Fell Into My Lap - Documented 1970 W-30
June 5th, 2014, 06:43 AM
#441
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Raleigh NC
Posts: 622
Thermostat Housing
Below is a link to a reproduction one I just ordered for my car.. The original was long gone, so the numbers on the side didn't mean much in my case, as there weren't any. http://www.supercarsunlimited.com/64...ing-d2367.aspx
June 5th, 2014, 07:18 AM
#442
Below is a link to a reproduction one I just ordered for my car.. The original was long gone, so the numbers on the side didn't mean much in my case, as there weren't any. http://www.supercarsunlimited.com/64...ing-d2367.aspx
June 5th, 2014, 09:19 AM
#443
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Raleigh NC
Posts: 622
BTW - you do amazing work... I just wish I had the time to work on mine. I have 5 blown discs in my neck, so I have been relying a lot on friends and family for help.. Although the labor is cheap - the end result is no where near as nice as yours
June 5th, 2014, 03:31 PM
#444
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 1,587
Last night, I was reading through the PIM and found out the distributors had a paint code, and suddenly realized that purple paint stripe on the machined surface of mine - which I thought was some kind of weird oxidation - should have been left alone and not cleaned off!!
June 5th, 2014, 07:48 PM
#445
June 5th, 2014, 07:52 PM
#446
John, I don't have blown discs, but I've had chronic neck pain from tension/stress for years. I literally feel your pain.
June 5th, 2014, 08:15 PM
#447
Tonight's misc work (2 hours)
Found a baggie that had fallen in a crack containing the original license plate bumpers. Soaked in the concentrated degreaser for 10 minutes, and they wiped clean. They tore on the mounting flap a little when I was removing them. I hope there is enough material left to hold them securely in the slot.
Also found the starter heat shield that Chris gave me. I somehow have lost the one that came on my car, so this is one I believe came off of a 68 442 vert. Hopefully it is the same/correct. I used the Rustoleum High Heat Silver on it.
Went ahead and pulled the distributor shaft out out of the housing to better clean the weights and breaker plate. Glad I did - the shaft was heavily varnished and took a lot of work to get out. Cleaned the shaft on the trusty wire wheel, buffed the shaft and the point cam, and used carb cleaner and a stiff pipe cleaning brush to clean out the bore. Used some Prematex Ultra Slick on the shaft and the weight contact points and reassembled. Shaft turns like butter with no run out.
Received my rebuilt clock today from The Clock Works. I HIGHLY recommend Jerry's work. He rebuilt it as I asked with the mechanical works, polished the lens beautifully and managed to keep the original stickers on the back. Got no dog in this hunt, but great service, great quality, and speedy turnaround - see pics!
Now I am down to polishing the remaining trim and painting a lot of stuff that was stripped months ago. I'm going to need my frame back soon from the painter.
Found a baggie that had fallen in a crack containing the original license plate bumpers. Soaked in the concentrated degreaser for 10 minutes, and they wiped clean. They tore on the mounting flap a little when I was removing them. I hope there is enough material left to hold them securely in the slot.
Also found the starter heat shield that Chris gave me. I somehow have lost the one that came on my car, so this is one I believe came off of a 68 442 vert. Hopefully it is the same/correct. I used the Rustoleum High Heat Silver on it.
Went ahead and pulled the distributor shaft out out of the housing to better clean the weights and breaker plate. Glad I did - the shaft was heavily varnished and took a lot of work to get out. Cleaned the shaft on the trusty wire wheel, buffed the shaft and the point cam, and used carb cleaner and a stiff pipe cleaning brush to clean out the bore. Used some Prematex Ultra Slick on the shaft and the weight contact points and reassembled. Shaft turns like butter with no run out.
Received my rebuilt clock today from The Clock Works. I HIGHLY recommend Jerry's work. He rebuilt it as I asked with the mechanical works, polished the lens beautifully and managed to keep the original stickers on the back. Got no dog in this hunt, but great service, great quality, and speedy turnaround - see pics!
Now I am down to polishing the remaining trim and painting a lot of stuff that was stripped months ago. I'm going to need my frame back soon from the painter.
June 5th, 2014, 08:23 PM
#448
Crap. I thought I had found a way to post quality pics from the a Ipad onto here, but found out the site will only allow me to do one at a time. So on separate posts, here's pics of tonight's work. Tomorrow back to poor quality pics from the cell phone
Last edited by costpenn; June 5th, 2014 at 08:25 PM.
June 8th, 2014, 08:14 PM
#451
June 8th, 2014, 08:42 PM
#452
The absolute dirtiest work session yet (3 hours)
Today I tried to get the OW trans clean enough to transport to the rebuilder. I had done a little on this months ago, and since I really am taking it (and my starter) in tomorrow, I have got to get it passably clean to put in my very understanding wife's truck. I have said it before - it is incredible how filthy this transmission is. I went through two rolls of shop towels, 5 cans of carb cleaner, and much small wire brushing and small screwdriver digging to get it to this point. I weighed all the dirt that came off the housing - it was almost 5 lbs. of gunk. Took pics documenting the trans number/VIN stamping.
Spent the rest of the time reconfiguring my work area for trim polishing. First up are the wheel well moldings. Surveyed them they are in very good shape with no major scratches and very few dents - and those are next to impossible to spot.
Today I tried to get the OW trans clean enough to transport to the rebuilder. I had done a little on this months ago, and since I really am taking it (and my starter) in tomorrow, I have got to get it passably clean to put in my very understanding wife's truck. I have said it before - it is incredible how filthy this transmission is. I went through two rolls of shop towels, 5 cans of carb cleaner, and much small wire brushing and small screwdriver digging to get it to this point. I weighed all the dirt that came off the housing - it was almost 5 lbs. of gunk. Took pics documenting the trans number/VIN stamping.
Spent the rest of the time reconfiguring my work area for trim polishing. First up are the wheel well moldings. Surveyed them they are in very good shape with no major scratches and very few dents - and those are next to impossible to spot.
