Projects 1948 F1 rattle can rebuild

'54 Vette job got postponed until this weekend.
Also gotta go help my buddy get his 64 GMC fired up.

Did yardwork for the Mrs last weekend.

 

Did some 'overtime' work on my day-off.

Tore the windshield off the 54 Vette for a dash repaint.


The windshield post nuts are a BITCH!


Car has a fairly rare 2 pot air cleaner set-up.


Did some engine compartment assembly on a 70 Chevelle.


Tomorrow I'm mounting up new tires for my daily driver Blazer.
275/60/15 rear and 245/60/15 front on painted 8" Vette rallys.
Not sure which caps yet.
I have '67 disc brake caps w/spinners, cop caps or stock like above.

One of the chrome rallys on it now was bent and made for a bumpy ride.

 

Today I helped my buddy get his 64 GMC 4X4 running again. I built an engine for it a few months ago. After it was running he found a set of old Vette valve covers and changed the intake manifold to and 'old' style. When he dropped the distributor back in, it was a couple teeth off so wouldn't fire.

Oh yea, this beautiful Lincoln Continental came in last week for a turn signal replacement. It has original baby blue leather interior. I think these were about $12,000 new or the price of four new Corvettes.

 

Man oh man, how I'd love to have a job like yours!

 

I think those Lincolns sold for more then 12K when new and they lost money on each one they sold. Beautiful cars tho.....

 

LowKat,

There is a regional NCRS (National Corvette Restorers Society) event going on in Seaside the week/weekend of May 3rd thru May 6th. If you want to get some serious information on 'correctness' (Is that a word?) on the '54 'Vette, there will be plenty of C1 Corvette judges/experts/enthusiasts there. Never been to a NCRS judging event and want to check it out and all the nicely restored 'Vettes. I plan on attending Friday night through Sunday morning. I hope the weather cooperates.

I also had a '70 Chevelle SS 396 similar to the one in the photos. It was Shadow Gray with black stripes. I miss that car.

 

I was an NCRS member back in the 80's with a '62 Vette 340HP car. The NCRS has a great monthly magazine called the "Corvette Restorer" There's also a club perodical called "The Driveline" which is a good source for parts. Early back issues of both are hard to find but packed full of info. There's also a book from NCRS called the "Best of the Corvette Restorer" that covers some of the articles in the hard to find issues. Another good info source is the Noland Adams book.

Got my wheels and tires on the daily driver.
Went with the disc brake caps w/spinners.'

 

LowKat,

I am a current NCRS member and just sold my '68 BB coupe. I'm Corvette-less for the first time in 6 years. I may be looking to buy a used C6 for my daily driver in the near future.

BTW, the wheels look good on your DD.

 

Hey LowKat,
I enjoy seeing your work. I am about to do the interior of my 55 Chevy Pick-Up. What type of paint are you using/reccomend? Did you primer everything first? I am just hoping it turns out half as nice as yours.

Thanks for the help and inspiration man!

 

There's better spray paints on the market but I used Krylon. No primer.
Here's a little paint tech I did earlier in this thread.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6953234&postcount=230

 

Thought you guys might want to see a rare one in the shop.
It's undergoing a museum quality restoration.

A 1936 Ford "Boulevard Delivery"

 

Here's a similar one that was on The Ford Barn for sale.
Back door is hinged on the opposite side tho.

 

That ^^^ is super cool! What do you know about them? ( "Boulevard Delivery" )

 

Mark, Sounds like you are enjoying your job. Wish you all the best at the new job. Please stay in touch my friend.

Dave

 

Apparently a coachbuilt body. I started a thread on it here.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=695767

Yea Dave, things are good. I'll drop you a note.

 

Looks like things have picked up for ya friend. Take care.

 

Hey Mark
That '36 is slick! Does it have a fold down seat ? Does it have roll up windows ? Could it have been "built" (Briggs ) as a funeral flower car or Florist etc. ? i.e. Sedan delivery door in flat back tudor ? I guess i'm saying phantom ? I think it's great, look good with '35 wires & drums, keep 'em guess'n !

 

I don't know about the seat, haven't seen it. The side windows are fixed.
It's probably a Briggs, Murray or other coachbult body. Pretty cool though.

 

Haven't been doing anything on my HAMB projects as work and 'home' projects have been consuming my time. Had to build a 'state park' style patio cover over our outdoor table. As seen on HDTV by the MRS. (I've had the material for 3 years)



Did have another good thing happen Friday. I got the last remaining piece of furniture out of my garage so I can bring my truck back in.

The guy that bought the furniture is the VP of McGraff's restaurant chain with about 15 of 'em here in the PNW. Twenty minutes after leaving my place he gives me a call and says he'd like for my family to be his guests for dinner at our local McGraff's.

I'd recommend his place. Good food, friendly staff and reasonable pricing.


Some 'work' stuff...

Guy brought this 1955 Nomad in. He's owned it since high school for 44 years. He was stripping the 44 year old paint off for a repaint of the same color but couldn't figure out how to remove the chrome. It was originally a turquoise and white car. Has a 1970's LT1 engine and T350.




Another customer and HAMBer brought by his Shoebox Victoria on the way to Beach's cruise-in. Nova clip and a nasty sounding 327. Very nice homebuilt and painted car.





Got these heaters ready to install in the 31 Chryslers I'm working on.
"Tropic Air" brand. The doors adjust to any position.

