Sunday, October 4, 2009
10/4/09
More assembly progress. Steering box is now installed as well as the steering linkage. The steering linkage is composed of all NOS, period correct pieces. Original idler arm bracket was detailed and green paint daub applied. Engine mounts were installed along with original restored fasteners. Spent the remaining part of the day stripping/painting suspension parts such as the coil spring covers and front brake backing plates.
10/3/09
After spending a few days organizing parts and zip-lock bags from the bins, I now am able to move quicker on restoration of the K convertible. First up today is a picture of the original horns. Evidently, there were different date formats and locations used throughout production in '65. What's interesting about these date stamps is the upside down month codes. I have a good template of these stamps made and plan to get rubber stamps done locally. The horns are already cleaned/painted.
The rest of the day was spent restoring the original steering box. To do this properly, the box was disassembled and each piece detailed properly. New needle bearings and sector shaft bearings were installed. Unfortunately, Ford chose to blackout the top of the steering boxes, so I had to obliterate all that nice detailing! If you look in posts here from a couple months ago, you can see the original box was blacked out. The blue/yellow paint marks were applied before blackout, which can be seen on the back edge once installed. I'll go ahead and share the trick for getting the cast appearance back on the case. First the case must be glass beaded to remove all rust/dirt. Then it must be cleaned completely to remove all grease and media. To get the slight darkened appearance the case is dipped in a phosphate solution for about 30 seconds. After that, it is dried and submerged in oil for about a half hour. Once removed, the surface is rubbed with coarse steel wool and then wiped clean.
While doing the steering box, went ahead and restored the engine mounts.
The rest of the day was spent restoring the original steering box. To do this properly, the box was disassembled and each piece detailed properly. New needle bearings and sector shaft bearings were installed. Unfortunately, Ford chose to blackout the top of the steering boxes, so I had to obliterate all that nice detailing! If you look in posts here from a couple months ago, you can see the original box was blacked out. The blue/yellow paint marks were applied before blackout, which can be seen on the back edge once installed. I'll go ahead and share the trick for getting the cast appearance back on the case. First the case must be glass beaded to remove all rust/dirt. Then it must be cleaned completely to remove all grease and media. To get the slight darkened appearance the case is dipped in a phosphate solution for about 30 seconds. After that, it is dried and submerged in oil for about a half hour. Once removed, the surface is rubbed with coarse steel wool and then wiped clean.
While doing the steering box, went ahead and restored the engine mounts.
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