Frame Off 1062

[Myke]

Bottom stripped to steel, epoxy primed, and a box liner sprayed on the entire underside.

[Myke]

The spare tire area and trunk

[Myke]

As we sandblasted the frame, we notice that the VIN was stamped in three places along the drivers side of the frame. On the front left frame arm, on the triangular shaped plate just forward of the front of the leaf spring bracket, and on the top of the last cross tube of the frame. Frame was epoxy primed and then painted in a semi-gloss black paint with rust inhibitor (like its ever going to see the rain ever again). Tomorrow, we start re-assembling the front end.

[Myke]

Today, we sat the body down on the frame and tightened the body mounts that we made. Then we popped the trunk lid on...and then we put the doors on to see how they fit with the new body mounts, to make sure that they will line up.

The car was put in epoxy primer two years ago, and because I knew it would be a while before I got back at her, I blew some black paint left over from my pick up truck on her to seal her up...so that black paint will be sanded off during the final sanding process, that I suspect will happen late summer, as we are working on the front fenders and then we will get to the hood.

In the meantime, we have a lot of wiring issues to sort out. So far, we have taken the windshield fluid jar from the parts car, and the screen for the transmission.

This IS NOT a concourse restoration by any means. This will be a really nice driver. I don't do trailer queens.

Note that the center bearing for the drive shaft is for a Dodge Ram pick up truck, and that star emblem on the power steering pump is a 1 dollar chrome broach. I cannot see spending 300 dollars Canadian for two chrome star nuts...I'll let the concourse guys do that!

[jdsnoddy]

Impressive work. Thanks for sharing.

[Myke]

There are advantages and disadvantages to living in Canada. We enjoy an excellent trade relationship with the US, and a billion dollars a day in trade crosses our borders every day. Canada is a producer of raw materials. We export more to the US than we import, and all of our trade agreements are in USD. So, with the Canadian dollar being worth .73 cents US...when we sell something to the US that cost us 1 dollar Canadian (CAD) to make, and we sell it to the US for 1 USD, we actually make money. If the Canadian dollar was at par with the US, we would begin to lose a great deal of money. Having said that, when we buy something from the US, man, do we get hosed by that exchange rate.

The body mount kit of 16 bushings is 192.98 USD today on ebay. I use Ebay.ca. That gives me the converted price in Canadian dollars. That same body mount kit will cost me $264.43 (CAD), plus 22.37 shipping for a total of 286.80 CAD. Then, when it crosses the border into Canada, I am charged an import tax of at least 7 percent, making those mounts come to 306.87. For 16 small pieces of rubber with a hole in the middle.

So, according to my research, the International Rubber Hardness (IRH) measurement of a 1956 Continental Mark II body mount measured by durometer is between 50-60 Shore A, which is pretty standard hardness for a body mount. Some people try and use hockey pucks to make body mounts. As a Canadian, that is sacrilege. For two reasons: The first, is that it a waste of a perfectly good hockey puck that you will need when you shoot your last one past the snow banks on the lake and into the woods in the middle of winter. The second, is that a hockey puck has a durometer reading of 85-90 Shore A, meaning it does not compress well whatsoever, and makes a terrible body mount.

So what to do as a non-concourse guy...pay 300 dollars for 16 pieces of rubber...or improvise...

So I improvised. According to my research, the IRH of a rubber roller that is used ion the stern area of a boat trailer is between 50-60 Shore A. Not only that, they come in black, they have a 5/8 hole drilled in the center, and they are 8 inches long. The diameter is 2 inches across. You can easily slice that boat roller into 8 separate pieces using a band saw... so that's what I did...and guess what? They worked perfectly. They compressed beautifully and when we put the car down on the floor and tightened all of the body mounts down, the doors went back on perfectly.

Total Cost: 11.99 X 2 + 15% HST = 29.58 CAD (x 0.73 equals 21.59 USD for my American friends).

So there you go folks...if the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy! I can confirm that a boat roller makes an excellent body mount replacement for a Mark II, and the steady bearing from a Dodge Ram pick up truck can be fitted into a Mark II perfectly...just remember to weld a tab onto it for the park brake cable spring. I would only recommend this hack if you have the body off the frame, as you will need to make a very slight adjustment to the passenger side bracket, and that may not be pleasant for you with the body on the car.

[Milsteads Garage]

So what year Dodge truck was the bearing from? Any modifications needed to install it?

[Myke]

2002 Dodge Ram Center Bearing. Put the center bearing in place with the driver's side bolt into the existing frame mount and bolt it in. The passenger side hole will not line up, and the passenger side flange of the bearing frame will extend about a half inch out past the existing Mark II frame mount. Take a marker, and draw a line where the frame bracket stops on the the bottom of the Dodge bearing plate so you can trim that off. You will actually trim a piece of the dodge bolt hole off in doing so. From the bottom, mark the Mark II hole on Dodge bearing plate. Remove the Dodge Ram bearing, place it in a vice, expand the passenger side hole using a die grinder to make sure it reaches the innermost edges of the Mark II hole. Tack weld a nut on the top of the Passenger side of the frame of the Dodge bearing where the mark II hole should be, and voila...you are all set. With the body off the frame, that took us 10 minutes to do. Not a clue what that would entail with the body on the frame.

Oh...and do not forget to fabricate a tab for the park break spring. You can either cut the tab off the original bearing holder and weld it onto the Dodge bearing holder, or simply drill a small hole in a piece of flat stock, and weld that on.

[Milsteads Garage]

Good to know. Thank you for the info.

[Barry Wolk]

Thanks for the helpful suggestion. Well done.