1964 bonneville rebuild

[64 kiwi boni]

7 hours ago, Frosty said:

What's your question on restoring them Kiwi? A member of my car club has a '64 Grand Prix with the 8-luggers.  He's written articles about restoring them. I can reach out to him for you.

well as you can guess Frosty, they are really grubby and oxidised 

 the black needs repainting then each of the blades that has a bright finish needs restoring.

i am guessing that factory would have had them in a lathe and cut/ polished that blade surface

Edited September 1, 2020 by 64 kiwi boni
spelling !

[64 kiwi boni]

6 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

There is a product called sharkhide that is a sealer, once cleaned/polished, apply the sealer.  I've never used it, but heard good things about it.

FP will not let me add the link.  Search sharkhide aluminum

thank you mate, i found it 👍

https://restosupplies.co.nz/Sharkhide

[Last Indian]

15 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

i was impressed buy this one that was for sale

 

dont know about the wheels though, what do you guys think🙄

Last Indian, i know your the king of aluminium, and you have seen, i have the factory "8 lug" rims on my 64 

what are your thoughts on how to restore them ?

Well depends on what you want? If you want a factory OEM finish than they will need to go on a lathe! If you don’t care about being OEM correct than they don’t!

From what I remember, Frosty can set me straight one way or the other, the fins had a machined finish. So you can’t restore that correctly without remachining them! It would be a very light cut .010 to .015 thousandth, and I’m speaking just about machining the fin face, nothing more, but that requires a lathe and an indicator + a good machinist and a fair size lathe! But first you would glass bead them, not sand Blast! The first will clean then and strip the paint the latter will remove aluminum. The first will slightly brighten the second will tend to dull them.

If you don’t care about the OEM look, then glass bead the wheels. Than using a hand block sander, sand each fin up and down, not crossways, starting with 3M 280 wet and dry carborundum paper, then 400 grit, followed by 600, then 1200! 
once that’s done the fins should have a nice Reflection when you look at the surface on an angle. The next two steps will bring out the mirror look! Using an SOS pad, blue soap steel wool pad and water, polish the fins up and down. Make sure the steel wool stays heavily soaped. That will give the fins a glossy mirror look. Finally finishing with my favorite metal polish, Happich simichrome polish! I have used a lot of hand rub metal polishes in my life and for me none come close to simichrome! If you don’t have access to SOS pads or the like you can use plain fine, not course, steel wool pads covered liberal with a liquid hand soap and water. Just don’t use as much water.

Than when you are all done you can paint the areas you want to paint!

Edited September 1, 2020 by Last Indian

[Frosty]

I will reach out to Jim Larson and see what he says if there are OER paints available to restore the OEM look.

[JUSTA6]

50 minutes ago, Frosty said:

I will reach out to Jim Larson and see what he says if there are OER paints available to restore the OEM look.

Isn't Jim a FP member??

[Frosty]

Yes but he’s not a regular.

[64 kiwi boni]

9 hours ago, Last Indian said:

Well depends on what you want? If you want a factory OEM finish than they will need to go on a lathe! If you don’t care about being OEM correct than they don’t!

From what I remember, Frosty can set me straight one way or the other, the fins had a machined finish. So you can’t restore that correctly without remachining them! It would be a very light cut .010 to .015 thousandth, and I’m speaking just about machining the fin face, nothing more, but that requires a lathe and an indicator + a good machinist and a fair size lathe! But first you would glass bead them, not sand Blast! The first will clean then and strip the paint the latter will remove aluminum. The first will slightly brighten the second will tend to dull them.

If you don’t care about the OEM look, then glass bead the wheels. Than using a hand block sander, sand each fin up and down, not crossways, starting with 3M 280 wet and dry carborundum paper, then 400 grit, followed by 600, then 1200! 
once that’s done the fins should have a nice Reflection when you look at the surface on an angle. The next two steps will bring out the mirror look! Using an SOS pad, blue soap steel wool pad and water, polish the fins up and down. Make sure the steel wool stays heavily soaped. That will give the fins a glossy mirror look. Finally finishing with my favorite metal polish, Happich simichrome polish! I have used a lot of hand rub metal polishes in my life and for me none come close to simichrome! If you don’t have access to SOS pads or the like you can use plain fine, not course, steel wool pads covered liberal with a liquid hand soap and water. Just don’t use as much water.

