clip to the car.