Thanks for posting your trials and tribulations mounting your Appletons. I'm hoping to get around to doing the same on my Merc before too much longer. I've bought a few Appleton pieces over the years, now I'm wondering what brackets I've got. Probably the wrong ones.
Sure can tell it's the "young guys" that "run" this hobby nowadays...I mean Buick Portholes were the cat's meow back when Kustoms were the cat's meow...these days no one wants them and will try their damndest to cut everyone down that's using them...same with '59 Cad taillights...they used to be the hot item, now they are "ugly" and "used too much." Hmmmmm, prolly a good thing I don't listen to the "experts" and simply do my own thing... OK, Rant over, carry on...!!! R-
I don't really have an answer for that. Seems most folks are recommending just using the brackets from a set of dummy spots…of course that requires also buying set of dummys just for the brackets. Up next is to remove the dash and dove my wipers outboard so the sweep of the wiper is closer to my line of sight. Hope to start on that this weekend. LOL. Well, Roger, I don't have thing against Buick portholes per se….but when said port holes aren't actually from a Buick but from the truck stop instead and intended for a semi truck wheel, that's another enchilada all together. If all goes according to plan, they will be making their exit from the car before Indy…as will the ghost flames.
Cool you're going to Indy again... looks like another fun time...I think we'll spend the week hitting some car museums @South Bend and Auburn and around Indy before hitting a Bo Huff event in Joilet, Illinoize, on the way home the next weekend...Looking forward to seeing you there... R-
That sounds like a fun trip Roger! We don't have our plan nailed down yet. Mick and I have been talking about caravanning together again this year with the wives. This will be Michelle's first road trip in the Merc, so I hope it goes well. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Could you be so kind as to let me know where in Joliet and when that event takes place? Maybe be able to meet some of you guys in person there. Thanks, Jake
Drilling should be easy for you (pun intended) . Seriously though I like the changes you've made so far.
Hey Slopok, it's (apparently) held at the Hollywood Casino in Joliet...on June 19th and 20th. '64 and older hot rods and 72 and older kustoms. It's also for the benefit of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation...go here for more info: www.greasersandgamblers.com or call 815 -931-4408. Hope that helps... R-
Haha!!! That's funny right there! Guess I didn't think about that. LOL Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
About 4 years ago I bought the instruction manuals for the original Appletons spotlights. It has the templates for the mounting holes on the pillar posts for several makes of cars. But I guess you don`t need them now. I might have to try and find them and make a few copies. See you in Indy.
I would still totally dig a copy of the 49-51 Merc template. It would be cool to see where I ended up in relation to where the template suggested....even though after studying lots of old pics, I suspect Barris, et al put them where they wanted and thought looked best, not necessarily where the template said. I wouldn't mind a copy of the 49/50 Chevy template, too, if you happen to have it. Looking forward to Indy. Glad you will be there again this year also!! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I started to work out my plan for moving the wipers outboard. I made a pattern of the wiper sweep and laid it on the windshield. You can see where the sweep doesn't line up with the filed of view….a common issue with chopped cars I'm sure. I know, I know, RainX. When I drive in the rain, I have noticed the RainX works best when the rain is steady, however, in light mist or intermittent rain, I find the wipers do the better job. My thought was if I could move the wipers outboard a couple of inches, the wiper sweep would be more inline with my straight ahead view. Sliding the pattern over two inches improved things, but it still ideal. Any more than two inches and the center of the windshield is left out….never mind things start looking weird