Than when you are all done you can paint the areas you want to paint!

i am not sure i want just the factory look🙄

 i am inspired by your work Last Indian, and they are such a pretty looking/different drum brake.

 And guess what ! your recommendation means lots of hard work again!!! just like the steering wheel !!!! 

but the result will be worth it.

its not something that has to be done right now, but i like to plan ahead and the wheels need to look cool.

i am set on dropping this girl as low as i can, but still being practical to, so a fresh set of springs will be made.

 

[Last Indian]

8 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

i am not sure i want just the factory look🙄

 i am inspired by your work Last Indian, and they are such a pretty looking/different drum brake.

 And guess what ! your recommendation means lots of hard work again!!! just like the steering wheel !!!! 

but the result will be worth it.

its not something that has to be done right now, but i like to plan ahead and the wheels need to look cool.

i am set on dropping this girl as low as i can, but still being practical to, so a fresh set of springs will be made.

 

Well it’s always easy to spend someone else’s money, but I’m a custom guy tried & true! So for me I see a whole lot of unique possibilities! High polished fins, not just the edge but the whole fin with just the flat transitions to the next fin painted! Custom center caps with a cool emblem in the middle all surrounded by a beautifully polished beautiful ring and chrome valve stem! Ohh! I think I just wet myself! 🥺

Edited September 2, 2020 by Last Indian

[Wrongway]

Low, real low Kiwi! 

[Last Indian]

Kiwi, I thought you might have an appreciation for this being a past show judge an all.

I have an indelible habit of looking at mechanical applications with a restructuring eye! So every car I’ve every owned and especially those I built, I always see things that I ask why? And then I have too change it. So I think you’ve seen some of that and I know it’s really hard to see it from just a picture! So I thought In some small manner you might like to see the level of detail that goes in to some of my stuff. Since you noticed the level of effort for the plenum cover to get air in to cool it from the hood!

The top motor mounts foe instance! These are so far removed for the original OEM product! Completely changed the mounting location. The factory version had the rotational arch of the motor wrong which really allows way to much movement, which cost a considerable lost in power to the ground and an inherent problem with bracket breakage. These mount allow almost no movement, but without engine vibration transmission to the car body! 
 

The strut brace! Most of them don’t use heim joints and those that do are round! The purpose of a heim in that application is to allow some lateral movement while stopping in and out flex in hard cornering! Heim joints allow that, but round bars can buckle under excessive loads square or rectangular bars don’t! 
 

every single SS buttonhead bolt has a hand machined encapsulating washer made for its size. 
 

[64 kiwi boni]

21 hours ago, Last Indian said:

Kiwi, I thought you might have an appreciation for this being a past show judge an all.

I have an indelible habit of looking at mechanical applications with a restructuring eye! So every car I’ve every owned and especially those I built, I always see things that I ask why? And then I have too change it. So I think you’ve seen some of that and I know it’s really hard to see it from just a picture! So I thought In some small manner you might like to see the level of detail that goes in to some of my stuff. Since you noticed the level of effort for the plenum cover to get air in to cool it from the hood!

The top motor mounts foe instance! These are so far removed for the original OEM product! Completely changed the mounting location. The factory version had the rotational arch of the motor wrong which really allows way to much movement, which cost a considerable lost in power to the ground and an inherent problem with bracket breakage. These mount allow almost no movement, but without engine vibration transmission to the car body! 
 

The strut brace! Most of them don’t use heim joints and those that do are round! The purpose of a heim in that application is to allow some lateral movement while stopping in and out flex in hard cornering! Heim joints allow that, but round bars can buckle under excessive loads square or rectangular bars don’t! 
 

every single SS buttonhead bolt has a hand machined encapsulating washer made for its size. 
 

