Greetings!
Have you ever woke up in the wee hours of the morning and been totally awake? Me too. This morning. It was just before 3:30 am and for some reason I was through sleeping. I thought I'd go out to the lab to get a few pictures of the work I did last night on Gary's '51 Chevy. I got my pictures and then I took just a minute to look at the driver's door latch, thinking it has never been cleaned & oiled. Of course I had to take off the upholstered door panel, and to get that off I had to first remove the inside window trim piece and inside door handle. Then, to get the latch loose I had to take off the outside door handle and bend the mechanism around the door glass channel. What the heck, I didn't have much else going on at 4:15 am.
The door latch is soaking in my carb cleaner bucket as I write this and I'll reinstall it clean and well-lubricated. I'll also remove the door latch receiver that's mounted to the body of the car and clean it as well. If they're both clean, lubricated and adjusted properly, the door should open and close properly. The first day I saw Gary's car he mentioned that the latch didn't work well. I'd surprise him, but I suspect he reads my blog.
I removed the steering box and column last night and began scraping years of accumulated oil and dirt from the bottom of the firewall and the frame rails. I spent some time looking over the firewall wondering how best to clean up the various bolt and clips sticking through from the inside. I'd rather the bolt heads stuck out under the dash where nobody can see them.
Have you ever woke up in the wee hours of the morning and been totally awake? Me too. This morning. It was just before 3:30 am and for some reason I was through sleeping. I thought I'd go out to the lab to get a few pictures of the work I did last night on Gary's '51 Chevy. I got my pictures and then I took just a minute to look at the driver's door latch, thinking it has never been cleaned & oiled. Of course I had to take off the upholstered door panel, and to get that off I had to first remove the inside window trim piece and inside door handle. Then, to get the latch loose I had to take off the outside door handle and bend the mechanism around the door glass channel. What the heck, I didn't have much else going on at 4:15 am.
I removed the steering box and column last night and began scraping years of accumulated oil and dirt from the bottom of the firewall and the frame rails. I spent some time looking over the firewall wondering how best to clean up the various bolt and clips sticking through from the inside. I'd rather the bolt heads stuck out under the dash where nobody can see them.
Since we're going to install A/C, we won't need the vent openings any more. I'm considering welding them shut. I think I'll have to trim or eliminate the two long braces coming from the top of the firewall to the spot where the body mounts to the frame. They're the panels that are vertical on either side of the firewall indentation. I think the rear cylinders are going to need that room.
Check out all the crud that I've knocked on the floor so far. I want these two frame rails to look beautiful so I need them to be clean. The new suspension components will be welded to these two rails and even though it won't be totally visible from the top, I want it to look brand new.
I think I'm going to have to trim the inner fender panels also. They will probably hit the top of the two shock towers once they're welded into place. That means I'm going to have to do some bodywork and paint on the car. Since I'll be painting the firewall and chassis, maybe Gary will let me repaint the body of the car and correct some of the problems left by the last painter. We'll see if he's got any change left after the drivetrain is installed and the car's running again.
Ok. Time for a nap!
Doug
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