Interior Work on Ms. American 3.14159

Originally Posted by ShotRod64

I had to help one of the housing maintenance guys in CA out with his Mavica camera. First time I'd really seen one and he couldn't figure out how to get the pictures off it so had to show him.

This is a spiffy little camera. Takes close-ups remarkably well, as some of the detail stuff that I've posted attests. Got two boxes of 10 Imation diskettes for it at $4.00 apiece at Wal*Mart.

I'm sure you found some rubber coating stuff. I think it is always with the bed liner type stuff and common.

NAPA is ordering some stuff for me, will pick it up Tuesday.

Got a spray can of some stuff at Lowe's to see if IT would work. It's made for sealing cracks in drywall where the the house shifts and the cracks reappear if it fixed with float/tape compound. Don't yet know what color it is though . If it isn't black, I'm not going to use it.

BUT (and think about this), I have a whole tube of Black Silicone Latex, you know, the stuff that goes in a caulking gun... I was thinking that I have these "artist's pallet knives" (they are like little "trowels"), and I was thinking that I could just use them to give the whole mat a thin coat of Black Silicone Latex, and it would look like a brand new mat. I'd make sure the all the little cracks got the caulk worked down into them.

Forgot I was going to show a before after. I'll do that in a bit.

Oh SURE! Now that I've already been out and gotten back.

Got five packs of abrasive buffer wheels for the RotoTool at Lowe's. There are two in a pack, and the pack is $4.00 each. But they do a very nice job.

M&M Auto Parts is going to have some 1/16" thick rubber gasket material in for me on Tuesday. I'm going to make NEW Tail Light Lens Gaskets.

Anyway, I'm a little fatigued. I'm going to take a bit of a nappie, and then it's working on the H/D Unit again.

BTW, gas here is $3.34 a gallon. Takes two gallons to get to Livingston and back. That's 13 mpg. I'm hoping the Autolite 4100 give better mileage than the Holley 4150. But I can't get it all hooked up till the H/D Unit is viable again...

UNLESS... (and what do you think about this?) Couldn't I use the electric choke cap off of the Holley 4150 on the Autolite 4100 till I get the H/D Unit all done?

Then I could convert to the Choke-stove tube, and heater hose bracket with the original choke cap when everything else is done?

Is THAT even possible?

Anyway, I hear lunch and a nappie calling.

AND, has anyone seem Mr.Kultulz anywhere?

Hope you are well.

JC

I'm not sure where everyone is. Looking at the weather map it looks like most everywhere in the US is warm but the NW so maybe everyone is out doing something. At least in the states where it isn't raining. lol
I was talking to FE yesterday and it was raining, snowing, sleeting and the sun was shining all at the same time. No need to wait a minute for the weather to change, got it all at one time!

Whatever the rubber stuff was I used it was cheap and I only remember the label had pinkish red on it with black letters.

It's foamy as it's like spraying lithium grease so is thinned with whatever to allow it to be sprayable. Then you can smooth out the bubbles some. I did several layers and smoothed them out to an extent but since not seen, no need for perfection.

Oh and way back you had mentioned a cover for the steering wheel. Not sure if they have them still for large steering wheels.

Originally Posted by ShotRod64

Oh and way back you had mentioned a cover for the steering wheel. Not sure if they have them still for large steering wheels.

Hey mon Deb,
It's been a LONNNNG time since I last got one. You may well be right.

Got the electric motor cover that goes on the firewall in the engine compartment completely stripped of paint and rust. Will roughen it up with some sandpaper and give it a coat of primer in prep for the Satin Black paint.

Got the louvered plate that is on the bottom of the H/D Unit partially stripped, but it may just get dipped in Ospho, as many of the little sharp inside corners are unreachable by the abrasive buffing wheel.

Work is continuing at a bewildering pace.

Hope you are doing well.

JC

Hey All,
This day saw the finishing of the cleaning of the two rear door hinge pillar covers on the 3.14, AND the cleaning of the kick panel to the left of the Clutch pedal. And there's something strange... Both the kick panel and the passenger side rear door hinge pillar cover are the same color, but they are NOT the same color as the driver-side rear door hinge pillar cover. It is "champagne" colored, while the kick panel and other pillar cover are "golden". You'd never know it if they weren't sitting side by side, but after cleaning them extensively, and having them sitting on the kitchen counter, it is readily apparent that they are NOT the same color. Will get a JPG of them to see if it's noticeable in a photograph.

Got the H/D Unit's electric motor cover primed and painted both inside and out.

Have gotten most of the fresh air louver stripped of paint. It is looking really nice. Will have to get more Rustoleum Satin Black spray paint to have enough to paint it. Will be going to Livingston Tuesday to do some errands, and will get it then.

Anyway, I've had about all I can take of this "restoration" for the day.

Hope you all are having as wondermus a Sunday as are the cats and me.

JC

Hey All,
Had a call from NAPA this morning. They'll have the "Black Rubber Spray" in tomorrow morning.

Got the Electric Motor Cover that goes on the firewall given a second coat of paint.

Got the driver-side seatbelt floor fastener clips buffed to nice and shiny.

Will be working on the H/D Unit Louver some more, and then will primer and paint that puppy.

Am going to give the surface rust on the floor under the back seat a first coat (of many) of Ospho.

