Despite what its moniker implies, Henry Ford’s “Tin Lizzie” wasn’t entirely made of tin. Rather than listing the ingredients, let’s just talk about engine block castings for now.

Among current-era Model T engine rebuilders, the 1926-’27 blocks are pretty much preferred, but those two-year-only castings are becoming rather scarce. The one we’ll be working with here was supplied by Dieter Lange, the southern California Model T engine guru. 

With a counterweighted Model A crankshaft and some other internal modifications, this Lange-built engine was built to run with the big dogs of timed rally competition. 

The engine’s initial shakedown took place in the deep south of southern California. That was for the Model T Ford Club of San Diego’s 31st Annual Speedster Run. Since the car was a fresh build, we’d expected that it might have some minor bugs. Sure enough, it did, but the engine performed flawlessly. 

At some point during the event, while parked out-front the headquarters motel, a small puddle of coolant appeared as a rusty pinhole made its presence known. At times like these, it’s good to have chemistry on our side. 

From the nearest open parts store, a popular leak-stopping product that you’ll quite likely recognize was introduced through the radiator. From there, as the car was driven, the problem simply went away. 

When a certain job demands it, I’m not opposed to cheating. I’ve used the aforementioned product to stop leaks in radiators, heater cores and so on. I’ve even stood and watched as it filled in for a failing freeze plug. As that engine idled, the coolant stream slowed to a trickle, then stopped, and that was that for years. 

In the case of our Model T speedster, however, it’s not exactly driven daily. From my own previous experience, regular driving is the key to such quick-fix chemical success. 

The speedster is now in Montana. During its first year here, it was stored all winter long. By spring, it sprung the same old leak in the same rusty section of water jacket. 

For the repair job at hand, we’ll still rely upon chemistry. This time, however, we’ll take an additional step. We’ll drain, strain and retain our chemical-fortified coolant. Then we’ll employ another popular parts store product — a two-part epoxy that you’ll also likely recognize.

Will this be just a bandage? Well, we’re in a pinch. A rust-free 1926-’27 Model T engine block would be pretty tough to come by, and anyway, we’re not about to start again from scratch. Together, our two chemical companions should form a closer-to-permanent leak-stopping team. At this stage in the game, we’ve got little to lose by trying.

Now before we begin the step-by-step technical portion of our story, we’d like to skip farther ahead and expound the good news. This worked! At the time of this typewriting, the little speedster has been driven enough that we’ve relaxed a bit, or two. We’re no longer just watching it leak — at least not
in the same old place. 

Looking for more resto tips? Here are a few more articles for your reading enjoyment.

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/old-cars-restoration-in-with-the-good-air

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/old-cars-restoration-bedding-your-brakes-rehab

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/old-cars-restoration-basics-replacing-weatherstrip-rehab

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Media blasting cabinets can be purchased from any number of brick-and-mortar retailers, swap meet vendors or catalog houses. They are impressive-looking devices with holes in the front for attaching rubber gloves, doors on the side (and sometimes lift-up fronts), large glass windows to see inside, air pressure gauges, hoses to get compressed air to the proper places, foot pedals that are stomped on for air pressure, and large dust collectors with filter bags inside to catch debris.

The media blasting concept is simple. Fill the cabinet with blast media ranging from gentle glass beads to more aggressive aluminum oxide, and the compressed air forced through the hoses and blasting gun directs the media against the parts in the cabinet, stripping them of rust, dirt, paint, primer and body filler to get a clean part. Depending upon the roughness of the media, the part may end up with a smooth, shiny surface (with glass beads), or a gray color and slightly rough texture (with other media).

Chances are good that the first time you blasted with a brand-new cabinet, you were amazed by how fast the metal became clean. You watched the media virtually erase unsightly debris from old parts. The view through the inspection window was clear, and you could see where the most blasting was needed. It was a positive experience.

Later, you noticed that it was getting harder to see through the inspection window. Then, you realized that your “eraser” wasn’t doing the job it once did. Some parts wound up with hard black grease residues that the blast media didn’t seem to remove. You could no longer see a steady stream of media flying out of the gun. Later, you could sense that some really rusty spots on the parts weren’t cleaning up as well as they once did.

