6 Projects We’re Wrenching On
Car projects take all sorts of forms—exhaustive restorations, preventative maintenance, engine swaps. Often, it’s not on a project car, per se—in many cases, it’s simply a vehicle that needs work, either out of necessity or preference.
This week, join us on a progressive dinner of sorts as we travel to the garages of our staff and peek over their shoulders. If you’ve ever wondered what we’re up to after work, or on the weekends—well, you’re about to find out. We frequently end up in each other’s garages, lending a helping hand or simply drinking a supervisory beer, and when we can’t be there in person, we’re texting or calling each other.
Whether you’re new to wrenching, or an old hand at it, you’ll find friends here.
Fresh Carpet for a Pumpkin Spice-Colored Buick
Just finished a thorough interior cleaning and the installation of fresh carpet in my ’73 Buick Centurion. It looks and smells a lot better—the car sat unattended for 30 years and was a little on the musty side.
While I was in there (there’s always a while I was in there) and the seats were out, I replaced the rear speakers and both convertible top cables.
The carpet went in easily, but PSA: Carpet blades are extremely sharp (I’m fine, everything is fine). Despite a lot of searching, the new carpet is a couple shades lighter than the original saddle color, but fitment was good and the Centurion will be used as an ice-cream getter, not a trophy-seeker. One step closer . . . — Eddy Eckart
Acclimating to an Amazon, Safety First
Lots to do on the 1966 Volvo 122S I recently acquired. It’s a running, driving car, but it has needs. Main thing I’m working on now is moving my original three-point seatbelt hardware over to fresh webbing and a modern inertia belt. After that comes the installation of a starter switch to replace a breakage-prone ignition key, a mechanical brake-light switch to replace the original hydraulic-pressure one, and research into why the heater seems to be perpetually on. — Eric Weiner
Many Vehicles, Much Tires, Such Travails
If we are being honest, I probably have too many projects running right now and most are on hold to do the most unexciting task of annual maintenance in my shop: Tires.
This year, four of the seven motorcycles currently residing in my garage needed fresh rubber on at least one end. The Corvair is likely getting fresh tires over winter, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. That means the last three nights has been spent pulling wheels, cleaning, breaking beads, and generally wearing out my fingers and making any old tire machine off marketplace look like a great deal. At least this year all the replacements are due to wear, or long-term projects that are reaching the point that it’s finally time for tires, not due to storage rot. Replacing tires: the problem I enjoyed creating, but hate dealing with.
— Kyle Smith
Rebuilding ’70s Power Window Motors
Rebuilding both of the rear power window motors on a 1971 Continental Mark III. This is a serious haul, because the entire rear window assembly has to be pulled from the body (last pic) after pulling most of the rear compartment out of the car.
I knew this was going to be hard, and I wanted to just ignore it, but both the rear windows got stuck in the open position. If they ever get stuck again, they better fail in the closed position, because I never want to do this ever again! — Sajeev Mehta
Cutting a Path for New Control Arms
I just won a week-long battle with a class 10.9 suspension bolt on my 1998 Mustang, which I’m building into a drift missile. The nut came off just fine, but the bolt had fused itself to the metal bushing sleeve. No amount of hammering, MAP-torch heat, or penetrating oil would free it. Frustrated, I opted for the nuclear option and pulled out the reciprocating saw (my angle grinder wouldn’t fit in the confined space). Many blades laid down their lives, but I eventually got through it. My new control arms and bolts went in easily after that. — Chris Stark
Maintenance and Meatier Tires
Most of my wrenching right now is out of necessity, but it still beats not wrenching at all. Last week I changed the brake rotors on all four corners of my wife’s 2013 Toyota Highlander to remedy a pretty serious shudder that she had when slowing down. Thankfully, the fix worked and we’re back to smooth braking.
