Electrical 101

I have approached this project with an open mind in all aspects.  I research everything to a T, my fiance usually pokes fun at me for it but knows its important if you want to get something right.  After crunching numbers and learning about what is needed in certain departments, I have decided to do the interior and body work in my garage instead of paying out for it.  I have a good friend who is also a gear head and we discuss new practices and methods frequently.  The conversation is usually wrapped up with "its not rocket science".  This is true . . . . banging some dents may take some serious skill, and I'm not down playing it, but its not rocket science - I'm capable.  So, I have had a hammer and dolly set molded to my hands over the past week as I learn how to work out a couple dents in my bonnet.  I surprised myself after the first night of work and feel like I can harness the ability to finish it out.  We have also been looking at paint booth designs that guys have built in their garages - totally doable.  I have the compressor, almost as tall as me, I have the nice gun - no reason we cant do this. 

 These show the first dent I approached.  You can see another one lower on the bonnet in the first image.  This is what the top one looked like before I got to it.  I need to purchase some dura blocks to assist in the sanding, but I made do with what I had on hand.  You can clearly see the original baby blue showing through.  The small silver spots are still a tad bit high, but you can barely feel them.  I plan on making a trolley for the bonnet that will allow me to turn it flat and work on it easier.  Lead loading will also be a skill I will pick up.  I have everything needed and have practiced on some scrap.

On to other areas, I have found my coil to be faulty so I ordered a Lucas Sport Coil from SNG which should be here tomorrow as well as some plug wires.  I am anxious to get these as this is hopefully the last step in getting spark to the motor.  My grand plan is to have this flat blue classic sitting in a spot for the SABCC car show.  As I watch the calendar, Oct 22nd is approaching fast.  I'm starting to feel the pressure to get it sorted out.  I still have a dead clutch pedal which I haven't even diagnosed, but believe it to be as simple as getting fluid in and priming up the system.  I am pushing hard to get fire over the weekend.  This will lead into a fine tooth shake down on running components before I will try to move it.  First runs will be contained in my neighborhood as it has a very nice oval from my house which is around a mile long start to finish.  Once I feel ok about things, wheels will be removed and fresh rubber will be installed - 25 yo dry rotted tires dont inspire much confidence. . . .  Speaking of rubber, I have always wanted a set of white walls and love the classic look they provide.  I have seen era pictures that show E Types with white walls, so I dont feel like it is breaking the purity of the the car.  E's tuck the tires soooo slightly and a set of pretty white walls draws to this subtlety.  It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but neigh sayers didnt put the hours in the garage with me, so their opinions aren't recognized here. . .

 This brings me to the next issue.  I would love to have a YOM tag like the one pictured below, but have read some interesting facts.  A lot of states let you run YOM anywhere you want as long as you have a standard tag in the car with you at all times.  Alabama says you can only run a YOM if you are in a show, trailering, or driving to a club sponsored event. . . Is this as regulated as they try to make it sound?  Can anyone comment on YOM tags and classics?  I don't really have a problem putting a standard tag on but would love to sport a year correct tag if I could. 

This OTS is sporting the same colors I will be using.  After the Oct 22 show, it will be full throttle body and paint!!!!

Busy weekend!!!!

As tropical storm Lee came across my neck of the woods it was apparent that there would be nothing to accomplish outside . . . . . perfect!!!  I spent my whole weekend chugging away in my lair.  The garage door was open, raining and windy as hell outside, but none coming in for some reason, it was great.  I was lucky to have picked up my carbs from Mike Darby (http://darbyclassics.com/) last week and looked forward to getting them in the car.  He did an incredible job, they look like new!

 < BEFORE

AFTER >

I spent Friday evening getting some of this area tied up.  The vacuum reservoir was refinished and painted, as well as the surrounding areas.  The reservoir was re-seated and I spent the rest of the evening getting the carbs hooked up to each other, running the fuel line with the brass T and hanging them on the manifold. 

