Body work and preparing for paint.(part 1)

Well this is an area that I’m becoming more comfortable with. But it takes a lot of practice. And has many levels of difficulty. This kinda goes back to my blog on buying an old car, and the amount of work your willing to do. When I found the Rambler some body prep had been done. It basically consisted of a mediocre application of a reddish primer, and a fair sanding. But there was a lot that should have been done prior to that. There was small patches of rust coming through the primer, nothing serious though just surface scale. And there was passenger side rear-view mirror. It was from a Nissan pick-up and looked wierd, and there originally was no mirror there. So I removed that, which left the screw holes to deal with. Also a cb antenna was attatched to the front fender, and stretched back to the rear roof pillar where the end was bolted down. So that too was removed leaving more screw holes. Besides that there was a fair sized dent below the driver door on the running board, and several normal dings, etc….. So since I wanted the car to be white it would make since to go with white primer. But first I needed to fill all the low spots, dings, screw holes, etc.

So for the starters, I went to the auto store and bought supplies. You will need things like: several grits of sand-paper, a suitable size can of bondo and hardener, red glaze(a putty-like filler for things like key scratches), a sanding block, masking tape, a small bottle of mineral spirits, a rust removing grinding pad that fits on a 3/8 drive drill, a can of spray rust converter(turns rust to primer), and some old news-paper. That should get you started and altogether should be less than $75. That should give enough materials to get going.

Next wash the car, and really scrub it good with some old t-shirts or something like that. I’ve found using original Dawn dish-soap is excellent for removing oily residue and bug-guts. Next you should mask and news-paper off windows, tail-lights, head-lights, any-trim, etc. Eventually all the lights, door-handles, trim and grill will be removed. But I’m assuming that you are still driving the car, so I try to calculate these steps keeping that in mind. Masking is an art-form… So spend time doing it right. Keep a pocket-knife or exacto-blade handy to cut or tuck the tape in tight areas. But in areas such as the grill, You can kinda crudely mask it, because that will be dismantled later and you will be able to get more detailed then.

Now one product I forgot to mention is chemical paint remover. It is a gel-like substance that you basically slather on the paint and it eats it away. The process is a little messy but very effective. You can use wadded up news-paper to scrub stubborn spots(don’t get it on you), and then you basically hose it off. You should start with a small area to get the hang of it, and then gradually go bigger to suite the effort and time you have on a given day. If you’re paint is already faded down to a primer like finish you can skip that part.

So your car is clean and masked off, and you’re ready to sand, fill (bondo), and prime, and sand, and sand again, and sand some more. First we’ll deal with any rust. Now if your floors and running boards are rusted through, this blog is not for. But if you have some surface scale, or tiny spots where the rust may have started penetrating metal, we can deal with that. Take a Sharpie(marker) and go around the car circling any problem area(rust, dings, uneven spots, etc). That makes it easier to stay focused on the problem spots. First lets deal with any rust. Any of the surface stuff can be scrubbed of using the rust removing pad you bought for the drill. You basically “buff” the rust away. Thats a pretty self-explanitory and fairly easy process. I like to keep the surfaces clean, so after doing that I wipe of the dust using the mineral spirits. Now if there are any areas where the rust has penetrated you can drill those out. Be careful and keep in mind what might be on the other side when you drill(a guy I know had his window rolled down, and was drilling rust out of the door and drilled through the window). But always drill out a little extra just to make sure you got it all, it might have spread a bit more on the side you can’t see. Now this process is only good for small spot areas not massive cancer. Once drilled use a heavy grit sand paper and smooth out any burs, or raised spots. Sometimes part of the metal may have pulled up, don’t be afraid to pound it back in with a hammer because you are going to build it back up with filler(bondo) anyway. And once again wipe it down with mineral spirits. The mineral spirit wipe down is importanant during this phase. All that dust is rust and from this point on you’re trying to remove all impurities as you go.

