More fix-ups

04/18/2000. I had to get the car safety inspected before I could get it registered. That's when I found out about the blown wheel cylinder...then I remembered that Ben had told me about it when I bought the car.

You can see that the brake fluid has done a number on the paint on the brake shoes (like anyone was gonna see it anyway.)

I blasted it with some carb cleaner to wash the old goop off. That stuff can give you one hell of a headache.

Make sure you use it in a well ventilated area. And while we're at it, notice the jack stands? Those aren't there just because the jack is broke. They're pretty much mandatory when I work on a car. Having one fall on you can spoil your hotrodding for a day or two.

After I finished cleaning, I painted the backing plate with POR-15.

I also found that the plate was loose on the axle housing. The nuts had backed off the retaining bolts slightly. I made sure to tighten them before I finished the reassembly.

I put it all back together with a new wheel cylinder, brake shoes and hardware and adjuster kit.

This is the other side. Just as dirty, but what the hell...it's the inside of a brake drum.

It's back together, too. This side wasn't loose like the other although I made sure to check it.

I also painted the brake drums and adjusted the shoes. Then I adjusted the parking brake cable and it was ready to go back for re-inspection.

(05/28/00) After I got it inspected and registered I decided I was tired of looking at the dent in the trunk. So I pulled off the trim in order to get started.

I used an ancient technique known as the "hammer and dolly" method to straighten the sheet metal the best I could.

I prepared the surface by sanding down to bare metal all around the dent area (well, pretty close.)

Then I applied some Bondo to smooth things out. The trunk lid already had a bunch of Bondo in it so I didn't feel too bad about doing that.

And after some sanding and spot putty and some primer...it looks a little better. It might even get some color on it here soon.

(06/17/00) There. It's purple again. I'm gonna have to order the upper chrome piece, but it looks a lot nicer. You can even see its "Moby G" Special Interest license plates in this pic.

While I was messing around, we got the engine compartment pressure washed. Then I replaced the carburetor and air cleaner, added a Pertronix module to the distributor to eliminate the points, and installed a new set of plugs and wires. It runs pretty nicely now.

I also put SpeedBleeders in the brake cylinders, replaced the lug studs and adjusted and bled the brakes. Much better than before.

Next page: Interior modifications.

Moby Grape Home

Projects Home