restoration
What a mess. This car was stored outside way too long by previous owners and it was almost too late by the time I came along. None of the original wood can be reused. The entire wood body will have to be reproduced with new wood. I plan to tackle that myself. There were extensive rust holes in the floor and rear wheel wells. The gas tank had large rust holes too and was unusable. All mechanical systems were frozen with rust. The engine was locked up. The exhaust crossover pipe was broken and water entered the block causing rust stalagmites in the No. 8 cylinder. The radiator and water passages in the block were clogged with rust. The outside sheet metal has numerous dents and surface rust but no rust holes.
Restoration started with disassembly in summer 2001. Every single piece on the car needed to be sandblasted or soaked in phosphoric acid. The frame was sandblasted and powder coated. After extensive searching a correct and restorable gas tank was found. I had it restored at the Antique Auto Shop in Cincinnati. They removed the rust and dents, sealed the inside, and painted it semi gloss black. It is important to me that all replacement parts are of the original and correct materials and appearance. The chassis restoration included the following:
- New muffler and tailpipe
- New rubber suspension bushings
- New battery cables
- Front end rebuild kit
- Rebuilt shock absorbers
- New universal joints
- New fuel line
- New brake line
- New emergency brake cables
- Wheel and master cylinders sleeved
- New wheel bearings front and rear
- Brake drums turned
- New linings on brake shoes
- New insulation on head pipe
The original engine and its related parts was restored by Walt Reynolds of Indianapolis. He also installed a new clutch and throwout bearing. The No. 8 cylinder had to be sleeved. He did a thorough job. It is amazing to me that the engine could be saved. In the summer of 2004 the engine ran in the chassis for the first time in 40 years. It was quiet and oh so smooth. I had the radiator re-cored locally. The chassis and engine were completed in the summer of 2004. Walt Reynolds also repaired extensive rust in the cowl/floor unit. He reproduced the original contours of the floor under the dashboard and repaired rust holes in the windshield header panel. The floors custom made by Meteor in 1940 did not hold up well and had to be reproduced from scratch. Walt reproduced the middle floor, inner wheel wells, and the spare tire well.
This summer I refinished the dashboard, steering wheel, steering column, and emergency brake handle. All these parts were rust pitted and had to be primed with hibuild primer and wet sanded multiple times. I matched the original colors for the finish coat. During the winter of 2005/2006 I hope to have additional rust repaired around the windshield and the finish body work done on the outside of the cowl and windshield frame. After that I can remount the cowl and install the new floors and wheel wells in summer 2006.
This site last updated Jan 2009.