 Through Saturday my attention turned to getting the tank set in as I didn't have much time to play Sat.  Surprisingly, it only took 15-20 minutes to convince the tank that it needed to return home.  Removing the boot latch and the passenger side tank mount made this all a lot easier.  

 

 I couldn't resist dropping the air box in to see this area looking near completion.

This shows one of the inline filters.  I realized after looking at this picture that I meant to put it on the line underneath it that would put it in front of the fuel pump, I will have to fix that tonight.  Next up, achieving spark, adding fuel, and praying for some magic.

Budget builds take time, draw blood, and beat you down . . . but I'm coming out ahead.

I decided to restore my tank instead of paying out nearly $800 for a new one.  There was around an inch of sludge and varnish built up in the bottom that had hardened to concrete.  I removed all of the fittings and access and tested the ability to chip away at it with no luck.  This got me thinking as to how motivated I was really going to be trying to clean the tank based on the abilities of chemicals I could get my hands on.  I don't like working with volatile chemicals without the right facility.  I had chemical gloves on hand which made manipulating anything smaller than a steering wheel a daunting task so I opted for some surgical gloves which would snag and tear every other minute or so.  The first chemical I introduced was Phosphoric Acid.  This proved to be a pretty motivated liquid.  It sizzled and bubbled and produced gasses that could incapacitate a gorilla.  However, it didn't seem to be a magic dissolver of rust and varnish.  The next step was Muriatic Acid.  I had another set of hands on the job this time and my buddy suggested dumping a couple hand-fulls of penny in the tank to act as an abrasive.  Not sure what the acid would do to the pennies, we dumped them in anyways.  The pennies proved to do a nice job. They moved in and out of the baffles willingly and were easy to remove.  This round showed better results.  I treated it two more times with the Muriatic while rinsing very well between treatments with a pressure washer.  The pressure washer nozzle got into the tank just far enough to blast some hung varnish out of its home.  At this point, it was time for the POR 15 tank coating kit.  It came with Marine Clean to eat away any varnish and rust left, Metal Ready to de-acidify the surface and the interior coating.  The kit worked very well.  Note - take care to keep it out of your threads while rolling the product in the tank.  Q-tips can help clean out the threads while its still wet.  Also, take care with these chemicals.  I saw the job they did to my drive way where I spilled a spot, pretty impressive!  But i don't think I would want it cleaning my hands.  I used an old 5 gal plastic bucket as a designated holding container for all of the chemicals I used.  Remember to take this to a disposal facility when your done . . . don't just pour it in the drain.  Gloves and masks are a must!  I can't stress that enough.  Also, stay in a well ventilated area.  I finished the interior and the exterior and am pretty happy with the results.

  These show the interior after the 

application of POR15.  It was still wet at this point.

 Photos above show the outside of the tank after prime and paint.

 

I'm very happy with the results.  In the end I spent right around $90 for chemicals and the POR15 kit.  This made for a $700 savings over buying a new tank.  If you have the time to spend and the patients required, it makes for a very rewarding project.

Hot days make David a dull boy

As we drift into the year, every day means one step closer to working in the garage and not having blurred vision or signs of dehydration.  Large fans can suppress some of these symptoms, and they have been running full blast around my place. 

I received a new battery support that I found on Ebay for a really good price.  Brand new and powder coated, it puts my old one to shame.

The trunk is now prepped and ready for the fuel tank.  I will be ordering a rubber kit for the fuel tank which will include new gaskets, hose etc. that will be needed for the tank to be fully functional.  Once the tank goes in, I'm NOT going to want to take it back out. 

Making headway!

