Beautiful Car!
1966 Polara 500 Ragtop
- Thread starter Dsertdog
- Start date
Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
Laying down on the fender doing the one handed " feel the hole and thread"? Not at my age and weight. I'm just glad this car was made with real Deeetroit steel!
The '69 Roadrunner I had was easy... when discovered Mopar had put an access panel in the inner fender. Jack up the car, remove two screws...right there!
LocuMob
Fluid Technician with a hat
At least you know the technique! I didn't think it was so bad when I did mine in the past, but it's been a year since I've done it.
Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
Dropped Red off at my mechanics shop today. He has it until I get back from vacation.
New tank and sending unit, brake and front end work, and wheel stud replacement.
I can't wait to get back home!
New tank and sending unit, brake and front end work, and wheel stud replacement.
I can't wait to get back home!
65sporty
Old Man with a Hat
Classics like this I really enjoy coming into the shop, they give me a break from all the modern cars/trucks I see every day.
Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
My guy has a lot of classics...he's got quite the rep for building and rebuilding brakes and suspension. Plus he's got his own stuff.
Here's a few pics of what he got done.
Gas tank...
The old tank...completely full of rust top to bottom. No way to salvage that!
Strut rod and bushings, lower control arm, bushings, sway bar bushings
Got more trust to treat.
Also got new brake drums and rh studs/nuts all around. Car stops much better. Master cylinder conversion next!
More work to do, but I'm taking it to a local show tomorrow.
Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
Went to the exhaust shop yesterday to get new duals on the car.
Stopped by this morning, installer recommended I get new flanges and he can build a better system. I agreed.
He was also cool enough to let me shoot some photos of the underside. Lots of work needed.
Old, original flanges...
Some misc photos. Looks like lots of rust to remove and encapsulate.
Needs a good pressure washing and some transmission work.
I don't know why the seat belt bolts are installed upside down except to fill the holes. I removed them so I can put in new belts. Discovering this later with the car on pavement would have been a real bad deal. I am happy I don't have to drill and weld in mounts.
Stopped by this morning, installer recommended I get new flanges and he can build a better system. I agreed.
He was also cool enough to let me shoot some photos of the underside. Lots of work needed.
Old, original flanges...
Some misc photos. Looks like lots of rust to remove and encapsulate.
Needs a good pressure washing and some transmission work.
I don't know why the seat belt bolts are installed upside down except to fill the holes. I removed them so I can put in new belts. Discovering this later with the car on pavement would have been a real bad deal. I am happy I don't have to drill and weld in mounts.
Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
After a week we got duals!
Nice and quiet with just the right amount of rumble. No drone!
Don't worry the wires clear the pipe by several inches, as does the torsion bar.
Very happy with the results. The inside is so quiet now...and the unleaded gas smell is gone.
Nice and quiet with just the right amount of rumble. No drone!
Don't worry the wires clear the pipe by several inches, as does the torsion bar.
Very happy with the results. The inside is so quiet now...and the unleaded gas smell is gone.
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mr. fix it
Old Man with a Hat
Very Nice! I've been thinking about going back with the stock manifolds but the choke flap is totally lunched on my setup....
LocuMob
Fluid Technician with a hat
Don't need it, unless you plan on driving during the winter months.
Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
Told the the fella to cut it out of there. Make it gone. My temp gauge is running lower so I'm guessing there was some slight blockage.
Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
Today was busy thrash session on Red.
I needed to replace the damaged cooling fan.
Started by removing the Shroud and fan. The pulley and shroud got dunked in a vat of degreaser, along with the A/C coil bracket and it's attending compressor bracket.
Shot some Dulplicolor Turquoise on the water pump to see the engine would look like. I like it!
The old wheel barrow makes a good makeshift solvent tank.
'Nuff said...
Lower shroud coated with Rust bullet and a quick coat of Ford semi gloss black. The upper shroud will be painted tomorrow I hope.
After degreasing, all parts were sprayed with brake cleaner and then wire brushed. Rinsed again with a shot of brake cleaner, then primed and painted with Duplicolor semi gloss black
The original coil was just about dead. Leaking oil and a weak orange spark. The bracket was painted Turquoise. Why...?
