Ironmightys Americana 1952, 58,59, 73 & 85

[ironmighty07]

Front dampers came off the Chevy today... and might be expected it did come down to brute force, I initially asked nicely, then stepped up to turning up the "heat" but when that didn't work then straight to the cutting disc!


All the old wiring is out, it's a dreadful mess so glad to see it on the workshop floor.

However in keeping with tradition even the courtesy/dome light hasn't escaped the modifications...albeit not the worst work to reveal itself


Can't lie, making good some of this work is really sucking the joy out this project, add in the electrical maladies with the Chrysler(thankfully Rock Auto came through with the switch inside 4 days from the US) and it's a reminder why so many projects do stall.

[ironmighty07]

Another day, another FFS moment on the Chevrolet Hardtop.. been making progress on numerous fronts and with the electronic ignition and rewiring at the stage I was in a position to test fire it up....
Nothing, not even a cough, can smell fuel and it ran fine when I brought it in 3 months ago.

OK perhaps I've got the timing out... fiddle, faff, still nothing. Full static re-timing and check and still zip.. testing, yep got spark and clearly there's fuel(it stinks).. but still nada... pulled the plugs and they're dry as, not even a whiff of fuel😤
So there's fuel going to the carb, but it's not passing through it.. time to strip and rebuild kit ordered then penny drops it's not the original carb for the year, it's off a 68/69 C10 truck... thankfully available via Rock Auto but won't be here until Wednesday so more delays.

That ain't right!!


That is definitely on the wrong side of corroded/oxidisation




These niggly issues are really sucking the motivation from me, putting right dodgy work overlaid with new failures

[glenanderson]

Liked for support, not because I’m enjoying you struggling. 👍

[ironmighty07]

Back in the workshop today, getting onto the trans cooler upgrade... the old water/oil cooler was somewhat corroded and in keeping is obsolete so no direct replacement🙄.

So alternative required and it appeared a Mini Cooper automatic cooler would fit in front of the radiator. So when the front end came apart for the cooling system refresh it seemed the right time to do this install... and certainly not a moment too late as the original cooler was on the cusp of failimg



Comparison...


Installed

[ironmighty07]

Probably a good example of where a quality ethos works against me, and whilst I don't regret implementing this sort of change it goes unseen and in truth is more around "deleting the ugly" than any great uplift in reliability or safety. As it's unseen work, the question is "does it add value?" or is it more about personal peace of mind and satisfaction?

However all the time I've been working under the dashboard I've been irritated by the ironmongery butchery that was the wiper motor mechanism. It's functional, but so badly put together it just annoyed me everytime I looked at it.

So some aluminium tube, thick walled with the ends tapped(both LH & RH threads!) with a couple of rose joints and it's a lot smarter and looks built for longevity now. OK I used metric fittings on this modification on the grounds of cost but much happier now. Need a couple more spacers to navigate around some interference issues before everything gets bolted up.

[blackpopracing]

Ooh, just found this thread, nice work. Totally with you on the wiper mech, that was ugly!

I'l have a nice read from page 1 now

[glenanderson]

I absolutely agree with your approach. Yes, there's a time and place for "that'll do", but there's also a huge amount of personal satisfaction with doing a job that's 100% spot on, that nobody will see until many years later when it's uncovered and the next person in there looks at it and thinks "now that's a nice job".

[ironmighty07]

May 21, 2024 13:18:52 GMT glenanderson said:

Yes, there's a time and place for "that'll do"

It's an increasing frequent rant for me, whilst the likes of Vice Grip Garage and the assorted Roadkill variants provide entertainment they validate shonky work and folk start to think that's how it's done.

Recall when I did the Plymouth Banjul in 2006 and the rotary light switch burnt out so I botched in a series of toggle switches hanging out the dash in order to keep the lights working. Had I not left the vehicle in The Gambia then it would have been sorted with a proper replacement. Fully accept "get you home" botches have their place, but put things right when you get the chance when time/money allows.

And on the front, I went with a 12v blower motor from a Corvette, given the knacker cable insulation and minor wobbly bearing it simply made more sense. The longer Shaft isn't an issue as it protrudes into the fan and doesn't interfere with any other components. It's got a separate earth rather than directly earthed to the body which I don't see as a negative.

[ironmighty07]

Well after copious amounts of frustration and faffery I finally got the 52 back together with everything working... little shakedown around town left me caught out by lack of fuel🙄 my own fault, a combination of gauge reading full plus the filler spitting back really quickly when last at the pumps caught me out. Positives were fully functioning lights and really good(but not sudden) brake performance.


Few niggling issues with bleeding the new trans cooler and priming the power glide saw the trans slipping a bit but think that's now sorted. So with that done, I retorqued the front wheel bearings, sealed up the patina and got set for a proper shakedown 50 mile trip.


However, and in keeping with the theme of this it had kept one kick in the nether regions for its last hurrah. Sunday afternoon just doing one more round of checks in the workshop and spotted a pool of coolant in an unexpected place(the pool had formed on the floor slightly ahead of the transmission. My initial "hope" after that sinking sensation was a failed core plug... but alas it's not to be. The problem, with the cooling system finally holding pressure it's exposed another weakness and this turns out to be a cracked block, about 4 inches long running behind the exhaust downpipe.


I could strip it back and grind out a little metal and JB Weld it(K Seal made no difference) but decided I will find a replacement engine. Demoralised doesn't even come close, but for now I'll use it locally for a week or 2 whilst I do some other jobs on other cars before stripping it down and starting again(will use the time to rebuild the whole front suspension.)

However for a little balance I did find a pair(still need another 2) of 9 x 18 Detroit Steel Smoothie wheels for a great price for the New Yorker(another wiring horror show😩) and not sure I've seen 18s look small on anything before. Getting them powder coated black but not sure if I want satin or gloss, tempted with high gloss

[ironmighty07]

Ugh😬... however bad you think someone else's wiring is, it's generally far worse once you start digging in. What I hoped would be a short session is rapidly descending into a far more involved exercise.

However to end the week I did take the Chevrolet to a local club get together this evening as the water leak is manageable in its current form.

[ironmighty07]

Think I should rename this thread "Whinging about Wiring"...Whilst I contemplate the plan for the 52 Chevrolet(curveball there being an enquiry about buying it with knackered engine) , I'd been chasing round arranging the MoT on the Civic(2014 so no retro interest there) and rolling the New Yorker after chopping out an array of unnecessary splices and butt connectors alongside fixing the non working brake lights.

It's not really where I want it to be, but it made "usable" even if the lack of dash lights mean daytime use only.... but I then decided the worn hinge bushing needed changing😔 which has necessitated removing the drivers door and quelle surprise it's thrown up more sketchy wiring.





Got a plan to improve this set up, it's all mega heavy gauge(from the factory), so plan is to introduce relays and lighten the cabling passing into the drivers door. Given the switches are very tired and originalreplacements are expensive I'm hoping to use a modern alternative but they're some bench tests needed first.

However with the door off it's fair to say the lower bushes were toast




Frustratingly(again) the pin kits I have aren't the right ones so more downtime waiting for the right ones(if I'd been desperate I'd have drilled these out but for now I'd prefer to retain the original dimensions(although I might still need to bore one out).

Possibly the biggest lemon I've ever bought, and before landing in my custody it was potentially only a couple of bad ownership changes from finding it's way to the banger track.

[ironmighty07]

Ugh....part of me is nearly wishing these minor incendiary incidents had grown into a proper fire. Clearly these occurred a while ago, unclear whether this might have been the motivation or cause of the rather sketchy Rewiring work I keep finding but it's frustrating beyond belief.