A few nights later I crawled under her car to change the oil. In the process, I learned that a drain pan alone is not sufficient to stop hot oil that comes rocketing down from on-high as you release the drain plug. Technically, I caught every drop of oil from the drain. It’s just that an alarming amount splattered off of the flat surface and went flying out in pretty much every direction. My driveway has a new stain on it, and it’s not even from a classic car!
The 1998 Montero just got a fresh set of Kumho Road Venture AT52 tires. I went up in diameter a touch to add some meat to the wheel wells, and I’m loving the way they look as well as what they’ve done to the ride quality thus far. Super impressed. We’re going to have a data-based story on some of what you trade off by upsizing tires soon. Stay tuned for that. I’ve got a new set of LED reverse lights that I want to get wired up before the colder months, and then I’m also going to try to get some rust encapsulating paint onto spots on the frame. It’s all just surface rust there but given how spotless the car was when I first got it, even a little bit of brown has me bristling. Short of the funds to dry-ice blast it and re-seal it, this will have to do.
I’m always tinkering on something, but the top item is a steering upgrade on my 74 Vette
The factory system utilizes a manual steering box, and all of the power steering parts (control valve and hydraulic ram) are mounted to the steering linkage. The control valve has been leaking since I bought the car, but it has recently graduated to dumping the steering system contents on my garage floor overnight. Word on the street is that they all leak… even new ones. The other issue with the system is that it is based around a manual box, so it has a tractor trailer feel to the steering.
Borgeson has an upgraded box with all the power steering goodies contained inside the box the way they’re meant to be, and it has a much sportier steering ratio instead of the 70 turns lock to lock that the OEM box provides. This is a largely bolt-on modification with no real permanent changes to the car. One semi-permanent change is shortening the (by design collapsible) steering shaft to accommodate the longer box.
The project is largely complete except putting the steering wheel on due to waiting for a new horn contact holder. The box fit nicely under my big block hood – even fitting within the same dent hammered into the header pipe to fit around the OEM box
Update… project done. Steering is very crisp and no leakys.
One of my biggest concerns with return to service is that I have been driving this car with the tractor trailer box for many years and I was concerned that this may cause over-application of steering angle with the new box. I did find myself correcting my steering angle on occasion, but only slightly.
How does my upgraded box compare to rack and pinion? Any lack of crispness (not much) is probably more attributable to the period-correct high sidewall tires and not related to the choice of steering technology. Would I bother with the effort and modification required to put rack and pinion on a C3… NO.
I did the same to my 69 with pretty much the same results. However, I was surprised at how much I had to collapse the steering column. Also I had to pull the steering column out of the car to get enough force to collapse it.
I probably collapsed mine 5 inches all told… I was surprised as well
I think there was about an inch of play in my Econoline when it was new. There’s much more now. I know of no fix for the problem.
It just so happens that I have a 72 F350 in the stable which came to me with a dangerous amount of front-end play. I had some cab mount issues and a cracked frame behind the steering box to contend with, but I also rebushed the I-beams (recommended… not as hard as it seems) that took the final measure of slop out of the steering
I just completed the replacement of the Converters on my Corvette. The Exhaust on a C5 is really not hard to work on. Though with the aftermarket Borla tail pipes the exhaust tip alignment can be more of a intelligence test vs mechanical adventure.
You move it one way in one place and get equal and opposite reaction the other way. You need to kind of map the moves and clamp it with vise grips till you get it right.
Right now I am detailing the engine in the Fiero for two shows coming up. Little work is needed but just a good dusting off and touch up on exhaust manifold.
I need to look for and plan for my projects this winter. Not much is needed but their are things I want to upgrade.
Note to Eddy: I think the carpet looks great! 👍
Thanks, DUB!
Agreed! And the whole interior cleaned-up nicely.
And Eddy, I’m looking forward to more updates to your aunt’s car, so keep at it!
Thanks for your notes, Kelly! I hope to have some news to share before the snow flies!