A drop in blasting efficiency can get noticeable after a while, and several hobbyists have reacted with some creative solutions. One man, who had worked all his life as an engineer, cut a hole in the back of his media blasting cabinet and mounted a sandblasting tank in the opening. It works great. Another British car hobbyist devised an elaborate “self-cleaning” dust-collection system to automatically deposit debris into a plastic bucket.

Tips for tip-top operation

Blasting efficiency decreases, because media blasting cabinets need regular service to maintain top performance. After many sessions of bombarding steel and cast-iron parts, all media starts to break down. It becomes more of a powder than an abrasive, and it needs to be replaced. A trap door at the bottom of the cabinet can be opened to release the old media. Be certain to close the door before adding new media. And don’t add too much media. You need just enough to cover the pickup tube or hose, but not so much that the media load gets so heavy that the media doesn’t blow around inside the cabinet.

A clear view

You want the media blowing around a bit, but when it does, it will scratch the glass inspection window if the glass is unprotected. This is done with protective plastic sheets that are heavy enough to tolerate the media (for a while). Of course, these sheets will also eventually get scratched, so plan on replacing them on a regular basis.

Replacement plastic sheets should be the same dimensions as the glass inspection window. The glass is usually held to the opening by a metal frame that fits around it. The frame has a couple of holes drilled in it, and these are lowered over threaded studs that stick up from the cabinet and hold the glass in the proper position. Drop the frame over the studs and reinstall the wing nuts that are used to secure the frame.

Dust the dust collector

Some media blaster makers recommend taking the two-piece dust collector (actually a large plastic or metal canister) apart and cleaning it every time the media blaster is used. Most shops probably don’t clean the dust collector that frequently, but the job should still be done about once a month if you blast fairly often. The filter bag inside should be cleaned on a regular schedule, too, and probably replaced yearly or sooner. (Follow the guidelines provided by the cabinet manufacturer.)

Keep a clean gun

Blasting guns also require regular attention. Abrasive media being forced through the gun’s “barrel” under pressure can eventually turn the round opening in the barrel into an irregular shape, affecting the flow of media. Usually, the barrel is held in place by little screws that can be loosened or tightened with an Allen wrench. Every few weeks, loosen the screws and slightly rotate the barrel so it lasts longer.

Clogs in the pickup tube, hoses and gun are another problem that can arise. Maybe you blasted a part that had fabric or rubber remnants attached to it. These can clog passages and can also contaminate the media. Avoid blasting such items; find a way to remove the fabric or rubber remnants before blasting the metal part. Any foreign matter attached to a part — including dirt and grease — can contaminate the media. Use a wire brush attachment on a die grinder, cut-off tool or rotary tool to remove those “petrified” black grease spots before placing the part in the media blaster.

Dave Wallendal of Metal Finishing Supply Co., Inc. in Waukesha, Wis., (www.metalfinishingsupply.biz) is a vendor at the Jefferson Swap Meet and Car Show in Jefferson, Wis. He makes sales and service calls at shops around the Badger state.

Wallendal was asked to check out an older, very large cabinet blaster that had been purchased from Eastwood (www.Eastwood.com) about 12 years ago. A large cabinet is nice to have, because large parts fit in it. But the blasting efficiency of this cabinet had dramatically dropped. Wallendal determined that the pickup tube and hoses were flopping around in the cabinet and not properly sucking up media. He fabricated a bracket to hold the pickup tube in a better position in the media.

The Eastwood cabinet was loaded with glass bead media. Wallendal said this was a great media to use when working on car restorations, because threaded parts can be blasted without ruining the threads. Glass beads will also leave a smooth, shiny finish. However, they won’t remove material that is harder than the beads themselves. Glass bead media will also break down to powder faster than aluminum oxide or other media .

In addition to sales and service work, Wallendal sells blast cabinets and parts and supplies for them. But, even if you have a cabinet in your shop that’s of a brand Wallendal does not sell, he can supply various media, filter bags, guns and barrels, hoses, air pressure gauges and inspection window protectors. He’ll make your “eraser” erase again. 

