The Official Hot Rod Thread - Part 2: No Replacement For Displacement

[mom45]

^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^

I should have thought of that! LOL! I'll send him a message, but if anyone else has a favorite, let me know please. I just found one that Meguiar makes. We like their products so I marked it to show the hubby.

 

[churchmouse]

I should have thought of that! LOL! I'll send him a message, but if anyone else has a favorite, let me know please. I just found one that Meguiar makes. We like their products so I marked it to show the hubby.

They are most likely re-badging an existing product. Look at the current offerings to see which one it is brand wise and decide then..

 

[mom45]

They are most likely re-badging an existing product. Look at the current offerings to see which one it is brand wise and decide then..

Reading some reviews and doing comparisons...and messaging Rusty. That's a good point though as I don't know that they make power tools. They have some good cleaning and polishing products though.

 

[femurphy77]

Say what you will but I could do this! I'd have to get a big floppy hat with a HUGE feather of course. Namean??

 

[thunderchicken]

Say what you will but I could do this! I'd have to get a big floppy hat with a HUGE feather of course. Namean??

Did you bump your head? Maybe sleep deprived? I couldn't do it

 

[femurphy77]

Did you bump your head? Maybe sleep deprived? I couldn't do it

It's my inner pimp bro!

 

[CKW]

Say what you will but I could do this! I'd have to get a big floppy hat with a HUGE feather of course. Namean??

That is a lot of car. A lot.

 

[RustyHornet]

I’d rock an Eldo in a heartbeat! I’ve already got the Stetson to match!

 

[thunderchicken]

I’d rock an Eldo in a heartbeat! I’ve already got the Stetson to match!

Hell I got a 20x Stetson too but I don't think it would look right with a big feather as FE described. Nor would an ol redneck cowboy like me look right driving a car like that. To drive a car like that you gotta have some sort of Huggiebear vibe going on.

 

[thunderchicken]

A few minutes ago the UPS driver dropped off two boxes from Mustangs Unlimited. The rocker panels have arrived. Opened one up to get a look, yep they look like rocker panels. Now it has me wondering if I actually need to drill out all those spot welds (spot weld cutter) or if cutting the old panels flush is sufficient?? I really don't want to cut corners but I can foresee some spot welds being cut turning into holes that will need to be filled. Also if I cut the spot welds will those all need to be ground down before fitting the panel in place?
Anyone been down this road?

 

[halfmileharry]

A few minutes ago the UPS driver dropped off two boxes from Mustangs Unlimited. The rocker panels have arrived. Opened one up to get a look, yep they look like rocker panels. Now it has me wondering if I actually need to drill out all those spot welds (spot weld cutter) or if cutting the old panels flush is sufficient?? I really don't want to cut corners but I can foresee some spot welds being cut turning into holes that will need to be filled. Also if I cut the spot welds will those all need to be ground down before fitting the panel in place?
Anyone been down this road?

Try fitting your rocker panels BEFORE cutting out the old ones. The last few I've done were "LAYOVER" panels which surprised me. In other words you didn't have to cut out the old rockers if you didn't want to. The gaps between door and rocker were a tad tight but nothing an 8lb hammer and treated 4x4 couldn't tweek out.
FYI... I did auto body repair for about 50 years give or take a couple of sabbaticals.

 

[thunderchicken]

Try fitting your rocker panels BEFORE cutting out the old ones. The last few I've done were "LAYOVER" panels which surprised me. In other words you didn't have to cut out the old rockers if you didn't want to. The gaps between door and rocker were a tad tight but nothing an 8lb hammer and treated 4x4 couldn't tweek out.
FYI... I did auto body repair for about 50 years give or take a couple of sabbaticals.

If you just lay them over the original panels won't the trapped in rust create problems down the road?

I would prefer to eliminate the rust rather than just hide it
Also should I fully weld them or use a number of spot welds and seam sealer as they did at the factory?

 

[halfmileharry]

If you just lay them over the original panels won't the trapped in rust create problems down the road?

I would prefer to eliminate the rust rather than just hide it
Also should I fully weld them or use a number of spot welds and seam sealer as they did at the factory?

Spot welds every 3"-5" will be fine with your cage.
One of the easiest ways to drill out the old spot welds is with a Blair cutter or drill bits that have the starter bit built into the bit.
Grind out the area to be welded very clean.
Being old school I still like to use Weld Through Primer on freshly ground surfaces. Seam sealer is good from an old guy like me. I guess you can still get the 3M brush on? or squeeze tube sealer.
There's probably better new products to use. I'd grab the info from one of the guys like Diamond Collision or Rusty that are still doing this on a daily basis.
I'm still working on my old street Dodge body and will use my existing stock of old fashioned sealers, primers, and adhesives.