Last edited by costpenn; June 8th, 2014 at 08:58 PM.
June 9th, 2014, 10:25 PM
#454
Began trim reconditioning after almost a full day of parts delivery (2 hours - reconditioning only)
Took the transmission into Plano Transmission after speaking with Jeff the owner. He knew what a OW was, and I felt comfortable in leaving it with him. Told me about 2-3 weeks to complete it. He's going to check the converter and make sure it is OK to reuse with just a good flushing. Also will check to see if the "big" OE style TH400 modulator still on the trans is good.
Went to American Armature to drop off the starter. I have been looking for a correctly dated one for a long time. The one off my car is a 1108389 with the old style Delco Remy solenoid, but it is date coded July 70. They are going to dig through their impressive core pile and see if they can come up with one either Nov/Dec 69 or Jan 70. Nice people and well worth the hour drive to their place.
Went to the painter to see how the car is doing. Rear quarter work is complete. Those guys are going all out to save as much OE metal as possible. Instead of replacing the outer wells, they only replaced what was rusted with metal - hand forming and butt welding in every piece. They had started on the front fenders. The original LH one they are again painstakingly replacing all the rotted parts with hew metal, and on the RH, since it is a GM replacement that has been on the car for almost 30 years and has never seen rain, they only need to flatten the crumple bumps and triple check the accuracy of the emblem piercings. It needs next to zero bodywork. Also, the frame corrosion is not as bad as I remember it being. Pretty sure it will be OK to simply blast and powdercoat.
Got back home and plunged into the wheel well trim. First, I had to remove two screws that had frozen to what was left of the wheel lip opening that simply ripped off the car. These had to be drilled out on my drill press - any other way of getting them off would have either bent or scratched the trim. It took a lot longer than I expected trying to juggle holding the trim so it would not get bent, aligning the bit on the screw head, etc, but ultimately it was worth it - removed both with no damage to the stainless.
Next got started on the actual reconditioning. First step is to get them all clean as possible so I began with a rear one. I know everyone reading this must be tired of me singing the praises of Berryman's aerosol B-12 carb cleaner, but it works so well on just about every kind of metal cleaning I do. First liberally sprayed down the piece and let it set a couple of minutes. Then sprayed down again, then wiped with a blue paper towel to get off the easy nastiness. Sprayed down again, the used a Pampered Chef's dull hard plastic baking stone scraping tool to get off some of the stuff that needed a little noire persuasion. Lastly went over it once more with B-12 and a soft copper wire brush to get out the rust colored discoloration on the side that goes against the body. Pics below of the first one cleaned - no polishing yet at all and an untouched one as it came off the car.
Took the transmission into Plano Transmission after speaking with Jeff the owner. He knew what a OW was, and I felt comfortable in leaving it with him. Told me about 2-3 weeks to complete it. He's going to check the converter and make sure it is OK to reuse with just a good flushing. Also will check to see if the "big" OE style TH400 modulator still on the trans is good.
Went to American Armature to drop off the starter. I have been looking for a correctly dated one for a long time. The one off my car is a 1108389 with the old style Delco Remy solenoid, but it is date coded July 70. They are going to dig through their impressive core pile and see if they can come up with one either Nov/Dec 69 or Jan 70. Nice people and well worth the hour drive to their place.
Went to the painter to see how the car is doing. Rear quarter work is complete. Those guys are going all out to save as much OE metal as possible. Instead of replacing the outer wells, they only replaced what was rusted with metal - hand forming and butt welding in every piece. They had started on the front fenders. The original LH one they are again painstakingly replacing all the rotted parts with hew metal, and on the RH, since it is a GM replacement that has been on the car for almost 30 years and has never seen rain, they only need to flatten the crumple bumps and triple check the accuracy of the emblem piercings. It needs next to zero bodywork. Also, the frame corrosion is not as bad as I remember it being. Pretty sure it will be OK to simply blast and powdercoat.
Got back home and plunged into the wheel well trim. First, I had to remove two screws that had frozen to what was left of the wheel lip opening that simply ripped off the car. These had to be drilled out on my drill press - any other way of getting them off would have either bent or scratched the trim. It took a lot longer than I expected trying to juggle holding the trim so it would not get bent, aligning the bit on the screw head, etc, but ultimately it was worth it - removed both with no damage to the stainless.
Next got started on the actual reconditioning. First step is to get them all clean as possible so I began with a rear one. I know everyone reading this must be tired of me singing the praises of Berryman's aerosol B-12 carb cleaner, but it works so well on just about every kind of metal cleaning I do. First liberally sprayed down the piece and let it set a couple of minutes. Then sprayed down again, then wiped with a blue paper towel to get off the easy nastiness. Sprayed down again, the used a Pampered Chef's dull hard plastic baking stone scraping tool to get off some of the stuff that needed a little noire persuasion. Lastly went over it once more with B-12 and a soft copper wire brush to get out the rust colored discoloration on the side that goes against the body. Pics below of the first one cleaned - no polishing yet at all and an untouched one as it came off the car.
Last edited by costpenn; June 9th, 2014 at 10:35 PM.
June 9th, 2014, 10:34 PM
#455
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Dallas, Tx
Posts: 585
June 9th, 2014, 10:39 PM
#456
Also, painted the mounting plate of the heat stove with the VHT Super High Heat flat black paint. Blackgold was kind enough to look at a NOS one he had and tell me the finish should be black oxideish.
Last edited by costpenn; June 10th, 2014 at 02:34 PM.
June 10th, 2014, 10:07 PM
#457
Got started on the stainless polishing in earnest (2 1/2 hours)
Nothing today except working on wheel well trim. First hour and a half was spent cleaning and prepping for refinishing the other three well trims like the one I did yesterday. Turns out the driver's side front is not worth saving after cleaning all the gunky undercoater off it, and seeing the dents that yesterday looked to me like contour lines. That trim, the vac. advance, and the dash pad are the main items left to get - am having zero luck here on CO finding them.