 

Here's one of the heaters installed in the 31 Limo.
The cloverleaf looking sign on the dash is the toggle switch for it.

The gray box to the left with louvers is the radio. It's a 30lb box of antique tubes, transformers and the speaker. There's a remote 'head' that mounts on the steering column that's connected with speedometer type cables for tuning and volume. You can see the head just below the coiled up yellow wire.



I just got the steering column installed back in the Limo for the 2nd time. It was 'rebuilt' twice before by others but still clunked when turned and had a catchy spot. I tore it apart and found some bad ball bearings and races that control end play. Also some wear that needed a little machine work. Seems to be working good now.

Finally I have the correct distributor drive for the Phaeton after an extensive search by the owner. It needs a repair but at least it's correct. As soon as it's done and I compare it to the good one, I'll install them and the oil pans on both cars and fire 'em up.

 

It amazes me the things you do .---I mean us hot rodders can do anything but YOU actually CAN! What was your back ground before you got your current job (I believe your employed by "Chevies of the 40's", in their shop). You know your way around a machine shop, your familiar with all aspects of auto repair, your a carpenter, cabinet maker, a restorer of,apparently, ANYTHING-----Where'd you learn all that stuff? BILL RINALDI

 

Yes Bill, I work for the owner of http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/
I've been lucky to be around knowledgeable people and I paid attention.

My dad was a boat builder/racer in the early 60's. (I'm the little guy)
The blond kid is Court Boice of "Boice Jet Boats" fame.



When I was 10 we moved to Calif next door to a circle track racer.
I was a 'crew member' for the next 6 years.

High school, took every shop class. (welding, machine, auto, sheet metal)
Moved to Oregon from Calif as a JR. with enough credits to graduate HS.
Took shop full time my SR. year and worked in a NAPA warehouse full time.
(Got a 66 GTO in '72 and installed a 421 tri-power)



Next, worked in a hi-perf parts store / machine shop for a couple years.
(built a Chevelle drag car)



Got a fire sprinkler fitter apprenticeship but quit after a year to frame houses.


Moved to Palm Springs area, built custom homes for 15 years.
(did desert type vehicles and muscle / classic cars)

58 Chev PU


A homebuilt "shortened pan" buggy.


57 Chev Sedan Delivery with side windows 1 of 92 ex- US Navy


70 Chevelle 350 & 4sp. Later cloned to SS


69 T-Bird 429, cam, headers, dual quads, 3:70 rear gears.


1966 Dodge Dart GT convert - solid lifter 273 & 4sp


55 Chevy Panel Delivery


Chenowith Hi-Jumper 2180 engine


Back to Oregon for 6 more years contracting then burned out.
(restored a GTO RAIII I'd owned 20 years and built some mud boggers)



Sold vintage clothing on eBay for 12 years.
(built some lowrider pickups and Blazers)

72 Jimmy I owned for years converted to 2WD - 396 & car 4sp


Managed a wrecking yard for a couple years.
(rat rod then old pickups including the current one)

It's always been about building cars and they usually supported my hobby.
There's many more but I don't have digital photos

"What a long strange trip it's been" : ... Jerry Garcia

July 1977... Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Me in an abandoned hermit's cave.

 

Enjoyed the thread Congrats on the job. Looks like you know how to have a good time. I have supported Chevs of the 40s for years. I bought this truck in Montana 1993 and spent 3 yrs restoring it for my business.
We use them for photo shoots and movies too.

 

what truck?..............

Oh, you mean that bright red one. It's very nice looking too.

Thanks for supporting Chevs of the 40s.
The world's most complete supplier of 1937-1954 Chevrolet restoration parts.

 

Looks like you've had a great time learning and even more fun using your learned skills on things you love to do. BILL RINALDI

 

From post #450

My buddy Grouchy Dave is doing very poor. I was hoping to wait on the report back until maybe there was some improvement. It hasn't happened. Dave had a massive heart attack and a stroke. He's unable to walk or talk or do anything for himself but does smile when visited. His daughter told me it's about time to think about selling off his parts and projects.

I miss the bullshit sessions with him, he's an original old SoCal gearhead from days gone by. He knew Larry Watson well and it was Larry that inspired him to become a painter.

He was also a an innovative builder and ran the stuff he built hard. He had a 10 second 67 Chevelle and a 440 Demon drag car. One of my favorites was a big block 66 El Camino he resto-modded a few years ago. Had a 540 Merlin and a Muncie. The car had maybe 10 miles on it before he pretzeled the pinion in the factory 12 bolt. He gets out of the car and says "I prolly shoulda put a 9" back there"

One thing I really admire about him was he never was a bragger or a wannabe. He built stuff to please himself and people always admired what he'd done.

*EDIT*
I found a crappy old pic of Dave's Hemi powered Model A during construction.

 

I just stayed up well past my bedtime and read all 27 pages. By far my favorite build since I joined the HAMB.

 

Welcome to the HAMB!

It's an honor for me that anybody would stay up past their bedtime reading my junk.

 

LOL Hey Mark its a cool thread! I'm sure lots of us can relate to the ebb and flow of life that your thread reflects and thats what makes it real. I'm here for the duration because in my viewpoint you represent what we are all about. Eli

 

You seem to have lived quite a adventure some life so far and continue too, and always around different types of vehicles pretty cool to see a photo story line and also liked seeing you can swing a hammer very nice quality work, I also have had many jobs in the construction of homes pretty much every aspect from concrete to roofer, and being a framer one of them! Keep on keeping on!