Yes, looks good, but I do believe the sill plates are swapped as I see what appears to be seatbelt dents which are in the correct place if they were reversed… Yeer I know, I just notice shit like that!!
I thought I’d put them back on the right sides, but sounds like I didn’t! I took the scuffing to be from the heels of shoes and figured it was correct. Good eye!
Zon Chomp oil absorbent. You’re welcome.
Had a Volvo 122S for 36 years. Great car!
Starter and brake light switch are both good ideas. Never had a problem with the heater.
When I broke one of the front suspension struts, I was able to install a Chevy rear one that the local parts guy matched for me. Just had to trim the length a bit.
Roadside repairs are a distinct possibility. Gapped my points with a business card once. After a bad carburetor adjustment from a mechanic working on something else, I was able to balance the SU’s by ear roadside.
Though I limped home on several occasions, it never stranded me!!!
Reliable and fun car. Enjoy!
Thank you! So far it’s really a blast. I’ll do some more writing about it soon. I get a ton of compliments on it when I take it out. Pretty much just for puttering around Ann Arbor, a college town where people appreciate it, especially if they have any clue what it is.
Hello Eric,
So glad you’re working on your Volvo. It’s a neat car. vp-autoparts.com in South Carolina
has everything you will need. I replaced my ignition switch from vp-autoparts.com. The new switch has a much stronger key. I also replaced the heater control unit from VP.
SU carbs are marvelously simple and so easy, even I can understand them. Carters, Holleys, etc. Are complex in comparison, but American mechanics are flummoxed by these simple carbs.
Had AH Sprite with dual HS2 carbs for 28 years-tuned twice in that time. Instead of “dashpot” oil, I used ATF. Kept them very clean, great throttle response.
ATF, by all means – even if you get grief from “gurus” saying otherwise.
Yeah this seems to be the prevailing wisdom, despite the manual saying to use engine oil.
A guy who used to race in the 1960’s told me there were all kinds of myths and legends about setting up the dashpots on SUs back then. One of the most interesting was that some
people would arrive at the race track with the dashpot completely empty, clean, and dry, and would unscrew the top and drip four of five drops of 3-in-1 oil, just enough to lubricate the bore, into them right before the race. The idea was to minimize the damping so they,d pop open as quickly as possible. Maybe that would have actually worked for racing.
Should do some wrenching on notifing customers before you take out payments.
Volvo 122: If the hydraulic brake light switch is working, I wouldn’t try to change it, both of my MG’s have hydraulic brake switches that work fine.
I am keeping the current switch setup until it fails, and have the mechanical upgrade in reserve at that time. Advice from the 122 crowd seems to suggest that replacement hydraulic parts are not so reliable and fail within a few years.
Stick with OE and OEM hydraulic and electrical parts – bargain parts are much more expensive in the long run.
Check Ron Kwas various upgrade kits at sw-em.com – there’s a nice later spec electrical switch and bracket that I added to my ‘66 wagon.
Also, do new seat webbing and foams stat if yours are at all tired. A wonderful world of difference.
Yeah Ron has been great so far. Got all my kits from him, easy to work with and fairly priced!
Oh my, the struggles we endure for our cars! While I certainly appreciate your struggles I do really envy your shop space. A dumpster fire behind my shop is providing a whole new deminsion to restoring my cars without a shop. I traded the remains of my Model A for 140 hours of paint and body work on my Mercedes (’65 220S) and when it came time to cut and polish I dug deep in my wallet. So now, to rebuild the steering on the replacement Model A in a tiny single car garage I have rented. The Mercedes restoration won’t be perfect but the fire will be part of its history, 30 years of it so far with me.
Eddy , you picked a good one on the Volvo Ing. After 40+ years in the Locksmith business and growing up in my dads business those Ignition switch’s have a reputation. The original anti theft device? With armored cable to the coil and a stiff centering spring they were fine with the original steel key. All after market keys were nickle/silver at best and much softer(so we could copy them) If you have a key that still “works” a well equipped shop could originate a key back to factory spec.and with lube it would give you years of continued service.
