Los_Control

Thought would share my progress on fixing my old fender. Thing is pretty totaled, was smashed flat in the rear. Has some stretched metal, I beat it flat and pops back out of shape. Needs some patch panels made. Had the common stress cracks, maybe more then usual from whatever accident caused the fender to be smashed flat. The thing flopped around like a wet noodle because of the stress cracks/breaks. I had to clean the edges for welding a few inches at a time, then clamp and weld a inch at a time. Some spots are thin and got burnt through, some is just missing slivers and learning to fill in using the mig with a wooden backer block behind the hole. Seems like the perfect fender to replace, or the perfect fender to learn fabrication on This welder I have owned for some time, only tried fluxcore welding with it and that sucks for sheet metal and body work. Fluxcore we need to reverse the polarity on the machine, that shuts down 1/2 of it's functions and options, smallest wire you can get is .030, to heavy for sheet metal and instant burn through. probably fine for out in the field welding tractor parts back together. So day 1 of using gas and .024 wire, back on AC polarity, this welder is sweet, it does exactly what I tell it. I just need practice. Thought it might be fun to share my progress and see what I end up with in a few days when I think I may be finished .... Or not

never to old to learn. ulu may be who I need to ask for advice on soldering stainless steel trim

Maybe some anchor points for pulling a frame

I wont say vacuum wipers work perfect, I would think in good condition with no leaks they would work better then you describe. I am thinking to remove the motor and disassemble, clean and oil. A good rubber line with no leaks .... seems they would work kinda OK. No question electric is better then vacuum, still vacuum was used for several years. Then a vacuum canister to add a boost .... or just update to electric.

is your new to you lift going here? I remember last fall you were speaking of it and preparing a spot for it ... I assumed this was it.

At a time like that, I would want to touch the coil ... seems like if it ran for some time then quit, if it was the coil it would probably be to hot to touch. Compared to a bad coil where car wont start, would never heat up, if running it would heat up to the point it wont run. And it would take quite some time for it to cool down enough for it to start working again. .... probably not your coil. My 2 cents

looking good, no idea if this helps or not, Is my 218/3spd in my 49 B1B.

I knew a guy that ran piping under the concrete and ran a boiler to heat the garage... was pretty sweet I also have a repair coming up that includes concrete, been thinking about it and not sure which way I will go. The car port is old but in real good shape, new roof along with the house. But they used steel pipe for the post. One post is now rotted at ground level and needs replaced. I could just replace it the same way they built it .... I am thinking a temp wall, remove the post and pour a footing and stick build a wall . Nearest concrete company is 30 miles away and such a short load, will probably end up having a pallet of concrete delivered and use a mixer and pour it by hand.

Looking at this reminds me of the sender I got from "Tanks" along with the new tank. It is adjustable two rods like this and a clamp to hold them in place when you set it to the length you want it. Honestly I think the clamp is so cheesey with one screw to hold it ...am concerned it will rattle loose and float drop off in the tank etc... My first thought is to set the length and then solder/weld them together so they cant move. Just like yours. Makes me wonder if yours is a aftermarket like mine, This way it can fit many different tanks and be universal, possibly yours was changed some years ago? I doubt factory would do this, cost more money and labor to make.

What I have picked up from my local auto parts store https://www.amazon.com/Fel-Pro-3060-Gasket-Material/dp/B000CNKUGO I find it handy to have around and would work for you also.

His and hers towel rack?

I love the fencing she did I assume is to keep deer out because of the height. I love all the photos, great resource for ideas and future projects.

In my area of West Texas, drive a hour west and will be in desert. Fact that I have any grass at all is a blessing. But it is crabgrass, requires little water and crawls across the ground, Turns brown and goes dormant when it gets too hot with no water. When I replaced my sewer line 2 years ago, I never reseeded, just filled in the ditch and water, 2 months later was all filled in with grass. Then Birds ... I never seen so many birds and different varieties. But they poop seeds everywhere. Every house in town has the same yard. Crabgrass, wildflowers, & weeds. We here in West Texas can't have nice things Why I wont put a garden in the ground. Just need to be creative. couple years ago a home owner down the street hired a landscaper and redid the entire lawn with with new sod & flower beds, new driveway and carport. Today they have the same yard as everybody else in town.

Might be time to start having a yearly BBQ at your place

I could just imagine the fun my dogs would have chasing it, the hours pulling the quills out of my dogs nose .... better you then me

I think it may be worth a shot to go ... because of current lock downs etc... some may not bother to venture out and attend. Which could be a bonus to a buyer. I have attended a few auto auctions in the past, I do not care for them. 1rst one was a towing yard, and the usual crowd was there during preview, A few min before start time they were in a circle and discussing among themselves who was going to bid on what. Just saying they had it all figured out before bidding began .... an outsider not in the in crowd would be frowned upon. Second one I did actually buy a car. It was 30 years ago, I loaned my truck to my sister/Brother inlaw to move, they brought it back with the rods knocking. Thats life. I had to have a car for work and 25 years old and $600 in the bank. This was a dealer auction where they brought the trade ins they did not want to sell. I chose a 1981 plain jane Toyota Corolla with low miles, left rear quarter panel was totaled, red car with a blue drivers door .... $100 hoopti all day long. Think I won the bid with $300 and then cost $450 to get it out the door. On a side note, I drove that car for 5 or 6 years with no issues, finally carb needed rebuilt and I junked it.