with the wipers way to the outside. I decided two inches would be better than nothing and removed the dash to gain access to everything. My plan was to move the holes for the wiper shafts out two inches, extend the arms two inches and bing, I'd be in bid'ness. One glaring thing I did not take into account until the dash was out and I looked at everything, was that the defrost plenums would be in the way of the new shaft position. Not an insurmountable problem I'd guess, but when I processed through it, I decided that since I still wasn't going to end up with significant improvement, it wasn't worth the effort and RainX would still be the standard practice. So, no wiper moving will be taking place. With that little deal settled, I removed the windshield and straightened a couple of dents in the cowl. An odd place for dents, but my guess is they happened when the hood blew open on the previous owner and must have pulled the cowl in a bit. I also welded up my mess on the A pillars from moving around the spots. I was not happy with the amount of filler on the pillars from when the chop was done, so I removed it all. Originally when I started all this, my intention was to just spray bomb the small areas I was working on with matching green paint I had on hand from when I painted the fins on the dash. But, over the last few weeks, I have decided to block down the whole car and shoot a fresh coat of green over everything before the Custom Car Revival in Indy in June. With that plan in mind, there is very little reason to just spray bomb the spot light area on the pillars and it was a better plan to remove all that excess filler and redo it right while the windshield is out. I'm going to go ahead and do the whole roof now before the glass goes back in and take care of some rust along the beltline at the same time. This will also allow me the chance to put the stainless around the side windows as well. Whoever chopped it also filled in the recess around the side windows to eliminate the stainless. Seeing the amount of filler in the A pillars and this photo I have from when it was built, I suspect the side windows were done with just bondo as well and not a rolled metal filler piece. We shall see. The snowball is rolling down hill and getting bigger……
When I scrolled down and saw the last picture, I thought "Wow, you really jumped in now!" until I noticed you said it was a build pic. Sounds like you still have plenty in front of you to be ready by June considering a complete re-paint.
LOL. I'm not going to go crazy with the repaint since I have lots and lots and lots left I am going to do to the car. For this round I am just going to fix a few small things and block it all out and shoot it back the same green….no ghost flames. LOL. I still have lots of body things that will get done, but having it all green will allow me to blend in areas as I go. Up to this point, I have not done any of that stuff cuz the flames are in the way. As much as I don't care for the ghost flames, one solid fender with flames on the door, etc. would look worse. Eventually, when I get all the body changes done I plan to do, I will strip the entire car back down and repaint it from the ground up.
Just a thought and don't know if it's even feasible , but what if you were to use a slightly longer wiper arm with a slightly shorter wiper blade. Would that place your wiper blades out from the center more? My car isn't chopped so I don't have that problem. Might have the same affect as what you were trying to do and certainly much less complicated.
I once read that " A man must do what a woman would never consider doing " the hamb is full of this kind of projects and its male dominated so I guess what I am trying to say is, you are on the right track.
Actually, I considered that. My car has some kind of replacement wiper arm that is adjustable in length, but if the arm is longer and the wiper is shorter, even still, the tip of the wiper blade can only go out so far before it hits the top of the windshield as the wiper reaches the top of the sweep…..which is the same place as the tip of the blade is now. LOL. That's wise advice there, Jack! Of course, my wife's advice is to sell the whole pile and spend more time in the yard….you see where I am with that.