Went ahead and finished up one rear well trim tonite. What I did in the finishing process: (again, with the exception of the front D/S trim, mine are in excellent core condition after cleaning)
A. Did the wide side - the strip where the screws go front and back by sanding unidirectionally with 400, then 600, then 1000 grit sandpaper. No further work.
B. Did the raised area - the part you see if you are looking down on the fender - by sanding progressively once again with 400, 600, and 1000 grit sand paper. Then polished on the buffing wheel with the soft buff and white rouge on that part only. I seem to recall the OE piece had a little difference in the finish between the two surfaces - this mimics that and provides a nice contrast between the two surfaces. First pic below show one as taken off car together with one given the cleaning, the other photo shows the one I finished tonight.
Nothing today except working on wheel well trim. First hour and a half was spent cleaning and prepping for refinishing the other three well trims like the one I did yesterday. Turns out the driver's side front is not worth saving after cleaning all the gunky undercoater off it, and seeing the dents that yesterday looked to me like contour lines. That trim, the vac. advance, and the dash pad are the main items left to get - am having zero luck here on CO finding them.
Went ahead and finished up one rear well trim tonite. What I did in the finishing process: (again, with the exception of the front D/S trim, mine are in excellent core condition after cleaning)
A. Did the wide side - the strip where the screws go front and back by sanding unidirectionally with 400, then 600, then 1000 grit sandpaper. No further work.
B. Did the raised area - the part you see if you are looking down on the fender - by sanding progressively once again with 400, 600, and 1000 grit sand paper. Then polished on the buffing wheel with the soft buff and white rouge on that part only. I seem to recall the OE piece had a little difference in the finish between the two surfaces - this mimics that and provides a nice contrast between the two surfaces. First pic below show one as taken off car together with one given the cleaning, the other photo shows the one I finished tonight.
Last edited by costpenn; June 10th, 2014 at 10:14 PM.
June 11th, 2014, 09:11 PM
#458
For Patton - pic of my OE booster hose. I think the last series of numbers might be a date code 11-20-69?
I'm wondering now if there is a way to fix it and reuse. It has a cut right where the check valve clamp goes over the hose. I wonder if I can use some black silicone to seal it after it is on the valve and before I put the clamp on it. It won't be visible when installed.
I'm wondering now if there is a way to fix it and reuse. It has a cut right where the check valve clamp goes over the hose. I wonder if I can use some black silicone to seal it after it is on the valve and before I put the clamp on it. It won't be visible when installed.
June 12th, 2014, 09:48 PM
#459
Just a little work since real life got in the way. (1 1/2 hours)
Started and finished the LF well trim. It was a breeze compared to the rears. No pic, since I already wrapped it and put it away.
Also got my booster back from Steve at Brake Boosters. The pitting was pretty bad on this unit (seeing as it had the original master cylinder still on it) They were able to save some of the Upside down Delco Moraine stamp, but some pitting is visible only where the stamp is.
Started and finished the LF well trim. It was a breeze compared to the rears. No pic, since I already wrapped it and put it away.
Also got my booster back from Steve at Brake Boosters. The pitting was pretty bad on this unit (seeing as it had the original master cylinder still on it) They were able to save some of the Upside down Delco Moraine stamp, but some pitting is visible only where the stamp is.
Last edited by costpenn; June 12th, 2014 at 10:04 PM.
June 13th, 2014, 10:08 PM
#460
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: North Texas
Posts: 26
Joe,
Nice work on the polishing! I'm afraid of wrapping those around my neck. When can I drop mine off ?
Also, Jeff at PT has built about 3 Transmissions for me. Good work. Does he still have his Super Duty ? I'll have to go visit them soon.
Thanks for the inspiration. Hard getting into the garage in this humidity
DL
Nice work on the polishing! I'm afraid of wrapping those around my neck. When can I drop mine off ?
Also, Jeff at PT has built about 3 Transmissions for me. Good work. Does he still have his Super Duty ? I'll have to go visit them soon.
Thanks for the inspiration. Hard getting into the garage in this humidity
DL
June 14th, 2014, 11:33 PM
#461
Registered User
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 3,151
Joe - Looking great! Save that hose and re-use it if possible. Is the end cracked (from expanding over the barbed end of the plastic valve, etc) or is it more of a cut from the clamp?
In any case you should be able to seal it up. Thanks for the pic....that's a cleaner version of the same thing I mentioned the other day.
Don - Get out there!! We haven't even reached "peak temps" yet so consider yourself lucky so far this year!
EDIT: OK Joe...I might see the split or cut you mention along the very end of the hose that shows up on the R side of the pic.
In any case you should be able to seal it up. Thanks for the pic....that's a cleaner version of the same thing I mentioned the other day.
Don - Get out there!! We haven't even reached "peak temps" yet so consider yourself lucky so far this year!
EDIT: OK Joe...I might see the split or cut you mention along the very end of the hose that shows up on the R side of the pic.
Last edited by 70Post; June 14th, 2014 at 11:35 PM.
June 15th, 2014, 09:38 PM
#462
Joe - Looking great! Save that hose and re-use it if possible. Is the end cracked (from expanding over the barbed end of the plastic valve, etc) or is it more of a cut from the clamp?
In any case you should be able to seal it up. Thanks for the pic....that's a cleaner version of the same thing I mentioned the other day.
Don - Get out there!! We haven't even reached "peak temps" yet so consider yourself lucky so far this year!
EDIT: OK Joe...I might see the split or cut you mention along the very end of the hose that shows up on the R side of the pic.
In any case you should be able to seal it up. Thanks for the pic....that's a cleaner version of the same thing I mentioned the other day.
Don - Get out there!! We haven't even reached "peak temps" yet so consider yourself lucky so far this year!
EDIT: OK Joe...I might see the split or cut you mention along the very end of the hose that shows up on the R side of the pic.
June 15th, 2014, 10:28 PM
#463
1 hour on Friday June 13 and five and a half hours on Father's Day (6 1/2 hours total)
Friday was devoted to the piece that goes along the rear of the hood. I had the paint and body shop remove this piece because I was worried about damaging the OAI hood. Well they removed it and the hood is OK, but they bent the backside of the molding. Did my best to straighten it back. Looks just OK on he back, but I don't think anyone will ever see it.
