Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[gdavis]

Your work is great. Thank you for all your help in the past. You helped me with the striped hinge bolts. I sent you a PM on another issue. Again thanks.

[Low Elco]

Nice car! Glad it all came together after the usual amount of briggling.

[jlsanborn]

Good thing you figgered that out before it got ugly. Nice work! Wonder how the mfg expects them things to survive?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Good thing you figgered that out before it got ugly. Nice work! Wonder how the mfg expects them things to survive?

Good question, John. After the fact, I thought it might have helped to remove the snap ring, pack the bearing with grease and reassemble before installing. Or alternatively, drill a teeny tiny hole in one of the oil galley plugs to provide more lubrication from above the button. You'd have thought the mfg. would throw up a red flag if this was a potential issue. Maybe it was just the luck of the draw and I got one that was destined to fail. $#!* happens...

[Dean'smeanmachine]

good looking 57

[Vic1947]

When I was down at my buddy Jay's place a couple of months ago, I noticed he had a box full of (mostly) disassembled vent window parts along with a few new seals, etc. Since I've rebuilt a couple of similar sets for my trucks, I offered to overhaul them. Having the tools and a little experience under your belt makes a lot of difference. So when I had a little free time, I cleaned and blasted the frames, then sent them to Jonathon Cornell at Sure Coat in Sedalia for satin black powder coating. While down there this weekend, I picked the pieces up and brought them home. There's lots of tutorials on the web on rebuilding these, so I won't bother with details, but one thing that's worth mentioning is in regard to the rivets.

The rivets you get from the aftermarket vendors are typically too small a diameter to clinch the seal strips properly and can easily fail. Another issue is their length. They're too long to properly draw up some of the frame connectors. On the ones I've rebuilt, the factory used two different size rivets - 1/8" and 5/32". The ones supplied by the vendors are about .144" which puts them about halfway between the two sizes. So you end up drilling out the frame assembly holes and settling for a sloppy fit on the seal strips.

Well we don't settle for nuthin' around here. Having seen this problem before, I'd already fabricated a little tool to make my own rivets out of 18-8 SS round head solid rivets with a 1/4" length body. There's a pic below of the tool and before and after rivets. I first chuck up the rivet body in the lathe and face off the round head to make a thin, flat head. Then I drop the rivet into the tool and tighten it on the mandrel. I use a #1 center drill to make a starter hole and then a #37 jobber drill to a depth of .150" to finish the job. This leaves .100" of solid body which clinches thin parts perfectly. The tool can also be used with the vendor supplied rivets to deepen them for a better hold.

This procedure only applies to the most seriously anal retentive builders. But it would be nice if the vendors took it upon themselves to package the correct rivets for the job. It's hard enough to redo vent window assemblies as it is.

[sduckworth13]

Nice job on the wing window Vic, that looks great!

[jeh]

Vic, you simply amaze me with your ideas and the quality of your work you do. I would just like to come hang out sometime if we weren't hundreds of miles apart....

[swamp rat]

So what were you in your previous life? A tool and die maker? Nice home made tool Vic!

[Low Elco]

You have to really press him, but if he starts telling you about his previous life, most mere mortals eyes start glazing over at about the 45 second mark. Something about oil, and drills, and radiation, and secret government projects, and aliens, and pro stock cars.... over my head in a hurry!

Great work as usual, Vic!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jeh

Vic, you simply amaze me with your ideas and the quality of your work you do. I would just like to come hang out sometime if we weren't hundreds of miles apart....

Kind of a long drive just to hang out and shoot the breeze, for sure. One of the reasons I really like the forum is being able to exchange ideas and see what others around the country are up to. I'm not afflicted with "not invented here" syndrome. I'll happily use a good idea regardless of its origin.

[Xeen]

Originally Posted by low elco

you have to really press him, but if he starts telling you about his previous life, most mere mortals eyes start glazing over at about the 45 second mark. Something about oil, and drills, and radiation, and secret government projects, and aliens, and pro stock cars.... Over my head in a hurry!

rofl!

[jlsanborn]

Well done! How are you staking them down? The little punch tool that comes in the kits works pretty good for the easy ones.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Well done! How are you staking them down? The little punch tool that comes in the kits works pretty good for the easy ones.

I didn't have much luck with the included tool, so I bought one from Hanson and turned it down on the end to fit better into tight spots. I also made one for smaller rivets using an old punch. Then threw away the one that came in the kit.

[mcbassin]

Nice work on the vent windows. I found the exact problems with the pieces I bought from one of the aftermarket dealers. I ended up making new rivets HERE for the pivet and turning the length of the rivets for the seals. I had to drill the frames out too.

I love all the attention to detail on your thread we seem to have a lot in common.

[snipescastle2]

Vic,
I'm going to doing this to my vent windows here shortly, did you have any problems getting the glass out of the frame before powder coating? I can powder coat my frames/channels at my uncles for the cost of the powder, I might be calling to ask for some assistance when the time comes! since I'm not that far, and you have some free time, might bring it all by and see the master at work! When I'm ready that is.... I'm still gathering parts(seals, maybe tinted replacement glass) any way's great inginuity was that a bolt/nut with a metal "Slug" welded onto the nut, with a pilot hole drilled into it? clever.....
As always, your legend precedes you!
Have a good one!
Ben

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by snipescastle2

Vic, I'm going to doing this to my vent windows here shortly, did you have any problems getting the glass out of the frame before powder coating?

