Author Topic: Found some motivation (finally) (Read 17213 times)

discolives78 · « **Reply #30 on:** October 23, 2008, 09:10:54 PM »

Some new pics. These were taken at twilight, car is starting to look good!

Here are some pics of Bare metal foil being applied to my vent, it's pretty shiny once it's buffed with a q-tip, so I had a hard time getting a good picture without a glare!

Step one, gather materials, I like the metal ruler, it has a thin foam backing so it doesn't scratch the foil. Plenty of q-tips and x-acto knife with blades, and a surface (notebook) to cut on so I didn't leave scratches in the desk.

carefully remove the foil from the backing

foil on the right edge (before burnishing) paint on the left edge

after burnishing, before buffing

pretty shiny!

dave1987 · « **Reply #31 on:** October 24, 2008, 02:07:59 AM »

Damn your car looks good in the twilight!!!!!

The BMF on the vent looks a little bit ragged around the edges. Is that the lighting and the effect of the camera?

78squirewagon · « **Reply #32 on:** October 24, 2008, 05:54:59 AM »

I know that from working with BFM on model cars, the surface has to be perferctly smooth. We are talking less than paper this stuff here. But it still looks better that dull chrome

douglasskemp · « **Reply #33 on:** October 24, 2008, 02:07:20 PM »

Quote from: discolives78 on October 23, 2008, 09:10:54 PM

pretty shiny!

I am surprised the shiney police hasn't shown up to give their approval...

popbumper · « **Reply #34 on:** October 24, 2008, 03:44:18 PM »

Quote from: discolives78 on October 16, 2008, 08:59:58 PM

Update for thursday:

I'm not feeling good again, I woke up late and could barely move, so I skipped work, I have to go back to the hospital for more testing tomorrow ( I hate hospitals). I did get some work done on the car today but it was very slow going, and I was kinda weak, so don't expect too much. Here are some pictures:

Here are a couple shots for popbumper

I could have sworn it said 'made in canada' but I must have been thinking about one of my other pintos, but this IS the original muffler!

and its in pretty good shape!

NIce shots Chuck! I think that's way coool, gotta love original, unmolested equipment. Having grown up in the great white North, we were never treated to stuff that lasted - the salt roads absolutely tore everything up on an undercarriage. Thanks for sharing, hope you get to feeling better!!!

Chris

popbumper · « **Reply #35 on:** October 24, 2008, 03:50:53 PM »

One more reply, geeze Chuck, your car is looking GREAT! Mine is so tore up right now that it will be months before I am driving it (the interior is pretty much disassembled - I understand the "fear" of tearing up the dashboard)! My dash cluster was crumbling nothing, I got another one. I also spent about 8 hours foam filling and repairing my vinyl dash cap to have it rewrapped, and the dam@ shop that did it really did a crappy job $60 + materials down the drain.

Glad you are having fun. I have a LOT of work to do yet and a LOT of $$ already spent.

Chris

discolives78 · « **Reply #36 on:** October 24, 2008, 05:31:08 PM »

Ok, about the foil, the first pic of it on the vent is before it was "burnished", meaning rubbed down to securely place and attach it, I only did one edge of the vent for this picture, so the other three edges look a little sloppy from the model paint (I should use a q-tip and some paint thinner to clean that off before I do any more) I have spare vents, so it's ok, I think the edge on the foil itself looks kinda funky because I was sitting in front of the computer under flourescent lights, and the flash was on. by the time it was burnished and buffed, it was so shiny that I couldn't get a clear picture even with the flash off!

About my doctor appointment today, I don't know which doctor to believe anymore! When I started having problems 3 years ago at work and keeping things together at home, they said I had bipolar disorder and heavily medicated me. Things didn't really improve, then a year-and-a-half ago, I got much worse. So they started changing medications, and put me in therapy. last October, I was diagnosed with neuroleptic parkinsonism (Parkinson's simptoms caused by neuroleptic medications)
I have been very shaky and not very focused and had physical feelings of being unwell, and a perpetual "jetlag", for a year now. The blood tests are in, and I have a type of anemia that I can't pronounce, much less spell, I'm going to look it up later. Because of that, my body doesn't absorb vitamin b12, and almost none was present in the bloodwork. More psychological testing was done and now they say I have ADHD and want to put me on a medication called Stratera, this will be about the twelfth medication I've tried in three years. I hope they get something figured out soon! I lost my land 3 years ago, my 5 cars 2 years ago, my job last year, most of my savings to medical bills, and I still haven't been approved for disability!

