Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

pulled the anti sway bar out of the acid bath this morning and hosed it off, than wire wheeled it clean, it really takes both acid and abrasives (wire wheel) to get the rust completely off

[Gregski]

the brackets that come rivited to the frame from the factory was next, can any of youz tell me what the V is for, is that V for Victory or hey my name is Victor and I made these, LOL? or is that an arrow and I have two left ones or two right ones, ha ha

[Gregski]

and soon enuff both of those were clean

i was thinking / comparing media a blastin' to wire wheelins and I think you can get in the came for a whole lot cheaper with a wire wheel (Harbor Freight $15 bucks) than media blasting which you need an air compressor $250 for plus a media bucket $100

[Gregski]

and than I got started on the small brackets

[Gregski]

and soon enuff those was down to bare metal

now Greg why you is working so hard taking them down to bare metal, well cause I gotta tell you in my experience 100% of the time or more, (LOL) they got rust beneath the paint, I kid you not, so I exterminate that cancer

[Woodyboat]

Originally Posted by Gregski

and soon enuff those was down to bare metal

now Greg why you is working so hard taking them down to bare metal, well cause I gotta tell you in my experience 100% of the time or more, (LOL) they got rust beneath the paint, I kid you not, so I exterminate that cancer

This is a perfect example of how many friends and well wishers often do not understand the desire to get something done correctly. I fully agree with you here. I feel that, if I am to go this extent, finishing the project halfway is pointless. It only takes very little extra time to get the job done right!

Yeah, I feel you here.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Woodyboat

This is a perfect example of how many friends and well wishers often do not understand the desire to get something done correctly. I fully agree with you here. I feel that, if I am to go this extent, finishing the project halfway is pointless. It only takes very little extra time to get the job done right!

Yeah, I feel you here.

Oh I hear ya brotha, I cringe when they paint over grease and dirt, sometimes I see trucks for a quick sale like that and I think great, now you wasted couple hundred bucks on spray paint thinking you made the truck nicer and want to jack up the price for that, yet you just made my life more difficult as a buyer cause now I will not only have to take the dirt, grime, grease, and rust off but now your stupid coat of paint as well, ha ha - these are the same guys who spray paint stuff while holding it in one hand and shooting it with a rattle can in the other, but wait it gets worse, then they go straight to mounting it on, not even dry, my goodness

[Woodyboat]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Oh I hear ya brotha, I cringe when they paint over grease and dirt, sometimes I see trucks for a quick sale like that and I think great, now you wasted couple hundred bucks on spray paint thinking you made the truck nicer and want to jack up the price for that, yet you just made my life more difficult as a buyer cause now I will not only have to take the dirt, grime, grease, and rust off but now your stupid coat of paint as well, ha ha - these are the same guys who spray paint stuff while holding it in one hand and shooting it with a rattle can in the other, but wait it gets worse, then they go straight to mounting it on, not even dry, my goodness

This “taking a shortcut wherever possible” mentality is REALLY present among the classic and antique boat people. Who doesn’t love viewing a beautifully restored antique Chris Craft or Hackercraft? But most folks who want to own such a beauty have absolutely no clue how to go about restoring it ... or even maintaining it. An 80 year old wooden boat is going to be a finicky beast even in the best of times. And so, we always see these beautiful boats showing up at the shows that can barely make it away from the dock under their own power. AND, if your boat does get away from the dock, you DANG sure don't go past the breakwater! That's just suicide. There is consensus that is developing that runs like this:

“Ok folks, in order to enter this antique boat show, you must have your boats docked in the water the night before judging. All bilge pumps will remain off during the night and only the boats that are still floating in the morning, will be judged.”

Yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to do almost anything. To me, it always seems that, doing something the wrong way will eventually come back and bite you right in the tailbone every time.

On the other hand, if one restores his antique Chris correctly, that boat can go out on any lake and get slammed around just like a new modern fiberglass boat with absolutely no worries. And who wouldn't want to have THAT?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Woodyboat

This “taking a shortcut wherever possible” mentality is REALLY present among the classic and antique boat people. Who doesn’t love viewing a beautifully restored antique Chris Craft or Hackercraft? But most folks who want to own such a beauty have absolutely no clue how to go about restoring it ... or even maintaining it. An 80 year old wooden boat is going to be a finicky beast even in the best of times. And so, we always see these beautiful boats showing up at the shows that can barely make it away from the dock under their own power. AND, if your boat does get away from the dock, you DANG sure don't go past the breakwater! That's just suicide. There is consensus that is developing that runs like this:

“Ok folks, in order to enter this antique boat show, you must have your boats docked in the water the night before judging. All bilge pumps will remain off during the night and only the boats that are still floating in the morning, will be judged.”

Yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to do almost anything. To me, it always seems that, doing something the wrong way will eventually come back and bite you right in the tailbone every time.

