57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

that exhaust turned out really nice..

Thanks, Greg, now I just have to get it over the rear axle and out the back while leaving room for the gas tank and battery.

[Ol Blue K20]

The exhaust looks fantastic.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

The exhaust looks fantastic.

Thanks, Dale.

I did a bit more exhaust work, got the tailpipes back over the rear axle on both sides but will need to wait on the gas tank and battery placement to finish. Meanwhile, I mounted the E-Stopp electric parking brake unit and connected it to the Wilwood universal parking brake cable kit. I decided to build a little heat shield for the e-brake unit. Exhaust tubing runs kinda close to it and I wasn't sure how much heat it could stand. Probably more than you'd think but no sense tempting fate.

[Vic1947]

Got shanghaied by the wife and pressed into service planting shrubs and flowers so the wagon took a backseat for a couple of days. I didn't actually work that long on the gardening, but I was too worn out to do anything much else for a few days. I have managed to get the fuel and brake lines formed and fastened to the frame. Didn't like the look of the inverted flare unions I'd planned to connect the 6' stainless fuel lines. So I machined a couple of sleeves and then soldered them together instead. I was a bit careless on my first try and didn't clean the parts well enough and had a leak under pressure. Second time around was much better. Left 120psi on them for a half hour with no leaks. Sooner or later I reckon I need to drop the body down on the frame.

[Vic1947]

After two and a half days of spreading seam sealer and masking, I applied the 3M Body Schutz to most of the underside. I left a small area near the rear until I get the gas tank situated. Need to drop the body on the chassis in order to do that so I'll finish the undercoat when I pull the body back off the frame.

I spoke to the shop that's doing the spray chrome on the grille bar. They're still on hold waiting for materials coming from Canada. I could tell he was frustrated. He has about 50 pieces backlogged and no one can tell him for sure when his stuff will get to him. Fortunately, I don't need it right this minute.

[Vic1947]

In keeping with my goal to do as much myself as I possibly can on this build, I taped off the firewall and dash and laid down some color. A good shop would be more than capable of two-toning the dash like I wanted, but as I found, it was a bit time consuming.

I started by taping off the exterior areas I want HR Express to block and paint. The goal was to wind up with tape lines that would be hidden under moldings, fenders, w/s gasket and the like. I applied the Millennium Silver to both the firewall and the dash. I then spent about 2.5 hours masking the areas that would stay silver and shot the Firethorn Red Pearl basecoat.

After it had flashed off, I applied a couple of coats of urethane clear. I'd originally planned to do the top of the dash with matte clear, but with the silver basecoat against the gloss red, it somehow didn't look right. I thought it might look cool to have a low gloss dash like they did back in the day, but I changed my mind mid-stream.

Painted the gauge pod, glove box lid, ashtray, speaker grille and misc other parts while I was at it. I can now assemble the Dakota Digital gauges and the USB charger that goes in the ashtray. Will post photos when that's done.

I'm still on the fence about what color to paint the steering column. The gauge pod is silver and the lower cover is red, so there's a dividing line that more or less splits the column tube. The way I see it, the column could be either color. At first, I planned to do it in the red, but more recently, I'm leaning toward silver. This is the crazy stuff that happens when you deviate from the factory schemes.

[mongocanfly]

Looks great Vic.!....I'd do the silver on the column...

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks good Vic. I'm a second on silver column.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Looks great Vic.!....I'd do the silver on the column...

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks good Vic. I'm a second on silver column.

Thanks, guys, I've been leaning toward the silver myself since the column is more in line with the upper part of the dash. Masking the column is the next time consuming activity. I don't really want to disassemble it, so I use tweezers and skinny screwdrivers to tape up the holes. I had it all masked for primer, but I knew it would be awhile before I got around to painting it, so I pulled all the tape.

Kathy and I got married on Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you) 52 years ago, so we celebrated by getting curbside delivery at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Came home and poured a couple of margaritas and fed our faces. Celebrations are a lot more low key at our age.

I did find the time today to install the Dakota Digital gauges in the dash pod. Also got the USB charger in the ashtray. Pics below.

[mongocanfly]

Like the cluster..!!...really nice..!!...
And congrats on 50+ yrs...

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Like the cluster..!!...really nice..!!...
And congrats on 50+ yrs...

Dang it!! Mongo always gets here before me! .....x2 on what he said....

