Above 1200 Sq/FT Bailey's Barn Build

[mwbailey]

Bob, nice trailer aid WITH improvements. BIL and I both asked why we had not thought of the aid instead of a jack for changing wheels! Until the last tire blew, a small "trolley" jack worked fine. The last time we were on a gravel/dirt shoulder that would not let the "trolley" roll as we jacked. The arc that the lift pad made pulled it out from under the trailer!! Not so safe. I have a set of metal ramps that will scoot forward when you try to use them. If you make a fast run at them, you stand the chance of running off the high end. I don't use them very much. . . .

xtremek, I'm not sure how many fittings there are but I think I wanted one for the longer paper filter element. . . only, I have installed a filter inline so don't need the element at the carburetor. That was my JB Weld attempt with the "original" carburetor. Apparently there's also a 7/8" and a 1" inlet to worry about. Who'd a thunk?

Jolly, I let my barn "age" for a couple of years before putting anything on it. Since then I've used Sikkens Cetol SRD natural a couple of times. The barn is now about 8 years old. It's actually pretty dark compared to the original color. Somewhere I think I made the comment that I'm a bit like the 3rd grader who gets a new pair of "Keds" (yes, I'm that old) that are stark WHITE. The first thing I would do is jump into a mud puddle to take the brightness off and make them look like I'd had them for a while. Same, same with barn. I wanted an "aged" look. Thanks and good luck!

 

[xtremek]

I thought the only diff between the short and long paper was the length of the housing. I thought the sintered was 7/8" and both papers were 1". But you know my doctor warned me not to think, he was afraid it might hurt someone.

 

[mwbailey]

That makes sense to me -- the long inlet fittings will not fit my fuel inlet, but there is apparently a call for a long fitting! I've assumed that the 7/8" and 1" were diameter, not length; is that right or is that the difference in long and short paper filter you're talking about? In any case, I KNOW the carburetor for my son's car is the original since I bought the car from the family that bought it new in Greensboro, NC. Not so sure about the my daughter's car and carburetor. . . . I just want a fitting that fits. That shouldn't be too much to ask. As you might pick up from the fittings photo, I have a plethora of Quadrajets with little known history with that one exception (the one that I JB Welded). Oh, and I also have an Edelbrock of unknown origin for my 383/430 Mercury/Lincoln!!

On another note, we spent most of the morning installing the last of three ~5X13-foot sections for the N scale layout. This guy that made the layout is amazing. I'm wondering why he made so many cars when he told us how tedious that is. I heard him discussing the situation: it's afternoon shift change at the textile mill on a Wednesday in 1953 and the cars are lined up to get out and in a too-small parking lot!

Getting the third section in the display case was pretty straightforward. We removed one top section and slide the end glass out. Thank goodness for a few young moving guys! It fit better than we had anticipated. The "T-shaped" layout has a slightly angled "l" which we thought would almost put it over the side of the case. No such thing.

BUT, something is causing a delayed short in the electrical hookup. So, we have some trouble-shooting and wire chasing to do. Still amazing work:

 

[xtremek]

That is a **** ton of cars. The setup looks really nice.

 

[mwbailey]

Spent from 8 am to 1 pm today working on bugs in the wiring. Builder and I found two errors -- one mine, one his -- but still had a bug or two left. We cut the control panel out of the rat's nest of wires so he could "bench test and rewire". I'm left with cleaning up wiring left on the layout.

xtremek, he had another couple of dozen cars, unpainted, we will probably use in an empty car dealership lot!

 

[mwbailey]

Well, we weren't too successful with the trailer aid. Tried to back the trailer up the "aid" to change front wheel. The aid just slid back! Added a piece of plywood to the bottom:


The aid just slid back, again! Probably didn't help to have the trailer on the chip/mulch we've been using around the workshop.

Added another piece of plywood:


Having the second wheel on the aid must have helped hold it in place to get up the first hump. No problem after that. We had to make space inside the trailer since the aid is now 5-6 feet long!?!?! Still like it better than a jack. Although neither wheel/tire looked really bad, I knew the front one had some years on it. Now we have a spare or two in good shape. This is the new tire, installed.

 

[bugnut]

After seeing Bobs wooden aid, I am going to try that for my steel ramps. My thoughts on making it shorter would be add a hinge.

 

[mwbailey]

Yeah Bob's aid was getting pretty fancy with a handle and everything. We were just throwing some scraps of wood together. I'm afraid adding a hinge might cost real money!?!?