Today I had planned to finish up all the exterior bright work left, since I had done all the hard to do parts.
I was wrong.
First off tackled the wide cowl molding. This piece had zero dents and relatively few scratches. Most I was able to remove with 400 grit, but a few required going down to 220. Almost was finished with the job when the buffing wheel (surprise!) caught a lip on part causing it to get a few deep scratches when it hit the table. Had to start all over again! I tried to mimic the two levels of finishing polish the piece originally had by not buffing the lower part (below the contour line) - just leaving it as sanded with the 1000 grit.
Next was the 4 pieces that screw to the roof and A pillar that hold the roof rail weatherstripping. The job of cleaning off all the old weatherstripping and the body sealer that goes on the backside of the four pieces took 5X longer than expected because the only solvent I dared try was carb cleaner to loosen all that old crap and then I had to laboriously scrub with a hand held wire brush or use a dull blade thing to get all the crap out. It was a royal mess - there has to be a better way.
Finished polishing 3 of the 4 pieces. Have to do some more sanding on the last one to take out a few heavy scratches. Will do the actual dipping into Plasti Dip on the retaining fittings. The spray on Plasti Dip doesn't come out as well (for me at least) as the real dip does.
Lastly the bracket that joins the two moldings at the top of the DS A pillar is missing that black plastic thing. Will have to see if anyone makes a repo or something.
Friday was devoted to the piece that goes along the rear of the hood. I had the paint and body shop remove this piece because I was worried about damaging the OAI hood. Well they removed it and the hood is OK, but they bent the backside of the molding. Did my best to straighten it back. Looks just OK on he back, but I don't think anyone will ever see it.
Today I had planned to finish up all the exterior bright work left, since I had done all the hard to do parts.
I was wrong.
First off tackled the wide cowl molding. This piece had zero dents and relatively few scratches. Most I was able to remove with 400 grit, but a few required going down to 220. Almost was finished with the job when the buffing wheel (surprise!) caught a lip on part causing it to get a few deep scratches when it hit the table. Had to start all over again! I tried to mimic the two levels of finishing polish the piece originally had by not buffing the lower part (below the contour line) - just leaving it as sanded with the 1000 grit.
Next was the 4 pieces that screw to the roof and A pillar that hold the roof rail weatherstripping. The job of cleaning off all the old weatherstripping and the body sealer that goes on the backside of the four pieces took 5X longer than expected because the only solvent I dared try was carb cleaner to loosen all that old crap and then I had to laboriously scrub with a hand held wire brush or use a dull blade thing to get all the crap out. It was a royal mess - there has to be a better way.
Finished polishing 3 of the 4 pieces. Have to do some more sanding on the last one to take out a few heavy scratches. Will do the actual dipping into Plasti Dip on the retaining fittings. The spray on Plasti Dip doesn't come out as well (for me at least) as the real dip does.
Lastly the bracket that joins the two moldings at the top of the DS A pillar is missing that black plastic thing. Will have to see if anyone makes a repo or something.
Last edited by costpenn; June 15th, 2014 at 10:31 PM.
June 16th, 2014, 09:21 PM
#464
Finally finished on exterior bright work (?) (6 hours total)
Finished the weatherstrip channel moldings. Repolished the two long pieces again, (and am debating doing the RH once more). Dipped 3 of the 4 retaining hooks in the Plastic Dip - the 4th still was still in excellent condition and gave me a example to shoot for as to the rubber coating thickness and finish.
Began and finished the 3 PC. trunk lip trim. Had a couple of small dents to work out on the bottom edges. It really is no wonder the area where the trim goes rusts out since so much dirt and muck somehow gets into channel. Even more amazing is how the gunk gets between the trim and the trunk on the wide part INSIDE the trunk where the attaching screws are.
Polished the roof rail gutter trim connectors. The LH was pretty badly scratched up, but both came out nicely.
Lastly cleaned and polished the connector that ties the weatherstrip channels together. One is missing the black plastic part that is triangular in shape. Hoping Tim can get me this part as well. (See the before and after pic of the same part to see what I'm talking about)
Also, here's a pic from the body shop of them working the RR quarter.
Finished the weatherstrip channel moldings. Repolished the two long pieces again, (and am debating doing the RH once more). Dipped 3 of the 4 retaining hooks in the Plastic Dip - the 4th still was still in excellent condition and gave me a example to shoot for as to the rubber coating thickness and finish.
Began and finished the 3 PC. trunk lip trim. Had a couple of small dents to work out on the bottom edges. It really is no wonder the area where the trim goes rusts out since so much dirt and muck somehow gets into channel. Even more amazing is how the gunk gets between the trim and the trunk on the wide part INSIDE the trunk where the attaching screws are.
Polished the roof rail gutter trim connectors. The LH was pretty badly scratched up, but both came out nicely.
Lastly cleaned and polished the connector that ties the weatherstrip channels together. One is missing the black plastic part that is triangular in shape. Hoping Tim can get me this part as well. (See the before and after pic of the same part to see what I'm talking about)
Also, here's a pic from the body shop of them working the RR quarter.
Last edited by costpenn; June 16th, 2014 at 09:27 PM.
June 17th, 2014, 05:40 AM
#465
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Raleigh NC
Posts: 622
Joe,
The trim came out really nice... I did mine over the winter and boxed it all up until the car is painted. Fortunately for me, I have a guy about 45 minutes away with a warehouse full of parts, so any dinged chromed I just traded + cash, and then just had to wet sand and polish. If you decide to go with aftermarket hooks for the weather channel let me know, I have some left over rivets that I ordered, which were a pain in the *** to find.
JD
The trim came out really nice... I did mine over the winter and boxed it all up until the car is painted. Fortunately for me, I have a guy about 45 minutes away with a warehouse full of parts, so any dinged chromed I just traded + cash, and then just had to wet sand and polish. If you decide to go with aftermarket hooks for the weather channel let me know, I have some left over rivets that I ordered, which were a pain in the *** to find.