[swamp rat]

Congratulations!!!

[Vic1947]

Thanks, guys ...all in all it was a very nice day given our present circumstances.

[67C10Step]

Super nice all the way around. Gonna be a head turner when finished.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by 67C10Step

Super nice all the way around. Gonna be a head turner when finished.

Thanks, I sure hope it finishes out nicely. Lots of stuff can go haywire between now and then.

Worked on a few small projects today including putting the a/c vent openings in the dash bezel. Called Hot Rod Express and got a recording that they will be closed until May 18. I emailed them to ask if they even know yet what their schedule looks like. It may be the fall before the rest of the color goes on.

[mongocanfly]

man that sucks....but worth the wait maybe

[HAULIN' IT]

The column comes out of the Red portion of the dash...that makes it need to be Red in my opinion. Looking through the Windshield seeing a Red wheel with everything else Silver may look odd though. Lorne

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

man that sucks....but worth the wait maybe

Hope so, Greg. They're supposed to open next Monday, so we'll see what they say.

Originally Posted by HAULIN' IT

The column comes out of the Red portion of the dash...that makes it need to be Red in my opinion. Looking through the Windshield seeing a Red wheel with everything else Silver may look odd though. Lorne

Well sorta, Lorne. The way I painted the parts it's a bit half and half. If I'd done the instrument cluster in red, it would be a clearer choice, I think. I'm thinking silver would be safe. Dunno.

[Vic1947]

Got some good news yesterday. Rick at Hot Rod Express called and said they're back to full strength and will have a spot cleared for the wagon this coming week. He's going to bring a trailer to the house and load up the chassis, body and related parts. So hopefully we'll see some color soon. They're going to fit up the front clip, fine tune the door gaps and then block and paint. If I did my part halfway right, it should be back here in a few weeks or less.

If that sounds hopelessly optimistic it's only because it is. Any time you rely on someone else it's always possible the whole thing goes south. However, I think these folks are more than capable of pulling off a street worthy paint job. As long as their other customers don't apply so much pressure my stuff ends up on the back burner.

I got the gas tank mounted and made a decision on the console. Rather than build one entirely from scratch that looks totally homemade, I sourced a nearly complete, brand new (never installed) unit from a Chevy Volt on eBay. It arrived today and I think I'll be able to modify it to work. It has a more modern look than the ones you typically see in classic cars. Hope it won't look too much out of place.

[mongocanfly]

Breat news on the paint shop..!!...looking forward to seeing the results

[Ol Blue K20]

I can't wait to see it..I hope they do what they say they will.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Great news on the paint shop..!!...looking forward to seeing the results

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I can't wait to see it..I hope they do what they say they will.

I've got my fingers crossed too! I got a call from the shop owner on Friday. He had called the wrong number earlier in the week and left a message and then called again when I didn't get back to him. Guy told him there was no "Vic" there. After looking up my number again, he finally got hold of me and said they were ready to move the car into the shop. But since the weather looked bad and they would be closed for the holiday he suggested we wait until Tuesday (tomorrow) to pick up everything. Now the weather looks lousy the next three days in a row. GAAAHH!! We'll see what the weather guessers say tonight.

Meanwhile, I've been making some progress on the console. Got the shifter mount installed and the rear console mounting bracket made. Luckily, I also test fit the shift cable to the transmission. Performance Automatics installed a deep cast aluminum pan on it and of course, none of the Lokar cable hardware fit. I had to mill the slotted bracket and the spacers, then make a trip to the hardware store for the metric socket head cap screws I needed. But I got it in place and it works nice and smooth.

I also made some templates for the filler panels I'll use to extend the bottom edge of the console down to the floor. That way I have a few things to work on while the car is gone. Hope everyone had a safe and fun Memorial Day holiday!

[Ol Blue K20]

Hopefully the weather holds out for ya. It's smokin' hot here.

[sduckworth13]

Looking good Vic! I hope you and Kathy had a good Memorial Day.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Hopefully the weather holds out for ya. It's smokin' hot here.

No luck today, Dale. Raining and 68. Maybe a short break this afternoon but not sure if it will be enough. Just have to be content to work on other stuff ...and there's plenty of that.

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Looking good Vic! I hope you and Kathy had a good Memorial Day.

Thanks, Scott, hope you and Katina did too.