On the other hand, if one restores his antique Chris correctly, that boat can go out on any lake and get slammed around just like a new modern fiberglass boat with absolutely no worries. And who wouldn't want to have THAT?

funny you bring up Chris Crafts as my newly retired father in law and a super muticulous fixer upper bought one in really bad condition and planned on restoring it, now he owned boats in the past so this was going to be his retirement gig, well after he spoke to an expert or two, they said after he is done in 10 years restoring that thing, it will be ready to sit at the museum cause they guranteed him it would still leak like a sieve, HA HA

[Gregski]

another question time (AQT)

is they supposed to a have those indentations in the brackets, cause either they forgot to put some in, in all the brackets or these are just wear marks I can't tell the difference non

so is that by design or is they supposed to be nice and flat

[Gregski]

all clean and ready for the paint

[hatzie]

Urethane bushings come with Yellow Zinc galvanized U-Straps. Yellow Zinc looks similar to the old Cadmium bolt and hardware coatings GM used at least till the 80's and probably into the 90's. Much better than the old clapped out rubber bushings or even new rubber bushings. They change the character of the sway bar operation enough that you may not miss the slightly larger piece.
This is a set of Red 1.125" (1-1/8") Greaseable Urethane Bushings. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ens-3-5176r/overview/

Pick your sway bar diameter and get a set... They are available in Black if you aren't looking to draw attention to them.http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/search.asp

[Gregski]

this is sorta what we are going for, not quite the hammered finish as they call it, but just cast iron grayish contrast of the bar to the semi flat black brackets

money

[flashed]

As you always do please take good pics of installing the sway bar as I need to do one when I am able to work again .

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by flashed

As you always do please take good pics of installing the sway bar as I need to do one when I am able to work again .

LOL, this is how it came off, glad I took these pics

[Gregski]

I chose the Dupli-Color [ahem] Wheel Coating "System" of Primer | Paint | Clear for the following two reasons:

1. they offer Graphite base coast

2. they offer Matte clear coat

and so we start with two medium coats of primer (although they call for 4 light ones)

[rusty76]

You know are the frame brackets left and right? I put a sway bar on my truck and never did paint it. I just put it on the truck. I couldn't tell a difference with it really. Although I never did push it hard. Looking good dude.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rusty76

You know are the frame brackets left and right?

I thought about that, but that would mean my donor truck had two of the same kind. Plus LMC Truck which is usually good in their diagrams does not list a left and right one when selling them, just says you need two.

[Gregski]

so with two light coats and two medium coats on the anti sway bar and brackets we have an hour to kill before shooting the clear coat

what to do, what to do? too early for a beer... [hmmm I know] lets finally organize our Car Repair AParatus aka C.R.AP.

I don't know about you, but I struggle with this type of stuff, especially since it seems like there is ONE of Everything, as opposed to wrenches go here, sockets go there, screw drivers over there, etc., etc.

so do we hang all this stuff up on this there peg board, or do we build some shelves for it, or do we shove it in a tool box? how do you handle your [ahem] C.R.AP.?

[flashed]

Mine is scattered about my shop in all directions ,I hope to get it organized soon though.

[Gregski]

So I've been running this cheap ($125) Proform distributor part number 66941BK for about a year. I say cheap because they make a bit more expensive one part number 141-682 for $150 that I wish I would have bought instead.

Now mine works fine, great actually, but it feels cheap and the guts are very clunky, feel so loose that I think my engine ticking noise is coming from the distributor. I also noticed that my weights do not have any plastic bushings on them, yet the kit came with two different pairs.

So I went out and bought this PROFORM Advance Spring and Weight Kit (Made in Taiwan) I figure I'll try a different weight and bushing set and play around with the different spring settings as well. I figure maybe I'll learn a thing or two about timing curves etc. can't hurt right

[Gregski]

All curves are based on a 24* mechanical advance at the craftshaft.

Did I mention this kit was Made in Taiwan?

[Gregski]

also I think the Taiwanies have a sick sense of humor cause look how they packaged the weights, I don't think that's how they go on, I think they have to go on upside down (shinny side down) like in my pic below

Left - my original set

Right - the new weights from the kit how they should go one

difficult to tell but my old weights (though I call them cheap) are machined way nicer than the Taiwaneese ones, the Proform kit would not even fit the Proform distributor, I had to use a rat tail file to open up the two holes more in the center plate to get it to slide on the two studs, shame I tell you!

That kit is junk, don't waste your money on it.

[Gregski]

OK, I tried the Medium Silver springs with the 600 - 2800 RPM range and I swear they only gave me 8* of Total Advance. I tested them in two configurations:

Test 1 - 0* Initial Timing gave me 8* Total Timing (no vacum, engine all reved up to 3500 RPM) even with my vacuum canister hooked up to give us some more advnace, the truck did not run good, felt under powered, and choked/sputtered/backfired under acceleration a couple times

Test 2 - 10* Initial Timing gave me 18* Total Timing (no vacuum, engine all reved up to 3500 RPM) also with the vacuum canister hooked up, the truck ran better but I would not say good, not full power, I think may have backfired under acceleration a time or two

[68Timber]

Are the bushings on in that pic?