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Picked up my rebuilt wiper pump and motor from Steve Hackel this morning. It turned out pretty well. I need to get a decal made with the part number and Julian date. It’s a bit bright...were they like that when they were new? I’m please that the original 90 degree plastic was restored. What I’m not thrilled about is that the black plastic appears to have been spray painted. Need to figure out whether I strip it or find a new plastic piece.
I just went back and looked at past photos prior to the rebuild to see if the decal was on there originally. Who knows based on the amount of goop sprayed on the motor.
no, the wiper motors weren't that nice brand new. but we over restore these cars now, so ...
fwiw, I used hackel for wiper motors on a few cars. VERY happy.
I don't know what rock I've been under, but just discovered your thread and read it all. What an adventure! And what gorgeous work you've done. Congratulations on your progress so far.
I can offer a bit of my experience regarding carpet. I got some from ACC. Color was OK; however
fit over the front and rear humps was terrible
carpet weave direction was off 90° from OEM
I tried to work with it but wound up throwing it away and having custom carpet made. I realize that's not an option for you, but I wanted to give you those two warning points so you can evaluate it quickly and get timely corrections if required.
Had a quick 30 minutes in the garage on this snowy April day. I wanted to get the heater core out so I can get it over to the radiator shop and have them repair and test it. Looks like the outlet took a beating from whoever removed the hose prior to me. I’m hopeful that can be repaired.
There were two clips holding the heater core inside the box. Over the clip with the two small bolts was some type of insulator. Where can I find one of these? The original is brittle to the touch. Also, what about the piece inside the heater box shown in the image below.
there is a non a/c heater box seal kit. I've used the foam for the door that you have a pic of as the original deteriorates. The foam piece in the kit for the hose outlets I don't use as it's not thick/big enough. I've cleaned up the original and reused.
there is a non a/c heater box seal kit. I've used the foam for the door that you have a pic of as the original deteriorates. The foam piece in the kit for the hose outlets I don't use as it's not thick/big enough. I've cleaned up the original and reused.
Good to know. Thanks, Chris. Mr. Radiator is getting the tanks for the gold car, and he'll also be getting the original Harrison heater core.
In an effort to try and get the hardware as "correct" as possible, I sent a TON of hardware to Sparky's for replating. Overall, I'm very pleased with the results. I'd recommend bagging and tagging all the hardware during disassembly. I soaked most of it in Evaporust ahead of time before taking a wheel to them. I think this helped with the plating process.
Original caliper bolts with the 'S' etched in to the end. This won't be visible, but I'll at least know they're right
The horn relay might be a bit "brighter" than the originals. This was an NOS piece but I think it lost some of its luster from shelf life.
One of about 50+ baggies of hardware that was re-phosphated.
Core support bolts with the "anchor" head markings.
Hood "hockey stick" moulding bolts.
Re-phosphated the original hood latch.
Last edited by WTHIRTY1; Apr 29, 2019 at 08:27 PM.
I can chime in on the wheel houses since I'm doing them. Cleaning and prepping are the biggest part of restoring these. they were painted white on the underside at one time so a lot of time spent getting all the paint off. I will plastic weld the holes that are broken out along the edges. Then we paint them with vinyl paint I mix on my Sherwin Williams mixing system. If there are scratches or gouges, the vinyl paint can be wet sanded and reapplied to fill the issues. ~BOB
Spent an hour going through parts that still need to be restored and came across my original fuel hose clips. I plan on reusing the original square tang clips and noticed two clips with what appears to be gold paint. Anyone come across overspray on their fuel pump / hoses / clips? I know the clips were originally that drab olive finish and red.
Last time I posted a photo of the air cleaner base the snorkel was MIA. I sourced an original snorkel and sent it off to a good friend to have the factory welds replicated. Here it is in epoxy primer. Really looking forward to the approach on making this as close to factory original as possible.
Base looks good. Where did you end up finding a snorkel? Was it salvaged off something?
Is another hole for crankcase breather required or is that just W-30 cars? Im not sure
scrappie - all that style base/snorkel had TWO holes in the vertical perimeter/wall of the base. On a regular auto 442 the unused breather hole got a factory rubber plug (available repro).
The base in the pic above has TWO factory breather holes....you just can't see both of them in the pic.