I want to get "something" finished for a change! I like working on my car, but looking back, I have done just " a little of this and a little of that", I want to finish detailing my engine bay, finish my interior, replace my driveshaft seal, and simply enjoy my life and my car!

Sorry for the rant!

I'm going to do some more work on my dashboard, look for pics later

dave1987 · « **Reply #37 on:** October 24, 2008, 09:03:52 PM »

I'm sorry to hear about your health, but at least you are having it looked into and figured out by professionals instead of sitting around wishing things would be better and not doing anything about it. I have a few friends that do that and they want everything just to happen without ever taking personal action!

Keep yourself busy and happy and let the professionals figure all of the health problems out. It could possibly be the only way to stay out of depression and continue to be functional. Keep up the good work and don't let things get ya down, I'm sure there are a lot of us here willing to listen if you ever need to rant (myself included)!

turbopinto72 · « **Reply #38 on:** October 24, 2008, 09:36:26 PM »

My son takes Stratera. He has ADHD ( has has it all his life ) and He is 23 now. He claims that it really keeps him focused and it improves his life. The doctor that prescribed it is a specialist and I trust her 100%. He has been taking this for about 4 years now ( he use to be on dexidriene ). I can tell you that from my experience it probably is a good thing. My 2c.

75bobcatv6 · « **Reply #39 on:** October 24, 2008, 11:04:57 PM »

Sorry to hear about your health mate, Bes suggestion i can give ya, get on their butt and Stay there till they get it figured out, Dont let em BS you into a drug that might not work, or doing something if they are not 100% Sure what they will give you will help. I work in the Medical field and have for 10 years. if you dont do anything they stick you with what the think might work.

dga57 · « **Reply #40 on:** October 25, 2008, 12:11:38 AM »

Hey Chuck!
I feel for you, man... getting to the bottom of a medical problem can be a real pain (no pun intended). My wife was misdiagnosed with depression about 10 years ago by her primary care physician who then proceeded to try her on an endless array of antidepressant s. Some of them helped a little but, for the most part, things got progressively worse. Finally, about 2 1/2 years ago, all the med changes resulted in a total nervous breakdown. It was at this point she got her first psychiatric consult and was correctly diagnosed as being bipolar. After several weeks of detoxing from the antidepressant s, she was started on mood stabilizers and the results were dramatic. Unfortunately, about a year later, just when she was feeling better than she had in years, she suffered a ponteen stroke which has effectively disabled her and ended her 24 year nursing career. Interestingly enough, in spite of her physical limitations, the bipolar disorder is still very well controlled and her mood is generally optimistic.
Just want you to know you are not alone. As dave1987 pointed out, you have friends here who are willing to listen... probably more so than you would ever think possible. Hang in there! And, by the way, your car is looking sharper and sharper!
Dwayne :smile:

discolives78 · « **Reply #41 on:** October 28, 2008, 11:23:21 AM »

Hello everyone!

I've been feeling pretty good for a couple days, and haven't spent much time posting because I've been working on the car. Here are some fresh pics!

Shiny!

got my choke fixed!

before and after. note the green wire holding the butterfly open on the before picture, that got me through the summer, but now it's in the mid 40s in the morning, so I got a second assembly and switched some parts, I had to pull the splined pin out and apply Loctite, and gently hammer it back in. It's been together for a few days and seems to be working and adjusted ok. note the blue plastic piece holding the rod to the butterfly in the second pic, I had to fabricate that from a piece of tube, it was either that or buy a rebuild kit.

Now back to the interior

front floorboards, pretty solid, just really dusty

back floorboards, some surface rust on the driver side

cleaned up and painted the driver side rear floorboard

I applied some rust converter before paint, but it didn't even change color! there are a few pits, but they aren't very deep and are barely noticeable after pain. Good thing I found this, that might have turned into a hole in another 10 years!

And now for some really good news, because of my health problems I qualified for a program thru the State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, They found me a job as an apprentice in an upholstery shop! I start next monday and will be in OJT for 3 months. I'm quitting my retail job because I just can't get out of bed early enough! I'm supposed to be there at 5:00 am most days, that means getting out of bed between 4 and 4:30. The only way I could get there on time was to stay up all night, which throws off my sleep schedule for weeks!