Now we’re on to dealing with dings, and maybe screw wholes if you’ve removed things like cb antennas, etc… This means using body filler (bondo). Now this is a true art for and takes practice if you’ve never done it. But it’s actually kinda fun. Body filler basically consist of a puddy-like filler, and a small tube of hardener. I recommend reading the instructions for mixing the two. And practice mixing it on a scrap piece of flat wood or something. You’ll need to learn how fast your mix is going to harden. It takes the tiniest bit of hardener to activate the process. And do not mix more than you can apply before it dries. It usually takes just a few minutes for it to harden to a point where you can’t work it anymore. So you’ll need a flat surface to mix it on, something you can hold in your hand. I generally use pieces of scrap plywood. Maybe 3inches x 8inches. Or a piece of scrap metal of similar dimensions will work too. It just needs to be a flat hard surface that you can hold in your hand and comfortably work the filler with a puddy-knife (oh yeah, you’ll need that too). But mix up a batch or two and apply it to another piece of scrap wood, and check your results. See how sandable it is, and how fast it’s hardening. If it’s hardening to fast for you to do what your trying to do, use less hardener. It usually just takes a drop or two. When practicing use different grits of sand paper to sand the hardened glob you just applied to the scrap wood. Just make mental notes how each grit of sand paper acts on the hardened filler (bondo). Now pick an easy spot on the car and mix a small amount of filler. Apply to said spot, take care when apply. Put an excess and build it up a little more than necessary. But don’t go crazy, or you will be there all day sanding that one spot. Now wait a while for it to harden. Then get your sanding block, and start with your heaviest grit of sand-paper. Start sanding with smooth even movements across the filled area. Once you’ve gotten rid of most of the excess switch to a lighter grit paper, and sand further. Once it’s start looking smooth, run your hand over and feel for un-even spots. This is where the art-form part comes in. Learning to feel the uneven spots takes practice too. At first you may think it’s smooth as a baby’s butt, but once you’ve applied primer…. you can see imperfections. And once paint is applied it will be even more apparent. So properly applying filler is key to an even looking paint job. And time of day plays a role in showing imperfections too. As I spend the day woking on the car, every couple hours I will get at one end of the car and look down the body for areas that need attention. A lot of times you will see wavy areas in the sheet-metal. You can cirlce those areas, and spend a little time building that up with bondo too. It will pay off when the car is painted. So once you’ve practiced on the one spot of the car, you can now mix larger batches and hit several spots. In fact go ahead and hit the whole car. Take a little extra care when doing any areas that you may have drilled out, you can get bubbles when applying. Just be a little smoother with the puddy-knife. If it gets difficult in those areas, build them up a little at a time.

So now you’ve removed rust and applied body filler. Now it’s time to sand. Put fresh batteries in your jam-box or charge the i-pod, keep a six-pack of cold beer nearby, put on a fresh dust mask, you’re gonna be there a while. So, same as before, start with the heavy grit sand-paper and hit all the filled spots, getting rid of the excess. Then gradually go to lesser grits getting it so smooth you won’t be able to notice it when you prime and paint it. One thing you can do to get a little extra life out of the sand paper, is wet-sand. Keep a water-hose with a nozzle nearby. And keep the part you are sanding wet, and ocassionally spray your sand paper. It basically keeps the sand-paper from clogging up so quickly. It’s messier but also keeps dust from building up on the car.

So lets assume thats all you have patience for today. And it’s time to call it quits. A good idea is to have a can of spray primer handy. And just kinda lightly hit any area you may have sanded down to bare metal. Rust flakes can appear over night in some climates. It’s no big deal it will sand right off. But spraying it easier than going back over it time and again with sand paper. So if you need to drive the car, all you have to do is remove the masking tape and news-paper, and wa la! It will look ghetto, but you can drive it. When we get a little further down the line, you will have to remove trim, door handles, etc…. But for now you’re making progress, and still driving it. Try to save the news-paper and it’s shape, so you can easily re-apply it next time. That will save you a ton of time.  Next time I’ll discuss furhter sanding and priming the car. You will need to buy primer. And since we’re all poor-boys doing it on the cheap. That means cans of spray primer! So be prepared!!!!!!!!

I finally got it back together!!!!

   Yesterday was a good day. I went to the machine shop and picked up the head. Just to recap, I had the bottom, and manifold side of the head re-surfaced. I also went ahead and got a valve job done. I got it home, masked it off and painted it and the manifolds red. Stripped and painted the valve cover, and air cleaner blue. I cleaned the top surface of the engine block where the head will sit. Then I took the time to take all the nuts and bolts, and cleaned them with gasket remover spray. And then coated all threads in lock-tight(red high temp). Then took my new head-gasket, and sprayed with a copper based high temp gasket adhesive, placed it on the engine block and let it set for about 15 mins. That kind of lets it get a little more tacky, and less likely to slide when you lay the head on top of it.