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Fabricating patch panels made simple

By Angelo Van Bogart

Even on the West Coast and in Texas, it’s getting more difficult to find a 30-year-old or older project car without a case of the tin worm. Chances are, a project car is going to require some metal replacement, and when that metal isn’t available from a reproduction part producer or a parts car, there is but one alternative — make the part yourself.

The subject car here is one of those cars for which limited replacement sheet metal is available. Reproduction companies haven’t quite caught up to the subject project car, a 1973 Plymouth Road Runner, and there is only a limited amount of new metal available. To bring back this tin worm-infested ’Runner back to show condition, master metal man Leonard Schrock is prepared to cut and bend plain flat-stock sheet metal into the curves of the 1973.

In this case, he’ll be replacing the quarter panel around the rear wheel opening on the ’Runner. For this task, Schrock cut two separate panels — one for the inner fender lip and another for the outer quarter panel — from sheet metal stock and welded them together. Using two separate pieces and welding together will make the piece stronger and also make it easier to shape the metal than making the piece out of one piece of metal.

To begin, the profile and body lines of the rusted outer quarter panel that will be replaced must be recorded with templates. Three thin pieces of metal were formed to the shape and contours of the quarter panel around the Road Runner’s wheel opening and their locations on the car marked. Since there are multiple contours to the wheel opening (top, front and rear of wheel opening), all of their shapes must be recorded with separate strips of tin and marked for their position on the fender.

The overall shape of the wheel opening must also be marked. Schrock placed the flat sheet metal stock he will use to form the replacement panel against the wheel opening on the car and traced its shape on the new sheet metal. Schrock had already cut out the rust from this area, so he used the inner fender as a guide, because these two panels (inner and outer quarter panel) must meet and be welded together.

Once the shape of the wheel opening is traced on the oversized flat piece of stock, Schrock highlights his cut line with painter tape and uses a power shears to cut the metal.

Next, Schrock prepared to cut the metal that will form the lip inside the wheel opening. He repeated the previous step, placing a piece of flat stock in the wheel opening to trace the shape of the lip. Tape was placed on the drawn line and he cut the metal to shape. The width of the lip was originally 1-1/4 inch, but the owner will be running wider tires, so Schrock cut the lip to 3/4 inch wide, the minimum width Schrock suggests to maintain strength in this part of the car.

This metal strip forming the lip inside the wheel opening bends around the tire, from in front of the wheel opening to above the tire to the back of the fender. As such, it must be bent, so Schrock begins bending the cut piece of metal at its end to avoid kinks. He works the strip over his knee to the center of the strip to avoid kinking the piece. He frequently compares its shape to the outer quarter panel it will meet until he is satisfied with the shape.

With the two pieces cut to shape, Schrock was ready to begin pounding the contours around the wheel opening into the outer quarter panel. Schrock secured thick bar stock with clamps at the edge of the new panel where he’ll be forming the contours. It will allow him to bend the metal at sharper angles using a duckbill pliers. (For smoother bends, it is not necessary to support the metal with a bar stock guide.) The thick bar stock will act as a guide to where he’ll be bending and shaping the contours, but also braces the surrounding metal so it, too, does not bend until he’s ready to address it.

At this point, he estimates the shape of the contours around the wheel opening, frequently comparing it to the thin metal templates he formed earlier from the body line.

To pound the template shape into the outer quarter panel, Schrock uses a body hammer with a convex face to further shape the metal. The convex-faced body hammer also helps keep the sharp bends in the quarter panel, all the while leveling out the panel for a smooth surface.

Once the new outer quarter panel is shaped with the original fender’s contours, Schrock lined up the new lip against the shaped outer quarter panel. Some bending was required, so he bent the new outer quarter panel by hand to match the lip piece he created. Once the pieces were lined up in the ideal location, Schrock drew a line across both pieces to mark the proper place to tack weld them together with a wire-feed welder.

Welding the two pieces together can be tricky at the lower part of the fender, due to the size and contours of the metal. Schrock slowly tack welded from the top to the bottom of the fender, bending and hammering the outer quarter panel to match the lip as he worked down from the top of his new patch panel.