 

[mwbailey]

Used the newly "shod" car hauler to get the "blue" 442 over to the painter before the 4th. Then took three weeks to visit and tour the great outdoors of Colorado. . . .EPIC! Back long enough to start breathing air with a goodly portion of oxygen and decided to start doing my part in the 442 restoration. I don't think it's complete but I started collecting the chrome and stainless pieces to clean up and buff. I didn't realize what all I had which included TWO antennae, more sill plates than you can shake a stick at, and a couple of dip sticks.

Who wants to take a bet that I'll come up one or two pieces short once I sort it all out?! Yes, the box with a mirror in the original cardboard container has chrome/SS pieces, too.

 

[xtremek]

So you and the BiL will have the car done by Labor day, right? Is it back from the painter?

 

[mwbailey]

Sad to say, but BIL went with us to Colorado to visit with sister near Colorado Springs, then he went back to FL with another sister and the other brother in the family. That's a long way of saying that I had to mow the lawn myself when I got back!!!!

I'm afraid this paint job is in for a bit of redoing of body work. Marty (the painter) has found LOTS of mud where it shouldn't be. He still thinks he can make a nice car out of it. . . .

Glad to see you like squash. BIL was doing well with the squash in "our" garden until we left it for three weeks. Electric fence shorted out and deer/rabbit got into everything including the okra. We hope the okra will recover, but the squash has had it.

 

[xtremek]

Any idea how bad the bondo is? And yes, I love pretty much any kind of squash..

 

[mwbailey]

Next step with "chrome" was a good wash; took some extra effort to get 15-20 year old masking tape off the pieces. You'd think I could find ALL the needed pieces but like I had mentioned I'm a couple of pieces short. . . Dang!

xtremek, the mud was up to 1/8" or even thicker in some places. Marty ordered another sanding block WITH vacuum to get more off.

 

[mwbailey]

Not a good sight:

 

[xtremek]

Well that *****

 

[Chrisb62]

Looks like a thin layer to me

 

[mwbailey]

Headed to Marty's (painter) early this coming week to see how thin the mud really was, Chrisb62! He thinks he'll try the first "guide coat" later in the week. Guess I had better get to working on the trim.

So, a few years back I installed the grinder and stand on a piece of plywood backed by a few 2X4's. Seems to work pretty well. I can stand on the plywood and keep the grinder from walking away, but I don't have it permanently anchored with holes in the concrete floor.


No reason not to use the same approach with the buffing wheel, right? Plenty of scrap 2X4's and as luck would have it a 24X24 inch piece of plywood. So, the grinder's base is 24X29, but what's a few inches here or there? I found out that 5 inches means a lot when it come to standing on a piece of wood!! No matter, I can still put the ball of my foot on the plywood to keep it from moving too much.


Time to stop admiring my creativity and start buffing trim! There're several pieces on the floor to choose from.

Funny, the first piece looked easy enough. Just a slight edge toward one side to watch for. Oh, and that one spot when the clip is inserted and there's no lip. That one spot without the lip was enough to grab the trim out of my hand and put a small dent in the trim. Time to be more careful and maybe learn a new skill -- hammer and dolly on SMALL parts. We'll see how that goes.

 

[xtremek]

If you thought grinders can grab things out of your hands, they don't have anything on buffers. And if you're doing a bunch of it, wear a mask. Otherwise you'll be blowing your nose for days.

 

[mwbailey]

extremek, those COVID masks come in handy! Also included safety glasses and leather gloves. . . . I like my own body parts better even than the 442 body parts

 

[mwbailey]

Sorted through the chrome/trim pieces and came up at least one short. Need trim piece on right side just to rear of front wheel. Wonder if rear and front wheel well trim is the same?!


Visited Richard's Salvage outside of Asheboro, NC. No "behind front wheel" piece but found two front wheel well trim to add to collection. Nope, front and rear wheel wells are different.


Several pieces are going to need some "minor" work.

Must have been 1/2 dozen 1967 Cutlasses but only one 442, a 1966. I didn't realize that rust was such a popular color back in the day.

 

[xtremek]

That ***** on the one piece. How far back does the bone yard stock go? Got any Caddy's from the early to mid fifties? Any big trucks from the 50's?

 

[mwbailey]

Hey xtremek, check the prior photo for the car on the far left -- the fin is sticking out. I think that's a '57 Cadillac. Better shot? Look to right of '67 Cutlass.


I won't say that any of the cars I saw were in real good shape. Some school buses but no large trucks that I saw. For some reason the Buicks catch my eye. Take a look at the four holer (maybe 1956-ish) and the grill on the really early 1950's.


