project 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

[PhilA]

Welp, off came the top bearing again. I'm getting good at this.

 

 

Took it all to bits. Steel brushed the inner race and polished it up.

 

 

The inner race was all fusty. Went at it with fine polish.

 

 

Acceptable.

 

 

Cleaned all the balls up, stuck a bit of grease into the race so they'd stay put.

 

 

Then added a bit more clean grease to the inner race before reassembling it all.

 

 

Push in the felt (after cleaning) and then after a half hour fighting with the spring clip it's all back together.

 

 

Result? Ground is only a little better but the steering wheel is so smooooooth to turn. I think the ground issue will be fully resolved by getting the steering box all adjusted up.

 

Result, either way.

 

 

Not that it'll get people to pay attention right now, but eh.

 

Phil

[PhilA]

Oh, and I had a thought about things. Turns out my thought was correct.

 

The starter inhibitor switch has 4 terminals, two big and two small.

 

The big ones are the high current switch for the starter solenoid. The smaller ones are for the reversing lights. That's less wiring than I was thinking would have to go under the car.

 

Phil

[PhilA]

So, as highlighted before, the windscreen washer points were located, but the actual nozzles were gone (story of this car so far).

 

 

I found some screws with the correct thread and size. Started by holding the screw down and punching an indent in the end.

 

 

Smallest drill bit in place and carefully drill down most of the way.

 

 

Then, again through the side and join the holes up.

 

 

Clamp it in the drill and carefully turn the end down so it's a bit smaller.

 

 

Clear the pipes out and give it a whirl. Neat glass cleaner straight out of the can on the other end of the pipe. Quite impressive. Second one to do then that's good.

 

Phil

[Noel Tidybeard]

methinks sideways hole might be too big and you wont get much pressure to get the watter far enuff up the screen when using 2- but then again ya dont know til ya try

[PhilA]

Decided to give it a try. The holes are 1/16" so not really that big. Same method employed to manufacture as before. GCSE metalwork skills go!

 

 

That's the nozzles done. Need to get the jar and pump. $expensive because it's a huge jam jar basically.

 

Phil

[tooSavvy]

Yorkshiremen must export Pickled Onions across the globe..

 

No bigger jar might be found...

 

https://goo.gl/images/2PZvYN

 

 

[hairnet]

jameson whiskey bottle obvs

[Noel Tidybeard]

Decided to give it a try. The holes are 1/16" so not really that big. Same method employed to manufacture as before. GCSE metalwork skills go!

 

20181027_205905.jpg

 

That's the nozzles done. Need to get the jar and pump. $expensive because it's a huge jam jar basically.

 

Phil

 

bonus!

[Noel Tidybeard]

needs a moonshine jug for washers for maximum stereotypical redneck murricanness :mrgreen:

[PhilA]

Haha. Demijohn!

 

Phil

[hairnet]

[somewhatfoolish]

Use of that stuff as anti-freeze/screenwash is approved. Might be tricky explaining why there's a miasma of booze if you get a traffic stop though.

[loserone]

I thought there must be a use for it, someone left a bottle here and there's no way I'm drinking the stuff!

[PhilA]

Just getting the garage set up. Recording the music from Christine to play on the stereo inside the car, thunderstorm track for the rest of the garage, lighting done. Should be fun.

 

 

Phil

[PhilA]

Got all tidied up in the garage.

 

 

Battery on charge, though this does rather represent the point of no return. Next task is to pull all the wiring out.

 

Phil

[purplebargeken]

Said it before but that really is a lovely looking car. Great work so far mate. Very, very envious indeed. 

[PhilA]

Had a bit of a think this weekend and decided I would try a bit of chemistry.

 

 

First, make power supply from old computer guts.

 

 

Second, create copper electrolyte solution by dissolving a copper scouring pad in some household chemicals.

 

 

Thoroughly clean (including electrolytic cleaning) a small random piece of steel bar, then connect to electricity and wait.

 

 

Great success! The end of the steel is now coated in copper.

 

I need to get some nickel welding rods; next up will be nickel plating the copper.

 

If this works I may try to scale it up and see if I can rescue the reflectors in my front indicators better than painting them with silver paint.

 

Phil

[Clanger]

Wicked skilz bruv innit?

 

I am seriously in awe of how you are solving these problems... should you decide you don't want to do home chemistry check out https://www.caswellplating.com/# they have all kinds of plating kits. 

 

I don't know how they do things down there in Napoleon country, but if you aren't hamstrung by the air quality mandates of the Peoples' Republik of Kalifornia the good folks at Caswell will sell you all manner of poisonous chemicals for your electroplating delights.

 

Keep the updates coming.

 

BTW - sorry if you have already said - I think you have - but are you running the original 6v system?  If so, where did you get your battery from?  The Napa 6v batteries I have been buying for our 62 Beetle aren't that great in terms of longevity. 

[PhilA]

No, it's been done to 12V already. Regular battery from Walmart.

 

Funny, the electrolyte I have there is just regular household chemicals and works fine. Likewise the electrolyte for nickel. The hardest part is finding a good source of pure metal.

 

Phil

[Squire_Dawson]

Wow. Next you'll be making bombs. Or crystal meth.

[tooSavvy]

*GCHQ*

 

..... watching & listening ......

[PhilA]

Nope. I have no interest in things that go boom or anything else.

 

Shiny stuff however, different story.

 

Phil

[hairnet]

flux capacitor

[PhilA]

I don't think this will do 88 mph. I think book top speed is 85.

 

 

Phil

[PhilA]

Went to the hardware store. They had very dusty package of 99% nickel welding electrodes. They're been sat there so long they still had a paper price on and the computer didn't recognize the barcode.

 

 

Cleaned all the flux off.

 

 

Chopped it up and stuck it in solution, hooked up to 12V.

 

 

Half an hour in, it's beginning to turn green. Nickel salts are occurring. It's currently cooking away.

 

 

Onward and upward.

 

 

Phil

[PhilA]

 

Fizz!

 

 

3.3 Volts in a weak nickel solution.

 

Phil

[somewhatfoolish]

Metal plating can bring you into contact with rather unpleasant stuff; I hope you're not shortening your own MTBF doing this?

[PhilA]

I'm avoiding drinking the pretty colors.

 

Phil

 

 

 

(And glib aside, yes, I'm taking care and am well aware just how toxic copper II acetate and nickel acetate are.)

[PhilA]

 

Result. I need to refine the cleaning and copper plating process, but I think that's altogether pretty good for a homebrew contraption.

 

 

Phil

[Squire_Dawson]

Alchemy!