I agree with you on the Horn relay. I have a couple of nos originals. Again they very in brightness. I think too many guys see one one way and think that's the way they all were. There are so many variances on these cars one way doesn't fit all.
Had the original Harrison heater core rebuilt. I've been used a local shop, Mr. Radiator out of the Chicagoland area, to repair my radiators. When he tested the heater core it leaked like a sieve! Fortunately, he had a source to order the core and reassembled it for me using the original pieces. Couldn't be happier with the way this turned out. From talking with others, it sounds like the reproduction heater cores are of poor quality and don't fit right.
Last edited by WTHIRTY1; May 19, 2019 at 07:08 PM.
Curious what the group thinks on this one. I already picked up a Gardner exhaust for the car, but I also have a complete set of NOS tailpipes + an extra 404725 pipe. Should I put the NOS pipes on or stick with the Gardner pipes?
Quick update. The body has been taken off the “shop roller frame” and the sandblasting has started. Pretty wild and exciting to see the W-31 on the rotisserie!
Hi from Alain considering your exhaust question which do you prefer?I used Gardner on the W 31 I restored It looked great.
But this is your choice.
Have a great day
Alain
Out of curiosity. What will the entire resto cost? I am guesstimating around $40k if you do the majority of the work. If you outsource labor, more like $70k.
Out of curiosity. What will the entire resto cost? I am guesstimating around $40k if you do the majority of the work. If you outsource labor, more like $70k.
I'm guessing my estimate of $70,000 is likely where it will land but it can easily go higher, of course.
You need to view this through a different lens. A typical restoration ordering new parts from ILT that are incorrect is very different than a restoration primarily leveraging rare NOS pieces. Of course, that's going to increase the cost.
You need to view this through a different lens. A typical restoration ordering new parts from ILT that are incorrect is very different than a restoration primarily leveraging rare NOS pieces. Of course, that's going to increase the cost.
this. plus labor costs for bodywork vary widely across the country.
btw, those circled areas, I've seen those rust on cars. for some reason that seam gets soft.
I'd vote for Gardner. If you plan on taking it to the Pure Stock Drags, I'll give you the same thing I have Dave Bunch. great resto exhaust system. but for performance it sucks.
this. plus labor costs for bodywork vary widely across the country.
btw, those circled areas, I've seen those rust on cars. for some reason that seam gets soft.
I'd vote for Gardner. If you plan on taking it to the Pure Stock Drags, I'll give you the same thing I have Dave Bunch. great resto exhaust system. but for performance it sucks.
Leaning towards sticking with the Gardner pipes for MCACN. Will be running different pipes for pure stocks for exactly that reason you called out but that won't be until 2020.
You need to view this through a different lens. A typical restoration ordering new parts from ILT that are incorrect is very different than a restoration primarily leveraging rare NOS pieces. Of course, that's going to increase the cost.
The last W car I did was at 70K. There was a mix of ILT and NOS critical parts used. Paint was 26K and that was paint and body repair labor only.i did everything myself except engine machining, tranny rebuild, wiper and p/s gear and pump rebuilding, some work done by 70 Post. I saved all my original interior so that was a big savings.Taking one to a shop to get done turnkey to this level would be at least 175K.
Received some less than stellar news yesterday around the passenger door. Looks like there was a drainage issue that caused some nasty rot on the passenger side door. See below.
The last W car I did was at 70K. There was a mix of ILT and NOS critical parts used. Paint was 26K and that was paint and body repair labor only.i did everything myself except engine machining, tranny rebuild, wiper and p/s gear and pump rebuilding, some work done by 70 Post. I saved all my original interior so that was a big savings.Taking one to a shop to get done turnkey to this level would be at least 175K.
That's kind of what I was figuring the costs are today. Quite staggering. That's the cost of a new home in some areas. If one has the $$ to do it, more power to them. A non-NOS restoration would come in lower $$ as the aftermarket parts are easier to find and cost less. Still expensive though.
Fist you have to find a salvageable W 31 or W 30 then start the cha Ching meter I know the feeling and working to get back at it
A full on restoration is$$$$$$$
Alain
Received some less than stellar news yesterday around the passenger door. Looks like there was a drainage issue that caused some nasty rot on the passenger side door. See below.
ouch. I don't have a door for you. I bet I know what you'll be looking for this weekend