When the paint dries remove all tape. And now it’s ready to go on to the engine. Try your best to get as close to perfect as possible when you lay it down. Thus requiring less moving around, if your gasket starts sliding it’s a pain in the ass to re-align it all. The head is really heavy. So at this point you need to have available the correct information for pattern and torque for tightening the head bolts. Then properly tighten all head bolts. Once completed, remove the set of bolts and holders to remove the rocker assembly. Make sure you keep them organized and put them back on in the same order, with holders facing the same direction. You’ll need torque specs on these as well. You’ll be able to replace all the push rods now, making sure they go in exactly in the order and direction(top/bottom) they came out. Now you can replace the rocker assembly. At this point your head should be completely installed.

 You can now start putting on all the little things you may have removed, such as the coil, cable holders, and thermostat, etc… Next will be the manifolds. Once again using the copper based gasket adhesive to help hold the gasket(s). You can then put the manifold in place. I found it helpful to start the 2 outside(end) bolts just to hold it in place. Then I made sure it was coupling to the the tail-pipe correctly. You can start your specified bolt pattern using correct torque.

 So, now we’re almost there. Next you can replace the valve cover, and mount the carburetor to the manifold. Following that you can re-connect all hoses, vacuum lines, etc….. Also replace spark plugs if they were removed. Replace all spark plug wires. Next you will need to add antifreeze back to the radiator. And check your oil as well. Do a final idiot check, and re-install your battery. Now it’s GO TIME!!!! When starting the car just let it turn over a couple of quick times, and listen for any pinging or knocking. If thats all normal sounding, go ahead and start the engine. Do not rev the engine. Just let it idle. Get out and listen to the engine up close. Listen for any unusal sounds, and look for leaks around the head gasket area. If you hear anyhting odd turn the car off. lets it sit for abit and try it again. If it continues you will have to start back tracking, and isolate the problem, not fun!

 Let the car idle and get up to normal operating temp. Now it’s time to test drive. Initially you need to take it easy. Slowly accelerate and listen closely. If all sounds good, you can drive normally. Drive for about 20 minutes, staying near home just in case. Now you’re done. All thats left is to drive it for a few days, and then pull the valve cover off and just check the bolts to make sure nothing has backed out. Also check the manifold bolts. Remember to also check the bolts that hold the tail-pipe to the manifold. You might even double check the spark plugs. Also check the fluids again. If it’s all good, then you’re all good. Cruise on!

So you want to buy an old car?

 It’s a great way to help a guy(or girl) unwind, and de-stress. It’s a fun community to be a part of. And, every old car saved is literally preserving a piece of history. Now if you’re thinking of looking for a car but aren’t sure what to look for, I will try and give you some pointers. The most important thing is figure out what you are willing to invest…. physically, mentally, and financially. And be honest about what you’re willing to do. Otherwise, you end up with a parts car sitting in your drive-way for years.

 I’ve found what works for me is to find a car that is complete. If it has all the trim, original drive-train, and all the little bits and pieces, I don’t care how worn out it is. Who cares if the paint is faded, that just makes it that much easier to prep for paint. Old oxydised paint makes for easy sanding, and priming. You get to skip the paint stripping process at that point. Next you need to determine your mechanical abilities and desires. Do you need a big V-8, or do you just want a daily cruiser that gets decent gas mileage? This blog will focus on the economical daily driver. So lets say you saw a 1963 Dart that really caught your eye, and you have your heart set on a 63′ Dart. Things to consider are….. The Dart was basically the same car from 1963-1966(66′ having more square fenders). There were only minor cosmetic changes for the most part. Now lets say you fell in love with the push-button transmission. That was available on the 64′ as well. And, both years came with what might have been the best 6 cylinder engine ever made. So now that gives you 2 model years to work with.

Now you have to consider whether you have to have a 2-door, or will a 4-door work? If you have kids, maybe the 4-door would be better. A 4-door tends to be priced a little less, and usually has seen better care throughout it’s life. The 2-doors tend to attract the wannabe hot rodders, and have had more abuse. Thats not a hard and fast rule though. Lets say at this point, you’ve decided that a 4-door is acceptable. Now think of what appointments you desire. Darts came in many trim levels. The models were 170, 270, and GT trim levels. 170 was the base model with bench seats, rubber floor covering, fabric seat coverings, and very little trim. the 270 had a little beefier trim running down the outside of the car, carpeting on the floor, and  seats were covered with a combination of fabric and vinyl. And little things like a full horn ring around the center of the steering wheel, ashtrays in the arm-rests, and a host of optional items including the new 2bbl 273cid V-8 engine(not in 63′). Both of these models came in 2-door post, 4-door, and station wagons, and convertibles. The 270 was also offered in a 2-door hard-top coupe(no posts). Then the premium level was the GT. It came with a boat load of exterior trim, and was in the 2-door coupe body only. It had bucket seats, console floor-shifter, special 3-spoke steering wheel, all vinyl interior, full carpeting(including carpet on the door bottoms, and seat backs, deluxe arm-rests, stone shields, full wheel hub-caps, 15 color options, and interior and exterior emblems denoting that is a GT.