I've started 'weening' off Geodon and Trazodone, getting ready for med changes. I can still take Vistaril to slow me down to reasonable if I need it. Hopefully things are getting back on track!

Chuck

Reed · « **Reply #42 on:** October 31, 2008, 06:59:40 PM »

Car is looking good! Sorry to hear about your other troubles.

dave1987 · « **Reply #43 on:** October 31, 2008, 09:08:50 PM »

Good to hear you are feeling better! The car looks great and it sounds like you are "winter-fying" it well.

blupinto · « **Reply #44 on:** November 02, 2008, 05:31:00 PM »

Hi Chuck. I hope you're feeling and getting better. What you're doing with your '78 is inspiring. However, I have a question: Where did you get that piece of wood with the Pinto script that was below the radio, and what are your plans for it?

discolives78 · « **Reply #45 on:** November 02, 2008, 08:19:09 PM »

I got the piece of wood from home depot, it's unpainted base molding for the house, with two coats of polyurethane. The emblem is from my 75 Pinto, painted with testors model car paint. There was a matching strip of moulding between the heater control and the vent with a 'blue oval' emblem, that's also been removed. I have since removed that console and it was donated to Joe aka 'thewhitebeast' to make it easier for him to install a cd player, since I moved my radio to the stock hole. I used permatex grey to attach the wood to an extra console and the install kit was for a 87-93 Mustang.

Chuck

check out the console in joe's car
http://www.fordpinto.com/smf/index.php/topic,10734.0.html

popbumper · « **Reply #46 on:** November 02, 2008, 08:34:46 PM »

As always, nice work Chuck! Glad to see your motivation is paying off. Your floors were far better than mine, and that's a blessing in itself! Had I thought otherwise, I would have far rather owned a car that did not require as much work as mine does - it's definitely dragging me down, and actually motivates me less. With the money I have in it by now, I could have bought a nicer, road ready vehicle. Yours is a great example of a car you can enjoy and tinker with as you go!!

Regardless, you are doing some great work - and best wishes on your new career path. Hope it works out well for you!!

Chris

discolives78 · « **Reply #47 on:** November 02, 2008, 09:12:31 PM »

The career path was chosen based on interest! I like to look at upholstery, and sit on upholstery, and nice upholstery makes me smile! I have thought about persueing it for years, I happened to get a 'silver lining' in my dark cloud! I start tomorrow and I'm pretty excited! Once I learn a little bit, I want to redo my interior (including the headliner, it's starting to come apart) and help other guys and gals with their cars.

I've decided to swap in a 8" rear out of a 76 Pinto with a v-6 instead of fixing the leak on mine. I'm hopefully getting it from the u-pull next weekend. Here are some shots of the battery tray issue I need to address, the tray isn't rusted through (that I can see) but its pitted pretty bad, I'm gonna check out the ones in the yard while I'm getting the diff. I think I need to take the exhaust off to get the bolts out.

I lucked out and found one of these on my last trip to the boneyard

my old one is on the right, it has a crack in it next to the bolt hole on the inside.

found this under the carpet

and this on the radiator support

and while the carpet was out I installed the original shift boot

Hopefully this week I'll get pics up with the tire/wheel combinations I have in mind.

Chuck

dave1987 · « **Reply #48 on:** November 03, 2008, 02:08:48 AM »

I have my original battery tray from my car in my storage unit if you cannot clean yours up or find one in good shape in a yard. I am hoping to go back to JJ tomorrow to pull the one from the 77 Bobcat, since I start working grave yard tomorrow. PM me if you are interested!

I really wish I could do an 8" swap right now. I have a fellow Pinto member holding one for me, but he is in washington and I will have to wait until next spring to pick it up during a northwest meet that apintonut is organizing.

Your car is coming along great and it almost makes me jealous in great in shape yours is compared to mine. Maybe it is just me nit picking at my own Pinto's defects, but then again, I would notice them more since I drive it every day.

