pflaming

Merle: I take your answer to mean that gears 1-3 in these transmissions are alike and then are interchangeable. I did a search on 'transmissions' on the forum but did not learn much from that search. One one post it noted that second gear is the gear that takes the greatest wear. Makes sense. So that would be the gear to check very closely. Reverse then would get the least wear, so that might be the gear to use as the 'standard' for a good gear. If a tranny has sat for years but had oil in it all that time, it should be as is was when parked. Only a dry tranny would age and that would be by rust. Is that a fair statement? I plan to remove the top, take a look, and then replace and run it. I will have to see something that is obviously wrong before I tear it down. I have a four speed and a three speed, will use the three speed and keep the other for parts.

Question #1: Are gears 1- 3 in four speed, three speed, and fluild drive transmissions all the same? Question #2: When a tranny is opened up, how does one determine if a gear is in good condition? Question #3: Is there any difference in the housing between a three speed and a fluid drive? How about the clutch will a three speed clutch work with a fluid drive tranny?

You need to write down every thing you can remember. Those little sentence stories are INCREDIBLE!! Things like that will never happen again, well . . . under the present national leadership, one never knows.

Now will seek some professonal help on how to finish this the right way. It still needs some luxury rings, bumpers, mirrors, windows, grill, and . . . I got lucky, bought a red hood and found blue like the truck under the red, yes that is the same hood, just amazing. A lot of detail sanding is still needed but I think it is becoming defined. This would be a faux patina finish. I like the term 'survival' finish. Went through alot of wet/dry sandpaper, no longer have fingernails. I hope you like the progress. Any suggestions on how to finish this will be appreciated.

Gonna go down to 39 tonight and stay around 55- 62 through next Tuesday. Can't get too cold, the neighbor's tree across the street is starting to bloom. Kinda like it out here in Fresno moved here from Omaha, which has the worst weather of all! Sorry about that Frankie but I've been in Omaha. Good football though, if you like football!

Dropped in at Turner Auto in Fresno, CA. He pulled a '53 pilot-house, five window, low bed pickup out to check the engine for me. The engine checked out but so did the truck so now he does NOT want to part it out. The truck is really a solid little pick-up. Consolation prize for not parting with the engine is that he has a Chrysler engine for me to see in April. This is a larger engine so will drop back in April to hear it run and . . . He is shutting down, but obviously not in March or April.

The grill is different, either modified or rarer style. My grill reaches out to include the park lights.

Terry, that is one great looking Power House, as nice as I have ever seen. I really like the color. What exactly is it? This has been a special thread. Sortof like meeting people.

An engine like these would have to get hot; would think one couldn't ride one very far.

My acquaintance, who 'cleaned' his batteries is a very fussy person. I bought a Chrysler Cierras from him, it only had 30,000 miles, has 165,000 now. He totally covered every inch of floor board and truck floor with some flooring covering. I was going to remove it, but he had removed the seats, the floor edgings, etc. to install the stuff and it was too much trouble so the original rugs are still new. Some people really try to stretch the pennies and he is one of them. I have another friend who has all the fluids in his cars flushed and new put in every year: brakes, coolant, tranny, diff. I have NEVER done that once to a car. Seems a waste of money, in fact, my 87 T Bird, 5.0 liter has 300,000 miles on it and still has the original plugs and wires. I may have changed the oil in that car five (5) times, that's 60k a change. Go figure. That may be my next project, it is a great car!

What is the attraction for suicide doors? This is NOT a criticism question, just an honest question. Like others, your craftsmanship is evident and look forward to seeing the final product.

An acquaintence of mine says he (1) drains the water into a glass container then (2) 'rough houses' the battery upside down to get out as much crud as will come out, (3) replaces the water and by doing that he extends the life of his batteries by a couple of years. He claims batteries 'ground out' because of the accumulation of crud in the bottom of the battery. Interesting.

Are those cycles rideable. Seems they may be but are really for show 'off'. Whatever, impressive!

Hey, Frankie, where is your picture? .

Me! Not '75. Taken two years ago.

Frankie, I think that is a converted 'four door sedan', '53 Ford Customline. The taillights are '53.