I have a couple small jack stands I bought from tractor supply, probably should check to see if they are also on the list. But, I can have them set at lowest level, put them under the axles of my truck, plenty high enough for me. If I need more height, would set wooden pads under the stands. I just never was a fan of the lever on the side to ratchet raise/lower the stands. two 2"x6"x11" lying side by side, with 2 more on top going opposite direction and 3" screws to hold them together. Thats a good sturdy base for the stand and raises it 3" Use 2 pads on each jack stand and raises it 6" Attach a loop of rope to them for a handle, easy to swing under and into place, or pick up and store in some corner. Cheap and easy to build and never worry about the jack stand falling. Just my two cents, mine are not harbor freight, possible they were made by the same manufacturer? Just never bothered to check the numbers because I wont be raising them up and working under the car anyways. I might possibly raise them up if I was not going to be working under them.

Love the Background, reminds me of the Sandia Mountains when I lived in New Mexico, And the lawn is much nicer and low maintenance then anything I can grow. Low maintenance is a goal worth working for. Leaves more time to work on our old cars Different zones, I have some plants including cucumber just sitting and not growing. I did plant several more seeds today .... several peppers and tomatoes, cantaloupe blooming but no fruit yet. I dug and prepared the patch today in the back 40 for asparagus, watermelon, cucumbers and got them planted in the ground ... way over planted but see what survives and grows. Suppose to be a lot of rain coming up, thought a perfect time to plant the young plants and seeds today.

I am not sure why, but always hated side terminal batteries as a poor kid and having battery issues. That attitude stayed with me through my years. Then lately as I learn about Hot Rods ... and hear people using side post batteries, talking as if they are a upgrade .... I think they are nuts and ask why? Answer I get, less corrosion, less problems, more clearance & more reliable. I have to admit, once I fixed the horrible wiring PO did on my chevy, no corrosion no problems. Just saying I saw your edit as possibly you were not "proud of it" I am suggesting it is fine, you may want to get correct cables and put a GM battery back in it FWIW, while looking at the beautiful condition of the body on the Desoto, I was looking in the background at the 64

Great looking truck, I agree with a compression check before doing anything. If for no other reason but a starting point. Rings will get sticky, valves gummy, from sitting ... sounds like yours was stuck at one point ... naturally would expect stuck rings also. These old engines will start to improve compression and valves will start seating after they run some. Get a few heat cycles going .... but was told stuck rings really like to run in their power band while driving, not just sit and idle. That will get them loosened up and working as should. My truck sat for 10+ years, compression was all over the place on the cylinders, I wrote them down. #2 cyl was at 60 psi. Let it run a short time and was up to 75psi, Last time I checked I think it was up to 90psi. This is why I suggest a compression check just to monitor progress. At this stage I probably idle maybe 6 hours, and try to avoid long idle sessions and wait till can drive it to see improvements.

Going to agree with you on acetone/atf. If going to be applying heat ... this combo is pretty flammable. I would want to keep a fire extinguisher close by. Especially if the engine is in the car.

Just a thought, I also use firefox on linux with no Norton. Firefox has a add-on called "Ublock Origin" Best add blocker I ever used before. Simple to add it then remove later if you do not want it. I am unsure how it may or may not play well with norton, Ublock may try to block norton and norton may think ublock is a virus I just hate when I tell my computer to do one thing and it does another.

Watched a youtube vid recently on removing exhaust manifold bolts. What I took away from it.. Naturally spray them and soak Loosen the bolt a smidge and then tighten, back and forth going a little further each time. Key point, if they do not want to turn at all. Reason is the shoulder of the bolt is rusted to the exhaust manifold. Here you need to apply heat with your torch, you can hear a click when the stud breaks free, then repeat the 2 steps above. This was a mechanic working on modern engines with the head out on the work bench. Principle is the same. One that would not move, he heated with his map gas torch, then zoomed in the camera as he removed it and loads of rust was coming out as soon as the head of bolt backed out.

You are 100% correct, but today these are project cars ... back then they were daily drivers and we just wanted them to start to get us back and forth to work. Most never bothered to set the dwell. I am just one of many that never bothered to use the dwell meter, a match book was close enough for me to set the points.

Think my point I was trying to make, dwell is important. Simple things like the rub block on the points will wear out and change the dwell. The breaker plate in the distributor will wear out and change the dwell. When I was a kid, I owned a dwell meter but never used it. Most people just set points with feeler gauges and called it good. Your post reminds me of a co worker and his nick name was "Balls" He had a set of brass ones ... he told everyone what he thought. When talking about setting points with a feeler gauge, he just laughed and said you do not know what you are doing. And would explain why setting points with a feeler gauge is a good starting point, but not a ending point. fwiw, he raced a old cj5 jeep with a 327, trailer it to the dirt, race, roll & wreck it, trailer it home and repeat next weekend. And this was before the internet. The dwell meter will help you determine the condition of your distributor if it fluctuates too much while engine is at idle ... just a over looked tool too often forgotten.