The yard is a far piece from what it was maybe 30 years ago; that's why I was surprised to find several 1967 Olds Cutlasses. I heard that Richard had health issues and sold out a couple of years ago. Even Richard was rumored to have been getting out of the business at least a couple of times over those 30 years. They have started working with cars from this century/millennium! I will say that Mo, Mark, and Wes were very helpful and cordial.

 

[xtremek]

Yeah, I'm looking for '53-'56 Cadillac pieces

 

[mwbailey]

Oops, too new! Maybe I'll be up that way again. I'll keep my eyes open for those older models.

 

[mwbailey]

Found the front passenger's fender rear trim and got a semi-chromed oil filler tube "thrown" in. Since I paid an arm and a leg for the one piece of trim I was missing, I figured the seller owed my a little something! Original concern was that the chrome filler tube is meant for a W-30 442 Olds and I didn't want to mess one of those up by painting it engine bronze. Well, no problem with that, the chrome was coming off in a number of places.

So, how do you remove chrome? I tried razor blade, flap sander, belt sander, and I can't remember what else.


Maybe sandblasting would work. You'd think that a 12 year old sandblast cabinet would still be in working order. Well, apparently it got hotter in the workshop than I realized. It seemed the rubber gloves had deteriorated.

Peeled off as much as I could, easily, and now need to order new gloves (or maybe try Harbor Freight).


In the meantime, painter is still trying to make the 442's body straight. He likes to use gloss black and block sanding to find the high and low spots. Slow progress, but he's pretty confident in what the final results will be.

 

[xtremek]

Any idea when the body work will be done? Going to have it ready to drive next summer?

 

[mwbailey]

xtremek, I should have it painted by next summer, but driving it depends too much on my own efforts to guarantee anything!! Interior should be no problem -- I've recovered seats, had dash replated, don't need a console (just boot for four on the floor with bench front seat!); wire harness looks good but may have issue with rear antenna. Biggest hurdle will be the engine and replacing or replating some trim/chrome pieces. Plus, of course, the ever-present minutiae of putting the parts back together.

But, you did make me laugh out loud

 

[Mike.ASC]

Greetings MWBAILEY, I've been away for about a year now but I have recently completed my move to York county S.C. ( i believe I am fairly close to you) and will be getting back on this forum as time permits. I just thought i would check in to see the progress on your 442 , is this the same one you have been working on for a while? Where is this museum with the train sets located , I'm sure my grandkids would love to see them? Now that I am in the area -if you ever have any automotive related questions or need a hand with the completion of your 442 I would be glad to help.

Mike
301.653.7768

 

[mwbailey]

Well, Mike, and others for that matter, I seem to have been missing in no action for a while. . . but I have actually gotten a couple of things done. First, this 442 project has been around for a couple of decades, but who's in a hurry. Getting close on trunk and hood!


My only really good excuse of absence is that I got sucked into a project via a Kreg Tools E-mail -- a model barn in 1:24 scale. What a great Christmas gift for my 6 year old grandson?!?! Besides, it was noted as "Moderate" difficulty; that didn't sound like too much of a hill for a stepper. But, I wanted to modify the design to resemble my workshop with lean-to, asphalt shingles, and battens all the way around, among a couple of other details. Seems I spent every spare hour outside of The Wife's to-do list working on that gosh darn barn for the past two or three weeks. I was afraid the stain wouldn't be dry by Christmas. It worked out pretty well, I think.




He got an old Ford F-100 and a horse for the barn. His big sis is adding her princesses to the crowd, but I guess that works, too!

Merry Christmas to all.

 

[xtremek]

I hope you and yours had a happy Christmas. That is one cool Christmas present. Very well done, as usual.

 

[mwbailey]

Well, looks like maybe another small step in a sequential vortex! On Nov. 14, I was complaining about getting chrome removed from an oil filler tube for the "Crystal Blue 442". Nothing seemed to be working, so I turned to my sand blast cabinet by the gloves had rotted. . .dang. Gloves were replaced with a pair from Harbor Freight, but then that model barn got in the way along with the holidays.

But, slow as it may be, I think I see some progress. The sandblasting either removed the remaining chrome from the oil filler tube or roughed it up enough to make me think it would hold some engine bronze paint.





As luck would have it, the color seems to match the engine, itself.



Now all I need is to install the starter, mount the distributor (after another good oiling through distributor hole), bolt on a carburetor, install the exhaust headers, etc., etc., etc.

 

[xtremek]

So you'll have it up and running by next Monday? It looks good so far.

