Look! Shiny stuff!

[gordr]

This morning, the weather was fine, so I got to work on M 16 front clip parts. I used the D/A sander on the hood, and sanded off a bunch of old brushed-on paint, and a little loose rust, and primed the bare metal with acid-etch primer.

Then I mixed up a batch of "Harvester Red" implement paint, and thinned it to spraying consistency with a little camp stove fuel. I strained the paint through a new scouring pad, which worked great. The gun never clogged, which it surely would have done had I not strained the paint, as it has lumps in it.

The end result was better than I dared hope; the freshly-painted parts do look nice and shiny.

Here are a couple of pictures:





And for those who wanted to see the truly ugly tire testing tank I made, here it is:



I've already put it to use testing some inner tubes.

[woodysrods]

Hi Gord
What are you doing up so late? Later there than here.
Ian is coming out to Drag race in Osoyoos this weekend. Have you seen him lately?
Loved your picture with your dog on the chassis in turning wheels this month.
Brian

[Bob Andrews]

Cool, Gord!

[65cruiser]

I'm diggin the trailer. What was that, a minivan?

[Chantony]

Wow Gord! I'm impressed! Those parts look great and it's always teriffic to see something come out so well with a bit of ingenuity thrown in for good measure.It will be neat to see some pics of the M16 all bolted back together.
That tyre thingy is pretty neat too.I was trying to visualise it earlier,but never dreamt you'd be using such a huge tyre for the job.You could even treat rusted parts in it as it's so big.
Well done!

[gordr]

I'm diggin the trailer. What was that, a minivan?

Yes Mark, good eye! It's the rear floor and suspension from a '97 Mercury Villager that I parted out. It was really quite easy to cut it free using an air chisel and cutoff wheel in a die grinder. The tires keep going flat, so the test tank will be put to use on them. I have bought a coupler already. All I need to do is to weld on the tongue and coupler, wire lights, and remove the brake drums and backing plates, leaving the hubs. Not much need for brakes on a small utility trailer. I will make wooden sides and fenders for it.

[jclary]

Look out Gordon! Any adult having that much fun is bound to irritate some anal retentive official! Sooner or later you will get that dreaded "knock on the door" telling you to "knock it off!"

Keep your powder dry and a good "look-out!"

[gordr]

Well, today I got the freshly-painted parts back on the truck. Hood, center grille, right side grille, and headlight pods. Hood latch works, even the safety catch. And I got the bright work mounted: the hood center line molding, hood ornament, hood nameplate, and center grille molding. None of these is in anything like primo condition, but when they are all there, the truck looks complete.

Didn't take a picture because the Sun was too low in the sky, and behind the truck, so the front end was too ill-lit.

[woodysrods]

Well maybe tomorrow at sunrise if you don't stay up as late as you did last night.
Brian

[gordr]

Well maybe tomorrow at sunrise if you don't stay up as late as you did last night.
Brian

Well, I got a pic. Not at sunrise, but mid-morning when the Sun was high and bright.



The hood opens and closes nicely, the latch and safety catch work, and the bright work is back on. You know, no single piece of the painted panels or brightwork is perfect, but the the fact that everything is there, and kinda-sorta shiny, really makes the old truck look young again.

[Jim B PEI]

Looking good, Gord. You and our chapter's Doug Parkman, human dynamos both, making old iron sing new songs again!

[JGK 940]

And for those who wanted to see the truly ugly tire testing tank I made, here it is:

Ugly? What? Where?

Prettiest durned piece of functional shadetree engineering I have seen in months, if not in years.

Good on you, Gord.

[jclary]

Ugly? What? Where?

Prettiest durned piece of functional shadetree engineering I have seen in months, if not in years.

Good on you, Gord.

Reminds me of a topic in another thread...and I declare it to be...OVER-BUILT!