 Engine options for all cars were the 170 slant-six, 225 slant-six, and the 2bbl 273(64′ only). So you can apply these sort of offerings to most of the other American compacts of the 60’s. Remember we are using only the 63 and 64 Darts for examples here. So take all that information, and narrow it down to what interest you. Are you happy with a base model bench seat car, with dog-dish hub caps, or do you want to go a little sportier with the GT buket seats, floor shifter, etc..  Also consider manual and automatic transmissions. The GT had a cool 4-speed floor shifter option, or the lesser models had 3 on the tree manual transmissions. The automatic was the same across the board, either push-button shifted, or floor shifted(GT). 

Now you are armed with this info. Now research what is and what is not available for these cars. Mechanical stuff is generally readily available for the Darts, but trim, and the bits and pieces are harder to find. So the object is to find something with all the trim intact. No speaker holes cut into the doors, or back dash, and original wheels and hub-caps.  Even if the interior is worn, it is replacable as long as it’s not drastically altered. Look at the engine, and see if it has things like the original air cleaner, original oil filler cap, and the little things like that. And just look at the general condition of the whole engine compartment. Everybody always wants to know what the mileage is on a car. When a car is 45 years old it doesn’t really matter. Unless it was some grandma car with 2200 original miles. But with a normally used vehicle, it really doesn’t matter. Our goal here is to find something you can drive while restoring,so if you find a car take it for a spin, drive it for at least 20 minutes so it gets to full operating temperature, and see how hot it gets. Stomp on the breaks and see if it grinds or pulls to one side. If it has power steering, pay attention to it, and listen for noises coming from the pump. Do a walk around and check all the lights. Get any maintainence records the owner might have. Check how well all the body panels match up, and how easily the doors close. And most certainly check the floor-boards for rust.

Now, not all these things have to be perfect, it’s not a new car after all, but it just gives you an idea what you’re up against. And if you do decide to buy the car, you will know what the immediate cost will be. If the tags are out, try to get the owner to renew them. It’s easier for him than it will be for you. Now if the tires are bald, half the bulbs are burnt out, it needs an oil change, a radiator flush, a transmission service, plugs and wires, etc. That is a lot of expense right off the bat. Thats not a deal breaker, but just something you need to figure into your intial cost. So let’s assume you found a good candidate. And you’ve paid cash(not a check, cash talks), and you’re on your way home in your new old car. We will discuss what to do next in my next installment.

Straight Sixes and manifolds.

 In this installment I will be addressing an issue I had with my exhaust manifold. And by reading this you could save yourself a ton of time. The engine in my Rambler is a 232cid straight six cylinder Torque Command. It is of the over-head valve variety. The block and head are both cast iron, and it puts out about 145hp at optimum tune. It is a very simple engine and is not too dissimilar from other ohv sixes of the time. It is a very reliable engine, the design lasted from the mid 60’s until last year(2007). It survived in the Jeep after Chryslers take over of AMC in 1987. And that helped in my decision making in buying the Rambler. An engine with a 40-plus year production run is easy to find parts for. Everyones comment when they realize it’s an AMC is…”You must have hell finding parts for that.” …. thus far they have been plentiful and cheap. Now on to the the manifold issue I was having. I began to notice a ticking sound about 2 weeks after buying the car. After a process of elimination I realized I had an exhaust leak. I took it to my good friends at JT Automotive for a second opinion and they agreed. So I bought a new manifold gasket set and proceeded to remove all the necessary parts to replace it.

Now this blog is intended for the shade tree guy who wants to do as much work as possible himself. I had 2 years of auto-mechanics in high school, and worked as a mechanic at Pep-Boys during and just after high school. So I am by no means an expert, but I do know my way around. And I do know that many other straight six engines have similar problems, so whatever your make, this may be helpful. In most of these engines their is a fuel line to the carburetor, a vacuum advance line from the carb to the distributor, a line of some sort for a heat source to the choke coming from the exhaust manifold to the carb. And a throttle linkage to the gas pedal. All these things will need to be removed. If it’s not obvious where it’s going to go when it comes time to put it back together, mark it with masking tape and a sharpie.

