Build Thread Lavron's '64 Comet Budget Build

[bubba22349]

Mike, it's been cold and sometimes windy here so I hear you its not much fun to be outside we haven't had much in the way of snow though. Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to you and your family too!

 

[lavron]

it's been cold and sometimes windy here so I hear you its not much fun to be outside

Maybe sometime I will invest some time and money into enclosing the front of my shed :roll:

I did get some stuff done this week (today the week is officially over after 4 days) I made a little video (posted below), watch it to the end if you want but the last half is me rambling on about view etc and giving a mini tour of our living room decorations



See Ya,
Mike

 

[bubba22349]

Mike I think you are right that you will need a new gas cap the gasket looks like it's really dried up and the spring backing might also be bad or cracked so that it doesn't seal good to the fuel neck anymore. You sure do have some nice views on top of your property.

 

[lavron]

Mike I think you are right that you will need a new gas cap the gasket looks like it's really dried up

I think after 55+ years it might have lasted long enough to warrant a replacement, originally I wanted to retrofit one of those capless filler necks on there like the new cars have but when I looked at all the stuff attached to the filler I decided to keep it simple.

I do seem to remember (I haven't filled the car up for over 20 years) that it is a little hassle to get it to fill without the pump wanting to shut off, but then again my 2006 F150 is the same way so I guess they really haven't done much to improve the situation I thought about a locking cap but really don't have much reason to do that and if it becomes an issue I can add one later :roll:

We bought this place for the view, even if it does make for a steep climb up the driveway, plus it is nice and quiet and somewhat secluded and if the weather is too bad and I can't get out I will just stay home.

See Ya,
Mike

 

[lavron]

Looking for some advice on bodywork in case there are any nice few days I can do any work. Looking for any comments from the talented and educated body men out there, even though I grew up around a body shop things have changed a lot since the late '70s :roll:

Made a video of the areas of concern.

64 Comet Body Work Preliminaries

This will be something I do in short chunks of time in-between working on other things, and weather permitting so just looking for any saged advice before I start on it.

See Ya,
Mike

 

[bubba22349]

Hi Mike, am probally not much help on anything new in the way of body work tech. When I worked at Ford on the assembly line (mid 1970's) the newly built bodies had the seam sealer put on to the bare metal before any paint priming. Also new clean metal was etched then primed or now days you can use the self etching primer. Is that rust bubbling up from under the paint on roof? Getting the rust stopped is hard to do. Use to have my Model A's body's sand blasted before doing any body the company that did it was great and carful not to use too much pressure or get the metal work harden and the metal was much thicker on them too. In my Air Craft A & P Lic. Training also used Walnut shells which worked really great to clean the parts. Years later about 1985 I had a 46 Cad body dipped to get rid of all the rust which it did very well, but won't ever do that again be because it blead liquid out of some of the body seams for ever it seemed. If I get to do another car I going to use baking soda to blast it. Best of luck

 

[lavron]

Is that rust bubbling up from under the paint on roof?

No, it is pits in the metal, I used phosphorus acid to clean them so those are just the deep pits that were left after that, there is only a couple of spots like that where the paint had been gone for a long time. I could probably blast those spots at the same time I am cleaning the welds. At my age the car does not have to last that long :roll: and then it is someone else's problem I can't imagine anyone will ever care about the car as much as I do.

See Ya,
Mike

 

[autonoob]

You did a great job with this build, I can feel the passion for what you do. Make sure to keep us posted once it is done.

 

[chessterd5]

Nice work! I love the car. I'm usually on the big six forum but I'm glad I looked into this.

 

[lavron]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I have a big attachment to the car and I have waited a long time to reach this point, it is turning out better than I imagined, thanks to this forum the engine is a super slick unit and runs like a top, I keep saying this is the only car I have owned that can cut the rear tires loose so easy and it is just a lowly inline-six (you know I love the I6 and wouldn't consider any other motor for this car and I personally don't consider it lowly) so I haven't posted in this thread for a few weeks, I think you all knew I was wanting to get some stuff done with the body, so I got busy on it even if it is too cold to do it, I can maybe entertain you for a few minutes with the last 3 videos I made of me doing actual work and not just talking about it.

Using a HF stud gun welder for the first time

64 Comet Bodywork 1

64 Comet Bodywork 2

So far so good, would still like warmer weather but I guess we get what comes and can't control it, makes me wish I had the shed fully enclosed and the wood furnace hooked up and pumping some heat in, but I will get all that done after I don't need it anymore (finishing the shed is one thing I want to get done but right now the Comet is my main focus)

Bodywork is not my favorite thing but not the worse thing to do, I like seeing the results and the transformation it makes to the car, I may not be a "professional" but it will look really good when I am done because I tend to be a perfectionist at times (or OCD in more modern terms) really one of my goals is to show others there are ways to do these things without having to take them to a shop and pay out the nose for sometimes not that good of work, I would probably still do it myself even if I could afford to take it to a shop, I kinda feel like they will never care as much as I do, they have lots of cars to do I have one. I lack tools and even a few skills but I will learn what I need to along the way and make do with what tools I have and buy some cheap HF or similar when needed.

I appreciate everyone here and I hope you enjoy the progress in the videos.

See Ya,
Mike

 

[lavron]

Third installment on making the rear quarter repair, bad weather and too cold to do bodywork in an un-heated shed with the front open, but I got something done.

64 Comet Bodywork 3

Slow and steady wins the race, so they say. Each little thing puts me closer to done.

See Ya,
Mike

 

[Rinke]

Nice Vid. I subscribed for future updates.

I highly appreciate your regular updates, they are inspiring.
I kinda feel the same about doiing it myself.
Getting myself psyched up to tackle some rust issues myself.

Keep up the good work!

Cheers, Rinke