JD
June 17th, 2014, 10:43 PM
#466
Well, thought I was done with the trim (3 hours)
Once again, my time estimates for different groups of work types have been horribly wrong. The trim reconditioning has been the worst, and I thought I knew what I was doing.
Could not leave that long RH roof weatherstrip channel alone, so I went back and redid it. Had to go all the way down to 220 grit and come back to buffing wheel, but it was worth it. After it is installed, it would be really tough to refinish.
Was ready to move onto the driveshaft, but saw on a shelf a box that I had forgotten what was in it. Back to trim refinishing - it had the headlight bezels, headlamp retaining rings, and SS11 wheel bezels.
First up was the easy ones - headlamp retaining rings. Began by Brake Cleening and brushing some weird nicotine like funkiness off them. Then used the Dremel tool with a little wire brush to refinish the three mounting ears on each. (These tabs are very tricky to clean. Very small, very thin, and not even) then went over the leading edge and inside and outside diameters with 00 gauge steel wool. I then went to 0000 on the first one, but abandoned it and went back to using only 00 gauge. The 0000 is too shiny.
Then went onto the headlamp bezels. For fun, I just steel wooled the bright area with the 0000 gauge, and it looked awesome right off the bat. However I noticed some front to back lines in the finish and was worried They might be scratches, caused by road debris, but they also kind of looked like they belong there. I spoke with 70Post and he set me straight - those lines are from the manufacturing process - you can tell because the lines are under the anodizing.
With that, I finished polishing one bezel's unpainted areas, then spent 30 minutes masking it off to paint the other parts of the bezel. I used the high heat silver that I shot the thermostat housing in, and voila, the thing looks to me like NOS. Pic below of the finished bezel next to one not yet started - the paint is very close to the original, if faded color.
Will post a thread tomorrow about my wheel bezels. I don't know where these came from, but if they are correct they are excellent shape. If not, hope I can find someone to trade with.
Also, got my Father's Day gift working - one of those portable A/C units. Got the garage temp down 12 degrees to 82 - ahhhh.....
Once again, my time estimates for different groups of work types have been horribly wrong. The trim reconditioning has been the worst, and I thought I knew what I was doing.
Could not leave that long RH roof weatherstrip channel alone, so I went back and redid it. Had to go all the way down to 220 grit and come back to buffing wheel, but it was worth it. After it is installed, it would be really tough to refinish.
Was ready to move onto the driveshaft, but saw on a shelf a box that I had forgotten what was in it. Back to trim refinishing - it had the headlight bezels, headlamp retaining rings, and SS11 wheel bezels.
First up was the easy ones - headlamp retaining rings. Began by Brake Cleening and brushing some weird nicotine like funkiness off them. Then used the Dremel tool with a little wire brush to refinish the three mounting ears on each. (These tabs are very tricky to clean. Very small, very thin, and not even) then went over the leading edge and inside and outside diameters with 00 gauge steel wool. I then went to 0000 on the first one, but abandoned it and went back to using only 00 gauge. The 0000 is too shiny.
Then went onto the headlamp bezels. For fun, I just steel wooled the bright area with the 0000 gauge, and it looked awesome right off the bat. However I noticed some front to back lines in the finish and was worried They might be scratches, caused by road debris, but they also kind of looked like they belong there. I spoke with 70Post and he set me straight - those lines are from the manufacturing process - you can tell because the lines are under the anodizing.
With that, I finished polishing one bezel's unpainted areas, then spent 30 minutes masking it off to paint the other parts of the bezel. I used the high heat silver that I shot the thermostat housing in, and voila, the thing looks to me like NOS. Pic below of the finished bezel next to one not yet started - the paint is very close to the original, if faded color.
Will post a thread tomorrow about my wheel bezels. I don't know where these came from, but if they are correct they are excellent shape. If not, hope I can find someone to trade with.
Also, got my Father's Day gift working - one of those portable A/C units. Got the garage temp down 12 degrees to 82 - ahhhh.....
Last edited by costpenn; June 17th, 2014 at 10:48 PM.
June 18th, 2014, 05:44 AM
#467
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Raleigh NC
Posts: 622
The headlight bezels look amazing... When I did all the trim on my car I used 1000 grit paper, mothers metal polish and a buffing wheel, and then some stuff I bought at a car show, I can't remember the name. I would estimate I had close 20 to 30 hours into it. I can't wait to be bolting it all back onto the car, but I am still about 2 years away.
June 18th, 2014, 06:36 AM
#468
The headlight bezels look amazing... When I did all the trim on my car I used 1000 grit paper, mothers metal polish and a buffing wheel, and then some stuff I bought at a car show, I can't remember the name. I would estimate I had close 20 to 30 hours into it. I can't wait to be bolting it all back onto the car, but I am still about 2 years away.
Here's a better pic in the sunlight taken with the Ipad of the finished bezel. The paint color after drying overnight looks even more spot on to the one I have not yet done.
June 18th, 2014, 09:36 PM
#470
A night of misc. work and a cool surprise (2 hours)
Finished the other headlamp bezel and safely wrapped them up. Next went and did some catch up bolt work - wire wheeled and phosphate painted the trans mount to trans bolts and washers, and broke down and painted the tail lamp lens screws (16) with Eastwood's Chassis Black. It IS a tough paint, but it looked a little too glossy for me - will check tomorrow after it dries to see if it should be dulled up a bit.
Found out on another thread my wheel bezels are incorrect. What a shame - I have the complete set of 25 and they are like NOS with no scratched or dents.
Received today from Rock Auto my kits to rebuild the brake calipers and wheel cylinders. Chris might wind up sleeving the rears. Also ordered through Rock the repo rear boxed lower control arms. Mine are junk - way too much pitting to be fixed. They look really nice and came complete with bushings installed for 113.00 for the set.
