Sandblasting Cabinet
After painting the sub-frame and getting it ready to put onto the Nova, I realized that more work needed to be done before doing so. I have all these relatively small, rusty parts that could either be replaced ($$$) or cleaned up and re-installed ($). I decided that many of the parts could be cleaned up and re-used. Enter the sandblasting cabinet.
I came across plans online to build one. The guy ended up being an engineer, so I knew the plans were going to be reliable. I called my uncle to let him know about my plans to build one and he subsequently offered to help me build it.
I purchased most of the supplies in the next few days and I cut out the easy pieces with my circular saw. Since he has more carpentry experience, I left the harder pieces to him. I believe it took a few days to complete and a few more days before I had all of the supplies to get it fully functional. I needed to buy a Spot Blaster Kit, sandblasting gloves, and few other things from Harbor Freight. I bought a few items from Sears Hardware to complete the tubing. I also bought a small Plexiglass sheet for the window, a lighting fixture, and the electrical switch from Home Depot.
The "machine" works great and I have cleaned up a few parts including my coil springs and drum brakes. The only complaint I have is that the sand is only good for 2-3 usages, then it breaks down and it basically turns to dust. It could use a few improvements, however, such as some kind of removable and inexpensive Plexiglass protector which can be removed and replaced when vision decreases. Also, I realized later that I should have bought a switch and plug combination so that I could plug in the vacuum.
Note: For those of you wondering, it took me almost a full year to write this post. The cabinet has be done since the end of November 2009. 
My Compressor Will be the End of Me
My air compressor has caused me many nuisances and many hours of fixes since the day I brought it home. It was inherited when my uncle passed, so I guess I have no right to complain. But then again, I'm not complaining, but only documenting my troubles.
Before I could get the compressor running, I had to take the existing 220 volt line to the garage and figure out what the inexperienced person did when connecting the line to the house. They had 2 220 volt lines and was only using 1 1/2 of them, but only 110 volts! In a couple phone calls to my dad, a few trips to Home Depot for breakers and such and numerous trips into the basement to the breaker box and back out to the garage, I finally got the 220 line hooked up correctly and used 1/2 of the other 220 line for my 110 needs in the garage.
After a few weeks of running the compressor, I was having a problem with moisture in the line. It was suggested by my uncles to buy an "Automatic Compressor Drain Kit" from Harbor Freight for 10 bucks. I looked at the instructions and it seemed easy enough. In an attempt to install it, I tightened it too hard and split the cheap metal, rendering it useless. A few cuss words later, I installed the original drain plug.
The next day, I bought a new drain kit. While installing the kit, I realized that I needed different parts to fit onto the pressure switch. While removing the old parts and installing the new, again, I tightened the part too tight and rendered an irreplaceable part on the pressure switch useless. I spent a few more days researching prices for a new pressure switch and I believe I ended up buying one from Ace Hardware or Home Depot. After purchasing the switch, I realized that installing it will be a little tricky, because it is larger than the original. I ended up having to install it on a tilt. It works, but it is not aesthetically pleasing.
I also noticed that the drain plug needed more clearance on the bottom where the drain kit is installed. That was the easiest fix of all of them. I got some cinder blocks and set the compressor on those.
Great!!! Now I have a working compressor...NOT!!! After 5 minutes of using the compressor, the air coming out of the cylinders blew a hole in the poly-whatever (plastic/rubber) tubing needed for the auto-drain kit. It turns out that the air coming out of the cylinders was too hot and melted the tubing.
I then came up the ingenious idea to create some kind of metal coil to allow the air to cool before bringing it over to the rubber tubing. After a few trips to AutoZone and Sears Hardware, I did just that with some break line and compression unions and fittings and such. The air was still hot towards the end of the coil, but it was enough not to melt the rubber tubing.
Part of the reason for the overheating was because it was running longer than it needed to, to get back up to pressure. This was due to the fact that the first day that I started messing with the compressor, I changed the oil and removed the cylinder head to see if the cylinders needed cleaning. I subsequently ripped the head gasket that was melded to the head. So, since day one, the compressor has only been about, if I had to guess, 60% efficient. This made the compressor run longer in order to pressurize. I had purchased gasket material from a swap meet and replaced the gasket by cutting my own.