Color? Don't know. Put caps on it and see how it looks. Great looking truck, maybe I will have to break down and paint mine too.

Partial reassembled for storage. Got to get the hood, etc. Cab is NOT polished which helps. Still lots of work for a faux patina. Which do you prefer: The black or the red wheels?

About what would the realistic value be on such a vechical?

Consider the fenders and hood SOLD! Need to get out of town anyway. Had a nice hood, forgot and left it in the alley, someone took it!!!!

With the amount of work I have put into my truck I can more fully appreciate the talent, time and money the above restoration took. I would guess they have close to ten grand in that restoration. How close am I? I don't have the talent nor money to do something like that. It is NICE!

"If you've used a rubbing compound or polishing compound. . . ". . . a product called Rustmort. . ." Reg, you are correct. Paint advisor said the same thing and he also said clear coat is almost as fussy to do as color because it IS paint. Rustmort!? Is it clear after it dries? Had a heavy dew this morinng; the moisture on the fenders I 'waxed' yesterday was all beaded up. I liked that!

The current humidity is about 98%, makes Jack Daniels a bit more effective which is needed when wearing cutoff jeans:D . The current surface on the fender in the attachment is very smooth, couldn't strike a match on it. Appreciate the rattle can suggestion. Standard Paint has an aerosol canister with a can on the bottom so one can use personal paint and spray it. A quart of semi-gloss clear costs about $40.00, pricey, but I may get a quart and do a section. I would like to get some protection but I do not want a high gloss. Clear day again today, so will experiment some more. One last comment. It appears that where the rust has actually fully conquored the paint, it is not possible to get a shiny surface; smooth, yes! but the metal appears to have been permanently changed. Will test this more to day in an area that is not critical.

Got my second wind so I attacked one fender, besides it was still 65 degrees out (1) lacquer washed, (2) sanded with very, very fine until smooth and color was showing, went very delicately then cleaned with a grit cleaner, (3) then polished with a VERY old silicone wax. This fender is now smooth and shiny and no (few) bare metal spots. I think this is what a lot of 'patina' finishes are. Probably no clear coat applied, so what if a little rust show up, tackle it when it becomes bothersome and otherwise enjoy, especially here on the West Coast. I do not know how rust works but it appears it comes though the pores of the paint, it does not seem to grow from below and LIFT the paint. Otherwise I could not get color where once there was 'total' rust. Your responses are welcomed. PS: Note the difference between the fender top and the fender flare. I did nothing to the flare to see if a difference appeared.

(1) tail gate showing three steps: lacquer washed-lacquer / clear coat - sanded to color; far right step shows that there is color under all the 'paint', (2) side panel with the end just lacquer washed the blue the result of sanding, (3) front panel: I used some light grit cleaner then a very old bottle of silicone wax, the left side is cleaned / siliconed, (4) inside view of the box after first sanding, (5) the last view the box originally, I was surprised how much color was under that surface. Some early conclusions: (1)The blue paint WILL shine up, so if I would do a good job of wet/dry sanding for a very smooth surface, this old truck has some shine left in it, (2) BUT what about the shiny (metal exposed) areas? I don't think polish will protect them from rusting, am if correct on that? (3) I have NOT sanded the cab and front fenders, not with a oscilating sander, too many edges/rolls that would go shiny fast, so with a nice very light wet/dry sanding, then a good grit clean and polish the cab and fender should look ok. (4) lacquer thinner removes surface oxidation faster than anything I have tried. On good paint you have to be careful because it will soften new paint. I figured it couldn't significantly hurt this 50 year old paint. On the fender tops, the top of the cab, and the hood, I am working with a paint company and we are going to wet/dry sand those areas, then primer them with a blue/grey primer and let it be. Will keep you posted. I hope all this is not boring or that you think I am 'boasting' or whatever. My intent is only to show what one person is trying to do to keep an old 'survivor paint' finish. In closing one thing I think is certain, once you put the sander to the finish it is no longer a true 'original patina'. I had no choice on the bed, it was coated/painted with something grey that was a rough as sand paper. PF