Lavron's '64 Build Thread

[lavron]

Guess it has been a few days since I posted I have been busy mounting casters on the bottom of the Comet so it will not drag the floor pans out going down the highway

Ok so that is not really what I have been doing (or all I have been doing)

I built a little box to mount on the inner fender for my fuse boxes.


Not finished yet I am going to add screws to the little ears sticking out so it can tilt forward to get easy access to the wiring behind it. It will have a weather strip on the back lip on the top and both sides, I am not going to seal the bottom edge up in case any water makes it in it can drain out easy, the boxes are sealed, I think they are designed for marine applications. I have a relay box that matches these and I will probably mount it on the back of the core support if there is room, if not I will mount it on the inner fender ahead of the fuse boxes.

What you can't see is the tube running from the back of the box into the firewall (approx. 1.5"-1.75" diameter) inside the front fender well, it is not attached yet either but will be welded in, I will show when I get further along on it.

Of course the cost on this $0 not counting the fuse boxes because it is all built out of old scrap and stuff I had laying around

A little further every day.

See Ya,
Mike

[StPro]

Guess it has been a few days since I posted I have been busy mounting casters on the bottom of the Comet so it will not drag the floor pans out going down the highway

I thought they were to keep passengers from dragging there feet when you are going to blow the doors off the local ricer.

[lavron]

I thought they were to keep passengers from dragging there feet when you are going to blow the doors off the local ricer.

I am not sure there will be a lot of that going on around here, maybe an old rusty pickup, for one thing the doors are just wired on with bailing wire anyway so they are easier to blow off

I finished up the fuse box mount today except for final paint and putting the weather seal on the back side.



I have just acquired a rivet nut tool and some threaded rivets, so I had to use as many of them as I could They actually worked really well. In the middle picture it is tilted down and I have some wires there for demonstration purposes only, that is 10 to 12 wires, I think I could run 4 or 5 times that many if they were all this size. I just pulled the cover off of one on the last picture so you could see the rubber seal around the edge, they should be pretty weather tight (there is a rubber seal on the back as well)

Under the fender I welded in a conduit to run from the fuse boxes to under the dash, you might ignore the fact that I was stupid and did not cover the air line before welding and some hot slag dripped on it, I don't think it did any damage to the line just welded a couple of blobs of metal onto the stainless jacket (I might have to spin the airline so the blemishes are on the inside )



If you squint your eyes and look at that conduit you may notice it looks a lot like a satellite dish mounting arm, there may be a reason for that And don't be too critical of my sloppy welds on the inner fender I had a gap there I had to fill because my hole was round and the pipe was oval cut at the end, I will clean those up when I am finishing the inner fender area (plus I am going to seam seal it as well).

I looks like I should be able to mount one of the relay boxes on the front core support, the other one I think I will mount in the trunk (I have a nice waterproof box that matches the fuse boxes and a not so weatherproof one)

Well at least it looks like I may have started on the wiring, probably won't go too far right now, I have bigger fish to fry .

See Ya,
Mike

[Jims65cyclone]

probably won't go too far right now, I have bigger fish to fry .

Ooohh.....cliff-hanger. I want to see what tricks you're teaching her. Like "roll over".

Jim

[lavron]

Ooohh.....cliff-hanger. I want to see what tricks you're teaching her. Like "roll over".

Hhmm, maybe

I took out the windshield today, didn't break it or damage it any worse than it maybe is already The frame is all good except one spot on the drivers side right next to the steering wheel in the picture.


I always worry until I get something done that I will find bad hidden rust that I have to do extensive repair on, not today

I went ahead and flap wheeled the rusty spot and then hit it with a rotary wire brush, cleaned it and sprayed some Rust Reformer on it, it really didn't have any rust left then I got done with the wire wheel just some bad pitting, the metal is pretty thick right there so I think it will be ok, and it is under the rubber windshield seal.


I guess I could have acid etched it to make sure all the rust was gone but I didn't

I can't decide on is I want to put the original windshield back in, it isn't that bad for a 55 year old glass but has some rock chips and I noticed some little spalls on edge where it looks like it might try and de-lam eventually. I am sure I could probably polish it up pretty good and just ignore the stone chips but do you guys think I would be better off replacing it while it is out anyway or wait a few years and replace it after it starts to turn white around edges from de-laming? (or one of the spalls causing it to crack later)

See Ya,
Mike

[lavron]

Cold, damp and miserable day overall. So what better thing to do than take all the windows out of your car?

No issues really, only a couple of things that required or will require attention. On the drivers door the roller was broken that goes in the window regulator track, it was still in there because I am not sure how it can get out anyway, but the parts car still has the rear windows in it along with all the regulators so I went out and took a couple off of it because the rear windows have three rollers where the front only has one (There are still up to 4 more on it, if none of the others are broken). I also found the spring in the bottom of the door, it looks like it has been there a while, it looks like it goes on the door handle to keep it from rattling, not sure where to get another one or if I will have to get the whole handle to fix it.


I also need the rubber that goes around the wing window, I haven't looked yet to see if anyone repos it, I hope so because this one is dry and brittle ( I can't imagine it is not the same as a Mustang).


