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The "What Did You Work On Today" thread

3M views 36K replies 388 participants last post by  cerial 
#1 ·
4 hour work day for me at the shop. Used the time to do a valve body swap on a '01 Jetta 1.8t auto .... I successfully installed a transbrake on the car .... that however wasn't my intention.

Its in 2 gears at once in park, all other gears (R/N/D/2/1) are forward gears.... they all seam to be first gear.

I have it torn back down most of the way. Tuesday I'll actually get the VB back out and see whats up.... but part of me wants to take it out for a test drive the way it is just for the fun of it.
 
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#8,264 ·
I think I'm gonna commit to a job offer I got to work at a higher quality shop than where I'm at. my next job doesn't have a bunch of drug addicts and hacks and so I can't wait! Anyhow, tomorrow I go to SF and take the baby to the beach.

If you want to have a real great SF time away from the BS walk around North Beach. Great food, a great park (Washington Square) an amazing church, Coit tower is a short walk away. It's really a great way to spend a few hours.

Brian
 
#8,265 ·
I bought the 53 Bel Air Hardtop in Knoxville today. Will have to get it hauled home next week. It is a complete car but pretty rusty. The frame does look quite good though and I pretty excited about it. :)

John
Good for you , but pretty rusty ?? Does it get worse than your convert ??

Did you forget to take the camera with ...:p

Those are hard to find cars and what parts you can't use could bring some funds back in.


In the middle of the radiator swap on the '38. I added mirrors for towing the trailer too. You can see the mirror in the first pic that was too low and small to be of much use for driving, let alone backing up a trailer.







There are 6 bolts that hold the radiator to the shell and they are a major PITA to install. I cut 2 pieces of flat stock and made these nut plates. I can hold the piece of coat hanger above the shell and get the bolts started with one hand now...:D



 
#8,266 ·
Good for you , but pretty rusty ?? Does it get worse than your convert ??

Did you forget to take the camera with ...:p

Those are hard to find cars and what parts you can't use could bring some funds back in.


In the middle of the radiator swap on the '38. I added mirrors for towing the trailer too. You can see the mirror in the first pic that was too low and small to be of much use for driving, let alone backing up a trailer.



There are 6 bolts that hold the radiator to the shell and they are a major PITA to install. I cut 2 pieces of flat stock and made these nut plates. I can hold the piece of coat hanger above the shell and get the bolts started with one hand now...:D

LOL, I didn't forget to take the camera. I just forgot to use it. :drunk:

The difference between this car and mine is that mine is pretty solid above the rusty area. This hardtop is pretty rusty up high too. Not a lot of good car to build back to.......It could be done.:mwink:

Good thinking on your mounting plates. Glad you are getting this done with plenty of time before you have to "hit the road." It will be good to have a little time to work out any issues with the trip coming up.

John
 
#8,267 ·
LOL, I didn't forget to take the camera. I just forgot to use it. :drunk:

The difference between this car and mine is that mine is pretty solid above the rusty area. This hardtop is pretty rusty up high too. Not a lot of good car to build back to.......It could be done.:mwink:

Good thinking on your mounting plates. Glad you are getting this done with plenty of time before you have to "hit the road." It will be good to have a little time to work out any issues with the trip coming up.

John
The new rear axle is out getting overhauled and will be done next weekend. I hope to get that swapped soon too. My concern right now is getting the trailer home. It is 160 miles north of me on my dad's lake lot and they just got another FOOT of snow Tuesday. I'm hoping I don't have to have the plow on the pickup to go get it out but I want to get it here in the next couple weeks. 320 miles with an 8.5 ft plow bucking the wind and bouncing on bumps doesn't sound like fun or good for fuel mileage. :pain:
 
#8,268 ·
The new rear axle is out getting overhauled and will be done next weekend. I hope to get that swapped soon too. My concern right now is getting the trailer home. It is 160 miles north of me on my dad's lake lot and they just got another FOOT of snow Tuesday. I'm hoping I don't have to have the plow on the pickup to go get it out but I want to get it here in the next couple weeks. 320 miles with an 8.5 ft plow bucking the wind and bouncing on bumps doesn't sound like fun or good for fuel mileage. :pain:
I hear that. What is the story on the rear axle? Are you dropping the rear gear to improve towing capacity?

