Back to the Blue Oval

[milner351]

LOOOOVE it!

[mlcraven]

Thanks fellows. Freakin' weather has gone cool again just when I wanted to start laying on some filler on body panels and paint the underbody. Supposed to drop down so far that the highs might only be in the mid-50s. Sum beeyatch

[mlcraven]

Front Suspension/Steering Bits & Pieces

Been on a bit of a mail order binge of late (tax refund). The Crite's hood (admittedly a nice-to-have impulse thing) was at the big end of the size/cost spectrum, the important bits below are at the opposite extreme size-wise but not cheap either

Pic #1 shows the bolt that secures the front lower control arm to the front clip crossmember thingy. The bolt on the left is the one I made a mess of during removal; the threaded part actually has a flat side that a big-honkin' washer with a matching hole slips over. The new bolt --$12 from Dearborn Classics (Ecklers) -- on the right. Probably could've reused the old one, but never again want to repeat the previous ordeal of getting it out. Besides, it's one of those items that doesn't seem smart to invoke false economy with. So I've now paid 12 bucks for a bolt. All in a good cause.

Pic #2 is of the adapter that replaces the power steering control valve on the drivers end of the center link. Ford guys will well know what an abortion the power steering set-up truly is on this generation of Fomoco vehicle. I'd posted earlier that I was going to convert from power to manual steering and this is the lazy/poor man's bit that connects the linkage to the Pitman arm to give manual functionality without having to buy any of the correct manual linkage bits. It's a stop-gap until I muster the coin to go with one of those sweet Borgeson power steering conversions that are so highly spoken of...or maybe not if the Armstrong method isn't too onerous. Prices for these little suckers are all over the map, as high as $300 quoted by some online vendors. Best I could find was NPD at under $150 delivered to the front door -- they're in my good books at the moment.

[mlcraven]

Shiny

Just the doors to strip now. Neighborhood gentlemen are keenly interested, I spend a deal of time listening to 'back in the day' car stories in my driveway. Had three fellows here at once at one stage this afternoon. Nice, but disrupts the momentum.

[langleylad]

body in " chrome " NICE !

[mlcraven]

Yeah, but it would be a lot of polishing...and non-stop too!

[mlcraven]

Seam Sealing

Another chore I'd been subconciously avoiding but decided to tackle this morning. I started with three tubes of Eastwood Seam Sealer, two boxes of strip caulk and a tube of POR Patch. After two hours I'm down to 1 tube of seam sealer, three quarters of a tube of POR Patch and most of two boxes of strip caulk (only used the top layer in the first box; I'm thinking I bought way too much).

Pressed one of the wife's oil painting pallette knives into service for spreading and shaping, a great little tool. Certainly better than my custom-shaped bondo spreader in the same role, which was pretty much a flop.

Couldn't find latex gloves in a nice manly blue..maybe it's where I'm shopping?

[mlcraven]

Jewelry

Trying to maximize concurrent activity, to the extent the budget (read VISA) permits.

The front fender CYCLONE emblems were in rough shape and unobtainium, so I bit the bullet. Sent the pot metal bezels out to my friends at R&D Refinishing in Elizabethton TN and a few weeks later they came back looking as good as (probably better than?) new.

That left the inserts to replace, which fortunately are available, thank heavens. They arrived yesterday courtesy of USPS from AutoKrafters here in VA. Just a matter of peeling the protective paper cover off the adhesive on the back and clamping them into place. I used a strip of balsa wood stock under the clamp pads to ensure there aren't any marks. Maybe I'll glue the old inserts to my toolbox.

The condition at the time I bought the car is displayed in the bottom pic.

[mlcraven]

Jewelry Part 2

The 390 badges are not bad. Thy're available new but the little effers aren't cheap. So I'm going to buff them up myself and break out the modeling paints to touch up as as required. With a little bit of patience and some effort I think I can save $120.

Anyone have any buffing advice?

[mrocketscience]

Just the doors to strip now. Neighborhood gentlemen are keenly interested, I spend a deal of time listening to 'back in the day' car stories in my driveway. Had three fellows here at once at one stage this afternoon. Nice, but disrupts the momentum.

It's funny, none of my neighbors have any interest at all in any of my cars. Zip.. Nada... I've lived in my house for about 8 years now, and never once has any neigbor come by to shoot the breeze or talk car stuff. Oh well...

[mlcraven]

It's funny, none of my neighbors have any interest at all in any of my cars. Zip.. Nada... I've lived in my house for about 8 years now, and never once has any neigbor come by to shoot the breeze or talk car stuff. Oh well...

Yeah, it was like that when I lived in Canada (Ottawa). In fact, there were a few car-hating bastages...had the by-law officer visit me a couple of times. He wouldn't say who was ratting me out but luckily he was a car guy and keenly interested in the El Camino project. So I had the last laugh. All we can say is it takes all kinds, yes?

[mlcraven]

Seam Sealing Part 2

Now down to zero cartirdges of seam sealer, half a tube of POR patch, and one box of strip caulk. I am determined...THIS THING IS NOT GOING TO LEAK!

[langleylad]

Where I am , you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a car guy ! I love it here .

[mlcraven]

Good car scene on the Lower Mainland, heck, good car culture in Victoria too. That's where I bought the El Camino; it was a reservation beater before it came to me. A rescue car.

Did basic training at Chilliwack back in the day, 13 weeks of marching around Cultis Lake. Mission Raceway is about halfway between where you are in Langley and Chilliwack, isn't it?

[langleylad]

Yes Sir , Mission is about a 20 min drive from Langley . It's a great track , sea level as well . They have closed the Chilliwack base . Suprised to hear you know and have spent time here in the valley . Love your build .