1968 Long overdue progress photos from my '68 HCS

[admin]

I've been steadily making progress on my HCS, but have been really bad about posting, so here's a thread to catch everyone up.

Before and after photos of disassembly and media blasting. No big surprises on where the rust was. It was obvious before blasting. But it was good to not see any unexpected bondo. Other than the rust there really were very few dings and dimples in the sheet metal.

 

[admin]

Some detail shots after blasting:

 

[admin]

Battery tray sheet metal replacement:




Inner fender top rust replacement:

 

[admin]

Epoxy primer after blasting:



Engine bay paint:

 

[admin]

289-2V and C-4 removal and disassembly:

 

[admin]

Some problem areas. T-stat housing basically disintegrated upon removal.



Timing gear nylon coating had become brittle and pieces that broke off made their way into the oil pump pickup screen.

 

[admin]

Engine and heads back from the machine shop. Magnafluxed, baked, cylinders bored .030 over, crank ground .010 under:





Valve grinding:

 

[admin]

Engine reassembly, paint and priming the oil pump to confirm all rockers are getting oil.



I went with the POR-15 engine enamel and I do not recommend it. I think the color is a good match for Ford Corporate Blue, but this paint is NOT easy to apply. I tried spraying it with the same HVLP gun I've always used successfully with epoxy primer, but the POR-15 is so thick it does not spray well. The instructions say to thin no more than 5%. I ended up thinning more like 25% just to get it to come out of the gun (with my largest tip). Some areas turned out pretty well, but other areas either had runs or were way too dry and rough.

 

[admin]

Doing a dry mockup of the engine accessories to make sure I hadn't lost anything in the last year. My old school zip-lock baggies on the pegboard wall organization system served me well.

 

[admin]

Rebuilt C-4 installed to the 289 and that whole monster wrestled into the engine bay. The load leveler is an absolute must when installing both as an assembly. Lots of lowering an inch, pushing the car forward an inch, leveling a few degrees, rinse and repeat.

 

[admin]

And that brings us all up to date. This weekend my son and I will finish assembling the engine accessories, radiator, hoses, battery, carb, etc. And with any luck we'll be able to fire it up! That's the part that always makes me nervous! Lots of sweat, time and money building up that moment of truth!

 

[Ruppstang]

Well, you guys have been busy! It was great to see the progress roll along in the in the pictures. It is great to see your son in the middle of the work. I did cars with both of my sons, and it was one of the best experiences of both of our lives. I cannot wait to see the finished product. BTW I bet you are not sorry for rebuilding the engine.

 

[franklinair]

Perfecto!! I really enjoyed the photo review. Brought back fond memories of when I was more mobile.
One critique: DO NOT USE FRAM OIL FILTERS. They are the absolute worst of all.

Neil

 

[speedy02]

@admin You have been busy. Looking great

 

[admin]

BTW I bet you are not sorry for rebuilding the engine.

Well it's certainly added time to the schedule, but yes, once I saw the plastic chunks off the timing gear and sludge in the t-stat housing, I was glad I rebuilt it.

One critique: DO NOT USE FRAM OIL FILTERS. They are the absolute worst of all.

Thanks Neil. I just had that filter sitting on the shelf and it will be replaced within a couple hours of start up as part of the engine break-in process.

What's your brand recommendation? Motorcraft?

 

[franklinair]

Motorcraft.

 

[Mosesatm]

I use Wix, or Napa Gold.
Are you using regular or synthetic oil?

 

[admin]

Are you using regular or synthetic oil?

Lucas break-in oil to start, then regular.

 

[admin]

Back from the paint shop!

We're really excited to finally have the HCS back after a couple of months at the paint shop. This is an original Highland Green car and I'm really happy with how the color turned out. I gave the painter the original Ford formulas from the various threads here on the forums. He mixed it to that formula, but also against some original paint areas of the car, such as the underside of the trunk lid and inner front door jambs which haven't had much exposure to the sun over the last 56 years.

I was very nervous driving to the paint shop to pick it up, but as soon as I saw it sitting out in the sun I was so relieved. It looks amazing!

 

[admin]

We did most of the small dent and ding repair type body work ourselves, but we decided to farm out the major rust repair. Both rear lower quarters, as well as top & front of the rear fenders had significant rust that needed to be cut out and patch panels welded in. And the front lower corners of both doors had 1/2" to 1" holes rusted through. Our basic Lincoln MIG welder (and more importantly our welding skills) were just not up to the task of welding thin sheet metal without warping the panels.

Here are some before and after body work pics:

After patch panels welded in and body filler started:

Primed and ready for paint: