1967 Body Lift for Chassis & Frame Restoration

[Donald O.]

Re: 1967 Body Lift for Chassis & Frame Restoration

I guess you used the garden hose for the engine coolant IN. But what did you do for the engine coolant OUT? Water the lawn?

DonO

[Richard M.]

Re: 1967 Body Lift for Chassis & Frame Restoration

Yup watered the weeds. Outlet was a correctly numbered upper GM hose and a non-original Asian pool drainer-outer hose.

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...Just got back from Frank Tetro's shop in Rockledge, my Chrome Shop in Titusville, and Ecklers in Titusville. I was thinking of taking the '59 for the trip but I wimped out and took the A/C'd C6 due to 96*F and who knows what Heat Index was today. Felt like 106*. 1st stop Ecklers but they didn't have what I needed.

Then the Chrome Shop then Frank's. Frank's restoring his awesome '67 L71 Convertible and we've been sharing info and having fun. His son Frankie is a top restorer, like his Dad, and has been doing my Zinc plating for my project. He also just completed a gorgeous '59 Cadillac and it is breathtaking.
I brought more pieces to be plated to him today and he's going to restore the alternator case halves for me also, along with plating the original pulley and some original carb linkage pieces. We were trying to figure out if the Clutch Cross Shaft I have is original or not. I'll post pics later for guidance as the JG makes no claim of specific features. Frank's going to check his pieces there so we can brainstorm what we both have.

A slight drawback in the Chrome bumper department. The fronts anf license bar were done and I picked them up, but the rear cores were not good. After grinding thin areas many holes showed up so my plater called this morning with the bad news. He suggested we don't do those. Good call. My friend, who I bought them from, had 2 more pairs, so I stopped there on the way and brought them up to the plater to let him choose. Now all set with a better pair and he'll have them done next week.

Here are a few shots of the license bar and one of the fronts. Excellent work. Note that the slight waviness is still present, at my request when I brought them. This is a sign of originality. Repros are perfectly flat.
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The blurry reflections of the black binder and wooden railing highlight this waviness in the photos. If it's a perfect mirror like reflection, it's not original IMO, over-restored. Of course, this triple plating is not original either, but we're happier with a better appearance. The inner corners underneath are perfect also with no shadowing of light chrome like originals. Again, the way we want it to be.
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Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: Cylinder Head Paint at Aluminum Intake area

Does the latest Edition of the JG discuss silver paint on the heads of aluminum intake engines? I need to order one of those. The 5th Edition JG on pg 99 mentions silver paint on the heads near the intake. It does not differentiate between Small or Big Block in it's statement. I believe this is in error.

I believe the earlier C1 and C2 small block engines with aluminum intakes had silver paint on the intake sides of the heads, but the Tonawanda built BB engines had orange paint next to the aluminum intakes. This excellent thread started by Mark Donnally a while ago tells me that they were orange.
https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...881#post610881

Another here....
https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...930#post576930

Maybe the 4th Edition of the JG had silver notations also, as the last '67 BB I restored I used silver there, but now appears I was misinformed.

Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: Cylinder Head Paint at Aluminum Intake area

The above post was transcribed to a new thread here for those interested.....

https://www.forums.ncrs.org/showthre...um-Intake-area

[Richard M.]

GM original Side Exhaust Covers ?

These from the '67. They appear to be original covers, albeit maybe not original when delivered from St Louis. There is a North American Rockwell tag on one. Inside on both are some raised digit identifiers. The white label has a "2 . 73". Do you think that's a date code? We discovered this car was originally sold in Grand Rapids MI.

The rivet heads appear to be different from what's shown in the JG though. Unsure if the brackets were changed or not. On one cover, there is some original bonding adhesive visible in several areas of the lower black painted areas, which cannot be seen when mounted unless looking up from under the car..... last pics shown.

Rich

QUESTION: Are these ORIGINAL side exhaust covers, or reproductions?

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[Patrick H.]

Re: GM original Side Exhaust Covers ?

Rich,

Looks like a Feb 1973 date code to me.
Was it Berger Chevy?

Patrick

[Richard M.]

Re: GM original Side Exhaust Covers ?

Rich,

Looks like a Feb 1973 date code to me.
Was it Berger Chevy?

Patrick

Patrick, I thought I saw a 3B67 on the backsides in the fiberglass but was in error. Yes must be Feb '73.

Were originals made by Rockwell?

The dealer was
Nischan-Spalding, Inc1515 W. 28th St.
Grand Rapids, MI 49509

I did some research a while ago. They're no longer in business.

Rich

[Patrick H.]

Re: GM original Side Exhaust Covers ?

Rich,

That dealership doesn't ring a bell at all. I wonder when they went out of business.

Patrick

[Richard M.]

Re: GM original Side Exhaust Covers ?

Patrick,

When I did the research I found that the company started in 1930. Albert Spalding, former owner passed away in 1995. Obit here.

I'm unsure when the dealership closed. That address is now a car dealer called Car City.

Some more research had some of these photos. I think it's Bob Senneker. Sponsor was Nischan-Spalding Chevrolet on the door at that time.
BSenneker68.jpg

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/b...ough-the-years

Rich
p.s. I think my sidepipe querry got toasted.

[Patrick H.]

Re: GM original Side Exhaust Covers ?

Yes, I found all that too.

My Dad worked down the road from there in the mid-70s and I don't recall the dealership at all. I don't ever recall anyone mentioning it as well. That's why I wondered how long it was actually in business.

[Joe R.]

Re: 1967 Body Lift for Chassis & Frame Restoration

Hi Rich,

Strong work as usual! How did you hold the RPMs at 2000?

Joe

[Richard M.]

Re: 1967 Body Lift for Chassis & Frame Restoration

Hi Joe,

I left the return spring off and the throttle lever just stayed in place. I could have used the idle adjust screw too but in a emergency it'd have been tricky to shut down at high RPM if necessary.

BTW, I ran it up again over the weekend and the carb adjustment for the right bank was way off. The miss/sputter was on that side originally and it's now much better. More test running planned but the weather has been a tad wet down here lately. I hope to get the final adjustments done today if the weather holds out.

Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 1967 Body Lift for Chassis & Frame Restoration

Weather stinky rain this last week and I got tied up with other tasks so engine had to stay inside.

The bar has been raised. We've decided to go all-in and plan to have the car judged in the near future, so I've been busy planning new tasks and undoing some previous ones for correction.

If time permits we have a Chapter Meet in late November within a few hours drive at Howey-In-The-Hills, FL so I'd like to test the waters then. Even if I'm not done I may trailer the car there for Sportsman display, half or whole.

I had body reinforcements refinished and ready to go back on but ended up removing the coatings and created a pile of items for the zinc plater. Dropped them off last week. Includes original throttle linkages and levers, misc brackets, etc.

I also decided to open up the dated alternator and remove the pulley and fan for replating/coating. I'm glad I did. Slightly loose internal screws at the brush holder(pic below arter I removed them more) and overall marginal condition. The 2 halves and capacitor and screws are now out at the refinishing shop. The aluminum will be restored to original finish and other pieces plated. I used a press to remove the diodes and bearings and capacitor. The cap was already a bit dented from prior hands.

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I think this is the wrong rear bearing. Hard to read.
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This front bearing got tossed in the trash.
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Already got a North American made in Canada replacement the other day at Grainger's when I returned some unused big threaded inserts for the cylinder heads I didn't use.
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I cleaned and tested the cap. 0.5uF spec, likely 20% tolerance, measured within .4 to .6 so it's fine.
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Shipped out.
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The armature commutator was a bit grooved. This unit had some miles on it.
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I shaved it a thousandth or two on my lathe. Then with some 1500 grit and scotch brite while spinning to smooth it out. Shaving on a lathe is the most accurate method to ensure proper flatness.
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New brushes will be installed when I get all of the pieces back from refinishing. I need to verify that rear bearing, which is in good condition, or locate a correct one. I'll need to color code the diodes upon reassembly, and put the proper coating on the edge of the field winging ring.

Rich

[Richard M.]

Re: 1967 Body Lift for Chassis & Frame Restoration

Restored original Fuel Sender today. I'll be removing the reproduction and save as a spare since I was able to salvage the original AC unit. I thought it was badly rusted inside the potentiometer but when I opened it up it was excellent and worth the effort. It tested fine. I'll get a new float and screen. I plated it myself with a new method I concocted.

Before.....
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This is my handy Fiberglass Eraser Cleaning Tool. It even works on chrome and will not scratch it. It doesn't leave deep scratches like a wire brush does. After removing the old paint from the unit face, I cleaned the face with this and original plating was mostly still intact. THe pipe had a little corrosion which took more effort and a wire-wheel.
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Inside the pot...I used the eraser on the outside too.
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After.....
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[Richard M.]

Re: 1967 Body Lift for Chassis & Frame Restoration

Kindof a boring update.....but still a update.

Received the Al Knoch carpet set yesterday.
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We know that the existing carpets were not original and were a bit faded, especially the rear floor. I also think the front floors were changed themselves years later as the loop is different from the rear which gets little exposure. The cutouts for the front seat tracks were not done right and the rear track ends had NO cutouts and lazily bolted on top of the carpets. So new carpets were in order.

I was just ready to roll the body outside to begin carpet work after getting a fresh quart can of Weldwood Contact Cement from my local HD, and then the rains came. We've had 2 weeks worth every day down here in FL and it's a pain to plan anything outside. Contact cement must be used outside.

So inside the shop I stayed and decided to do the kick panels over at the work table. These are a pain so may as well do them now and get them out of the way. The panel backs were original, so I planned to reuse them as I like the original backing and piping and just needed a cleaning up. You can see how faded the old carpet coverings were.
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But the hardboard tarlike backers were a bit deformed. I used my steamer to get them good and hot and moist and set them in my 20 ton shop press while hot. Flattened out pretty good after a while cooling down in the press. I only ran it to about 15 tons.
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Cleaned the piping and a little Vinyl conditioner made them like new. A quick rotary buffing of the screw collars, 2 shots of my 3M HD spray glue(outside between rain showers), then installed the collars and all done. Need to refinish the metal trims too.
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Repeated on the other kick panel. Steamed and flattened in the press also.
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Both backs.
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I sanded and cleaned the metal trims and shot with several coats of black. Came out looking like the other black interior parts which got painted with gloss unbuffed lacquer originally.

I noticed something I hadn't noticed before on these original trims. There was a dimple on each. Thought I goofed up my paint job. Turns out it is a manufacturers mark stamped on the backside. I suppose the interior judges know about this and can tell if original or reproduction?

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All done and ready for installation after the mains are installed. Time consuming little critters they are....
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Rich