You have me modivated enough to pull my valve cover and belt covers off and repaint them! Thank you chuck.

blupinto · « **Reply #49 on:** November 03, 2008, 06:23:19 PM »

I agree! You did a fantastic job on the covers. When this little beastie is finished it will be that much more special to you because of the blood, sweat and tears that went into her to restore her your way. I miss the days where I could cruise to the junkyard (Ecology is the big one here in San Diego county, with three or four locations) to get stuff to improve my blue baby. As for the Pinto script on the piece of wood, it is beautiful what you did with them. The red-white-blue in the P looked brand-new. The upholstery job is a great idea- especially since you're eager to do that. Things are looking up, it seems. Thumbs up to you!

discolives78 · « **Reply #50 on:** November 06, 2008, 11:30:36 AM »

I haven't done anything to the car in a few days except add a quart of oil and put gas in it. It seems to be handling the 8 mile commute to the upholstery shop just fine. I've been working every day so far this week. I like my new job, I stripped 3 living room chairs down to the frame and yesterday I started putting a 70 VW Squareback back together. I'm just getting the hang of things, so they put me on simple tasks, like re-installing seatbelts, sunvisors, door handles (stuff I already know how to do). Hopefully soon I'll get to play with the sewing machine!

popbumper · « **Reply #51 on:** November 06, 2008, 01:07:56 PM »

Chuck:

You are killing me - you have done more work on your car in the last few weeks than I have done since June!! Good grief, it warms my heart to see you take a break. Glad the new job is working out and that it seems promising. Have fun and keep us "slow guys" up to date on progress.

Chris

...who MUST MUST MUST get his brakes done and change the windshield gasket and repaint the dash while the windshield is out and pull the gask tank to fix the leaks and recarpet the floor and etc etc etc etc etc

r4pinto · « **Reply #52 on:** November 06, 2008, 01:56:41 PM »

Chuck,

first off good luck with your health & hope all turns out well for you. As for the car, great job with it. Your 78 is looking really good & makes me want to do some more work on my 77. Her condition is not nearly as good as yours is, but it's mine, none the less.

Looking forward to the next update & pics of yours.

dga57 · « **Reply #53 on:** November 07, 2008, 02:11:34 AM »

Chuck,
Your car really is an inspiration. It looks great! Glad to hear you like the new job. I'm sure there are lots of us here who could loan you seats to practice on once they let you at that sewing machine! LOL. Take care!
Dwayne :smile:

discolives78 · « **Reply #54 on:** November 13, 2008, 04:53:42 PM »

My boss likes me. Yesterday he had me pull the dashpad out of my car so he can show me how to recover it! Look for pics in a couple days. I got my package from Rock Auto today, new pinion seal, rear cover seal and leaf spring bushings, and new spark plug wires, and I got my winnings from E-bay, a very good owners manual with other docs, including car and tire warranty booklets, I'll post pics of them soon. I'm going to have to live with the 6 3/4 rear for a while due to budget.

before, the old dash pad:

r4pinto · « **Reply #55 on:** November 13, 2008, 06:02:19 PM »

That's great about your boss. Sounds like things are really going good at your job. Those seals are pretty easy to replace on the rear end. Been there, done that. Looking forward to the pics of the recovered dash.

dave1987 · « **Reply #56 on:** November 13, 2008, 07:05:13 PM »

Sounds like you are on a good and steady road of the restoration of your Pony!

That is really cool that your boss wants to show you how to recover your dash, even better that he likes you!

I'll be checking up to see what documents you won off ebay. I know I have pretty much everything that came with mine, even the car's first third party battery replacement warranty from Sears!

Keep up the great work!

Reed · « **Reply #57 on:** November 15, 2008, 01:07:57 AM »

Sounds good! Please post lots of pics of your dash. A write-up of how to recover a dash would be much appreciated!

popbumper · « **Reply #58 on:** November 15, 2008, 03:32:36 PM »

Hey guys:

As you know, Matt Gunter is driving to build the kickoff of the first Pinto Magazine in late Winter 2009. Having had some experience in dash cap restoration (and, in the middle of another right now), I am writing a lengthy article on dash cap restoration, including materials, photos, and procedure. This will be my first submission for the magazine, and I hope to do others. I hope this article is a good adjunct to what Chuck has to say about it.

Stay tuned!!

Chris

Reed · « **Reply #59 on:** November 15, 2008, 06:31:21 PM »

Cool! WIll do. :drunk:

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Author Topic: Found some motivation (finally) (Read 17213 times)