So, it turns out that a free inheritance may have cost me more to fix it than it wold have cost me to buy a new one. But, I learned a lot in the process and I'm satisfied with the work I put into it.
Painting the Front Sub-frame
Alas! I have finally painted the frame I disassembled in July. I haven't been too busy with the Nova since my last post as I have been busy with many other things. But I have accomplished a big step in the restoration of my Nova.
I prepared the garage and frame awhile ago for painting it. I put cardboard down and then a plastic drop cloth on the floor of my wife's side of the garage. I walked the frame over to that side of the garage and stood the frame up vertically, just under one of the rafters. I had Andrew hold the frame upright while I rigged the rope around the rafters to hold the frame from tipping over. After doing this, the frame sat for about a week-and-a-half.
I had intended on painting the frame standing vertically like it was. Then I realized that the application of POR-15 (the rust preventative) is a three-step process and the frame would need to be moved outside several times. For the life of me, I could not figure out how I was going to carry out the application without sacrificing time, energy, and quality. I took my dad's suggestion from the last post and used my ratchet straps to hold the frame upright.
On a sunny Saturday in September, I decided, that I was finally going to paint the frame. As I mentioned before, the application is a three-step process. The first step is the application of Marine Clean, which is a de-greaser that removes any oil, grease, and grime off the metal. After spraying this on, I took a small paintbrush and made sure I reached all of the visible and not-so-visible areas. After drying, I moved the frame outside to better dry in the sun and to see if I missed any areas. The control arms were hanging by the ropes in the garage and I applied the Marine Clean to them as well. After completely drying, I hosed off the entire frame (in the directions) and let it dry again. I used my air compressor hose to blow out any moisture that hadn't dried completely.
I carried the frame back into the garage and attached the hooks again for the application of the second step–Metal Ready. This product provides a better adhesion surface for any paint that will be applied to metal. It also leaves a zinc phosphate coating that "insure[s] chemical bonding of paint and steel". I sprayed it on, brushed it into the cracks, and let it dry. I brought the frame out into the sun to dry and hosed it off after awhile. Again, I brought it back inside the garage and attached the hooks. The hooks I'm sure were a lot easier than having to fiddle around with the rope that I originally used.
We had company coming over that day, so I wasn't able to apply the paint the same day. I did, however, find times during the weekday evenings to apply the paint to the frame in a few coats. This paint is very powerful and the bond is very strong to almost anything. With that being known, I wore long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and rubber dish washing gloves. It is also recommended, that if you are not going to use the entire can of paint, to drill a hole in the side of the can and pour into a container only the amount that you will need and to put a screw into the hole when you are done. The reason for this, is that if you get any paint in the rim of the paint can, the bond will permanently seal the can shut anyway.
Anyway, I started painting the frame with the paint in a plastic cup; like the ones you use at picnics. After about 20 minutes, the cup started deteriorating and I realized that I need to be using something a little thicker and more durable. As I was painting, I was hearing the paint drip off the underside of the frame part onto the drop cloth.
It was late before I finished painting the frame, so I decided to paint the second coat on a different night. The next night, I bought 320 grit sandpaper, as recommended, and I roughened up the entire frame. I also noticed a few drip spots where I applied too much paint in some areas. A few days later, I actually hung my frame horizontally for a couple reasons: 1) I wanted the drips, if I had any, to drip down and be on the underside of the frame and 2) I would have a different angle of light, so I could see if I missed any spots.
Anyway, to make an already long story short, in the 4 painting sessions (2 for the frame and 2 for the control arms) I got paint in my hair, on my arms, hands, knees, and the back of my legs when I was sitting down. I scrubbed all parts with a hard bristle brush and it didn't seem to work. It took about 2 1/2 weeks before all the paint wore off.