Incidentally, Rock is now a customer of the company I own (Enginetech) A nicer group of people do not exist in the business world. The volume already has surpassed our expectations, and we still do not have our complete offering in their catalog. (I've seen some Olds parts orders come through the system)
Thought I was done with everything I can do, except for the driveshaft, until the frame comes back from the painter until I noticed the A/C compressor stashed in a corner. I hauled it up on the bench and was going to get started aggressively cleaning it (carb cleaner, etc..) when I looked at the label on the compressor. It says Oldsmobile on the label and has 5910729 as the P/N. I thought it might be a repo label, but since this car has not been touched under the hood since 1985, and the exp. valve, POA and drier are the original ones I began to think It might be the original. I got more excited when I noticed the clutch electrical connector was clocked correctly (almost ALL replacements are clocked at 2 o'clock from the front causing the harness to be stretched longer than it should. I then looked on the back of the compressor and saw two different date codes (I think) the one casting with 17K between the rivet heads, and L19 stamped below it. I can't find anything on line on how specifically date compressors - can anyone confirm this? An original compressor - man, back in my parts store days, that was the thing that seemed to be replaced the most!
Finished the other headlamp bezel and safely wrapped them up. Next went and did some catch up bolt work - wire wheeled and phosphate painted the trans mount to trans bolts and washers, and broke down and painted the tail lamp lens screws (16) with Eastwood's Chassis Black. It IS a tough paint, but it looked a little too glossy for me - will check tomorrow after it dries to see if it should be dulled up a bit.
Found out on another thread my wheel bezels are incorrect. What a shame - I have the complete set of 25 and they are like NOS with no scratched or dents.
Received today from Rock Auto my kits to rebuild the brake calipers and wheel cylinders. Chris might wind up sleeving the rears. Also ordered through Rock the repo rear boxed lower control arms. Mine are junk - way too much pitting to be fixed. They look really nice and came complete with bushings installed for 113.00 for the set.
Incidentally, Rock is now a customer of the company I own (Enginetech) A nicer group of people do not exist in the business world. The volume already has surpassed our expectations, and we still do not have our complete offering in their catalog. (I've seen some Olds parts orders come through the system)
Thought I was done with everything I can do, except for the driveshaft, until the frame comes back from the painter until I noticed the A/C compressor stashed in a corner. I hauled it up on the bench and was going to get started aggressively cleaning it (carb cleaner, etc..) when I looked at the label on the compressor. It says Oldsmobile on the label and has 5910729 as the P/N. I thought it might be a repo label, but since this car has not been touched under the hood since 1985, and the exp. valve, POA and drier are the original ones I began to think It might be the original. I got more excited when I noticed the clutch electrical connector was clocked correctly (almost ALL replacements are clocked at 2 o'clock from the front causing the harness to be stretched longer than it should. I then looked on the back of the compressor and saw two different date codes (I think) the one casting with 17K between the rivet heads, and L19 stamped below it. I can't find anything on line on how specifically date compressors - can anyone confirm this? An original compressor - man, back in my parts store days, that was the thing that seemed to be replaced the most!
Last edited by costpenn; June 18th, 2014 at 09:38 PM.
June 19th, 2014, 06:55 AM
#472
Registered User
Join Date: May 2008
Location: SE MI
Posts: 329
The first line on the label is the date code, "Code Number 120492". This translates to December 4, 1969 second shift.
The back plate has the cast date "17K" I don't know if the letter I was used by AC for their castings. Some GM divisions did and some didn't. So it is either Oct or Nov 17th.
I'm pretty sure the L 19 is not stamped but is cast in. In that case it is most likely the mold cavity number.
The back plate has the cast date "17K" I don't know if the letter I was used by AC for their castings. Some GM divisions did and some didn't. So it is either Oct or Nov 17th.
I'm pretty sure the L 19 is not stamped but is cast in. In that case it is most likely the mold cavity number.
A night of misc. work and a cool surprise (2 hours)
Finished the other headlamp bezel and safely wrapped them up. Next went and did some catch up bolt work - wire wheeled and phosphate painted the trans mount to trans bolts and washers, and broke down and painted the tail lamp lens screws (16) with Eastwood's Chassis Black. It IS a tough paint, but it looked a little too glossy for me - will check tomorrow after it dries to see if it should be dulled up a bit.
Found out on another thread my wheel bezels are incorrect. What a shame - I have the complete set of 25 and they are like NOS with no scratched or dents.
Received today from Rock Auto my kits to rebuild the brake calipers and wheel cylinders. Chris might wind up sleeving the rears. Also ordered through Rock the repo rear boxed lower control arms. Mine are junk - way too much pitting to be fixed. They look really nice and came complete with bushings installed for 113.00 for the set.
Incidentally, Rock is now a customer of the company I own (Enginetech) A nicer group of people do not exist in the business world. The volume already has surpassed our expectations, and we still do not have our complete offering in their catalog. (I've seen some Olds parts orders come through the system)
Thought I was done with everything I can do, except for the driveshaft, until the frame comes back from the painter until I noticed the A/C compressor stashed in a corner. I hauled it up on the bench and was going to get started aggressively cleaning it (carb cleaner, etc..) when I looked at the label on the compressor. It says Oldsmobile on the label and has 5910729 as the P/N. I thought it might be a repo label, but since this car has not been touched under the hood since 1985, and the exp. valve, POA and drier are the original ones I began to think It might be the original. I got more excited when I noticed the clutch electrical connector was clocked correctly (almost ALL replacements are clocked at 2 o'clock from the front causing the harness to be stretched longer than it should. I then looked on the back of the compressor and saw two different date codes (I think) the one casting with 17K between the rivet heads, and L19 stamped below it. I can't find anything on line on how specifically date compressors - can anyone confirm this? An original compressor - man, back in my parts store days, that was the thing that seemed to be replaced the most!
Finished the other headlamp bezel and safely wrapped them up. Next went and did some catch up bolt work - wire wheeled and phosphate painted the trans mount to trans bolts and washers, and broke down and painted the tail lamp lens screws (16) with Eastwood's Chassis Black. It IS a tough paint, but it looked a little too glossy for me - will check tomorrow after it dries to see if it should be dulled up a bit.