 Now the carb usually has a couple nuts screwed down onto studs sticking up from the intake manifold. By removing those you can remove the carb, and keep in mind there is still fuel in the bowl so don’t tip it. Hold it flat put it somewhere clean and dry and protected from debris. On the AMC 232cid, both manifolds are held on by the same set of bolts. So you simply remove those bolts, and the two connecting bolts that connect the exhaust manifold to the tail-pipe. Then it should be free and ready to remove. Inspect the flat mounting surface and you will likely determine the source of your leak.

There is usually some sort burn indication where the exhaust gasses were escaping. Also the gasket will probably be burnt through in that same spot. If the manifold surface has deteriorated you will need to replace it. I got a brand new manifold on ebay for about $100 with shipping. Next, inspect the side of the head(engine) and look for any damage there. Now that may not be as simple as looking at it. The best thing to do is get a piece of fine grit sand-paper(230 grit is good) get a flat piece of wood or something equivalent, about the size of your palm, wrap it in sand-paper. And then run the sand-paper over that falt mounting surface. The color of the sand-paper will show on the good spots, and not appear on any low spots. So if you see a low spot you will need to pull the head off, which I will address later. Now lets assume all surfaces are ok, then you basically slap on the new gasket, and re-assemble what you’ve just dis-assembled. But chances are if the gasket burnt out, there is a reason why. Those surfaces basically have to be perfectly flat, or the exhaust gasses will eventually find the weak spot. Now here is a list of things NOT to do. TRUST ME!!!

I found a gouge burnt into my manifold, and had the bright idea that I would put some JB Weld on it, put it back on the car with the new gasket while it was still wet. And therefore it would dry replicating a perfect flat surface. I was a genius! I let it sit for the rest of the day until about lunch time the following day. I went to start it and VIOLA!!! NO leak! I drove around town with my head high and swagger in my strut. That lasted for about 48 hrs. I was cruising on the highway and thought I heard a slight tick, I wasn’t sure though. Once I exited onto surface streets and stopped at a light, I still heard nothing. The light turned green and my heart sunk. The leak was back! So I pull it apart again and decide to buy a new manifold. Ebay was the best source, and the most economical. But I’m sure any decent parts store can score one for you. Thats the beauty of this engine, that manifold was used forever on a series of vehicles. You guys with other makes, good luck!!

 So the car sits for a couple weeks and I finally get the new manifold. I put it on with new gaskets. Drive it for 48 hrs. and the leak is back. I am heartbroken….. But I come up with the idea of using two gaskets and a tube of form-a-gasket. I slathered the form-a-gasket all over everything, and put it all back together again. Test drove it for about 2 hours. And it was good. Got in it the next morning, got out on the highway and there it was again. I was just plain pissed off at that point.

So, I take it apart yet again, go buy another gasket set, and stare the car wondering why I’m going to just stick another gasket set on. It will just leak again. Thats when I decided to do the sand-paper trick. It worked and I could see the imperfection, and it was in the same spot that matched the burnout on the old manifold. I then pull the head, which is really self-explanatory. I highly recommend a good torque-wrench for removing and installing the head bolts. And I left the valve train intact. I left the push rods in place and just lifted the head straight up. Also prior to removing the head, you will have to remove several small items that attatch to the the engine(coil, temp guage cable, thermostat housing and thermostat, etc.) I took the head to the best machine shop around, High Pursuit Engine Rebuilders in El Monte, CA. For about $185 I had the head resurfaced and a valve job done. When I pulled the head I flipped it over and noticed quite a bit  of wear on the valves, hence the valve job. So I should get the head back in a couple days and I’m confident that will fix the problem.

Now just to round out the assembly process…. When re-installing the head. You will have to remove the push-rods, make sure to take that masking tape and sharpie and mark each rod. They have to go back in the same spot. TRUST ME!!! As for tools. You will need a good set of sockets, both shallow and deep. Plus short and long socket extensions, just to work around all the stuff that gets in the way. Plus a good set of medium length wrenches. And set of regular old pliers. And if you got’em, a set of flare-nut line wrenches too. So the moral of this story is, when you have an exhaust leak, get a new manifold, machine the head, and use new gaskets. Do that the first time around and save yourself a bunch of money and disappointment. It will set you back less than $300 if you go ahead and do the valve job. Which I highly recommend, because when are you going to want tear all that apart again? And in doing this yourself, you have saved yourself many hundreds of dollars in labor cost. Just getting a new gasket put on will be $250-$300 at a garage with parts and labor. And if that doesn’t work you just wasted $250-$300. All of these things are fairly easy. And in the Rambler I could get to everything without much effort. So, stay tuned for the final result of the menacing manifold! Thanks for stopping by!