The second coat didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I used a horse hair brush for the second coat and I could see the brush stokes. I talk to Uncle Kurt about it and he recommended using 220 grit sandpaper and a sponge brush for the second coat. I used the foam brush for the control arms and they turned out a lot better than the frame. I have a little bit of the paint left, so I might scuff up the surface again in the bad areas and apply a 3rd coat.
This concludes the story. Sorry for the wait people. I should have another post and some more pictures shortly.
Front End Rebuild Kit
I'm gonna start off by saying that I have been a slacker for the past month, because of the lack of blog postings. I haven't been too busy with the Nova, but I do have something to write about. I'm doing my best to keep up on my progress.
After we had removed the ball joints and the control arm bushings, I had ordered the Front End Rebuild Kit, which included 2 ball joints and boots, 8 control arm bushings, 2 tie rod ends, a sway bar bushing kit, bumpers for the control arms, and an idler arm found here. The entire kit is polyurethane and is recommended over rubber by 3 out of 4 uncles. Uncle Kurt, his father-in-law, and I spent an entire evening pressing 4 out of 8 bushings and both ball joints into the control arms with a ball joint removal kit and an impact wrench. We we unable to use this method on the upper control arms, because they both have a bar that needs to be inside the bushings when pressing them in. The ball joint removal kit didn't provide the clearance needed for their removal.
After a short discussion, we determined that a shop press needed to be used to carry out this ordeal. This tool/equipment has been on Uncle Kurt's list for 20-some years now and he said that now would be a good time to purchase one. We went online and found that Harbor Freight had the size we needed for $200. We agreed to split the cost and then I left for the evening. A few days later, I received a text message from him stating that he had just purchased a slightly used shop press (the same one at Harbor Freight) for $120 from a guy that was selling it on Craig's List. Again, I express my infatuation of Craig's List.
A few days later, I scheduled an appointment for the use of the shop press in his facilities. Wouldn't you know it, we installed four bushings in less than 45 minutes. That including cutting a spacer from a piece of exhaust pipe. I wish/he wishes he would have bought the press earlier in the game. I do want to note that I did give him my share of the purchase.
In the mix of the bushing installation, at home, I moved my frame over to the other side of the garage and stood it upright. With the help of Andrew, I tied rope through a few holes on the frame to keep it balanced. I did not want to hang the frame from the garage rafters, but only to balance it. Remembering that painting the frame is a 3-step process, including hosing it off and getting it bone-dry again before the next step, I realized that the rope idea wasn't going to work as planned.
My dad called me the other day and in our discussion about my progress, he suggested using hooks. After our call, I rigged up my ratchet straps, with hooks, to the rafters and frame. I think this method will work a lot better, because the hooks will be a lot easier to remove from the holes, as opposed to rope.
Another thing I do want to mention before I finish, is that the wireless signal from the basement of the house to the garage was very weak and slow, especially with the garage door down. Last night, I moved the wireless router and DSL modem to the first floor of my house. After getting it all connected again, I went out to the garage to recheck the connection. I got a steady 2 out of 5 bars at 11Mbps with the garage door down. Now I am able to listen to my networked music, uninterrupted, in a rainstorm, in the garage, while working on my Nova. Woo hoo!!!
And one more thing...while I was writing this post on my lunch break, UPS delivered the polyurethane body mount bushing kit that I had ordered last week. This may be needed in the next step of the restoration after the frame is painted.
Patching the Front Frame Horn
Another day back in July, we decided to do some cutting and welding. Because of the fact that the Nova once had a lead-acid battery, a bit of corrosion formed on every part located directly below the battery tray. This included the front frame horn in which the bumper connects to. The corrosion also occurred on the front passenger wheel well and part of the radiator support. These two areas will be addressed at a later date.
The air hose, the grinder, the face shield, a few new cutting wheels, a permanent marker, and a piece of stock sheet metal were all brought out to begin the patching process. Uncle Kurt aligned the piece of metal to the rusted frame and a rough outline was drawn with the marker. He handed me the necessary equipment and told me to cut the piece outside the line drawn and he left to go inside. After about 20 minutes of cutting at a minuscule speed, the rough cut was finally finished.
