Tedly's Bluebird

[tedly]

That is just a small portion of the full checklist. Consider it chapter 2, chapter 1 was gutting the interior. I'm trying to break it down into small manageable chunks so I don't get overwhelmed thinking about all I have to do. One thing at a time, in order (as best I can), and each step done to the best of my abilities, even if it's something as mundane as pulling the engine. I'm in way over my head in lots of areas and learning as I go so keeping this mindset is going to be very important. I want to push myself and find out what I can do.

[milner351]

white board / chalk board in the shop is pure genius - nice work on the bench too.

nothing spells a bad day like green oil... ugh. I would wire wheel / scotch brite that rust in the engine compartment after a good simple green pressure wash and bath is in POR15 / rust bullet / rust encapsulator, etc.

Great work!

[tedly]

white board / chalk board in the shop is pure genius - nice work on the bench too.

nothing spells a bad day like green oil... ugh. I would wire wheel / scotch brite that rust in the engine compartment after a good simple green pressure wash and bath is in POR15 / rust bullet / rust encapsulator, etc.

Great work!

Thanks man! Had the idea for the dry erase board in the back of my head for a long time, not sure where I picked it up. When we got the shop, Addison brought it up to me before I brought it up to him. We're running into that a lot. Benches were kind of the same deal for me as the engine pull, something simple to get my head back in the game. There's less than 1mm overhang between the tops and the frames, most of it's dead flush and the bottom shelf is virtually a tolerance fit. Now that I got a feel for it again the next one is going to be slightly more complex.

The engine's been sitting for almost a year, so it could very well be a small leak. We'll know soon enough. If I were reusing the engine or counting on the money from a resale I'd be more concerned. As it is, I'm just curious what the hell happened. I'm betting head gasket, these engines were notorious for that, although the 97's improved that considerably.

Rust has gotten into almost every seam, including the pinch welds below the rockers. A wire wheel is certainly in the near future, but one of the reasons for tearing it completely down is to get rid of ALL the rust. How the hell do I make sure it's gone? I don't want to go through all this and have it start bubbling up again in a few years. Will the POR15 neutralize it or something?

[milner351]

POR or similar is designed specifically to get in there and stop it - I'm not sure anything on the planet will "soak in" where the two pieces come together and make sure you'll never see evidence of it again - short of dipping the entire car - I don't think there's any gaurantees - and dipping has it's own set of nightmares - starting with a $4k+ price tag to start off with.

I think given the results I've seen and read about - POR or rustbullet or the eastwood stuff, K&B coatings, etc - get rid of as much rust as you can see - then slather on the product of your choice (a brush helps to push in into seams) and top coat as you wish.

[BBR]

Holy peek-a-boo steering rack!

[tedly]

and dipping has it's own set of nightmares - starting with a $4k+ price tag to start off with.

I think given the results I've seen and read about - POR or rustbullet or the eastwood stuff, K&B coatings, etc - get rid of as much rust as you can see - then slather on the product of your choice (a brush helps to push in into seams) and top coat as you wish.

Holy schnikees!!! $4,000 to dip?! That was one of the options I was about to start looking into. If I do that, that'll put me 6 months to a year behind schedule financially. @#$%!!! If it comes down to it I guess I can still go that way, but I've heard the dip can get trapped in seams and other nooks and crannies, causing havoc with the paint job later. Was considering media blasting too, but I don't know that it would get in the seems either, plus any that gets trapped becomes a conduit for future rust anyway. Alright, I wanted to see what I can do, guess it's time to load up on wire wheels, Scotch pads, and POR then see if I can figure out how to get it in the seems as much as I can.

[tedly]

Holy peek-a-boo steering rack!

Lmao! Yeah, there's all kinds of interesting ideas on these things. Wait until I start putting up pics of the front suspension. Maybe it'll make sense to you guys but I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why on a lot of things. There's obviously reasons, the MN12 cars are nice cars. I just haven't figured out some of the reasoning yet. There is a company (ONE company) that makes tubular front crossmembers for these but I have not heard good things about them. Thinking about trying my hand at making my own eventually. Why not? A lot of my down time is going to be caused by waiting for funds, might as well try out some ideas, see if they're feasible while I'm waiting. If I keep the original intact I can always just throw it back on if I f things up.

[BBR]

haha I was looking at that K thinking "I wonder if a fox k would come close to fitting and if the upper strut mount was anywhere close.

[milner351]

Don't buy your wire wheels from harbor freight! Get the good ones - they last a lot longer and don't put a bunch of wires into your skin in the process.

I've considered all the options for my 69 - and I always come back to tackling it the old fashioned way one section at a time - it's the only thing that makes sense for a home job - the quote I got to dip the car was broken down into sections - by the time you dip it all, then put an e-coat on it (which you're a fool not to as it's the ONLY way to cover the bare metal you can't get to with spray or brush)
it was $4k + and I'm not sure that included doors, fenders, hood or trunklid!

Soda blasting is popular - and makes good sense - but for most projects - it's hard to beat the $/value ratio of the grind / rust killer paint / primer / paint route.

[DanStokes]

I need one more cheap HF 4 1/2" grinder so I can leave the cup wire brush on it. Like John said, go to a machine shop supply store, McMaster-Carr or some such place and buy a few GOOD brushes. The cheapies throw their quills and I one had one stuck in my cheek right below my eyeball. I took that as a lesson (even with goggles it was TOO close)!

I'd try the manual home method and some rust converter followed by the afore-mentioned sealants. Remember, POR15 and I think some of the others do not have UV protection and must be overcoated with some sort of paint. DO NOT use oil based Rustoleum anyplace you want to overcoat (like with automotive paint) as nothing I've found sticks to the Rustoleum oil base.

Dan

[STINEY]

I was under the strong impression that these T-Birds were FOX chassis?

What makes this one different from a FOX?

This fellow (who currently owns that board) put a FOX tubular K-member in his T-Bird.

At the bottom of this page he shows his stock K and the tubular one side-by-side. http://www.cadillacpower.com/forum/v...+bird&start=80

On page 2 & 4 are some more interesting pictures.
http://www.cadillacpower.com/forum/v...+bird&start=20

http://www.cadillacpower.com/forum/v...+bird&start=40

Ironically, his name is Ted as well. I'd email or call him, he's a good guy and I'm sure comparing notes will be educational.

[nesabo]

These are the MN12 chassis, not much in common with the Fox Bodies.

[BBR]

MN12
1989-1997 Tbirds/Cougar and Lincoln Mark VIII

Fox
1983-1988 Tbird/Cougar and Lincoln Mark VII

[tedly]

Yep, the earlier 80's TBirds were Fox bodies, and that would simplify things immensely if mine was. Just about anything for a Fox Mustang can be used on those Birds with minor modifications. Mine is the last year of the MN12 platform, absolutely nothing in common with a Fox chassis I believe. It's possible that the Fox Mustangs actually have more room between the shock towers than my Bird, probable even. I'm going to get exact measurements soon so I can start scheming on that front, but I believe I'm either stuck with the one that is only good for drag cars or making my own. As much as I've dug around I haven't heard of anyone modifying a different k-member to work on theirs.

Thanks for the link though Stiney, that's a cool project!

[tedly]

Thanks for all the tips so far guys, believe me it's much appreciated!