Somebody stop me!!! LOL Actually, it's not as bad as it looks. Dad stopped by this morning and helped me get the hood off so I could finish taking care of the dents in the cowl. I just thought it looked like a cool picture. LOL I finished prepping the rest of the inside of the cowl and windshield frame for POR15 this morning. While it was drying, I started into the bondo cracks and rust bubbles along the belt line and around the back window. Naturally, as was true with the A pillars, there is much more filler there than I think is necessary. Water has gotten in behind it along the belt like and started rusting. As much as I'd like to grind out all the filler and start from a clean slate, I just went after the rust and ground out the big cracks elsewhere and will just fill those back in for now….and you were beginning to think I'm not able to stop myself. LOL. In this case, it was easy to talk myself down off the ledge….eventually, I am going to cut out the back window and tweak it's position, so for now I'm ok with just patching the big cracks in the thick filler and calling that part good enough. The rust I felt was important to address while it's just surface rust and easily fixable before it turns into holes through the metal. While I had the sander going, I couldn't help but grind into the roll around the 1/4 window to confirm my suspicions that the roll was entirely sculpted of filler. I was partly right….first a 1/4 inch rod was spot welded around the window and then the rest was carved filler. The cool thing about that was, however, 20 minutes or so with a chisel around the window to get to the spot welds and a few minutes with a cut off wheel and the window was free!! The filler has been cracking and has pulled away from the flanges where the factory stainless goes around the window so rust was starting to make it's way into the area. A little clean up and it will be ready for new glass (which I desperately need) and the stainless around the glass which I much prefer over the rolled edge. One down, three to go. Anyone want a set of pre-bent window roll fillers? Mick and I were talking about both of our pull-a-loose-string-and-unravel-the-whole-sweater projects and that it's good we aren't afraid of a challenge. He said it's either that we aren't afraid or that we aren't smart enough to quit. In my case, it's probably the second one, which then reminded me I have a long history of one small thing landing me into a much larger project….. Spring break 1985…my '64 Pontiac dropped a valve….. Three weeks later it was back together with a rebuilt engine, freshly painted and detailed engine compartment, cleaned, derusted and painted floors as well as a set disassembled and painted top bows with a new top. I had a lot more time to work on cars when I was a single college student. I'd like to think that given the same time I could get just as much done, but I suspect I'm much slower than I once was. LOL
My '77 MGB had 3 wipers due to the height vs the width of the windshield. Not exactly an elegant solution , but effective.
Wow, can O' worms for sure. You do know that the reason you had bubbles on that seam in the back is because of that rust you found? And if you leave even one speck of it, you chance it rusting again. You will need to blast that rust out of those pores and pits. And if it's rusty down inside a folded seam, it might be easiest to weld up that seam solid and make sure it is sealed super-tight from the backside as well. I understand you might be apprehensive about the mess that you'd make blasting the rust, but if you tape up the car tight with plastic sheet it should prevent about 50 percent of the mess.
You are correct…and there is rust all along the seam. I'm sure it's from the thickness of the excessive filler and it having cracked and let water down in there. There is no rust evident in that area in the pictures that came with the car from when it was built. You already guessed my next move after I finished cleaning out the other side…..rolling it all outside for an afternoon with the blaster. I hadn't considered welding up the seam the full length, that's a good idea. My thought was to run some seam sealer down it after I blasted it. Of course, my quandary with that is I can't imagine the paint will stick to the sealer real long and flex off and crack again. I guess welding is my best bet. Thanks for suggesting it!
Wow, you really are getting into it! Have to agree with others, best way out is to get rid of the rust once and for all- I'll bet it looks great once you are done!
It looked to me like your were having an easier time with your Merc than Pro Stock John had til now. You're in pretty deep, no turnin back now. Good Luck Doc.
If you use seam sealer instead of welding, make sure to use an epoxy primer before the sealer. Don't seal on the bare metal in case some moisture gets under the sealer.
Thanks Clay. You must have not had a lot to do to spend all that time reading 10 pages of my rambling and hacking away until it turns out half decent. LOL LOL I think John still has me beat. I'm fortunate that my car is actually pretty solid and, despite the amount of filler slathered on in places, really is built pretty well. Lots of details to clean up, but I knew that when I got it….and it's why I ended up getting the car so cheap compared to what a lot of Mercs go for. I guess lots of folks just got scared off. Didn't bother me and actually worked out perfectly since I knew I wanted to change it all up and I didn't have to spend money for a "great" car and throw away a bunch of really nice stuff….I just have to clean up and fine tune a few things as I go about changing out worn out stuff to the new stuff I wanted.
Good to know, thank you! The more I thought about your suggestion about welding the seam, the more I think that's what I will probably do. At first I thought I might not mess with it now and just do it on down the road when I cut out the back window and re-adjust it, but it makes more sense to do it now while it's all cleaned up.
The Jalopy Journal