John
 
#8,269 ·
I hear that. What is the story on the rear axle? Are you dropping the rear gear to improve towing capacity?

John
The guy that built this car was a cheap @zz, er, I mean VERY frugal...:D

The current axle is a 7.5 out of a late 70's Malibu that he got for 50 bucks and cut all the mounting brackets off. It is a one wheel wonder and he "thought" the gear ratio was in the high 2's.

I bought a '74 Nova 8.5 with 3.08 posi last summer that was a mess inside, so I opted to have it completely gone thru before installing.
 
#8,270 · (Edited)
If you want to have a real great SF time away from the BS walk around North Beach. Great food, a great park (Washington Square) an amazing church, Coit tower is a short walk away. It's really a great way to spend a few hours.

Brian
SF is a great place to be. Will head to Baker beach so the baby can run away from the incoming surf and run up and down the beach. She loves it. Then might head to Delores park. There's a huge playground there.

this current job is annoying. He writes this estimate for an old rusty chevy tailgate and I tell him right off the bat they take forever to strip and work RIGHT because of the stampings and angles and that he should order a new one. He doesn't listen but instead hounds me every second about it getting done. He's such an idiot. In the end the guy would have probably paid less to get a new one painted than trying to fix a rusty one. Bad management! Anytime he gets a new painter he puts all the eggs into their basket and because this new painter is fast, he now thinks everything should be fast. I'm pretty sure he's asking him about cheap and fast hack body techs, even after his disaster of a start at this company. I'm just tired of working for a guy that knows nothing. All this time I've been busting my arse could have put me in a much higher light if the boss knew a thing or two. I'll be sure to talk to the guys next door and give them a warning about this guy. All they have to do to verify is look at the overspray on the bottom of that Chevelle and go into the booth and look at the Gran Sport with all the "dabs" in solvent pop...they didn't sand out the first time why do they think they'll sand out this time?
 
#8,271 ·
I forgot, you are from there, I don't need to tell you! LOL Yeah lot's of great places. People get all hung up on the bad things and miss the good. The place is wonderful if that is what one wants to see, and terrible if THAT is what one wants to see.

Brian
 
#8,272 ·
The guy that built this car was a cheap @zz, er, I mean VERY frugal...:D

The current axle is a 7.5 out of a late 70's Malibu that he got for 50 bucks and cut all the mounting brackets off. It is a one wheel wonder and he "thought" the gear ratio was in the high 2's.

I bought a '74 Nova 8.5 with 3.08 posi last summer that was a mess inside, so I opted to have it completely gone thru before installing.
Yes, That 3.08 should be a good all around gear. I personally love a gear like that on the highway.

Lets not be too hard on our frugal friends though. :D (really do love that word):thumbup:

John
 
#8,273 ·
One of my friends and I slid the trunk floor in today. I also bolted on the EMS rear splash apron. It will give me a great template for making the tail pan under the deck lid. We worked hard today:sweat:

Thanks again to any and all who helped make this day happen. I am indeed a blessed man to have the friends I have in this world.

John



 
#8,274 ·
WHACK!

cut of the transverse brace, the seat lock, and both sides of the shock mount.
Checked the angle of the original frame (5* at its current spot)
Reset my gauge for 13* total
cut the frame, bent them up, and threw a tack weld on.
Double checked they are parrallel
Cut off the rear section of the hoop
Started plotting how i want to trim the wheel well









 
#8,275 ·
Did a very slight mod to my rear suspension today. It always bugged me that my rear suspension was hung with bolts using the threads as load bearing points. I swear I could feel stuff moving around back there, almost like the rear end was skating around a bit. The rear end would also clunk most times when I shifted unless I was super gentle. Here's how the original bolts fit through the brackets....


