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Old 12-13-2015, 08:18 PM
97 SL320 97 SL320 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JuiceMan View Post
I visited with the car a bit more today . . .
I like the sound of that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JuiceMan View Post
I don't want anyone here to get the idea that I don't respect this car for what it is. I have absolutely no intentions of not preserving it to the maximum that I am capable of hence the reason why I also want it out of the barn so that it doesn't further deteriorate.
Yes, stopping the deterioration is a good thing. These days, patina is the in thing where some years ago restoring a car to where it ended up being a 1 to 1 scale model was the in thing.

To me is it just an old car that sat in a barn, I don't hold any aura around it since it is just a machine. However, it is a machine that can cost $$ to repair so minimizing damage is paramount.

If the mileage is truly 35,000, it might just cost a set of gaskets, a cylinder sleeve, one set of piston rings and a valve grind to get it going again.

I'm leaving the injection pump as an entirely separate operation. Have a look at the October 2015 edition of Road and Track, in the " Lost Art " section, they did a piece on Spica mechanical gasoline fuel injection. " Like clockwork- just weirder and full of flammable fluid. "

If funds don't allow for rebuilding the injector pump, in the short term consider a carb conversion ( if parts aren't too $ ) or a propane conversion. Do this only if the conversion can be done without irreversible mods.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JuiceMan View Post
I do a good amount of gunsmith work on some very pricey and irreplaceable firearms for my personal collection which has helped to teach me to appreciate true craftsmanship and not to mess up things that an older generation took great pride in building.
It's good to hear you have detailed mechanical skills.

With any large project like this one, there must be a defined goal and strategy. I've seen ( and have done ) projects where they are taken completely apart, a few parts cleaned up,then car sits and eventually is sold " due to loss of interest"

The goal is going to be more or less defined by how much $ and time you have to put towards the project. ( Note, I didn't say "invest" as restorations generally cost more than the car will sell for when complete. Restoring the car is something that you have to want to do. )

I'd spend $ and time making mechanical parts function and leave cosmetic alone. A car that runs and drives but needs bodywork is far more valuable than one that has quick hap hazard body repairs, poor new paint and barely runs.

Also to that end, don't push the dent out. Sure, you can quickly make it look 90% better but getting that final 10 % could be more difficult due to that quick dent push out.

As for strategy and not losing interest, don't just take the entire car apart as that is the fun part, putting it back together is the more difficult part. The key is to work on one system at a time and restore parts as you go along. Say you decided to start with the brake system. Take a the drums off, clean / paint them the proper color then bag / box them. Next pull the backing plates and rebuild the wheel cylinders / brake hardware. Suspension would be next. and so on.

If you have to cut costs, don't be concerned about using worn but not worn out parts. A car that has all the bolts in their proper places but retains worn parts is far better and easier to make right than one that has a few new parts held on with miss matched fasteners / hammered on parts.

As time goes along, you will run out of steam, however, with proper planning that will occur just about the time there isn't much more to take apart or restore. But wait, you have shelves of fresh parts just waiting to be bolted back onto the car, this will keep you going as there is hope in finishing the project.


There is more but that should get things going.
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