What have you done to your wagon lately? (Let's keep the thread going!)

Started the body work with some help from a buddy. We disassembled the doors and pulled all of the hardware and glass. Found a dent in the rear DS quarter that was filled more than 3/8" deep. Chipped the Bondo out and sanded it down, applied suction up, and popped 95% of the dent right out. Amazing that no one ever bothered before applying at least a pound of Bondo.



Looks like I will have 5 small patches after I clear out all of the dents ... lower corner on three doors, and the rear corner of the rocker on both sides. Surprised at how much dirt there is in everything, but it did come out of a very dusty area of Texas.

 

Nicole's 96 roadmaster

Nicole drove up to the Chicago area last week in her 96 from New mexico and and all went pretty well. I did some Maint and a couple of upgrades. The fuel system needed a new regulator and the reinstalled the trailer hitch that was removed a year ago. I added some airlift airbags to to the rear. We drove the car back down to New Mexico and over all car drove great....BUT the airlift bags FAILED! about 200 miles outside Chicago BOOM! they blew out leaving the rear end of a fully loaded car hanging pretty low. The max PSI on the system is 100 and i was running about 60 PSI. the car was level and was riding just great. We had one of those trailer hitch carriers on the back with her stuff 4 passengers and luggage. Car was loaded but NOT over loaded. Because I could not get the time (or a jack) to get under the car I still don't know if it was the bags or a line that failed. (will keep ya posted) I am home now and the car is back in NM so when she has time to get it into the school shop on a lift she will let me know what she finds. Dispite this little issue the car ran awesome (197,000 miles) and making long trips is a pleasure in this beast.

 

I got the 78 Impala's A/C repaired!! Needed a compressor & clutch, reed valves, and a filter and conversion to R 134 cost a little under $700 but if keeps my wife and the old greyhound happy this summer it will be worth it!!!!!

 

Selfish bas... I just don't understand what a person gets out of ruining someone elses property.

Sorry to hear this happened to you and your car. Is there anyway to remove it without damaging the paint?

 

Took the wagon out for a ride..... Came back with the first load for the interior of the 73 Road Runner..... I love wagons.... They can hold almost anything!!!

 

Fixing previous owners stupid mistakes

Had to have the studs on the passenger side exhaust manifold drilled out and replaced due to him driving it with a clogged cat. for a year or so and exhaust coming out of the manifold gasket area, and now installing a new gas tank

 

'58 Twisted Tiki Wagon...

Replaced both wheel cylinders as the right front was locking up on me. When I pulled it and opened it up sure enough.. it was corroded and sticking. Bought 2 replacements.. installed and guess what.. Right side is still locking up on me.. sigh. I'm going to take it out and start using it hoping something will unstick itself. Also heard the shoes could need a brake in period (they look fairly new).. but don't believe this is my problem. Also on that side.. whoever had this car before found it necessary to replace that side's brake line with a flexible stainless line.. just that side.. so that could possibly be an issue as well. Dang.. getting close, but keep running into snags!!!!

I also pulled my corroded heat exchanger. Sanded, lubed, worked and worked again and wala.. finally is moving and working. So I'll re-install and hope that I don't have a leaky heater core as it's been bypassed for quite some time.

Making dome light from ukelele..


That is all.

 

Voilà;
If the heater core was bypassed, you probably have a leaky core. Or maybe a bad heater control valve.
Why else would somebody bypass the heater?

As far as the brake issue, some (many) braided SS hoses have a "competition, off road only" hose inside the pretty braided SS hose. They're tough, but they aren't usually DOT approved, and can cause problems in a street driven car, so that may be your cars issue.
I'm sure you flushed the brake system, so there probably isn't crud in ancient brake fluid that's causing your problems.
BTW, heaters are for sissies, unless you live in the North Pole, Canada, Buffalo NY, or the UP in Michigan.

Please post ukulele dome light photo when that's done!

 

Easy to say heater is for sissies when you live in FLORIDA..! Ha! Live in the NW and we're still waiting for our spring weather.. still chilly here, but they are promising sunshine for the next 4 days.

I believe the control valve was honked up and that may have been why they stopped using it.. but we'll see.

Yes, system was flushed. I do believe my problem is that weird flexible line. So strange to run that to one side. But looking at this when I first got it there were a lot of weird "fixes" if I can call it that. We'll just chip away a piece at a time. At least it's almost ready for the road.. infact, may drive it into work tomorrow.. I just can't wait any longer.

 

Installed twin horns! Now I can "beep, beep"!

Today after work I will fix the low hanging exhaust and hopefully have enough time to install my ukulele dome light! :banana:

 

Did a 4 barrel upgrade on Waygun recently.
Now running a factory intake and a 800 CFM Thermoquad carburetor.
The goal is to get better MPG with the smaller primairies,and more Oomph in the passing lane,LOL
Too early to tell if I did improve the mileage since i cannot seem to keep my foot out of the roaring secondaries!! LOL

 

Started cleaning some of the flat black off the shiny stuff. Sorta miscalculated how much I was gonna need. Bought a quart & got about half of the chrome strip around the windshield done & a little better than half the front bumper done before I ran out. Waiting for the bill of sale to come back so I can register it & start driving it (legally).

 

New high volume water pump, rad re-cored and damn annoying exhaust leak fixed. Next stop Ford show n Carlisle next week

 

Finally drove the Tiki into work today. Looks great out in that parking lot. Brakes .. hmmm.. still a little mushy, but the pull to one side isn't as bad as it was. Think I'll bleed and adjust 'em again.. maybe consider a brake booster down the road. This beast could definitely use power brakes. Now that I mention it.. power steering would be nice too.. but not a priority. I'd post a pic of the ukulele dome light I installed.. but mistakenly deleted all my pics. So I'll have to take new ones.

 

Are these drum brakes. How old. They were notorious for pulling and I used to have a break in schedule for new brakes.