The Brotherhood of the Rusty Nuts

Week 36

2009-01-04T13:38:00.003-05:00

No major earth shattering news this week - spent some time Saturday reorganizing the garage and moving things around to make room for the engine stand I plan to purchase before the end of the month. I would have had it already but it's sold out at my store of choice. Picked myself up a handy-dandy "service cart" instead which is already stocked with my tool boxes and air tools and the whole thing fits nicely under the workbench. When your shop is as small as mine you gotta make sure you put every inch to good use.

Still working on getting Elizabeth's right side doors off. Got all the interior door trim removed, along with the quarter glass behind the rear door. If the weather cooperates next weekend I should be able to finish up.

Week 35

2008-12-27T18:38:00.005-05:00

Seventy plus degrees out today. Not too shabby for December 27th and a perfect day to be down at the garage. The pictures tell the tale.

Next week I'll work on the other side. :)

2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8

2008-12-26T12:24:00.005-05:00

Here's a video to go with Steve's Friday night "Late Night Ramblings" post featuring the car that had that awesome motor in it.

click here

And while you're at it, go visit the Dodge Challenger page over on YouTube too.

Week 34

2008-12-22T01:22:00.002-05:00

Still working on getting her doors removed. Getting the door hardware off, intact has turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Slow going but getting there. Expect to make better progress this weekend. Will post some photos.

Made up a short music video with some of the photos I've got of Elizabeth that were taken in Georgia earlier this year before I picked her up. Merry Christinemas. And a Happy New Year.

Late Night Ramblings

2008-12-19T23:52:00.002-05:00

I decided to take a break from learning Ruby on Rails to share an interesting story at the request of Dave. I had mentioned to him that my grandfather (Larry Griffith) got a hold of a new 6.1L Hemi, but there is an interesting story behind the engine. The engine is a test engine from Chrysler that has 30,000 + miles on it. The car that it was tested in was the 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 with the 6 speed gearbox behind it. He received the engine to do testing for the Super Stock Challenger. I am working on getting pictures to share with all.

Bailing Out The U.S. Auto Industry

2008-12-14T14:18:00.004-05:00

Something to remember:

The baddest low riders are made from American cars.

The coolest hot rods are made from American cars.

The wildest rat rods are made from American cars.

The fastest race cars and dragsters? American made.

And I'd like to see the Japanese or Germans build anything as close to cool as those big finned cars of the fifties.

No, the US auto industry isn't perfect and yes they could definitely use some improvement. But they're OURS!

SUPPORT THE AMERICAN AUTO WORKER and the UAW. They build our dreams!

Old School Meets New School

2008-12-11T14:12:00.005-05:00

Who says Green has to be fugly. Pretty wild stuff and a great marriage of technologies!

Lincvolt

...or, why is Neil Young still around after all these years? ;)

Week 32

2008-12-07T19:42:00.005-05:00

Tire skates came in this week. I was impressed with the overall quality and construction. Real heavy duty, unlike the Chinese copies out there. The set I got is rated at 6000 pounds and cost $175 plus shipping. I highly recommend them. They're manufactured by a small outfit based in Johnson City, Tennessee. That means Made In The USA. Check them out.

Accessible Systems

Drivers floor pan and access panel came this week too. I got these from RCAR Fabrications and I can't recommend them enough. Nicely formed and he uses good quality sheetmetal too. I'll be getting the rest my pans from them for sure.

RCAR Fabrications

Got some other bits, like NOS bumper brackets (that hold the bumper ends to the fenders) and a nice set of new front and rear window trim clips.

Still working on getting the hardware removed from the doors and if it warms up this weekend I'll be back down there and hopefully finish up that part of it and get a door or two off as well.

And finally, here's a video of a newly minted Christine that belongs to a member of the Christine Car Club (found at Plymouth Central dot com). The builder just wrapped up work on her this week and included a remote starting system in the project. I have got to get me one of those for Elizabeth.

Week 31

2008-12-01T10:39:00.004-05:00

Have you recovered from the weekend yet?

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, or at least got what they wanted out of it. And if you were unfortunate enough to have been forced out of the house to shop this weekend, I feel for you... or not. My better half had to work so I got to stay home. *heh*

I did manage to get to the garage a couple of times over the holiday weekend, mainly to organize my parts storage. I did tinker around on the car for a while but nothing to write home about. Tire skates and her driver's floor pan should be in this week. Got access to a neighbors engine lift when I need it so as soon as I spring for a stand I'll be pulling Elizabeth's motor and tranny.

