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July
6, 2003 Pressure Washer!No, I didn't get the body off this weekend--there just wasn't enough time (is there ever?). I had four days, and couldn't find an afternoon to get my friends together and give it a go. My father even called to see if I was going to do it--I like having a project he and I can work on together, and he sounded disappointed when I told him that it was a no-go. But I'm going to make a point of involving him more with the project in the future. However, I did finally break under Julia's constant chiding and purchased a pressure washer. Since we have so many things around the house that she wants to wash, and since I either take parts to the car wash or scrub them by hand, we decided that investing in a pressure washer was a good idea. It is gas powered and delivers 3400 PSI, which is more than adequate for our needs in most occasions. Julia washed the front porch and siding, the back deck (which we re-stained), the back of the house, the front steps and an old picnic table we had lying around that looked shabby. I'd say it has already paid for itself. When she wasn't looking, I managed to spirit the machine away and try it out on my transmission. I'm also planning on using it on the frame and engine and miscellaneous other parts, but the transmission is nice and portable. It was also as dirty as anything I've removed from the car yet.
First I soaked it with a combination of Gunk engine cleaner and oven cleaner and let it sit for a while. For those of you worrying, I'm having my driveway resurfaced this week and don't much care if it melts the pavement. Both cleaners also say that they are safe to dispose of down the drain, so there are no environmental issues, though I'm not so sure I completely believe the labels. I sure wish that GreaseMaster was more effective. Maybe I'll try it again with the pressure washer and see how it turns out...
Then I started spraying.
Once everything was washed off, I could make out a lot more details on the transmission, including the serial number and the letters GM and what I presume is the build date (2-25, which probably means February 25, 1941).
Maybe this week I'll get the guys together to yank the body. I promised my buddy Tom that I'd help him remodel his living room and build a new mantle, so we'll see how my time looks. In the parts department, I've scored a few great items recently: an NOS trunk prop rod assembly (my car only had one but provisions for two), a pair of NOS door lock assemblies so I don't have to mess around with the cobbled up ones I took off last week, and an NOS exhaust hanger, to replace the crumbling remains of the original. All for less than $100. Ebay can be a very effective swap meet. Oh, I also found a set of 1941 Ohio license plates in excellent original condition. I'm pretty sure the DMV here in Ohio will let me use them instead of new plates. I'll have to look into that, but for the moment, they're a cool addition to the decor on my garage wall! I also reconnected with an old friend of my father's named Dick Michel, who has a large and impressive collection of old Buicks, including a '41 Special sedanette he's restoring right now. He and I had a great chat, and he's still as enthusiastic as ever, and was really impressed that I'd located a Century sedanette to restore. I'm going to make a point of looking him up more often, since he's local to me. Previous
Restoration Day E-mail me at toolman8@sbcglobal.net This page accessed Thanks, Fidget! |