Its been a few days since I have been able to commit solid evening work to the E Type (projects around the house are almost done!)  I have been focusing my attention to the fuel tank.  I know this one is usable, just need the determination to get the chemicals in it and start shaking.  Upon further inspection, what I had originally determined was extensive rust turned out to be varnish that flakes off easily.  I will be calling a couple local radiator shops today and inquiring about using their vat which would REALLY simplify this process.  I have prepared the manifold surfaces for being re-united with my Strombergs and will be getting gaskets on order should the rebuild kit not supply them.  I also have begun assessing the state of hard hoses.  While the carbs are out, it is easy to get at a lot of these hoses which would be a pain to replace once the carbs are back on.  I will start replacing the worst of the worst, for the price of a hose its worth it to me to know that they are fresh.  While I am without carbs and fuel pump I need to get some cleaner in the hard fuel line to make sure it is free of debris etc, I have some pretty nice chemicals for that.

The interior is out and I am studying the seats.  I know the recline bar that runs behind the seat on the passenger is broken at the end.  This isn't a big deal as I can have my friend weld it up good as new.  The center console seems to have been covered by lighter vinyl that is over the factory black, this will all be removed and re-finished.  I'll be shooting more pics tonight that touch on these areas, so check back!

*** While I'm thinking about it. . . . Does anyone have a good suggestion for a de-greaser?  I am trying to clean and coat areas that a brush etc can't get to efficiently.  It would be nice to be able to spray it and wipe it down. ***

 

This is the current state of the valve cover.  I have since done a little polishing . . . looks awesome.  Ill leave this here to show what it came from and drop a finished pic in when I finish all the fins and my fingers re-coop enough to type again.

 This is officially, the first SNG Barrett delivery I have received.  Shipping was great!  I placed my order Monday and had this on my door step Wednesday!  Inside were two oil filter elements, since Ill be running the motor for the first time in 25 years I will be making 2 changes fairly close to each other to make sure I cycle some oil through and get it out incase it is contaminated.  I also ordered a new air filter, fuel filter, fuel tank sump bolt plug, sending unit gasket, one valve cover stud and one valve cover acorn.  These parts, with the addition of my fuel tank which is soon to be reconditioned, a Facet fuel pump (original was a no go - failed bench test), and my carbs which are being done as I type should being me up to operational tests!  I am crawling through these stages, as I dont want ANYTHING to hinder getting it to fire.

The fuel filter was removed as you saw a couple posts ago, I also blasted the bracket in frame, cleaned up the ground, and painted the fire wall area behind them with a rust encapsulator from Eastwood.  I will be re-assembling them will post new pictures of this area. 

 

I thought it would be cool to show what many years of grime and corrosion can look like with a little TLC.  "After" pics to follow in next post.

Some things to look forward to!

• Prep boot for being re-mated to fuel tank (encapsulate)

• Remove adhesive in interior floors and prep.  Decide whether to weld in new floor pan on drivers side.  (encapsulate)

• Purchase and mount Facet fuel pump

• Re-condition heater box

• Strip bonnet of chrome and lights, prepare for body work!

• Pick colors!!!  I have been going back and forth between Opalescent Silver Blue and Opalescent Dark Blue . . . I know these are Series 1 colors, but they stopped them in 68 (close) and I'm not making this a 100 pt car.  I want to drive it and LOVE the color.  

'till next time!

Adding light and pretty air!

I finally got some good light in the garage.  There are 4 more banks to go up, but it should look like a surgical room when its done.  Its amazing what a little extra light does.  My days in the garage used to have to end when the sun retired, now I can keep crankin to the wee hours!

 The air box also got some attention.  A little wire brushing and sanding and she was nice and smooth.  Rustoleum no rust primer followed by some hammered silver finished it out.  I think it turned out pretty well!

 

The fuel tank sump also cleaned up nicely.  I happen to be fortunate that my neighbor has a fine sand blaster.  The fuel filter assembly (right) looked horrible.  It cleaned up SO well after just a minute in the blast cabinet.  I am now starting to grab odds and ends and set them aside for blasting.  Why wire brush when you can let high velocity abrasive do the work for you??