A new automotive machine shop just opened up down the road. I think that's a sign.

Trailer Queen

2008-11-27T19:10:00.002-05:00

Definition: A classic car that, for some reason, can't or shouldn't be driven but is instead towed to car shows. The most common trailer queen can be driven but the owner is usually so tied up in the status and appearance of his car that he has forgotten the joy of driving it and now hauls it around in a trailer to avoid dirt or possible damage. These cars are often painfully shiny with very expensive, detailed paint jobs and blinding chrome.

I am NOT building one of those.

Found this shirt on eBay and just had to get it...

So....

2008-11-25T22:00:00.004-05:00

I set up a YouTube account. To go with the web site. Just gotta have videos. Here's my intro video, playing a cut off the Christine soundtrack Lp - a little Dion and the Belmonts singing I Wonder Why.

Week 29

2008-11-16T23:13:00.002-05:00

Finally managed to make my way to the garage today, dropped off the new sander (the pads are coming from a different vendor and haven't arrived yet) and the new distributor. Started removing interior door handles and trim, getting ready to take the doors off and start in on her body work.

Found a source for the front drivers floor pan that includes the proper accelerator pedal access and mounting holes - every other design I've seen simply leaves that whole area out. I'm still scratching my head on that one.

Everything else is safe and sound and just as I left it.

Here's a shot of the storage area. The clear totes are full of parts for Elizabeth, as are the boxes and all the other stuff stacked around there. Long boxes full of trim and such are against the wall next to where I was standing. By the time I get the doors stored in here I'll be about out of floor space.

Finally!

2008-11-13T11:59:00.002-05:00

I had invested in a new electronic ignition system and distributor for the Plymouth earlier this year, acting on the advice of several folks on one of the forums I used to haunt and ordering the setup from an eBay dealer, "waterlootirecompany". After shelling out over $400 for the setup it took them over a month to ship my parts. This after several emails to them went unanswered. When the parts did arrive I found they had shipped the wrong distributor. More emails, send the distributor back and wait 6 more weeks for the replacement. Another wrong distributor which was promptly returned. By this time I was really getting annoyed and starting to worry if I was going to get ripped off. After several more weeks of unanswered emails and broken promises (and no distributor) I turned the matter over to eBay, who never contacted me again. Thanks to eBay and their seller "waterlootirecompany" I was out almost $300, the price of the distributor I never received. Lesson learned. Avoid eBay like the plague.

So last week I was finally able to track down a reliable source for an electronic distributor for Elizabeth's 318 poly. It arrived today.

Source: Pertronix. Show 'em some love. They delivered. On time!

Moving Forward

2008-11-11T16:45:00.004-05:00

Made a major purchase today after I finally found a deal on a reliable electric sander for the bodywork:

Porter-Cable 7335R 5-Inch Variable Speed Random Orbit Sander

Got a ton of sandpaper too - 80, 120, 220, and 320 grit - 400 discs in all.

Time to get busy with it!

For the record...

2008-11-08T01:18:00.008-05:00

Quick update

2008-10-26T22:59:00.003-04:00

No real news. Still playing catch up with my budget. I need floor pans and some body working tools (like a DA sander) but don't have the cash right now as it all went into the transmission of my daily driver (and car rental for a week). This left me behind in other things and put me in a foul mood to boot.

Also next up to be done is getting the motor pulled. My garage is small, not enough room for a hoist and a stand at the same time so I'm still working on a solution there. More as it develops.

Week 23

2008-10-08T15:41:00.009-04:00

In my hands, Google can be dangerous! Check out what I just found while doing an image search for "57 Belvedere". Look familiar? Yeah, that's her! About ~~two and a half~~ four and a half years ago at a place called Sunnydale Acres. Sounds more like a nudist colony than a junk yard!

(photo posted with permission)

No other car news. I did stop by the garage while running errands Saturday. Everything was safe and sound. I plan on returning in another week or two and resuming where I left off.

Week 22

2008-09-29T12:11:00.005-04:00

Another week. No updates. I've had to drop $500 into the transmission of my '99 Taurus, money that was supposed to go towards body working tools I need for Elizabeth. The Ford is my daily driver, and she's got 217,000 miles on her - with the original transmission. So I guess I can't complain. It was just something I wasn't in the mood to deal with (and car rental for a week ain't cheap).

Oh well.