That’s actually me, Eric. I got spare that feels sturdier, but the starter switch just replaces the actually ignition activation. You turn the key to accessory and the fire the switch with your other hand. Bonus is a bit of extra security if the switch is a little hidden.
Sounds like a winner….Eric!
I drove a 1973 Buick Centurion convertible (with the same saddle tan interior) for two decades as my daily driver starting in the late seventies. Had the front seats reupholstered — only cost $400 in 1981!
“Pumpkin Spice-Colored Buick”
It’s brown.
My wrenching has been more keeping the beater running than fix up a classic. The 2003 Buick LeSabre got it left rear turn signal sorted after learning that a 3057 is not a direct replacement for a 3157 (not enough resistance to flash), the $30 power window part from Amazon is not as good as the $60 one from Rock Auto (but I’m now an expert at replacing them) and the air conditioner doesn’t “just need a recharge” (ht to Rob Siegel) but in fact a new compressor.
I am looking forward to servicing my BMW Airhead since that is fun and easy to reach everything
I started the year with the goal of new plugs and brakes on my daily driver. “2008 Porsche Cayenne S” The plugs went smooth, lost one screw that holds the coil in. Went for a walk and found it down the street a bit before I had a chance to buy a new one. Bought new rear pads, hardware and sensor wires for the rear brakes. Could not remove the spring hold down pin. Realized very quickly that I no longer had the upper body strength to remove it. Took it to a local independent garage. The much younger owner had no problem. The front rotors and pads will be replaced by him. Had a problem with my 1963 356B, after 10 days I had it taken to the local dealership. It was a swollen fuel line, I thought it was an electrical issue. All of you are going to grow old too!
Growing old is the better of two options. I’m working on re-evaluating “how I’ve always done it” to find smarter if slower methods for the tough jobs – esp. suspension.
Those oil drain valves you can replace the drain plug with are great. I was skeptical at first, or maybe nervous, so I tried one in a certain Fiat Abarth. This car required taking a frame brace off to get to the drain plug and not end up with a sump full or oil down my arm.
The valve has a drain spout that a plastic hose fits over and the other ends goes into your choice of container. This is so clean you could do it in a suit before heading to the opera. I don’t have a suit and the opera would be Swamp Opera, Too Slim and the Tail Draggers.
Has the Overbudget Garage & Saloon seal of approval
Built a 60 year old Chevy 283 (now .030 over) with 305 heads and a “Duntov” cam and solid lifters (yup, comp cam still makes them). For my ‘28 Model A “Phantom Phaeton” (was a Tudor, poorly half way chopped when I bought it) so I cut the top off. Plus a ton of other mods. Runs great, sounds great, good for terrorizing the neighborhood.
Got some minor upgrades, fixes planned for my ‘54 Studebaker which has an LS engine, 6 speed, narrowed 9”, all upgraded suspension and brakes. Body work paint and interior done, but nothing is ever finished, right. I mean finished, finished if you get what I mean.
Your mentioning a Duntov cam reminds me of when I took a 283 block to a friend’s machine shop to get prepped for an overhaul. While we talked he had his young apprentice check out the bore – this young man said he didn’t understand – it was undersized but didn’t have any sleeves. We both said undersized? He said yes – it was too small. The young man thought it was a 350 – the only size small block he had ever seen. We had a good laugh and really had him looking strange at us we we started talking about my camel hump heads.
Our neighbor had a 73 Buick Centurion convertible back in the day and it had the exact same interior color. The 455 had a great sound.
I’m a distributor replacement away from hearing the 455 for myself. can’t wait!
just came to me about a buick centurion i’m familiar with, the one kurt russell sold in the movie ‘used cars’. so, if you ever plan to sell your dream ride, take a tip from kurt: if the rear bumper isn’t fastened securely, some used bubble gum will hold up till they drive off!