In reply to Boredom :
Will do! To be honest I haven't even taken the time to look at it from a distance yet.
In reply to Boredom :
Will do! To be honest I haven't even taken the time to look at it from a distance yet.
I remember the first time I took Plymford (1950 Plymouth hot rod/ LeMons car) out on the street sans driver's side mirror. Immediately upon getting home I rummaged though my garage, found an appropriately-vintage looking piece, and bolted it on. Even with the panoramic rear view mirror, it's still very nice to have that additional one on the driver's door.
Sheet metal screws definitely make the install easier, however what I've found is over time they loosen and weaken the sheet metal. Eventually the inner door panel needs to come off and an actual bolt-washers-nut (I usually do a double nut in a jam-type arrangement, for extra security) installation done.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
I suspect I have room for that quality of installation- just didn't take the time at present to do it. I'm keeping my eye on it and will reinstall as needed. I do want to make a rubber gasket for the base of it. I have some motorcycle tires to change, maybe I'll take the tube and cut it to shape for this application
Here's how it looks installed at a distance. Looks like it's supposed to be there.
Further weekend fun consisted of a passenger outer wheel bearing going from kinda squeaky to pretty growly on the way back from the wedding we attended up north on Saturday.
Step one - ultimate laziness
left the drum bolted to the wheel and pulled everything off that way. Why not.
Thrashed.
This is the wheel I had issues keeping the dust cap on after doing the brakes, I think what happened is once the cap came off a few times I didn't pack enough grease back in it and after a thousand miles or so it got hot, and dry, and took some chunks out of the bearing. No matter, $15 and a trip to the parts store and we have a smooth rolling new one in there.
Gunchsta said:Further weekend fun consisted of a passenger outer wheel bearing going from kinda squeaky to pretty growly on the way back from the wedding we attended up north on Saturday.
Step one - ultimate laziness
left the drum bolted to the wheel and pulled everything off that way. Why not.
Thrashed.
This is the wheel I had issues keeping the dust cap on after doing the brakes, I think what happened is once the cap came off a few times I didn't pack enough grease back in it and after a thousand miles or so it got hot, and dry, and took some chunks out of the bearing. No matter, $15 and a trip to the parts store and we have a smooth rolling new one in there.
You changed the race in the drum too, right?
In reply to APEowner :
Nah, it was stuck in there pretty good. I'll toss a new bearing and race in there if this one gets chewed up again. The race was in fine shape
Went to a fun car show/swap meet this weekend with my dad. Called the gear head get together and they close down the downtown area of this small town about 50 miles west of the cities. It's free to show up and no judging and kinda whatever car, motorcycle, boat etc seems to be allowed. Saw a bunch of cars I haven't seen before and had a great time. Also scored unexpectedly at the swap and found an exact match for the side mirror I just got from eBay.
Sunday morning was install time which was same as the drivers side.
Mark and drill a couple holes and boom. Matching side view mirror. Looks nice on there!
beyond that the car worked great for the trip out to the show and back and ate up the highway miles.
Next on the agenda is replacing the rocker trim clips because the passenger side rocker trim is trying to fall off (and has been since I got the car). New clips should be here tomorrow. I think the originals are riveted on and I'll have to drill those out and likely screw the new ones back on. With that in mind I think I'm just going to replace the visibly damaged/broken ones versus taking them all off.
Another item on the list would be a better quality starter. The parts-store reman I have likes to grind when it's cold and I'd like to try a nice Powermaster.
I'm trying to stay reasonable and fix the little details, not the sexiest stuff but overall I really like the way the car works and I'm trying not to get carried away and make it something it isn't.
Another little detail addressed last night - went out to change tires on my dirt bike (and failed, naturally) so I had an old tube lying around. Cut it apart to create a gasket for the drivers side mirror, now that no longer boing doings doings when you close the door.
Mild Success!
This is what the falling off rocker trim looks like on the passenger side. It's held on pretty good still but it's unsightly.
