1/23/2004: Subframe, Etc.
Earlier this week, I started to look at the air cleaner as a possible project. I took off the hose that connects the two pieces together and found a bit of original paint underneath that I will try to match. I have two air cleaner assemblies, the one out of my car and the one from #40912. I believe i’ll be using the lid from 40912’s, and the body from mine. The metal is fairly pitted, so this will be my first experimentation with real high-build primers and body fillers. I’ll have to wait for it to warm up before I can really do anything though.
I placed an order with C. Obert & Co. for the various bits I need (new hose, filter, sticker, etc).
I also ordered several types of foam from materialscraps.com. I hope to use it to replace the original foam gasket between the lid and the rest of the air cleaner. I was able to remove the old one intact, but it’s gone all gooey with age, and I don’t really think I can reuse it.
On Wednesday, I wire-brushed the whole replacement subframe, which had some light rust on it from sitting (I had it sandblasted a while ago now, but haven’t painted it.
Since i’m concerned about the rusty areas in the front, I decided to remove the two bent-up “horns” and see how things looked underneath them. (As far as I can tell, these pieces are just there to get scraped if you pull up too close to a curb, to prevent damage to the real frame- I may not bother replacing them, since the originals are so bent up anyway)
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| After sandblasting | Now (left) | Now (right) |
As you can see, the metal was quite thin on both sides, and tore when I drilled and chiselled off the horns. Definitely will need to be repaired before I can paint this subframe.
But still, compared with what’s in the car now, I think it’s work fixing.
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Yuck.
On thursday, I removed the accelerator cable and the centrifugal oil filter cover bolts, adding them to my pile of rusty hardware to be cleaned up.
I’ve been bead blasting all the components which I need to have zinc plated. Once I have enough collected together, I will count them up and start looking for a place to zinc plate them as one batch. I imagine there’ll be at least one more batch afterwards, with the things I miss the first time, but still, i’d like to knock out as much as I can in the first round.
The blasting cabinet is working wonderfully- i’ve set it up in my laundry room, which is adjacent to the garage, so i can run a hose through the door. That way, I can work in a heated space. It’s quite chilly in the garage lately.
While I was taking out the accelerator cable, I also took out the gas pedal. It’ll need to be painted or powder coated.
I removed the heater valve and started to disassemble it. I had to cut off one of the screws, but I did get it apart:
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The spring is broken, and the valve was full of disgusting gunk, but the rubber diaphragm inside is not in bad shape.
The rotating shaft was wedged up solid, as was the screw that goes in to it. I left it to soak overnight in penetrating oil, which hopefully will free it up.
As it turns out, this heater valve is the same as on a ferrari 250 or 330. Naturally this means it costs $150 to replace, but it does mean there are some additional sources for parts. For instance, the rubber diaphragm appears to be available for about $15 through one of the ferrari vendors.
I also separated the carb from the manifold and started cleaning it up. The manifold is in the “to be bead blasted” pile now.
On friday i brought the “new” subframe to Manchester Motor Car Company. They’re going to weld in patches to fix the rusty sections on monday.