I got some longer grade 8 bolts and cut off the excess threads, now they fit like this...


No more clunking and the car feels quite a bit more stable. Such a simple thing! After that, I replaced my 50 year old strut rod bushings. Actually was surprised at how easy that job was. Start by unbolting the strut rod instead of taking three other things apart first to get at it, lol.

Also redid my brakes again! I put in a 15/16 master cylinder instead of the 1" one I put in a few weeks ago. I also realized after I had done the 1" MC that I still had my original rubber line at the rear end so I replaced that and the two front lines (Why not?) with some nice new stainless braided and plastic sheathed hoses. Much better pedal pressure now, I think this MC is a keeper. Unfortunately have one leaky fitting. Must not have got that flare quite right, will have to cut the flare off and redo it. Pretty sure the line is long enough I can get away with that. Just hate cracking that stuff open again, such a mess.
 
#8,276 ·
One of my friends and I slid the trunk floor in today. I also bolted on the EMS rear splash apron. It will give me a great template for making the tail pan under the deck lid. We worked hard today:sweat:

Thanks again to any and all who helped make this day happen. I am indeed a blessed man to have the friends I have in this world.

John



That's all great John but you got it backwards ...Its us that are blessed to have YOU as a friend and role model,not only to improve our skills but ourselves.
 
#8,277 ·
That's all great John but you got it backwards ...Its us that are blessed to have YOU as a friend and role model,not only to improve our skills but ourselves.
X2. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Man, does that trunk pan look nice in there. Really moves the project forward.
 
#8,278 ·
Did a very slight mod to my rear suspension today. It always bugged me that my rear suspension was hung with bolts using the threads as load bearing points. I swear I could feel stuff moving around back there, almost like the rear end was skating around a bit. The rear end would also clunk most times when I shifted unless I was super gentle. Here's how the original bolts fit through the brackets....

I got some longer grade 8 bolts and cut off the excess threads, now they fit like this...

No more clunking and the car feels quite a bit more stable. Such a simple thing!
I've run across that before too. Usually the bracket hole will be worn out of round with threads embossed in the metal. I have cut reinforcing plates and welded them on to center the bolt and close up the hole again.
 
#8,279 ·
That's all great John but you got it backwards ...Its us that are blessed to have YOU as a friend and role model,not only to improve our skills but ourselves.
We are all blessed to have friends who not only appreciate what we are doing but care about us personally. It is a two way street for sure.

I am the student here. Just sharing what I am learning and have learned. The big differance between me and you pro's is I can take all day to do a 30 minute job. Time does not equate to money for me.

Example: Several people asked me why I didn't jack up the car, suspend the body and just let the chassis down instead of spending all that time raising the body with four pieces of all-thread.

Short answer.......I didn't want to.....and .....my time is free. Slow and easy was the way I thought it would be the most fun.

Knowing you guys who do restoration work for a living even take a second look at my project is priceless to me. Just too cool.:thumbup::D:thumbup::):drool:



John
 
#8,280 ·
We are all blessed to have friends who not only appreciate what we are doing but care about us personally. It is a two way street for sure.

I am the student here. Just sharing what I am learning and have learned. The big differance between me and you pro's is I can take all day to do a 30 minute job. Time does not equate to money for me.

Example: Several people asked me why I didn't jack up the car, suspend the body and just let the chassis down instead of spending all that time raising the body with four pieces of all-thread.

Short answer.......I didn't want to.....and .....my time is free. Slow and easy was the way I thought it would be the most fun.

Knowing you guys who do restoration work for a living even take a second look at my project is priceless to me. Just too cool.:thumbup::D:thumbup::):drool:



John
I thought your body lift was ingenious...:thumbup:

That way leaves the chassis on the floor, able to roll around. That should be a good way to get the body on a roto and roll the chassis out from under.
Only mod I would make, is a nut welded on the bottom of the all thread to facilitate use of an impact or ratchet to turn the rod.
 
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