How did I miss this thread?? I love to see picture after picture of progress! Great work man. :beer B E A Utiful car!
I needed to get away from the rust, so I went for the greasy part! I pulled the A/C compressor (all 400 lbs of it) and took it apart to detail and paint it. I also cleaned up the generator. I've been working on the air cleaner lid for a couple days due to the pitting that was present...quite a bit of "body work" to do on such a small part...but it turned out smooth. I'm a little disappointed in the level of gloss on the air cleaner itself. I think the humidity messed with the paint today. The other parts look nice, as I actually used a semigloss on them. Here's a shot of the compressor after I knocked off all the heavy chunks of grease and dirt: These 3 parts took me about 6 hours to complete (not counting the air cleaner lid!)
It spins free, and the clutch looks good. The system was in terrible shape when I bought the car. At this point, I don't plan on trying to make it work. I will clean out all the hoses and replace what has to be replaced, but I won't go crazy $$$ wise restoring some of the unobtainable parts.
Hello Riviera owner: I'm in Austin TX and I'm finishing up an engine rebuild job on my 58 super which is a lot like yours (a/c and all powers). Would you tell me if the oil dip stick hole has an extension tube of some kind that fits into the dip stick hole. Better still could you send a photo? Thanks, David Childs
David, here is a photo of the dipstick and extension. Better late than never, right?ou: I cleaned up a few more parts this weekend. Not much visible progress made, but these things were absolutely caked in grease and dirt.
This was an interesting little part I pulled off the car this evening. It looks to be some sort of proportioning valve for the air poise setup. There was a cable connected to it at one point, but I can't imagine what it would hook to. I was thinking it might've gone to a spot on the suspension that would move the cable back and forth depending on load condition. I dunno....but it's clean now. I'm going to install it like it was, I think. Either that, or completely hook up the air poise suspension to look like it's actually there. I like the idea of leaving it the way I found it (pinched off cable and hoses) to preserve the fact that the factory system was abandoned, but they left the majority of the mechanical parts on the car.
Thanks Erik! Those manual photos are great. I guess I could've looked it up myself, but my wild guess was more fun to think about:laugh:
Adam Your resto work on parts is amazing. What do you use to clean everything including the nuts and bolts and what kind of paint do you use to paint the engine compartment part?
90% of my nut, bolt, and part cleaning is on a bench grinder with a wire wheel. Some of the smaller parts like that goofy air suspension override block had to be done with thinner and a toothbrush. I use a variety of paints for the engine compartment. The engine green is from CARS. All the other rattle can stuff is Duplicolor DE 1635 semigloss black and the same brand gloss black. I also clearcoat the bare metal parts (and nuts & bolts).
I rolled the car into the driveway today and power washed the front end. I've never seen so much crud in my life! I think I liked the greasy look better
This thing was a several-hour extravaganza. The air pump alone was a major PITA to get all the dried on grease and dirt out of the fins of the aluminum. And the fluid never seems to drain 100% out of these things. ou:
Hi Adam, I saw this post for the first time today and I had to start from the beginning! MAN, I give you tons of credit!!!! A job like this is only possible with an unlimited amount of passion and motivation...... and you apparently have both! I thought that building my race car in my fully equipped shop was overwhelming at times, but looking at your dedication and the progress you've made in a little garage with basic tools has definitely added to MY MOTIVATION!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! You should have quite the piece of "Americana" there when you're finished! Again, excellent work and thanks for the motivation!! See you in Ohio!! Steve
I think Dan has it half right! I am insane for continuing a project that easily could've become a parts car when I pulled the rocker trim off, but I hate the fact that it is a LIMITED, and has factory AC...so I stuck with it. Plus, I have several thousand dollars into this on TOP of the pruchase price. Steve, thanks for the kind words! I'm sure with a fully equipped shop, I could make shorter work of this, but I have to do with what I have. Someday, my garage will evolve into a full shop with every tool I need. I can't wait for Columbus!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think some of the old timers in this hobby often started out with cars worse that this. (edit: I'm not implying this is an easy one by any means! Just that a lot of restorable cars are passed over.) I commend Adam for saving this beast! :beer