Week 21

2008-09-23T11:34:00.002-04:00

Another weekend off from working on the car. Too many other things seem to need my attention, both at work and at home. Just another downside of not having a garage on the property to keep her, and it's hard to get motivated to go out and drive into town sometimes. Ah well. She's not going anywhere. *8-)

Week 20

2008-09-15T10:17:00.009-04:00

I was going to rant about gas prices since they kept me at home this weekend, thanks in no small part to public overreaction to hurricane IKE (before it even made landfall). And since I live about 10 miles from my garage, a couple of trips there and back are a big deal to me when gasoline is so high. But to make a long story short, local gas was $3.49 a gallon last Monday. By Friday afternoon (again, while IKE was still out in the gulf) it had risen to $4.25 in most places, prompting our governor to declare a state of emergency in order to freeze prices and stop the gouging. Total. Utter. Bullsh!t.

I think it's about time we put someone in the White House who knows how to think and can deal with these sort of things. The current occupant seems unable or unwilling.

Over and out.

Week 19

2008-09-07T00:37:00.008-04:00

Made a parts run Saturday. And check out who came on the radio (tuned to the 50s station on Sirius) as I drove out of the city limits. None other than Thurston Harris and Little Bitty Pretty One. Someone was smiling down on me today. Sorry for the cr@ppy video, I shot it with my cell phone.

Here's a shot of the haul. '57 deck lid, grill, bumper and a vent wing mount to replace the broken one on Elizabeth.

Thanks James!

You learn something new every day!

2008-09-01T14:49:00.006-04:00

Those who know will say this is a Plymouth brake booster. Certainly looks like one doesn't it. But in fact, this baby came off a Jaguar and was manufactured in the UK by Dunlop. Maybe they purchased the design? Who knows. But it's a (much newer) bolt on replacement!

Also, I decided that I liked the name and so followed through with my earlier idea and purchased the domain therustynuts.com today. The URL www.therustynuts.com will bring you to this site. I think it fits nicely. Heh!

Week 18

2008-08-31T19:30:00.002-04:00

Short update today. Went down to the garage this afternoon with the trusty grinder and got Elizabeth's rear bumper removed, after grinding the heads off of all four bolts. The nuts and threads had been reduced to blobs of rust, no way those were coming off with a wrench. The bumper has a few thin spots and some pinholes in it but since I'm not building a show car I'm hoping it can still be salvaged and made to look presentable. Her lower valance is still intact as you can see but the metal is as thin as paper in spots and not salvageable. Gotta love that Georgia clay.

I think I'm going to start my own club. "The Brotherhood of the Rusty Nuts". It'll be open to anyone who does this kind of stuff for fun!

Week 17

2008-08-24T21:26:00.004-04:00

It doesn't look like much from the photos but I spent the better part of the afternoon today removing the stainless trim from around Elizabeth's windshield and rear window. That's what you see stacked up on her roof. It's like anything though. It takes time if you want to do it right. And removing rusty 50 year old screws and rotted trim clips can be a lesson in patience and perseverance. But it's done. All of her exterior stainless is off.

I was a bit dismayed at the amount of dirt that had accumulated under the trim though, that served to hold moisture and cause a good deal of rust. It's not too bad around the windshield area, considering her age and the fact she sat outside exposed to the elements for so many years. Around the rear window is a different story however.

Also tackled the aluminum rocker panel sill covers while I was at it. The screw heads had gotten pretty chewed up over the years and it took almost an hour to finally get them all coaxed out

Here's a shot of the rear window, where the roof pillar meets the sheetmetal of the body. There's a good six inches of metal missing. The good news, the rest of the gasket channel while rusted is in fairly good shape. So I dont' think I have to worry about structural integrity issues here but I want the repair to look nice and clean. I got my work cut out for me. Ugh.

And finally, here's a shot that includes the rear quarter. The filler looks like it was factory applied as Elizabeth's original maroon is on top of it. If you look close you'll also see brown and two shades of green too. Bleah. On a positive note, the tops of the fins are solid and fairly clean. Yeah, it's just about time to start some serious sandin' on that body of hers.

Week 16

2008-08-17T20:08:00.002-04:00

Another productive day. Got the exhaust manifolds off, lost two studs (one was already broken) so I'm not complaining there. Removed and stored the push rods (marked so that they can be put back were they came from) and got the heads off. I was interested to find that the two rear bolts on each head were significantly looser than the others. This couldn't have helped engine performance at all. Cylinder walls are nice and smooth, no scoring and no noticable wear. Just carbon build up on the pistons.

Also got the master cylinder and booster off.

Oh yeah, got my workbench built Saturday. It's for light duty (no engine blocks here) but better than nothing.