He came back outside and redrew the line in the sub-frame and had me cut out the deteriorated section of the frame. He then took the metal piece that I cut and used the bench grinder, a few hand grinders, and the bench vise to get the exact shape that was needed. When the shape was achieved, the patch was clamped into place. The recently returned, smaller, flux cored welder was brought out. He put on the welder's mask and tacked a few spots around the edge of the patch. After a few tacks, he ran out of wire. I won't go into details about who is to blame, because that's not my territory.
The flux cored welder was set aside and the MIG welding cart was wheel out to the middle of the barn. He finished the tacking and removed the clamp. We then rotated the sub-frame so that the patch was on top of the frame and we propped it up with car jack stands. He showed me the best technique for welding on a small section of the patch and then he handed the welder to me.
I finished the job and you could definitely tell who did what section. My section had what he called a "booger weld", in which the welding material was splattered all around the area that was welded. This was, after all, a new experience and I will get better over time. After the welding was done, Uncle Kurt took the grinder and made the weld flush with the patch and sub-frame.
After finally getting the photos off of the photographer's camera, Aunt Tina, I have finished this post and included the before , during, and after photos below.
Swap Meet, Ball Joints, and Bushings
Sunday, July 19, Uncle Kurt, Uncle Jim, and I took at trip to Canfield to spend the day at Dave & Ed's Canfield Swap Meet. Uncle Jim bought the most stuff and he did end up visiting the ATM only once. I had been looking for a product called Por-15 for the past few weeks. It is a rust preventative. After spending a bit of time talking to a very knowledgeable person about it, I left the swap meet with a can at reduced price along with another product used with it. I also bought some work pants that ended up being too tight, a few chuck keys, and a few chamois cloths.
After the swap meet, my two uncles met me at my house, so that Uncle Jim could see my garage and my progress. He had a little fun with the neighbor kids as they rode their bikes up my driveway. We then took a trip to Harbor Freight before it closed to pick up a few things, before heading to Uncle Kurt's to do some more sandblasting. This visit was when the sandblasting pot was taken apart and the sand was filtered.
One of the days it rained last week, I couldn't do any sandblasting outside, so we decided that this would be a good time to remove the ball joints and the bushings from all four control arms. This involved a lot of hammering and the use various punches, the impact hammer, and the bench vise. Nothing too exciting happened when removing them, but we did have to consult the Internet for an image of the bushing to see what part actually needed to be separated from the control arms. The Internet is a wonderful thing.
Sandblasting
It's been a few weeks since my last post, so I thought I'd post today before I forget everything that I have done thus far. There are a couple things I need to mention before getting started. There is someone that deserves to get credit for his help and is entitled to be publicly recognized. This person, despite the fact that he is a hardcore Ford guy, has been helping me with my Nova since the day I made the purchase. Uncle nameless, with his permission, will now be referred to as "Uncle Kurt", or Kurt for short. Please see my previous posts for references to Uncle Nameless. And while I'm at it, I might as well say that my self-proclaimed "Fav Uncle" is Uncle Jim.
The Saturday after my last post, Uncle Kurt and I made a trip to the west side of Cleveland to pick up my brother's winter tires for his newly purchased Chrysler Crossfire. We were talking on the way and I ended up passing the interchange I was supposed to take and we were about 10-15 minutes later than I anticipated. On top of that, it rained the whole time we were at the dealership, so we were not able to look at the engine. We did, however, sat in and inspected the interior with our approval. We headed back to my house in the rain and our planned out day was not looking too great.
When we got back to my house, we put the tires in the rafters of the garage, to keep them out of the way. I showed Uncle Kurt my whole garage setup and all the work I had done thus far. The pictures taken don't really do any justice. We had planned on removing the front sub-frame and taking it to his house. Since I had sprayed the body mount bushings a few nights before with PB Blaster several times, we spent only a few minutes removing it. Since it was still raining, we decided not to take the frame to his house to start the sandblasting. Instead, he helped me fix a few things in my garage like, the sagging support for the garage door opener.
