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

Good luck on the repair Jairus! We'll look for your updates. Playing your 8 tracks I bet?

 

Mike, that is one of the repairs. The belt on the player tends to stretch and slip when the weather gets into the 80's. I have a few extra belts that I plan to swap in.

Other items to install today:
New spring shackle bushings.
New Dome light.
New speedo cable and check tranny fluid... find tranny leak.
Replace Headlight switch
Replace ignition switch and combine the many ACC wires to one or two contacts.
Patch a weepy leak on the fuel tank that pops up only when the tank is above 3/4.
Remove, prep and paint the front door inside window frames.

I gots lots more parts to put in like window glass and felt channels... but a man has got to know his limitations.

 

What I'm planning on doing this weekend....


Picked up the muffler for the Buick, wish I had the $ for a dual but along with that I see no real point until one day....... I'm thinking the silver parts wagon will be a motor doner some time down the road.

Alternator was charging low, so got a new one of those also.....why wait, rite? Grand total with some clamps and a couple other misc things non wagon related $170, and that was with my bud's discount

Need new hood shocks, but totally forgot about those while in the store, next time around I guess

Going to put the roof rack back on the Crewzer and drive the boys some where for a few before storage pics.

Mow the lawn.


All above is still pending


Yesterday I went to W-Mart and a local fabric store for samples, for the Buick's head liner. Finding nice as close to colour material was not a problem but the thickness was. I took home several samples and the glue came trough. So then I went to a 2 minutes away upholstery shop. They had a nice sample chart of the real deal foam backed auto head liner....... $120 + Tax and shipping and that's just for the material! I did my Crewzers head liner in denim and because of no foam backing I had eror/repair room but the foam backed stuff has me a bit concerned so I asked How much?.... $550 total!!! Sheeszze, that's $200 more than what KK paid for his to be done at a shop! So if I deliver the roof panels he will clean/prep, materials and fabric install for $350....and I still have the tear down and re-install to do myself. I hate to wimp out on this, but I don't want to take a chance of totally screwing it up. When I did the Crewzer we had a couple "oops" but were able to rip it up, re-glue and fix, If I screw up one spot ya just know the foam will not come off with the fabric.

 

Ouch! That's crazy expensive! At least I hope it is if I ever have to do mine.

Anyhow, today I cleaned up the minor rust in the cargo area. Stripped it all out and hit it with Extend. I also did some panel beating, stripped paint, and stripped out old body work. Fun day, plus had a buddy out to lend a hand.

 

Starting to prep for 2014 Carlisle Ford Nationals

Hi wagon kooks,
I have started chipping away at my to-do list to get my 1990 Colony Park show-ready for next year's Ford Nationals. Pix are of freshly SEM'd cargo plastic (Napa Red) and new, bigger mud flaps. Cheers, Owen

 

61 Olds Wagon

The big thing we did on our car was we canceled our auction on ebay and we did NOT sell our wagon. :banana: We bought this wagon from an ebay seller that frankly was full of sh*t about the actual running condition of the car. We were looking for a good driver for our Florida home and got a car that needs a fair bit of work. We do not have a 'shop' in FL and we did NOT want a car that needed a lot of work.
Fast forward: we decided to sell, tried twice on ebay, but we cancelled the second auction and decided to keep the car. This model is exactly what we were looking for............ other than the fact it needs work!

I think I will keep a running progress report here on this thread!

BTW: we still have our 65 Malibu Wagon that is fully Resto-Moded!

 

Still plugging away at body work and refinishing the interior trim. All of it. It is EVERYWHERE! I need to get the car in paint so I can start putting things back together because I am running out of places for everything to go.

I also started the cleanup of the cargo area for the third row seats. Wire-wheeled it all out, sanded, and applied a second coat of Extend to convert the rust that remained in the pits in the floor. Next I need to finish the installation of the rear seat belts, and then the whole tub area gets primed and a coat of Eastwood Chassis Black to help protect it.

Just one more day before the weekend is done. Hope I get another chance to get some work done on it!

 

If we knew where in Florida you're staying, maybe someone could help you find a shop.

 

A few days ago I put the '77 Buick beast up on stands, pulled the driveshaft, and replaced the rear transmission seal and the rear U joint.
While I was down and dirty, I serviced the transmission, possibly for the very first time- there was plenty of crud on the pan. Lubed the front end, too.
Today I washed and vacuumed the car and shined the tires.
I tried waxing the hood, just to see what would happen.
I don't know if the car has seen wax in 20 years, so I don't expect much.

 

I would recommend that anyone doing this, add a can of SeaFoam Trans Tune and drive it for 50 miles or so and then change the fluid and filter. It really cleans things up nicely.

 

Thanks but the issue is if you start paying someone to work on your car then the investment goes up and up but the resale price does not reflect those escalated cost. As it is, we don't have metal fabrication skill or body/paint skills so we have to farm that out. We plan to convert to a bucket seat console car, also something that we will have to have done as that was not available, the door panels are needing replacement: again not available.....
BTW: we are gulf side, north or Fort Myers in North Port.

 

Got two new tires on. Still need the other two. One of these years....

 

I have been chasing a leak that makes the passenger's front floor very wet. I finally found it. I pulled the dash, and could not find it from that side, so I pulled the wheelhouse, and there it was. The grommet for the antenna cable was missing. The hole is about 1/2 inch in diameter. I found the grommet further up on the inside cable, and pulled it back through the hole. Then I made sure it was seated, and put some silicone RTV on the outside to "glue" it in place. It rained later that evening, and no water.

While I have it apart, I am installing a FW steering column with my original lock. I painted it to match, and only have to rewire the high beam switch with flash to pass, and either disable/defeat, or hook up the press brake to shift solenoid. The 91s did not have press brake to shift. I am studying my manuals to figure out which wires to splice for the press brake to shift. The FW column is a tiny bit longer than the original one, but other than that, it is virtually identical to the OEM column. I am debating whether to use the FW shift lever, or the OEM one. I may put a wooden/custom shift knob on the one I pick.

I also have a problem with my AC fuse plastic melting. I am going to splice in another fuse holder and eliminate the one in the fuse panel.

 

Aerospace "33"

Not sure where I came across Aerospace 33 protectant, but did some stuff with it this afternoon. I really like it. Today was the second time I used it. Seems like it can be used on almost anything. I like it most for the engine. First I spray down the engine with simple green, wait a little while, rinse with water, allow to dry then spray everything with "33". It looks a little funny at first, but dries beautifully. Today was the second time I've done it. Seems like after "33" the engine stays cleaner (seems to repels dirt), but what I really like, is how it keeps all the rubber stuff flexible.

Great on dashboards (not too shiny), seats, weatherstripping, tires and wheel wells. I spray the rubber inside the wheel wells and it definitely cleans up easier after driving on dirt roads.