I am very impressed mate, the detail is outstanding and very interesting what your saying about square rod stronger than round on strut braces

What material have you used in the rod end, to body mount ?

[Last Indian]

3 minutes ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

I am very impressed mate, the detail is outstanding and very interesting what your saying about square rod stronger than round on strut braces

What material have you used in the rod end, to body mount ?

The plate the attaches to the three strut bolts I assume you mean? That is 10ga. 316 stainless steel that is sandblasted and painted. I should also include that the bored holes in the aluminum strut brace actually make it more difficult to bend in deflection, plus it makes it lighter.

[64 kiwi boni]

1 minute ago, Last Indian said:

The plate the attaches to the three strut bolts I assume you mean? That is 10ga. 316 stainless steel that is sandblasted and painted. I should also include that the bored holes in the aluminum strut brace actually make it more difficult to bend in deflection, plus it makes it lighter.

Ah sorry mate, i was looking at the engine mount and the soft material you have used to bush the mount to the body

Edited September 8, 2020 by 64 kiwi boni

[Last Indian]

1 minute ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Ah sorry mate, i was looking at the engine mount and the soft material you have used to bush the mount to the body

Oh that stuff! That is 70 durometer polyurethane machined to fit the machined end of the Aluminum motor mount!

[64 kiwi boni]

So after a weekend on the beers with my mates, i have information on who can glass blast my 8 lug drums. Thanks Last indian 

And i have come up with a plan on when i remove the shell from my donor chassis, i am looking to buy a cheap trailer and drop the spare shell onto that after lifting it off with my 2 post hoist.

 That way i can hook the tractor onto it and put it away somewhere safe for now... well thats the plan, i do have a trailer to go look at Monday that may suit the job, he is asking 600 notes for it but we will see🙄

[64 kiwi boni]

Turns out the guy is more than happy to swap me the trailer for installing a gas cook top 👍

win win 

 

[64 kiwi boni]

Day light saving starts this weekend for us , AND.............🙄

 i am home this weekend!!

My plan is to pull chassis from under the doner 64............. watch the space!

Justa6... get the cinder block ready , we will need 4 please mate, and 2 boxes of beer 😜

pictures to come. but for now its beer o clock !!... its friday and i have had a shit week of crawling, digging plunging and i am justa over the fact that for some crazy reason we are justa flat stick, and have been since we got out of lock down back in may 

 

 

[Frosty]

Good luck to you Kiwi. Justa don't be crashing anything on your head! We don't want the beer to go to waste! Priorities! 

[Wrongway]

Mmmmmm more naughty car pics! Cant wait! lol 

[64 kiwi boni]

Ok lads on the count of 3

One

 

 

Two

three !!!

 

Thanks for the lift guys 

Edited September 26, 2020 by 64 kiwi boni

[JUSTA6]

CHEAT......  No cinderblocks???? 

[64 kiwi boni]

And with the help of some really cool tools that I have never used to strip a car before 

i kneel to mr Milwaukee 

these 2 have saved me many hours 👍🍻

Time for a beer and think about cutting the ball joints off the A arms tomorrow 

 

[64 kiwi boni]

I cut this mount out of what was left of the doner 64 boot floor so I could copy it .

who ever replaced the floor in my girl didn’t replace these and so there is a mounting point that has no fixing😯

i will copy this x 2 and fit them to the underside of my girls boot floor 

Check out these springs !

i will send them of to my spring guys and they can make me a new front and rear set 

but 2 inches lower..... that’s my starting point 

Any one gone lower ???? Wrong way how low is your 63 ???

fitzy? Your 65???

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by 64 kiwi boni

[64 kiwi boni]

1 hour ago, JUSTA6 said:

CHEAT......  No cinderblocks???? 

21st century stuff Justa 🍻

and I have done it your way myself before too!!!

you need a hoist mate 👍

[64 kiwi boni]

I would really like to know about the 64 diff 🙄

if this was a Chev it would have a tin back and be a 10 or 12 bolt 

this diff is solid back and is wayyyy bigger than a 10 bolt 

hopefully someone can enlighten me 😎😎