His tack welds were widely spaced and were intended to simply hold the pieces together until they would be completed wire-feed welded together. The weld was then grinded smooth, and the new panel was ready to be mounted on the car.

More images of the process:

Source:
Kasper Automotive
Waupaca, Wis.
715-258-9206

CLICK HERE FOR MORE RESTORATION ARTICLES

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By John Gunnell

Fender skirts are a fad that comes and goes. When vehicle documentation shows that a car had fender skirts when it left the factory, some owners want them reinstalled, regardless of the current fashion. This usually requires a lot more work than it did to glue fender skirts to the model car they built as a kid.

Fender skirts require rubber seals along the upper edge to help keep road debris from seeping through the joint where a skirt meets the wheel well. There are usually clips at each lower corner that support the panel in place on the car. A rotating or cam-type latch mechanism is required. It must allow fitting the skirt loosely in place, then tightening the fit so it stays in place. Some latching systems have a rather elaborate linkage. Fender skirts may also have bright metal trim, emblems or badges, and most must be painted to match the car.

Vintage fender skirts are available from many hobby vendors and, in a few cases, from reproduction sources. Locating a pair of skirts can be tricky. We have seen some that are aftermarket items being sold as originals. Used fender skirts can also be pretty rough and rusty. Some cars were never available from the factory with fender skirts (e.g., 1955-’57 Chevrolets). If authenticity is your angle, check factory sales literature to make sure you car was available with factory skirts and to verify what they looked like before buying a pair.

In everyday use, fender skirts took a real beating. Rocks could fly up and dent them on the outside. Road silt collected on the back side, which stored moisture and corroded the metal skirt. Fender skirts also flew off, were run over and even became scraped against tight garage door openings. The delicate trim on some skirts was easy to ding or scrape in the normal removal and installation procedure to change a flat tire. Ditto for the paint finish on the skirt.

Used skirts sell for a wide range of prices, but the trend is that they are getting pricier. A common skirt for a ’70s car can cost as little as $10. A large skirt for a 1941 Cadillac with chrome trim and emblems can cost thousands. Condition counts, too. This pair of New Old Stock (NOS) skirts for the subject 1966 Pontiac were $400. They did not come with attaching hardware or chrome trim. The factory finished them in black primer, so they had to be painted. They did include a nice, supple rubber gasket and the latching mechanism.

Plenty had to be done to the fender skirts before installing them. We purchased a second pair of used skirts for $100 to obtain the trim that mounts to the fender skirt. The used trim had to be carefully removed without ruining the fasteners (a two-hour job) so that it could be buffed and polished. A few of the studs that slide on the back of the trim strips and pass through the skirts were rusty and required replacing. We also had to make little rubber squares for the fastening system. They keep the Timmerman nuts on the back from turning.

At each corner, the bright metal trim was crimped over the fender skirt. These crimps had to be gingerly undone with a long, thin screwdriver and a tiny jeweler’s hammer. After the trim moldings were buffed and polished to new condition, the ends had to be re-crimped without scratching or marring the bright metal.

Even though the NOS skirts had nice rubber gaskets, they were removed for a quality paint job. The rubber gaskets were re-installed using a special upholstery stapler and stainless-steel staples.

After checking factory sales catalogs, we verified the bright metal trim around the rear wheel openings was not used on fender skirt-equipped cars.

Since the restored car has these moldings in place, it will be necessary to remove them. Normally this would require repainting at least part of the rear fenders, but the owner wants to repaint his Pontiac and will spray the fender opening at that time.

The only thing left to deal with is the set of clips that were used to hold the fender skirts to the car. For this make and model, relatively simple, flat pieces of metal were used, and a good body shop could easily fabricate substitutes if good used parts cannot be located. We found a very nice set of media-blasted OEM clips for sale in an online auction for about $50.

The total cost of re-installing fender skirts on this car — from buying the NOS skirts, used skirts and hardware, plus buffing the trim and painting the skirts — will easily run close to $1,000.

On other cars, the cost could be lower or higher, depending on part prices, the amount and style of trim and the fender skirt attaching system. In all cases, it’s a lot more work to add fender skirts to a classic car now than it was to glue fender skirts on the model car you built as a kid.

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