We made plans for me to go to his house on Monday with the frame and start the sandblasting. He called me Monday after work and said that the plan is a no-go. His well pump failed on him and he would be replacing it that evening. Since I had planned on going over there anyway, I offered my assistance to carry out the replacement. It's a good thing I did, because the sucker was heavy and awkward to pull it out of the well and lower the new in. Plus, I was there until nearly midnight. As a side note, the pipe that had been replaced is still laying in the grass in the side yard (as far as I know).
I believe I came over the next day to start sandblasting. The picnic table was moved over to the corner of the garage. The sandblaster was filled with sand. The "beekeepers hood" and the hot gloves were brought out. The air hose was unreeled to reach outside the garage. All vehicles were moved out of the sand over-spray zone. And finally, the frame was moved and set on top of the picnic table. Uncle Kurt started sandblasting and getting the pressure and the sand velocity dialed in. He handed over the hood, gloves, and the blasting tool and said that he'll be a few yards away, splitting wood.
It was going pretty smoothly for about 5 minutes, until a few things went wrong. There was a lot of stopping, shaking the tank, adjusting the levers, emptying the moisture filter, unhooking the air hose, emptying the air, unscrewing the nozzle, and unclogging the pebbles. These pebbles, we thought, were the remnants of unfiltered sand that was reused by the last operator of the sand blaster—Uncle Jim. After we completely emptied the tank, unhooked all the fittings, and unclogged the lines, we filtered the sand we just emptied and put the sand back into the tank. We found a couple handfuls of pebbles that were waiting to clog the nozzle.
After a few debates and accusations of how these pebbles got into the tank, we decided to filter the next bag of sand before using it. Surprisingly, we found a handful of pebbles in a single bag. We did point out that the bag does say commercial grade sand and says nothing about use with sandblasters. A big apology was made to the accused and he was let off the hook. We have all learned our lesson and will now filter any kind of sandblasting media before using it.
Here are a few before, during, and after pictures.
Preparation for Front Sub-frame Removal
Yesterday, I actually accomplished quite a bit. On my way home from work, I called my self-proclaimed "unnamed uncle", and talked to him about the comment he left on the blog on my previous post found here. He determined that it would be best to disconnect the front sub-frame from the body and have it sandblasted.
After finishing a few chores at home, I went to the garage and got started right away. Let's see, I located all of the brake line and fuel line brackets and removed all the screws. I disconnected the brake line from the master cylinder and removed the whole brake line from the engine compartment. I removed the passenger upper control arm and all the bolts. I removed a few sway bar bracket screws, but I decided to wait to take it completely off until I have the lower control arms off, because of the awkward location of the screws. I removed the center drag link, by disconnecting the idler arm from the frame and the drag link from the Pitman arm. I also removed the steering gear from the column and the frame.
Last but not least, I followed the correct procedure in the Hayne's manual—at least I thought I did—and removed the driver side lower control arm. The manual said to strap a chain around the spring and put a jack under the control arm while taking the bolts out. I did that up until after I took the bolts out. I didn't realize that the spring was still compressed, so I took off the "chain" (rubber hose) and removed the jack. As I was unbolting the the shock absorber at the shaft, the shaft came completely out and that's when the control arm finally broke free and the compressed spring shot the control arm to the floor where my foot was. I almost broke a toe, but luckily I'm ok.
All that's left to do now is remove the passenger control arm safely and then unbolt the front sub-frame from the body and then finally I can make a trip to my unnamed uncle's house to use the sandblaster on all my disconnected parts. I hope I will have time to do this tonight. I also took a few more pictures of my progress and tools. These can be found in the photo gallery. The left photo below are all the labeled bags I have so far full of nuts, bolts, screws, etc. The middle photo is of the culprit. And the right photo is a shot of most of the parts I took off yesterday.
Ball Joints and Parts Application
Since the last post, I got smart and purchased a ball joint separator tool at AutoZone. I brought it home and started using it right away. After about an hour of taking turns with my brother-in-law and wailing on the pickle fork with a sledge hammer, bending the forks, and trying to loosen the lower ball joint, I decided to try the upper ball joint. I came in from the side of the car instead of front or back and the upper ball joint separated within a few whacks. Now that I could rotate the lower ball joint on more than one axis, I was able to separate it without a problem. After all was done, I remembered that the Hayne's Manual said to separate the upper ball joint first.