Windowless and all the weatherstrip has been removed (what there was left of it)


My wife asked me why I was taking all the windows out and I told her I really did not have a choice because all the rubber and weatherstrip needs replaced, plus I need to lighten the car as much as I can as I work up to the next major task

See Ya,
Mike

[A/FX]

A word of caution when you go to purchase new rubber parts. I just sent back a set of wing window rubbers to Dennis Carpenter because they were wrong and did not fit. I also have found that the vertical rubber that installs on the window frame for the vent window and the upper rubber are all incorrect and do not fit. I have reordered all new parts from Steele Rubber Products. Rubber parts are not cheap, if you buy inexpensive rubber it will not fit, Spend the money and buy the best available the first time. (Although Carpenter parts were not cheap they were less expensive compared to Steele)
Same goes for anything from the family of Eckler companies, ( Mac’s, Dearborn Classics, etc.) I have found most of their products are not up to my standards, so I try to use original parts whenever possible, even if they need to be refinished.
Jim

[lavron]

I have reordered all new parts from Steele Rubber Products

Have you got them yet? When you do let me know if they fit well etc. I have some time before I need them but I would like them to fit and not leak or whistle as much as possible and I never want to change them again, the originals lasted 55 years, I don't think I will last another 55 .

Thanks for the lead, I checked their website, I guess they don't have the all the window weatherstrips and fuzzies.

See Ya,
Mike

[A/FX]

I have reordered all new parts from Steele Rubber Products

Have you got them yet? When you do let me know if they fit well etc. I have some time before I need them but I would like them to fit and not leak or whistle as much as possible and I never want to change them again, the originals lasted 55 years, I don't think I will last another 55 .

Thanks for the lead, I checked their website, I guess they don't have the all the window weatherstrips and fuzzies.

See Ya,
Mike

I placed the order yesterday for the Steele rubber, I will install it as soon as it arrives because I am assembling the doors right now. I will let you know how they fit but my car will not see weather until sometime next year. (Maybe)
The fuzzies are available from a few vendors, I believe the brand name on the stuff I used was “Rebop”. It fit very well, no issues. (Remember I am using products made for a 2dr hardtop, not a sedan)
Jim

[lavron]

Getting her stripped down to race weight of course would be hard to drive with no seats or steering wheel. I am glad I left the door locks in place so I can keep the car secure when I am away


I also took out the mock up transmission and got it back up on the dollies, which is about the only way I can fit under it (as long as I don't use the creeper)

This is as far stripped down this car has ever been since before it was rolling down the assembly line

I think when I get ready to make it flip I may take off the doors, at least the drivers door, it drops ever so slightly when you open it, I am not sure if new pins would fix the hinge or if I need new ones, the passenger door is ok, if I just can replace the pins the parts car still has hinges, mostly, they cut off the outside instead of unbolting them, I thought the passenger hinge pins might be ok on it. I guess the question is can I even remove the pins or are they swedged on the end like a rivet? It really is not too bad and maybe I should just leave it alone, the door shuts and opens fine.

See Ya,
Mike

[popscomet]

then I'd lean more on the side of leaving it alone,,,jmo...pop

[bigdan]

The pins in the hinges just press out, but they'll have to be removed from the car. Then realigned of course. If mine were close I'd have left then alone to save the headache.

Looking good!

Dan

[lavron]

then I'd lean more on the side of leaving it alone,,,jmo...pop

If mine were close I'd have left then alone to save the headache

Thanks guys I will take your advice, really if it gets to be an issue in the future I can repair it later as they just bolt on anyway.

You can certainly tell this car has spent it's entire life being mostly used by one person (ok I have owned it most of it's life) because any issues are with the drivers door, I kinda imagine this is how most are and there is never even wear with the passenger side. So far that is the door that droops that little bit when opened, the only widow regulator roller was worn and damaged and the spring that keeps the door handle from rattling was broken. No big deal nothing that needs or can't be fixed.

I guess the only progress I made yesterday was I went and visited the machinist (70 miles one way) and dropped off my valve springs, seals, valve retainers and keepers. If I hadn't said before he had returned my call last week and said the head was good so i needed the get the Viton valve seals to him so he could cut the valve guides to press them on. I also wanted to do something on the car when I got home (after swinging by Springfield to pick up stuff at the lumber yard) so I pulled the oil pan off the engine and stamped the 5 & 6 on the connecting rods and caps (not much, but something)

See Ya,
Mike

[SASSY]

Mike please change the pic at the bottom of your posts! I caught myself looking at airbags and checking out your mods to get as low as your car in that pic Love the stance!!
Keep the hammer down!
Fred

[A/FX]

I have reordered all new parts from Steele Rubber Products

Have you got them yet? When you do let me know if they fit well etc. I have some time before I need them but I would like them to fit and not leak or whistle as much as possible and I never want to change them again, the originals lasted 55 years, I don't think I will last another 55 .

Thanks for the lead, I checked their website, I guess they don't have the all the window weatherstrips and fuzzies.

See Ya,
Mike

I received the Steele Rubber yesterday, today I removed the balance of the Carpenter parts and compared them to the Steele. The Carpenter parts are dead wrong in many ways, the Steele parts are very close to factory design and fit well, they are not perfect but so much better than the Carpenter stuff. It is money well spent buying the Steele replacements, I do not believe there are any other sources for quality rubber so the Steele stuff is what I am sticking with.
I still have the windscreen and back glass to install, as soon as the headliner is finished (hopefully tomorrow) I will prepare to install them. I bought new tinted/shaded glass from Pilkington Glass, but it is still in the shipping box.
Jim