 

[RustyHornet]

Hell I got a 20x Stetson too but I don't think it would look right with a big feather as FE described. Nor would an ol redneck cowboy like me look right driving a car like that. To drive a car like that you gotta have some sort of Huggiebear vibe going on.

Think Boss Hog.

 

[femurphy77]

Think Boss Hog.

I've heard the rubber fill panels that go between the body and the bumpers are being reproduced. I'm not sure you could find a better long distance road trip car than this. Like CKW pointed out the front bumper would be halfway to Phoenix while the driver was still in Taos!

 

[mom45]

I took the new suburban for a spin today!

Rock Auto delivery tomorrow so the ball joint and tie rod will be replaced and I can take it for an alignment.

Back bumper straightened out pretty nicely so no plans to order a new one now.

Radio and speakers shipped today. Dash pad should be here tomorrow. I need to check on replacement upholstery for the front seat...the bottom has a fairly significant split on the driver's side (bench seat). Brakes are all good. It runs and shifts great! Mud flaps are in place. I believe we have spare rims for it in the tractor shed so I will need to be pricing some Duratracs for the rear for winter driving. Other than that, not much to do to it....just some cosmetic stuff.

 

[RustyHornet]

I've heard the rubber fill panels that go between the body and the bumpers are being reproduced. I'm not sure you could find a better long distance road trip car than this. Like CKW pointed out the front bumper would be halfway to Phoenix while the driver was still in Taos!

Only downside to me would be the front wheel drive. But if it’s on the 472 or the 500, I wouldn’t care for long.

 

[churchmouse]

I took the new suburban for a spin today!

Rock Auto delivery tomorrow so the ball joint and tie rod will be replaced and I can take it for an alignment.

Back bumper straightened out pretty nicely so no plans to order a new one now.

Radio and speakers shipped today. Dash pad should be here tomorrow. I need to check on replacement upholstery for the front seat...the bottom has a fairly significant split on the driver's side (bench seat). Brakes are all good. It runs and shifts great! Mud flaps are in place. I believe we have spare rims for it in the tractor shed so I will need to be pricing some Duratracs for the rear for winter driving. Other than that, not much to do to it....just some cosmetic stuff.

Did it run any better with all the Vac lines repaired.

 

[mom45]

Did it run any better with all the Vac lines repaired.

Yep, and it shifted perfectly. Hubby said it was shifting kind of hard when he drove it home. One of the vacuum lines that was disconnected was to the heat/air control unit. They gave us an LMC catalog and I noticed this morning that there were a number of pages marked. We hadn't really looked at the catalog since we already know about LMC. They had pages marked for everything we had ordered or discussed ordering...dash pad, bumper, washer pump motor and then I noticed they had the page marked for the heat control unit. I went out and asked hubby if that worked...he hadn't tried it and neither had I. They have a separate toggle switch to control the air. He had the dash all torn apart so I figured this was the time to ask. He couldn't figure out when he found that disconnected line where it went so when I asked about this, he immediately remembered that line and put in a new one...works now! The toggle switch for the air bypasses the heat system so he said that should help on gas mileage. I doubt they ever used heat in Arizona so it made sense to him that they hooked it up the way they did. I'm sure we will find little things when we start driving it, but he has gone through it pretty thoroughly, and isn't finding any big surprises.

 

[churchmouse]

Yep, and it shifted perfectly. Hubby said it was shifting kind of hard when he drove it home. One of the vacuum lines that was disconnected was to the heat/air control unit. They gave us an LMC catalog and I noticed this morning that there were a number of pages marked. We hadn't really looked at the catalog since we already know about LMC. They had pages marked for everything we had ordered or discussed ordering...dash pad, bumper, washer pump motor and then I noticed they had the page marked for the heat control unit. I went out and asked hubby if that worked...he hadn't tried it and neither had I. They have a separate toggle switch to control the air. He had the dash all torn apart so I figured this was the time to ask. He couldn't figure out when he found that disconnected line where it went so when I asked about this, he immediately remembered that line and put in a new one...works now! The toggle switch for the air bypasses the heat system so he said that should help on gas mileage. I doubt they ever used heat in Arizona so it made sense to him that they hooked it up the way they did. I'm sure we will find little things when we start driving it, but he has gone through it pretty thoroughly, and isn't finding any big surprises.

Love this.