Since CHEVY Nova parts are so abundant and easy to find on the Internet, and since I possess the knowledge, I created a small web-based application that allows me to enter and compare prices of different car parts. For example, I'm currently looking for a front end suspension rebuild kit. One of these can be found at all kinds of online stores. All of these stores also have different ideas of what the kit should contain. I would add the distributor and the part to the database and include the price, url, and the notes. I can later bring up the part and do a price and content comparison and determine what is the best deal.
PC for the Garage
I found a newer (black case) Dell computer for a great price ($40) on Craig's List on Thursday and went to pick it up on Saturday morning. Again, I express my love for Craig's List. I came home, set it up in the garage, and booted it up. It was quick. It didn't have much on it, so it was really easy to clean it up. I didn't get much done before leaving for the rest of the weekend to watch the NHRA nationals in Norwalk with my brother-in-law and my father-in-law. My ticket was a birthday gift and I had a great time. Those things are amazing.
Monday, I finished setting up the PC. I hooked up a set of computer speakers and a sub woofer, so I can listen to music in there. I also connected a wireless card so I can use the Internet. The wireless signal to my house was weak and it was slow—1 bar and 1Mbps. I spent awhile figuring out how to increase the speed and I remembered I had a satellite dish laying around from the previous home owner. I pointed the dish towards the house and held the USB wireless card in the center by the dish receiver. To my amazement, the speed jumped up to 11Mbps (the max for my router) and stayed there. Now I just have to mount the dish somewhere out of the way and premanently connect the card to the dish.
After all that was done, I started downloading the programs I will need for accessing the Internet an playing music. Since all my music is on a network drive, I can play the music on any PC on my network. No downloading of music again will be needed. I just hope the wireless connection isn't flaky.
Enough about computers, let's talk about what I did to the Nova. Well, I started by cleaning off the work bench and moving some boxes to the floor in the empty space where the pressure washer used to be—the owner came to pick it up. Then I proceeded to remove the engine mounts from the engine compartment. The nuts were in tight areas, so it took me awhile to loosen them and get them off. After taking those off, I cleaned them up with a wire wheel. Then I went to the passenger side front, and finished removing the tire rod end and took the nuts off the upper and lower ball joints. I have determined that I need to buy a ball joint removal tool, instead of forcing them out with a hammer.
Again I have no pictures today. And since I broke my promise to have pictures the last post, I'm no longer making any promises.
I Love Craig’s List
Last night I emailed someone that had a listing on Craig's List for an impact wrench. The listing included a slightly used Ingersoll Rand 231G 1/2" impact wrench and extras, that included an SAE deep socket set, an extension and a 360 degree swivel fitting. After a few emails back and forth today, I sent him the link to this blog. He read the part about me needing a grinder. He just happened to have a Craftsman electric grinder, that was used once, for $20 and a sawsall both listed on Craig's List as well. He also said that if I bought a few things from him, he would throw in a few cans of primer and rust inhibitor and some body work tools that I will need later.
Needless to say, I took a trip out to New Philadelphia after work today and came home with the impact wrench (and extras), a grinder, and a bunch of aerosol cans full of contents that I will need in the not-so-distant future. I came home and ordered a few pizzas and then used my impact wrench to take off the lug nuts of the passenger front tire. I ended up having to read the directions to see what knobs I needed to turn to get the right direction and power to the wrench. It turns out that the wrench is an air hog and I just needed to adjust the pressure a bit. I started to disassemble the passenger front suspension, but I ended up pinching my hand, so I stopped and called it a night.
Sorry folks, no pictures today. I'll have some photos of my new tools tomorrow.
