The Green Machine Diaries: Heavy Metal
/July 11-23, 2022
“Huram was filled with wisdom, with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work.”
Trent, our AC repairman, stopped by our Arkansas getaway to do a little work on our aging system. My shop garage door was up and he peeked in on the Green Machine. “When are you going to retire?” he asked? And then without missing a beat, “Because I don’t think you are every going to finish that thing until you do!”
Thanks for the vote of confidence!
The problem with a “project” is — it’s a project! And when I can only devote time twice a year to that project, well . . . progress is about as noticeable as watching a Sequoia grow. But times they are a changing! I’m seeing serious progress. In fact, I am starting to feel like I have reached a tipping point of sorts. Before I share where I am on this breadbox on wheels, let me bring you up to speed.
Last time on the Green Machine Diaries
Last time on the Green Machine Diaries (“Look Mom, No Glass!,”) Zachary and I pulled the glass out of the Econo, put the van on floor dollies, and moved it to the back of the shop. That was March 13.
A lot of life happened in the in-between: new grandbabies born (Grace and Bodie Lee), my inauguration as the 6th President of Lancaster Bible College (Covid delayed), travels to Michigan, Montana, Uganda, DC, and Philadelphia. We celebrated a wedding, mourned a loss with a dear friend, had a blast on the Hot Rod Power Tour, and gathered 38 people under our roof for our annual “Camp Kiedis.”
Where to start?
Then the kids left, the house grew quiet, and I took to the shop. I had wires to remove, holes to patch, knobs to pull, a door and roof to prime, a floor to clean, and a facelift to pull off.
Job 1 — Get rid of the rats nest
Happily, the wiring for the Econo is not complicated. The wiring harness is about as basic as it comes. Unhappily, the wires in this box are a rats nest of confusion. What starts out as a green wire becomes a red wire only to turn into a yellow wire. Piggyback wiring “fixes” abound. There was no order, no rhyme, and no apparent reason. The wiring system was an unruly ball of twine stuffed (and I mean “stuffed”) under the dash. It had to go. I pulled the wires, removed the dash knobs, protected any open electric and prepared the Green Machine for a bath.
Job 2 — Give it a bath!
I was hesitant to force a lot of water into a vehicle prone to rust, but after 56 years, this baby needed a bath.
Job 3 — Cut out the cancer (rust) . . .
The Green Machine is surprisingly rust free. There is plenty of surface rust, but few major holes. Of course, “few” is relative. The driver’s door alone had 22 holes to patch. Here’s a quick review of some of the challenges on the metal front.
Job 4 — Weld - Grind - Repeat
I’ve titled this post, “Heavy Metal” in that there was a lot of metal prep, patch, and paint. The door was one of the bigger challenges, but I’ve included a few pictures of the other areas I am repairing. This usually entails cutting out the rust; making a cardboard template for the patch; tracing it out on metal, cutting it out, grinding to a “perfect fit,” and then tack welding it in place, then more grinding and welding and grinding before sand and epoxy prime.
Progress on other metal matters.
Job 5 — Prime the roof
The cutting, patching, plugging, and grinding was TIME-CONSUMING, but the dark cloud on this part of the journey was that big piece of metal overhead — the roof. Surface rust had formed over the years. Like the rest of the outside, I had to strip it to bare metal and put it in epoxy primer.
This job was also slow-going. My primer is a special build material and mixes at a 4 to 1 ratio (primer to hardener). I had to add reducer (4-1-1) to get the consistency I needed. Once I figured that out, the primer laid down like a tired baby. Happy days! The epoxy primer has a rust inhibitor. The roof can now sit until ready to paint.
Job 6 — Seal the floor
The floor of the Econoline had plenty of surface rust and a hole or two to patch, so I gave it a good cleaning (scrape, grind, sand) before treating with a rust-encapsulating paint. Here is the before and after.
Lessons Learned (or Re-Learned):
If you want to get better . . . practice! — Huram (see the verse above) was the craftsman King Solomon hired to provide the ornate work on the Temple. He was exceptionally skilled. When it comes to straightening metal, I’m nowhere near the term “craftsman,” but that’s no reason not to improve. Exceptional welders along with body and paint pros all say the same thing, “If you want to get better, you can’t do it by watching a video. You’ve got to get out and practice.” As I continue this work, my welding and painting game is getting stronger.
Nothings’ easy! This is one of my restoration mantras. It helps me not to get frustrated when a regulator fails or the part I need to weld is at an impossible angle, or the primer doesn’t come out of the spray gun correctly, or the bolt I need to free is rusted solid or anyone of a hundred gremlins that pop up in a build. Hot rodding is working though problems not ignoring them.
Silence the NAG. Nags are those items—small and big—that must be done, are very time-consuming, and not easy. They stand over you and nag at you like a (you pick the simile). Stripping and priming the roof was a big nag. Every day I felt it. But when I finished it, OH WHAT A WONDERFUL FEELING!
The tipping point will come! I am a long way from completing this project. The outside body needs to be in primer before I even think about re-installing the engine (though it is ready to be dropped in), then there is paint, interior, new glass and more. However, like roof, what starts out as “I’ll never . . .” becomes “I’m getting there . . .” and turns into, “Done!” Enough of that on sub-projects (like the roof), and the hurdles diminish and the product move closer to fruition. The progress is tangible.
So what’s next?
The rebuilt engine, wrapped in plastic, sits on a palate in the shop. I have the accompanying speed parts. December, maybe! Next up: body repair on the front and rear, strip the exterior to bare metal, prime, and try out some new shades of green for this Green Machine. Stay tuned!
Our latest CarSafari adventure . . .
Shannan and I were in Montana recently. While on a little back-roads excursion, we saw this 1950 Chevrolet DeLuxe. Check it out by clicking below and then visit the new CarSafari YouTube channel.