Found out on another thread my wheel bezels are incorrect. What a shame - I have the complete set of 25 and they are like NOS with no scratched or dents.
Received today from Rock Auto my kits to rebuild the brake calipers and wheel cylinders. Chris might wind up sleeving the rears. Also ordered through Rock the repo rear boxed lower control arms. Mine are junk - way too much pitting to be fixed. They look really nice and came complete with bushings installed for 113.00 for the set.
Incidentally, Rock is now a customer of the company I own (Enginetech) A nicer group of people do not exist in the business world. The volume already has surpassed our expectations, and we still do not have our complete offering in their catalog. (I've seen some Olds parts orders come through the system)
Thought I was done with everything I can do, except for the driveshaft, until the frame comes back from the painter until I noticed the A/C compressor stashed in a corner. I hauled it up on the bench and was going to get started aggressively cleaning it (carb cleaner, etc..) when I looked at the label on the compressor. It says Oldsmobile on the label and has 5910729 as the P/N. I thought it might be a repo label, but since this car has not been touched under the hood since 1985, and the exp. valve, POA and drier are the original ones I began to think It might be the original. I got more excited when I noticed the clutch electrical connector was clocked correctly (almost ALL replacements are clocked at 2 o'clock from the front causing the harness to be stretched longer than it should. I then looked on the back of the compressor and saw two different date codes (I think) the one casting with 17K between the rivet heads, and L19 stamped below it. I can't find anything on line on how specifically date compressors - can anyone confirm this? An original compressor - man, back in my parts store days, that was the thing that seemed to be replaced the most!
Last edited by Boiler_81; June 19th, 2014 at 07:01 AM.
June 19th, 2014, 08:59 PM
#474
June 19th, 2014, 09:02 PM
#475
The first line on the label is the date code, "Code Number 120492". This translates to December 4, 1969 second shift.
The back plate has the cast date "17K" I don't know if the letter I was used by AC for their castings. Some GM divisions did and some didn't. So it is either Oct or Nov 17th.
I'm pretty sure the L 19 is not stamped but is cast in. In that case it is most likely the mold cavity number.
The back plate has the cast date "17K" I don't know if the letter I was used by AC for their castings. Some GM divisions did and some didn't. So it is either Oct or Nov 17th.
I'm pretty sure the L 19 is not stamped but is cast in. In that case it is most likely the mold cavity number.
June 19th, 2014, 09:16 PM
#476
Details, details (2 1/2 hours)
Finished up detailing the compressor. I was able to save the original paint wherever it readily shows on the main body, but after cleaning the back plate and clutch and coil magnet, there was just too much missing paint in those areas to leave as is. I masked off the center section being careful not to put any masking tape on the label, and shot the back plate area in Duplicolor Ford Semi Gloss, and shot the clutch magnet and pulley in SEM semi flat bumper paint. The actual clutch I cleaned and left in that bare rubberish stuff. Not perfect, but it looks very OE to me.
As I expected, the tail lamp screws in Eastwood Chassis black were too glossy, so I shot a little semi flat bumper paint over them. Toned down just right, but still has that epoxy like paint underneath.
Was able to remove the frozen nut and bolt that was holding the OAI motor to the flapper door without damaging either. The adaptor is pretty scratch free, and the letters outlines have never been painted white.
No work tomorrow. Going for the day to Wichita KS to see some Pontiacs - I mean Brand X cars.
Finished up detailing the compressor. I was able to save the original paint wherever it readily shows on the main body, but after cleaning the back plate and clutch and coil magnet, there was just too much missing paint in those areas to leave as is. I masked off the center section being careful not to put any masking tape on the label, and shot the back plate area in Duplicolor Ford Semi Gloss, and shot the clutch magnet and pulley in SEM semi flat bumper paint. The actual clutch I cleaned and left in that bare rubberish stuff. Not perfect, but it looks very OE to me.
As I expected, the tail lamp screws in Eastwood Chassis black were too glossy, so I shot a little semi flat bumper paint over them. Toned down just right, but still has that epoxy like paint underneath.
Was able to remove the frozen nut and bolt that was holding the OAI motor to the flapper door without damaging either. The adaptor is pretty scratch free, and the letters outlines have never been painted white.
No work tomorrow. Going for the day to Wichita KS to see some Pontiacs - I mean Brand X cars.
June 21st, 2014, 10:07 PM
#477
Back to it. (3 hours)
Today was another mixed work day. Began by unwrapping the compressor one last time, and noticed that some of the rubber stuff on the very front of the compressor clutch had kind of peeled off. Fixed by masking off, and shooting it in aerosol Black Plasti Dip. This filled in the chips and freshened the surface a bit. Compressor is really now done (?)
Next moved onto the OAI adaptor. This original unit was in great shape so I did the following to preserve the original appearance:
1 First gently rinsed off the unit with hot water for at least 10 minutes. I wanted to remove as much potential abrasives from the surface as possible. These OE units - especially on the side like where the springs attach to has a very shiny, mirror like finish and I did not want to scratch it anymore than it already was.
2. Used the softest clean rag I could find along with lots of running water to gently wipe more stuff off the unit. Again I am trying to minimize scratches to the plastic.
3. Used Tuff Stuff cleaner with another rag to clean the surfaces even more.
4. Now used a wooden cooking skewer to get all the junk out of the many corners and edges on the piece, as well as digging out the dirt packed into the Oldsmobile letters
5. Again flushed the piece to remove the stuff the skewer had loosened up.
6. Used Meguiars Carnuba wax to wax all the exterior surfaces. The top actually needed very little - the most good the wax did was on the sides.
7. Again went back with the skewers to now dig out the accumulated wax. Blew the stuff off with compressed air.
8. One final buff with a blue shop towel and done.
Next moved onto the motor. Still works but badly discolored. Used the Dremel tool to remove the tarnish/corrosion. It needs that did-chromate finish, but I don't think anyone can actually do it without disassembling and ruining the unit, so I tried shooting in drab green, then a misting of silver, then a deeper coat of the Metallic Gold topped with a heavy coat of clear on it. If it was not going on this car I'd say good enough, but good enough ain't an option on this W30. I can tell a repo a mile away. I'm going to see how the one on the vert is, and I might just wind up swapping them out.
