Man this thing is lookin gorgeous. I say you gotta go Bias Ply. The price of the tires isn't even that bad compared to newer vehicles. But a car as gorgeous as yours needs Bias Wide Whites IMO.
thanks for the compliments guys, The tires on drdaves car look pretty good and in a world of lightweight p pots with good brakes and radial tires I want to be able to stop as fast as they can.
Today I installed my switch pitch/passing gear switch on the merc, I didn't want it on top of the engine because the two switches and wiring are quite ugly and busy and I didn't want to mess up the look of the nailhead so I mounted it under the floor hooked up to the stock gas pedal which goes through the floor. I also made a stainless steel heat shield because the switches and wiring ended up right above the driver side exhaust pipe. I also had to put a preload spring in the swich because I put it together a little differently than g.m. did and I was able to hide this inside the rubber boot. It was a real pain to stick this stuff in there cause the exhaust was in the way but it had to be done . Tomorrow I will have all the stainless hangers for the exhaust done. Then I will wait for my tires to show up.
Have you checked out diamondback classics? They put a white wall on most common radial tires, wide whites. BF goodrich and other brands. White walls from 1" up to 3". Worth having a look at. I'm looking to buy from them for my rear tire primarily. 295/50/15 with a 2-1/2" white wall. Hope that helps
I have considered diamondback tires but decided to go with coker classics because they are more affordable, and then I don't have to feel obligated to keep them laying arround for ten years after they wear out.
I'm running the Diamondbacks, they drive great, and no cracking or yellowing. I'd like them wider but I like them quite a bit...
Well, I made a bunch of stainless hangers for my exhaust, didn't like the ones the local parts store had to offer although I was able to buy a bunch of 2 1/2" stainless u clamps. Here a couple of pics.
Had an idea tonight when I was in the shop, I needed a whole whack of stainess clips for my door and 1/4 window stainless and I was wondering where I could find somethin springy stainless when I spotted an old flex fan hanging on my wall.So I grabbed a bunch of tools and made 8 of them in 2 hours. Here are some pics. you will need to deburr your piece carefully.I use my glass grinder,it's a belt machine with water. You will have to put a 3/16"bend on the end of your stainless strip. Then use a scrap piece of window opening trim to wrap and shape your clip, when this is done trim it to the right size and deburr your last cut , now polish the clip and repeat the process till you have enough clips,,,watch your fingers! And I didn't lose a single drop of blood,,,,this time.
Looking great! I might have missed it, but how did you do your sombreros? I have a set of trim rings to put on the back of mine but haven't decided if I will weld them or use panel adhesive like I recently saw someone do. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
I installed a 57 merc rear end which is a 9" with the same width as the origional merc rear and has a 5on5 pattern , also I redrilled the front rotors to 5on5 and picked up 5 caddy rims.
That would do it. I'm pretty much stuck with the cheaters way out. LOL Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
getting a start on my interior. Frist the dash and windlace, then I can install my headliner and rear window.
Looks great. How did you bend the SS window trim to fit the chopped window opening? I need to figure out how to do it on my 51 Merc.
Bending is easy, I made a corn flake box template of the window hole, transfered it onto a peice of plywood with a carpenters pencil, then I warmed up the stainless with oxy accet and bent it slowly by hand, if you blacken the stainless with soot from a carborizing flame first it helps to minimize blueing which alows for less polishing afterward. Straightening is not so easy so when you are done your bending you will probably cut off the old part of the bend, on your 1/4 windows this will mean you are going to need to find a pair of coupe door trims to cut up and these are getting harder to find nowadays.
I finally made and installed the headliner, that was nice cause I was also able to install my rear window finally.
I made a rear pkg tray that fits to the 64 riviera seats and the riv speaker grill. I removed the riviera emblem from the speaker grill and installed a courtesy light from a 59 merc rear seat, this will be wired in with the domelight.
Well, I did some more work on my interior, I will have to do this around other jobs so it will take a few weeks before the full bling comes into focus, I have tried to use as much old car stuff as possible, 64 Riviera front and rear seats, origional merc dome light in the headliner,59 merc courtesy light in place of the Riviera emblem on the rear speaker grill, 62 Pontiac ash trays in the rear side arm rests I made out of 18 ga tin, modified 59 imperial steering wheel and sinal light switch, 47 ford rear view mirror which looks like a chopped version of a 49 merc mirror. The seats will be done in black with white tuck and roll inserts. I have the matching stainless for the front door panels and so far I am undecided abou the front arm rest, I would like to get some 59 impala pieces with all the stainless but may have to settle for 63 fairlane armrests, I also have to make up my mind on the console, perhaps a 63 SS console with the finned lid to match the Buick rear speaker grill.Once i have the console figured I can put brackets on the floor and put down the sound deadeners , underlay , carpet and start installing all my panels. I am so happy the rear glass is in. My neighbour brought me this today so I wouldn't have to spend so much money on wide whites.Fortunatly he was too late.
Looking good. I like the work on the package tray and how it flows down into the seats. I also like the shape of Ye rear armrests in relation to the stainless trim above them. Front armrests are going to be a tough call to blend in with the back ones I think. I'm sure you will come up with a great solution tho! Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Jack, i could have helped you out with a few of those clips if i knew you needed some. I've also have a set of new clips for the headlight rings if you need them. Your car is really looking good, hope to see it around one day.
So anyways, I now have the option of the G.M. buckets with the big shiny band over the top of the backrest, one advantage to this seat over the Riviera bucket is that both hinge points on the inside and outside of the seat are the same soyou have the ability to alter the stops and the seat will still sit evenly to the seat bottom where as the riviera seats have two different hinge points so that the left and right seats cannot be interchanged and the is only the possibility of one correct position for the back rest. The large chrome band will look good on the black naugahyde anyways. Now all I have to do is locate a Buick ironing board console.
The Jalopy Journal