Bazinga! Echlin chrome hi po coil
Coil bracket and compressor support were washed, degreased, wire brushed, degreased, and primed and painted semi gloss black.
Ran out of time and had to put things together enough for a cruise. New Derale 18 inch fan worked great with the heat index around 101 degrees.
I needed to replace the damaged cooling fan.
Started by removing the Shroud and fan. The pulley and shroud got dunked in a vat of degreaser, along with the A/C coil bracket and it's attending compressor bracket.
Shot some Dulplicolor Turquoise on the water pump to see the engine would look like. I like it!
The old wheel barrow makes a good makeshift solvent tank.
'Nuff said...
Lower shroud coated with Rust bullet and a quick coat of Ford semi gloss black. The upper shroud will be painted tomorrow I hope.
After degreasing, all parts were sprayed with brake cleaner and then wire brushed. Rinsed again with a shot of brake cleaner, then primed and painted with Duplicolor semi gloss black
The original coil was just about dead. Leaking oil and a weak orange spark. The bracket was painted Turquoise. Why...?
Bazinga! Echlin chrome hi po coil
Coil bracket and compressor support were washed, degreased, wire brushed, degreased, and primed and painted semi gloss black.
Ran out of time and had to put things together enough for a cruise. New Derale 18 inch fan worked great with the heat index around 101 degrees.
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LocuMob
Fluid Technician with a hat
You and @TxDon are making me look lazy in my repairs. Cleaning, more cleaning, priming and painting before putting it all back together? It looks great, and I'm sure you'll get the rest done in no time. Raising the bar, these southern guys, I tell ya...
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Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
I'm a transplant. Born in South Bend Indiana, (and yes I love Studebakers) and lived many years in Iowa and a couple in Wisconsin, and I know what salt can do.
So I am de-rusting and coating. This car spent time near the ocean and up in Michigan, even though it wasn't driven in the winter.
Took the shroud mounts off and treated them along with the top part of the shroud. Finished for the moment.
The new coil, snug as a bug. Car seems to start better with it.
Next...treating and re finishing the battery tray and area, along with the valve covers.
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Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
I had to make a VERY adult decision earlier in the week and decided the car was just a bit too "rough" to warrant the polished slots and a set of bigger meats in the rear. Some other work needed to be done first.
I found a good price on 215/75/14 wsw Hankooks on Amazon and ordered in 5 of them. Yes, even the spare will be tossed.
Fedex delivered them today.
The local Pep Boys will install them next week. This takes care of 99% of the serious safety issues the car started with.
From post #47...
Strut rod bushings...Replaced
Lower control arm bushings....Replaced
Sway bar bushings...Replaced
Brake drums..brake shoes look new but drums are thin...Drums replaced, front bearings re packed. Adjuster kits added to rear to replace missing parts Emergency brake cables lubed and tested.
Big dent in gas tank, on the side...Replaced with new tank and sending unit.
Exhaust.. rotted muffler, rotted and broken tailpipe... New duals installed.
I found a good price on 215/75/14 wsw Hankooks on Amazon and ordered in 5 of them. Yes, even the spare will be tossed.
Fedex delivered them today.
The local Pep Boys will install them next week. This takes care of 99% of the serious safety issues the car started with.
From post #47...
Strut rod bushings...Replaced
Lower control arm bushings....Replaced
Sway bar bushings...Replaced
Brake drums..brake shoes look new but drums are thin...Drums replaced, front bearings re packed. Adjuster kits added to rear to replace missing parts Emergency brake cables lubed and tested.
Big dent in gas tank, on the side...Replaced with new tank and sending unit.
Exhaust.. rotted muffler, rotted and broken tailpipe... New duals installed.
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Well thanks to you I now know the phantom part I have laying on my work bench is the coil bracket!! Thanks.....
Dsertdog
Old man with an old guitar, and a blue note.
Always wear safety glasses and gloves...shop apron is recommended. If bristles decide to fly out, everything is almost eye level!
I use a different types of brushes depending on what and where I need to get at.
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