Hopefully resolve this soon!
Well, that wasn't a success. The trim clips I ordered were wrong. Not a monumental surprise or let down, but a bit of a bummer.
as long as I had the trim off I guess I decided to hit this dent with a hammer.
before
after. Slightly better.
I pushed the trim back on to the existing clips and put a squirt of rtv/gasket maker under the front one that was really loose. I'm hoping it does something but anticipating it won't.
I might add that the trim clips not fitting was my mistaken assumption - I ordered for a Galaxie assuming the trim was the same. It is not.
If my rtv glue gobbery doesn't work the temptation would be to make some clips of my own, though I'm not sure my brain is clever enough to come up with it. Maybe I could find someone with a 3d printer and make copies of the existing ones.
Seemingly the RTV did work to stick the trim to the forward most clip, so that's cool.
When I still had my 62 Mercury Monterey I used double side 3m tape for one of the trim pieces that one of the clips was broken. Worked well for years.
photographic evidence of moderate success
In reply to Gunchsta :
That’s betterer! God I love this car...
I'm always glad to see this on top again. Love that car, and that you use it.
I know you got the wheels worked out, but just saw this local ad, and thought of ya! Hub caps
Thanks for the love!
I try to use it plenty. Honestly it seems to function better if it gets used regularly as well. So with that in mind I took it to work today, currently 60 deg & sunny!
I think my next step is some kind of Porter or similar 'vintage' muffler. Right now it has the stock muffler and while it's nice and quiet, I feel like it needs a tiny bit of rumble. It is a big block after all. I think I'll try to get the longest Porter/Smithy (high quality glass pack style muffler) I can fit in the allotted space. I don't want it loud, I just want some hotrod sounds.
The RTV let go pretty quickly so I resorted to the ultimate solution- trim screws.
when you step back you can barely see it, and I did the other side to match so unless you know you'd think it was factory. I'm calling this problem solved.
Also went for a nice drive to visit a buddy and snapped this picture. Which made me decide to order some lowering springs for the back of the car.
It has more rake than I want, and more than I think looks good. From most angles it's not bad but it needs to come down. I think it'll put the exhaust closer to parallel to the ground and will be more appropriate for the cruiser vibe of the car.
Bonus picture
I've been driving the car a lot since moving which is really nice. The new garage/driveway setup makes the car more accessible, and in turn I use it more.
My rear springs should be here in a week or two, and I just ordered a new Powermaster starter through Summit. My parts store reman has been pretty crappy so I figure I'll try a high quality aftermarket one. I also ordered some service parts; a new distributor cap because when I was under the hood last I realized mine fits pretty sloppy, a new pcv valve and breather/oil fill cap, some exhaust manifold gaskets and some valve cover gaskets. I got another carb kit too because mine is still a little finnicky.
I'm reminded of a thread on here about a Mercedes (another Merc!) that has something in the title about "not changing the operating parameters". I think that one ended up getting megasquirt and a lot of custom stuff, but I like the message and am trying to abide by it.
As far as long term goals I would like to replace all the worn out bushings in the suspension and get a big front sway bar.
Oh yeah! I also got this air cleaner from my dad the other day. He'd had it sitting around for a while so I slapped it on.
I think the plan will be to repaint the valve covers and detail the air cleaner between the fins to match.
I'm undecided on color, I might stick with the factory orange, or go a different route.
Been a few weeks, I recon it's time for an update.
I've been driving the car plenty and using it for all sorts of errands and fun.
The wife and I are taking a week off of work at the end of October for a little road trip up north. This may be the vehicle we choose to take - it's been working well lately and it sure is a comfortable way to eat up highway miles.
I have some crappy night time pictures of the springs installed - I'll add those below. Just did these last night, all said it took about 2 hours start to finish. I like the way it looks, sits more level which I think is correct for a cruiser. It might end up a little tail-heavy when the springs settle, we shall see. Worst case I think I could cut a little more off the front springs and adjust that way. Always options.
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