I am having to fight the urge really badly to paint the adaptor letters in white. It looks (to me) so right and necessary.
Also have on the way to me more goodies from Scott, Tim, and Chris. Thank you all.
Lastly was a little underwhelmed by the quality of a lot of the cars the POCI group at their show in Wichita. I'm a little biased, but the average Olds at our Nats is generally in better shape than what I saw. Chris D.'s 65 Bonneville 421 4spd vert ought to win a bunch of awards there.
Today was another mixed work day. Began by unwrapping the compressor one last time, and noticed that some of the rubber stuff on the very front of the compressor clutch had kind of peeled off. Fixed by masking off, and shooting it in aerosol Black Plasti Dip. This filled in the chips and freshened the surface a bit. Compressor is really now done (?)
Next moved onto the OAI adaptor. This original unit was in great shape so I did the following to preserve the original appearance:
1 First gently rinsed off the unit with hot water for at least 10 minutes. I wanted to remove as much potential abrasives from the surface as possible. These OE units - especially on the side like where the springs attach to has a very shiny, mirror like finish and I did not want to scratch it anymore than it already was.
2. Used the softest clean rag I could find along with lots of running water to gently wipe more stuff off the unit. Again I am trying to minimize scratches to the plastic.
3. Used Tuff Stuff cleaner with another rag to clean the surfaces even more.
4. Now used a wooden cooking skewer to get all the junk out of the many corners and edges on the piece, as well as digging out the dirt packed into the Oldsmobile letters
5. Again flushed the piece to remove the stuff the skewer had loosened up.
6. Used Meguiars Carnuba wax to wax all the exterior surfaces. The top actually needed very little - the most good the wax did was on the sides.
7. Again went back with the skewers to now dig out the accumulated wax. Blew the stuff off with compressed air.
8. One final buff with a blue shop towel and done.
Next moved onto the motor. Still works but badly discolored. Used the Dremel tool to remove the tarnish/corrosion. It needs that did-chromate finish, but I don't think anyone can actually do it without disassembling and ruining the unit, so I tried shooting in drab green, then a misting of silver, then a deeper coat of the Metallic Gold topped with a heavy coat of clear on it. If it was not going on this car I'd say good enough, but good enough ain't an option on this W30. I can tell a repo a mile away. I'm going to see how the one on the vert is, and I might just wind up swapping them out.
I am having to fight the urge really badly to paint the adaptor letters in white. It looks (to me) so right and necessary.
Also have on the way to me more goodies from Scott, Tim, and Chris. Thank you all.
Lastly was a little underwhelmed by the quality of a lot of the cars the POCI group at their show in Wichita. I'm a little biased, but the average Olds at our Nats is generally in better shape than what I saw. Chris D.'s 65 Bonneville 421 4spd vert ought to win a bunch of awards there.
Last edited by costpenn; June 21st, 2014 at 10:09 PM.
June 22nd, 2014, 04:23 PM
#478
Side glass work today (2 1/2 hours)
Dug the side glasses out out of storage got them ready for eventual installation.
1) First removed the hardware
2) Wirewheeled the corrosion off the fasteners
3) Painted the hardware with the matte clear, and shot the big front side glass end brackets in Eastwood's phosphate
4) Cleaned and lubed all the rollers. There is very little wear and play on these. I don't believe the windows were opened on this car very often. The glass guides also show very little wear.
5) Cleaned the glass itself with brake cleaner to get off a film of gunk.
6) Went over all the glass, especially around the edges, with 0000 steel wool. It is a mess doing it, but the glass comes out looking like new. Did it again, then went over all the glass with Windex.
7) Reassembled the hardware
There are a few very light scratches at the very rear of the passenger side back glass that will not show with window up (or down), otherwise the glass looks very good. The glass date codes as follows and all are etched to where they are read from inside the car.
LF - VY-4 October 1969
LR - VY-4 October 1969
RF - NT-4. January 1970
RR - IV-4 June 1969 (a little early for my build date?)
The back glass is still at the painter's. Will bring it home tomorrow and clean. The windshield glass was not original, and broke anyway when it was removed from the car. Will try Pilkington's for a date coded replacement.
Dug the side glasses out out of storage got them ready for eventual installation.
1) First removed the hardware
2) Wirewheeled the corrosion off the fasteners
3) Painted the hardware with the matte clear, and shot the big front side glass end brackets in Eastwood's phosphate
4) Cleaned and lubed all the rollers. There is very little wear and play on these. I don't believe the windows were opened on this car very often. The glass guides also show very little wear.
5) Cleaned the glass itself with brake cleaner to get off a film of gunk.
6) Went over all the glass, especially around the edges, with 0000 steel wool. It is a mess doing it, but the glass comes out looking like new. Did it again, then went over all the glass with Windex.
7) Reassembled the hardware
There are a few very light scratches at the very rear of the passenger side back glass that will not show with window up (or down), otherwise the glass looks very good. The glass date codes as follows and all are etched to where they are read from inside the car.
LF - VY-4 October 1969
LR - VY-4 October 1969
RF - NT-4. January 1970
RR - IV-4 June 1969 (a little early for my build date?)
The back glass is still at the painter's. Will bring it home tomorrow and clean. The windshield glass was not original, and broke anyway when it was removed from the car. Will try Pilkington's for a date coded replacement.
Last edited by costpenn; June 22nd, 2014 at 07:09 PM.
June 22nd, 2014, 05:11 PM
#479
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Brazil Indiana
Posts: 11,503
Looking great.
I am wondering, If you get the chance to look at this thread. I would be interested to know what style you have and if you know if it is original to your car?
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post713878
I am wondering, If you get the chance to look at this thread. I would be interested to know what style you have and if you know if it is original to your car?
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post713878
