1963 R2 Lark "The Whistler"

[studejohn]

Ok Bob I will start a back seat list just for you. It may just help et times to have counter weight in the back seat.

[6hk71400]

John, any update on the progress? Knowing the challenges involved with day to day activities if you can let us know where things are.

Thanks
Bob Miles
Tucson AZ

[SScopelli]

Progress Progress, Progress..

Brought the body back from the strippers and it is looking great.
The body will be getting a good coat of epoxy primer next after some stubborn body putty is removed

[BobPalma]

'Looking good, guys; thanks for the update(s). BP

[studejohn]

Ok I have removed all the caulking and tar from the gaps and holes . Funny to see all that the calking covered up. I have pressure washed it to get all the chemicals acids out of the seems. I was surprise to see all the junk that came out of the body and all its hidden pockets and there are a few of them. After the wash it became a orangee rust haze. In the process of wiping it all away for it New coat of armor. More pix to come. Thanks John Kroulik

[asesolen]

You never know who you're going to see getting in on the action... John must have a bit of Tom Sawyer in him, he makes working on the Whistler look like so much fun that first his wife Lorilee jumped in and then his daughter Makenna and her friend decided to help too. Way to go John! A true family effort. (And just in case you missed it above, John's son Kolton has done all the welding.)




~[URL=http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/asesolen/media/IMG_0866_zpsw4rixn77.jpg.html][/URL

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[TWChamp]

You never know who you're going to see getting in on the action... John must have a bit of Tom Sawyer in him, he makes working on the Whistler look like so much fun that first his wife Lorilee jumped in and then his daughter Makenna and her friend decided to help too. Way to go John! A true family effort. (And just in case you missed it above, John's son Kolton has done all the welding.)




~[URL=http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/asesolen/media/IMG_0866_zpsw4rixn77.jpg.html][/URL

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Am I correct that your wife and the girls are removing rust?
What are they using to do the job?
It sure looks good .

[studejohn]

Yes they are removing the flash rust. Metel prep that you get from your paint store.Most just wipes off with a rag and there also removing left over tar from cracks and seems with a round wire brush in a drill chuck.Its not the funnest job but I got a few hours out of them. Thanks for asking.

[kurtruk]

I'm not a safety Nazi, but I sure would like to see them wearing safety goggles while using a wire brush in a drill.

[studejohn]

Your on it.No safety glass off to Harbor freight tomorrow and load up on some more. Now if I can keep the dogs from thinking there chew toys for them. Good thing there one less then a 1/8 mile away. Thanks John

[tman1912]

where did you get the body stripped and does it remove rust? Thanks Terry

[6hk71400]

I too would prefer stripping the paint rather than sand blasting and risk panels being warped.

Bob Miles
Tucson AZ

[studejohn]

Yes this process removes most all rust and paint. My car had heavy surface rust from sitting out in the elements. And now its clean bare metal. I'm not sure how it will do with other kinds of rust like salt and distorted body panels do to rust damage. Just keep in mind that when it's all through and done there may not be much left if you have a badly rusted body. The place I used is call Clean Metal Industries in Tempe AZ. Automotive is not there mainstream of work . There main type of work is plat heat exchange unit . So if there slow they may take on car hobbyist . They are the only ones around here next closest is in Oregon . It took 3 1/2 weeks or so not a fast process. After that I brought it home and blasted it off with pressurized water to get all the leftover crap out of the cracks and seems and acid residues .it's still a lot of work on my part to get it to primer ready. Hope this helps. John Kroulik

[SScopelli]

Yes this process removes most all rust and paint. My car had heavy surface rust from sitting out in the elements. And now its clean bare metal. I'm not sure how it will do with other kinds of rust like salt and distorted body panels do to rust damage. Just keep in mind that when it's all through and done there may not be much left if you have a badly rusted body. The place I used is call Clean Metal Industries in Tempe AZ. Automotive is not there mainstream of work . There main type of work is plat heat exchange unit . So if there slow they may take on car hobbyist . They are the only ones around here next closest is in Oregon . It took 3 1/2 weeks or so not a fast process. After that I brought it home and blasted it off with pressurized water to get all the leftover crap out of the cracks and seems and acid residues .it's still a lot of work on my part to get it to primer ready. Hope this helps. John Kroulik

As John noted it came back pretty much rust free..

From this, at the start..


to this:





To make sure all the chemicals from the dip, and the remnants of body putty, sealer, under coating, he manually picked at the crack and crevasse, and then high pressur washed it.




After all the cleaning was done.. It was left with what is called flash oxidation..


While a bit of manual cleaning was done, most of the flash has been removed with a light acid solution to get it back to clean metal..

[SScopelli]

Rain Rain, go away...

Well, the initial repairs on the Whistler frame are done.

A bit of effort was spent on welding up the areas where cracks may occur and welding up on some of the seams of the frame rails..

Notice in the picture the shiny metal on the frame rail seems..

So now off to the media blaster..




Second frame is a Green Mist R1/4 speed car..



Well, to the back yard and play some Frisbee with Apollo the dog..