 

[mwbailey]

Some Monday, extremek, but probably not next Monday. I wish I knew how to get broken studs out of an exhaust manifold

 

[mwbailey]

So, I guess a guy should have a fairly waterproof trailer to bring his freshly painted '67 Olds 442 home in. After backing into the barn, my trailer had a bit of a dent in it.


Fortunately, a guy on Garage Journal had brought home a cart for his acetylene torch tanks -- or something like that -- which had a 2-3 inch rim that had been bent. He just used a few clamps and some square tubing to pull it back into shape. It looked really good. Maybe that will work; beating it with a sledge and 2X4 block didn't make any headway on the trailer.

Here you go, 4" C-clamps and 1" square tubing:


Nope. If a small hammer doesn't work, why not try a bigger hammer?! And, actually, the 4" clamps would mot allow a piece of 3X3" angle iron to be inserted on the other side from the square tubing, like this.:


Might look better, but I think all the brand new Harbor Freight 6" C-clamps did was hide the dent. When released, everything returned to dented configuration.

Oh well, maybe I just need a little bit of caulking and a flexible seal of some sort. . . . . Besides, you can always use a few extra C-clamps so all is not lost

 

[xtremek]

Can you peel parts of it apart and straighten them out individually? Also, they look like aluminum. Don't you have to soften the aluminum in order to "move" it? Or is that after it's moved?

 

[DennisK]

Aluminum has a memory when bent, you might have to pull it a bit proud, then let off and see if it holds. Don't go too far!

 

[mwbailey]

I wish it was the aluminum, but there's a piece of steel on the inside (between the door spring and the aluminum) that doesn't want to straighten up. This trailer is held together by screws that are not torx or Phillips or Allen -- I saw a "three square/spline" bit set that I ordered and just received today. Hmm, they are not metric. . . . But I would like to see how far I can pull it apart. I'm a little bit afraid that the steel plate is welded at the ends/corners but I need to pull down some "lauan" plywood held on by these screws to be able to see. Now this really is becoming a sequential vortex and I probably should just go fishing. Or just caulk it all up.

I'll worry about straightening the aluminum after I get the steel straight!

 

[xtremek]

Got a pic of the bolt/screw head?

 

[mwbailey]

Well, hold the fort! Sometimes I amaze myself, sometimes I begin to wonder. I was so put-out with the triple square bits that I decided to give the trailer manufacturer a piece of my mind and ask them what in the heck they used to put the trailer together with. As any reputable company would do, they had a FAQ page online. Apparently, a frequently asked question is, "What in the heck is used to put the trailer together with?" The answer is, "#2 square head bit." OK, so I knew the screw head had eight points -- and I should have known that a triple square would have TWELVE points. But the conflict didn't register. A square head bit makes perfectly good sense. . . now. Problem is, do I have one. I'm pretty certain I've seen one. Not in my 64-piece socket set (or maybe 110-piece, but you'd think with all of those if you didn't have triple square you would at least have square). After I left the workshop for the second time, it occurred to me that maybe the drill set had the square drives I recall. Yep. AND it fits.

Too dark, too late, and a bit too chilly to start tonight. But if anyone needs a perfectly good, brand new (with case) set of LEXIVON XZN Triple Square Spline Bit Socket Set, Premium S2 Alloy Steel | 10-Piece European Style M4 - M18 Set | Enhanced Storage Case (LX-145), I got one. I could even retrieve the carboard box it came in if desired.

 

[mwbailey]

The Wife directed me elsewhere to complete some an unfinished project -- that actually was probably a higher priority than working on the car hauler. Sparing others the details of a dishwasher that was overflowing with suds and foam, because a soap dispenser/washer was placed on the top rack, after it was found under the sink, when under the sink was cleared out, so the disposal could be replaced, because the old one was making an awful racket when it was stopping. . . during inspection of the dishwasher it was noticed that some insulation had been worn off of the dishwasher's power input.


This eventually was left over from refinishing the floors after the house was flooded by a ruptured faucet in July of 2017. Since there had been no issues since then, there's probably no harm, but it just didn't feel right.

The bottom of the washer had been left open pending two complete cycles without drips and without the soap dispener/washer. After last night, those two cycles had been completed (of course, there's no good reason to work on the wiring if more work was going to be needed on the washer).

Closer inspection after cutting the wire confirmed that there just might have been a bare spot on the "hot" wire:


Wires stripped, a few wire nuts, and a little electricians tape (to give the thought of water resistant; certainly not water proof) and the job was done.



Might not pass inspection but certainly safer than it was. If you don't tell anyone, I won't. And there's always tomorrow to work on the trailer.