Restoration 99 Details...
A rust-free roller (really!)...
Ms. Casey oversees progress...
Restoration project 12/15/98 - 7/15/99
The main objective of the recent restoration was to repaint the exterior
and the engine bay. The original paint was pretty well faded and there
were several door dings and minor rust areas that needed attention. A retired
co-worker whose hobby is restoring Studebakers agreed to do the bodywork
and paint. I would prepare the car by stripping the old paint and removing
all trim, doors, hoods, etc.
So, first order of business was to get it ready for the painter. This
included:
-
Remove all trim and completely strip exterior to bare metal (many, many
hours here)
-
Remove engine, trans, cables and fuel lines, clean and prep engine bay
-
Remove gas tank, fresh air blower, wiper assembly and clean all areas
-
Remove interior excluding dash
-
Remove and dissassemble headlamp assemblies
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Remove hoods & doors, valances, rocker panels, rear glass, engine lid
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Remove a/c lines & condenser & blower
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Dissassemble doors
-
Repair surface rust on perimeter of rear floorpan:
-
remove sound deadening material
-
remove surface rust and paint with Extend, then Por-15
-
replace sound deadening material & paint
Now we trailer what's left to the painter's house.
His first task is to repair all known rust by cutting out affected
area and welding in new sheet metal:
-
new battery tray and support
-
right firewall - 2x3"
-
left firewall - 1x2"
-
right front wheel well - 1x1"
-
right outer longitudinal rear - 1x1"
-
right outer longitudinal front - .5x.5"
-
around clutch tube in firewall - 2"x2"
-
reinforce parking brake handle support
All welded areas around firewall & longitudinals treated with Por-15
& resealed.
Areas under door sills stripped, treated with Extend, Por-15 &
resealed.
Next comes the bodywork:
-
dings on doors and quarter panels
-
slight dent in rear hood where someone sat on it
-
slight dent in right rear quarter panel
-
minor dents in front & rear valances, passenger rocker. The
culprits: a rabbit, an armadillo, a duck, a curb & orange cones
-
straighten right striker plate area (I bent it getting the screws
off... arrgh!)
Now he does the remaining 17 steps entailed in a good paint job (jeez,
should I list all those??).
While the body is at the painter's (I did some dummy work), I work on
the engine and transmission:
-
powder coat engine sheet metal & all heater components (j-tubes, s-tubes,
etc.)
-
remove heads, clean and inspect
-
thoroughly clean transmission and engine casing, impeller housing
-
paint timing marks on impeller
-
seal oil galley
-
new rear main seal
-
new pushrod tube seals
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new valve adjuster screws
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new bellows
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new vacuum advance
-
new (backdated) SSI heat exchangers & Bursch muffler
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new heater flapper boxes and hoses
-
replace all engine & heater self tapping screws
-
rebuild transmission (pinion bearing, synchros, dogteeth, 1st/reverse slider,
1st gear set)
-
install new clutch
-
replace injectors (used)
And, since they're out...
-
dissassemble wiper motor and lubricate
-
dissassemble fresh air blower motor and lubricate
When the paint is done, we trailer it home and I reassemble it, replacing
the following components in the process:
-
new shift rod u-joint bushing
-
new front top seal (OEM)
-
new front hood seal (repro)
-
new front engine lid seal (OEM)
-
new rollbar vinyl trim
-
new front turn signal lenses (Euro)
-
new rear turn signal lenses (Euro)
-
new gas pedal
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new CV joints & gaskets
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new rear wheel bearings
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new Bilstien shocks rear
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new Turbo Gas Boge shocks front
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new Dunlop SP4000 tires (195x65)
-
reupholster drivers seat & center cushion
The final step is to take it to the local P-shop for final CO adjustment
and 4 wheel alignment.
And this completes the recent restoration effort, with the results you
see on the main page. However, restoration is an ongoing process, and I
have at least the following yet to do:
-
replace windshield (some pitting)
-
add 924 washer
-
add new guages - oil pressure new oil temp
-
update a/c to R134a specification
-
etc., etc., etc.
Some previous modifications:
-
removed console & guages for legroom & circulation - fabricating
a shorter console.
-
added OEM passenger side mirror.
-
19mm master cylinder & SS brake lines.
-
H4 headlamps
-
plus the usual ongoing repairs...
Special thanks to:
-
Ken Berry - paint & body
-
Wes at H & H Enterprises (Dallas) - tech advice & shop work
-
Rich Johnson - tech advice & parts
-
Perry Kiehl - tech advice & parts
-
Brad Mayeur - tech advice (transmission)
-
GPR - parts
-
Pelican parts - parts
-
Jason Burkett at Paragon Products - tech advice & parts
-
914@rennlist.org members - tech advice & support (many, but esp. JT,
JL, KK, CD, MC, DD, MZ)
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