'59 el camino gets a new lease on life...

59K9

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I could have it running within 2 hours if I put the engine on my break in stand but jack has already run the engine in for me and made the necessary adjustments...the chore is going to be refinishing the engine compartment...after I move the tranny and the old motor i'm gonna push it outside and use my nifty snap on high pressure mineral spirits gun and wash away 59 years of sludge...I'm then looking at stripping the paint from the interior and repaint all underhood components the proper sheen...the car seems in great shape, just way to little maintenance...at one point in time someone painted the radiator support with a brush...:doh
 

59K9

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Supporting Member 3
I finally got into the engine compartment to strip the old paint...got quite a lot stripped, getting ready to repaint it hopefully this weekend...nothing bothers me more than a nice engine in a dumpy old engine compartment...I'm too lazy to remove the master cylinder so I rigged a pole to hang it off of while working in the bay...to make matters more difficult, someone in the cars past thought a brush paint job would work...
 

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59K9

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 3
yeah, we've all been there but we still return to the scene of the crime...my last camaro was a sub frame teardown and it about killed me...actually I found out I had cancer 2 days before I took it for a drive...that M-20 earned it's keep from that drive...if you want a nicer ride than the guy down the street you gotta work for it...I seen the rides you guys have and your the same as me, nice isn't an option and being passed is for chumps...I will admit, this car isn't ever going to be a show car but it sure will get driven...my dog loves bouncing around inside all that glass...
 

WARPT

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NICE looking '59 elco! I hope when I am finished with mine it will look as good as the one you're starting with!

Great looking Shepard!
 

59K9

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there's a lot more than meets the eye Gav but yeah, she's getting close...got a call that my exhaust manifolds are ready for lick up, titanium coating on them for 90 bucks...due to the geometry of the power steering tank and the sector I need to lift the motor up 3/8" for clearance...not the best remedy but I'm dealing with the sins of 59 years of idiots owning this car...I had plans of doing tin work today or hanging out with my buddies son...he just left, great kid...thanks for the kind words warpt, dutch is my life...a service dog that lives and breathes just to be by my side...600 hours of military training makes him a complete dog...005.JPG
 

59K9

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that's a great point phil, I'll have to climb out and give the wheel a turn...a friend stopped over and was handed a dolly...I pulled the left front tire and got into the wheelhouse and hammered from below...skimmed the area, sanded and applied a glaze...it's now primed and ready for the final touch up before I lay down the new paint...I realized when hammering out the dent it will be far easier to paint the A frames with the tires off...tomorrow is gonna be a busy day for me, gotta get one of my old harleys out of my buddies museum, he's had it for 2 years and I wanna ride it...completely original from the paint to the seat
 

59K9

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the scooter is a 194 350 SS sprint, one of the italian aeromacci bikes AMF imported, it's parked right next to a confederate sportster...never seen one so original and so complete...as for the firewall, not gonna happen on this ride don...it's satin black or it gets left as is...this car isn't a correct restoration but a driver...
 

59K9

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phil, it's easy to turn the shaft from in the engine compartment...finished painting under the hood today but I may sand and respray tomorrow...a few areas that can't be seen when the motor goes in didn't get the best paint coverage and I'm less than thrilled with one spot that didn't get sanded correctly...I may be getting a little anal but I'm not tearing this apart when the issues drive me nuts...
 

59K9

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where does the time go...still haven't resanded or repainted the underhood areas...it looked great until I brought out the lamps...painting with shadows returns results that are not up to snuff...luckily I didn't unmask the car...this weekend will when it happens...dog his healing great, he's feisty and bull headed...he wants to bolt but he's still a leash only pup...
 

59K9

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Supporting Member 3
blasted all components that will be painted black today, shot them with self etching primer and applied the black satin paint...slowly coming around but I need to aquire a bunch of little stuff...I know summit has a 91665 starter for my '60 block...does anyone know of a gear reduction starter that will bolt in...I'm assuming the showcars alternator bracket 7851 will work for this year block...the one the car came with is a cobble job...
 
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