And am going to be scraping all the foreign material off the rubber mat that goes under the back seat in preparation for Gorilla Gluing the tears in it, filling the cracks with Black Silicone Latex Caulking, and then spraying it with the stuff from NAPA. It's going to look brand new. Isn't THAT what restoring is all about?

Hope you all are well.

JC

Hey All,
Just got done doing the soap, water, scrub-brush, and towel dry on the heavy rubber mat that goes under the back seat. Will do the other side when the first side is completely dry. It is looking better and better.

Once it is completely dry, will fill the cracks with Silicone Latex Caulk, and when I get back from Livingston with the rubber spray stuff from NAPA that Deb recommended, will give it a coat of that.

Work is progressing at a bewildering pace.

JC

Should work out well if you are also filling the cracks with silicone. All i did was use the rubber spray to fill cracks, tears and all.

Originally Posted by ShotRod64

Should work out well if you are also filling the cracks with silicone. All i did was use the rubber spray to fill cracks, tears and all.

Hey mon Deb,
There ARE a couple of actually "torn" places, and I'm going to put the mat on a piece Press&Seal, on a piece of wood. Then heat the mat with the iron till it is pliable, then GorillaGlue the tears together, holding the pieces in place with push pins through the mat into the wood. GorillaGlue will be stronger than the rubber around it, and the label says it will stick to rubber.

The stuff that you recommended should give the whole mat a NEW look. Not that it makes a hell of a lot of difference seeing as to how it's going to be UNDER the back seat, but what the "HAY", it will give ME a moist&fuzzy feeling just to know that it's all been done just right!

Anyway, I'm on a new medication, and it is doing strange things to me. Think I'll take the rest of the evening off.

Hope YOU are doing well.

JC

mine was too, ripped and cracked, it was a mess. But i figure it's underneath everything so no big deal on how it looked when i was done. Not even sure why i had the rubber stuff. Some other bright idea i had probably. lol

i must of missed the 13 mpg. That's what I got driving up from CA loaded. I expected 10 mpg. I still say 10 just to give me room to breathe. Not sure what it really gets though unloaded but bet not over 10 with the driving i do around here.

I have a 390 bored .040 over and RV cam. Nothing special really and a gas hog regardless of the changes. lol

Deb

Originally Posted by ShotRod64

mine was too, ripped and cracked, it was a mess. But i figure it's underneath everything so no big deal on how it looked when i was done. Not even sure why i had the rubber stuff. Some other bright idea i had probably. lol

Hey mon Deb,
Well, the clean up (soap, water, scrub-brush, and towel drying) did wonders. The rips are but two, and they are only 2" and 3" long. The cracks are longer, but just a bunch of 1" long elliptical grooves in kind of a braided, intermeshed line where the mat had been over a bend in the flooring. The heating, and then flattening of the mat had made them close a little, but they still need to be filled with rubber and smoothed over. The over all coating of the mat with the spray rubber is going to be purely cosmetic. When I put it back into the 3.14, I'm going to do it with a Heat Gun so as to get it to conform without more cracking.

i must of missed the 13 mpg. That's what I got driving up from CA loaded. I expected 10 mpg. I still say 10 just to give me room to breathe. Not sure what it really gets though unloaded but bet not over 10 with the driving i do around here.

A couple of years after the 1989 rebuild, the 3.14 got 17mpg, on an especially gentle cruise to Dallas and back where I was trying to maximize the mileage by taking off easy, shifting easy, and going no more than 60mph. That was with the Mustard colored top stock coil. It was about that time that I put the Mallory ignition coil on it. Did another similar trip to Dallas and back, and got a little better than 21mpg. A HOT coil does wonders.

But over the years the Holley 4150 has gotten to the point that it REALLY needs some work, and thus now it takes two gallons to go a 26-30 mile round trip to Livingston. The 4150 could probably use a complete adjusting. Alas, I am clueless as how to do all that, and none of the auto repair places here have any more an idea about it than I do. They've all "fogotten" about carburetors and only know about FI. None-the-less, the days of filling the 19 gallon tank are OVER! Although I have thought that it might be that what I should do is spring for a full tank of gas at the beginning of the month, and that way I'd KNOW what kind of milage I'm getting for sure. I carry a two gallon can of gasoline in the trunk though, just in case I run out when I'm out and about.

I have a 390 bored .040 over and RV cam. Nothing special really and a gas hog regardless of the changes. lol

The "P"Code engine is .030 over with a Crane Fireball, and it too is a gas hog, but like I said: I'm SURE that it's the Holley that is on the "Needs Attention" list that's causing the HORRIBLE mileage. BUT... Isn't THAT part of the reason that the Autolite 4100 marathon restore was done?

I asked this once before, but got no replies: Could I put the 4100 on and use the Holley Electric Choke till I get the H/D Unit fixed, and the Manifold Choke Stove assembly, tube, and insulation installed?

Whaddaya think? Anyone?

If I can't get a knowledgeable opinion here, I may have to ask this over at the 332-428 FE Forum.

Anyway, today is a trip to Livingston with the Heater Core Radiator, the acquisition of the Rubber Spray Stuff from NAPA, and some other miscellaneous stuff like a haircut, and a visit to the pharmacy for some more "new" "experimental" meds.

Hope this finds you all doing sumptuously. Will be checking in later.

JC