Summit, Title Transfer, and Drum Brake
On Friday after work, my brother-in-law and I went to Summit Racing Equipment to see if we could buy either an impact wrench or a grinder. I 'll tell you that I was a little disappointed and Summit was not what I had expected. It turns out that it's more of a show store and a retail pickup location, rather than a full retail store. I did buy a deep impact socket set for $20, but nothing else. I have been looking adamantly for an impact wrench since then—on eBay, Craigslist, and retail stores. Perhaps I should ask an uncle to borrow one.
Saturday, I finally got the title to the Nova transferred into my name. There were a lot of people at the Title Bureau and given that it was a Saturday and in Akron, I enjoyed people watching. I didn't get to work on the car at all.
Monday, I was determined to start some more dismantling. I jacked the Nova up and put it on jack stands. Then I proceeded to take the tire off and eventually the entire drum brake assembly, by disconnecting the tie rod, and the upper and lower ball joints. Then I read the Hayne's manual and it suggested to take the brake assembly apart before taking it off the control arms. I managed to get enough thread on both upper and lower ball joints to get the nuts back on.
I did as the book suggested and took the master cylinder cover off and put a ziploc bag over top and snapped the cover in place again—to help prevent drainage. I took the rest of the brake assembly apart and disconnected the hose. I realized that I should have been prepared with another plastic bag to catch the dripping fluid. After taking it apart, I cleaned up the 1/2 inch thick grease that was around the lower ball joint. It was pretty thick. Using the wire wheel, the grease went everywhere, so I decided to use the wire brush instead. Hopefully, I can get enough parts together to make a trip to my uncle's house to use the sandblaster. I hope to clean up the entire engine compartment before installing the engine.
Rust Removal and Reel
June 17
I bought some Rustoleum from AutoZone to see if it would help with the pitted rust in the engine compartment. After using it, we decided that we need to buy a grinding. My brother-in-law and I decided to take the front bumper off to get at the rotted bumper support. If anyone has any suggestions on what to do about it, please let me know. The rest of the front frame is in good condition and I'd rather not replace it if I don't have to. The rusted support is shown below.
June 18
I went to Harbor Freight after work today and bought an automatic drainer and a lead in hose for my air compressor. I tried installing the drainer, but I don't have enough clearance on the bottom and also I would have to cut the tubing connecting the tank and the shut-off switch. I want to do it right, so I need an expert's opinion (hint).
Today, I also unmounted the hose reel and re-mounted with better support connecting to the wall stud. I ran into several problems in doing this. I first took the reel off the piece of 2x4, drew the holes by laying that piece onto a new 2x4, and drilled the holes. I found out that that was a bad idea, because the holes were nowhere near the correct location. So I did it right and took apart the reel so that I could drill straight holes into the 2x4. After that was all done, I screwed the 2x4 into the stud instead of nailing it and then I mounted the reel. All of this took me about 2 hours to do. But it is up now ad the picture is below.
New Light Fixtures and Air Hose Reel
Today, I stopped at Wal-Mart and Home Depot to buy a light fixture for my work bench, a fluorescent light assembly for the ceiling, nuts and bolts to mount the air hose reel, and other small things. While at Home Depot, I spent some time on the phone with my uncle discussing my progress and asking a few questions. He made a few suggestions about books, tools, and products I should buy, to make my restoration project a lot easier.
I mounted the reel on the wall above the air compressor while my brother-in-law installed the light over my bench. I have a feeling that tomorrow, the reel and hose will be laying on the floor. Although the reel is securely connected to the two by four with the nuts and bolts that I bought, I don't think the two by four is secured to the garage wall. I think I may need to screw it into the wall instead of nailing it.
I also installed the fluorescent light above the engine compartment. I first moved the existing light back one ceiling joist, and installed the new one, two joists in front of it. Hopefully, I can get some work done on the car tomorrow. I think I might take the front bumper off to get at the front passenger-side frame—or at least try to take it of.
Disassembly
Monday, June 15
I imagine that as I get more backed up with work on the car, my blog posts will become shorter.
Today, I removed the right front fender, the radiator support, the headlights and the headlight wiring. I realized that a breaker bar or an impact wrench would be a great investment. I'm also starting to realize what needs replaced.