Hey Ben, glad to hear from you. Both of Jay's vent windows were cracked, so I didn't have to worry about saving them. However, a PO had replaced them some time in the past and used RTV to glue the glass into the frames. I took a cue from a tutorial on stovebolt.com and broke the glass out to make it easier to remove. Wearing safety glasses and leather gloves, I wrapped each window in a couple of rags then tapped around the edges close to the frame with a hammer and chisel. I sat down in my chair next to the trash can and worked the glass back and forth until it became somewhat pliable adjacent to the edge of the frame. I then used a long slender flat blade screwdriver to gently pry the captive remainder of the glass from the frame. Worked down both long edges to the corner and was able to pull the last bit out. This left some residual RTV and a few glass shards in the frame. I scraped as much as I could from the rest of the U-channel and then soaked it overnight in solvent. I use Ozonic 117 solvent but Varsol also works great. The RTV turns rubbery and releases easily with a small brush. I then threw the frames into the blast cabinet and removed the paint and grunge. Most powder coat firms have a way to prep the surface if you don't have that capability in house. Let me know if I can help.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Nice work on the vent windows. I found the exact problems with the pieces I bought from one of the aftermarket dealers. I ended up making new rivets HERE for the pivet and turning the length of the rivets for the seals. I had to drill the frames out too.

I love all the attention to detail on your thread we seem to have a lot in common.

Thanks, Mike. We certainly have a lot of the same tools and approach problems in the same way. I especially like your link to the truck pictures. They tell the story in a very efficient way.

[mikeleeshields]

Vic, I will second the comment. You amaze me with the amount of detailed work, or as you call it anal retentive work, lol. Keep it up. I like to gather ideas from everyone as you have and build on them myself.

[Vic1947]

I've been doing little bits of work off and on. With the twins here and several side projects, it's been hit and miss. Today was more of a miss than I'm used to. Weather was nice and the wife took the twins on a hike, so I used the opportunity to squirt some epoxy primer and Slick Sand on the bedside. The epoxy went pretty good, but the Slick Sand set up in the gun during a 15 minute break before doing a re-coat. There went $20 worth of material (at 40 bucks a quart) and a $20 HF gun. Jeez!

But the real kicker was when I sighted down the length of the outer bedside. Looked like warmed over death. It's going to take a lot more work to get it into any kind of paintable condition. Now I see why others who have done this say it's just an okay modification. I would be weeks closer to completion had I just popped for a new repro bedside. Of course the inside that will be covered with bedliner and no one will ever see turned out great.

[Elliot949]

Hey Vic.. I am working with the Dynacorn bedsides and I can tell you they are no picnic... I am trying to get them to fit to the bed floor and head panel... Lets just say it has been a challenge...

You truck is getting there and looking good...

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I've been doing little bits of work off and on. With the twins here and several side projects, it's been hit and miss. Today was more of a miss than I'm used to. Weather was nice and the wife took the twins on a hike, so I used the opportunity to squirt some epoxy primer and Slick Sand on the bedside. The epoxy went pretty good, but the Slick Sand set up in the gun during a 15 minute break before doing a re-coat. There went $20 worth of material (at 40 bucks a quart) and a $20 HF gun. Jeez!

But the real kicker was when I sighted down the length of the outer bedside. Looked like warmed over death. It's going to take a lot more work to get it into any kind of paintable condition. Now I see why others who have done this say it's just an okay modification. I would be weeks closer to completion had I just popped for a new repro bedside. Of course the inside that will be covered with bedliner and no one will ever see turned out great.

I had a batch of a similar product (Z-Chrome) do the same thing on me last week during a 20 minute lunch break. Kinda caught me off guard. Fortunately I could salvage the paint gun but it took about 30 minutes to dig it out. I used that stuff during the winter and you had what seemed like hours of pot life.

Too bad about the bedside. I have thought about doing that mod for a future project but now you have me thinking otherwise. good luck getting her straight.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Hey Vic.. I am working with the Dynacorn bedsides and I can tell you they are no picnic... I am trying to get them to fit to the bed floor and head panel... Lets just say it has been a challenge...

You truck is getting there and looking good...

Yeah, come to think of it, fixing the wheelwell fastener pattern on the brand new passenger side bed panel I bought took some time also. So I guess there's no guarantee a new one will drop right in.

[Vic1947]

This morning it was back to Worlds of Fun for probably the last time this summer with the twins. Rachel and I finally managed to ride the Timber Wolf which completed the full complement of roller coasters at WOF. And for good measure, we were on the second group to ride the Steel Hawk which had its Grand Opening today. We'd have been in the first group except they only ran it half full. Guess that way they'd have a lot fewer people to rescue if it crapped out at the top like it did a couple of times out at Knott's Berry Farm.

After lunch, the twins and I went to the Liberty fireworks stand and loaded up for tomorrow. They each had a $20 budget to pick whatever they wanted. It was a hoot to watch them picking out items, totaling them up, changing their minds, putting things back, adjusting the total ...ad nauseum. I was amazed that when we checked out, neither one had gone over budget and we had a basket full of gimcracks.

That left just enough time this afternoon to finish applying Slick Sand to the outer bedside. The new $16.99 HF gun worked to perfection. This gives me a good base to build on so I can now fine tune the body lines.

[Elliot949]

looks great Vic...