How far are the Nat's away again?

[fccool59]

I would go the wd, give it a few soakings over a day or two.acid does seem to free up any rust, ive been getting into the acid a fair bit lately myself, chances are if they are that rusty that they will likey break putting them back on.
rare spare sells a kit to suit the sedan that may help, rusty clips also will leave horible brown runs when your car gets wet, you can paint them in por 15 but make sure you treat them with por 15 metal ready first, also a sand blast might help the stuff bond better, ive learned from experience that you cant just put the por 15 straight on rust, it falls off.
sand blasters are $20 at supercheap and about $14 for a bag of stuff, could be handy for cleaning those small rusty bits, I should get one myself.
I suppose it would be pretty scarey removing stainless trim from a FE wagon.

[Ed]

save ur money on a sandblaster for 14 bucks.

they dont do anything, they dont have enough suction to pull the media, and unless you're running over 100 PSI air and have a at least a 17cfm compressor with big tank or better, they are useless.

about clips.

I just put a wire wheel on my bench grinder, cleaned them all up, hit them up with metal ready then POR15.

only used 1 coat (too lazy) to put another on.

As Leon says POR 15 is extremely finnicky with its surface, it needs to be rough enough or it wont key properly.

Cheers

Ed

[TorqueFC]

hi guys

we actually own and use a sand blaster, and for little brackets and small bits and pieces they are really good, ver messy but they work a treat

regards
Darcy

[mcl1959]

Door stripes can only be gently prised up and hope they dont break.  Front guards you MUST undo the bolt at the back, or break it off if it wont undo because prising up the guard spears will bend them and they will be VERY hard to straighten.
Even if the clips break, the front ones can be bought exact copy of original whilst a clip similar to the front guard clip can be purchased for thge door stripes.

Ken

[20.4_seconds]

Been very carefull with those bits Fccool...
Thanks guys, at least I can replace the clips if they do snap...I'm just spraying them with WD over a couple of days first..see if that loosens them up abit.
I will go the wire wheel also Ed, I had seen that little sand blaster and thought...hmmm I wonder how crap that is? But I could be wrong, I've only got a 11-12cfm compressor anyways.

p.s gave one of those flap disks a go, bloody hell it just cleans the old paint off in a flash...no pressure needed at all....and yes I'm been very very careful  
Pics of the back tomorrow...

Nick

[fccool59]

A good tool at this stage could be a cup brush for the floor and door jambs.

[20.4_seconds]

Photos of the rear, petrol tank area is stuffed, the rest is ok...just has 47 odd years of the good old red dirt in her....
So question one, draining and flushing petrol tank before removal?

Do I just keep flushing  with water until safe?

I have a couple of doner wagons that I will be checking for a good tank, do I cut about 5 to 8 inches out from the edge of the tank to have plenty to work with?

Is there a special way of removing the filler pipe?  





Could only those of you who have done this repair, reply as I would prefer first hand knowledge rather than what you heard works.

Cheers in advance
Nick

p.s special thanks to Jamie(FeHotrod) who has been giving me lots of tips and help off the forum, cheers dude.

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

You don't need to flush the tank before removal, unless you are doing it with a smoke in your mouth  
Just undo/grind-off the screws around the perimeter and pull it out.

[fe hotrod]

 ;)Nick the back end of your wagon doesnt seem to bad really ive seen a lot worse trust me,the section that is rusted out can also be found in utes and vans,and if you dont have any luck with the fuel tank,give streetneat in qld a call cause im sure he is making fuel tanks brand new!!i must say you have been a busy boy too its looking real good,the cleaner the better!!cheers jamie

[mcl1959]

Actually if there is petrol in the tank and with all those holes in the top, I wouldn't grind near it unless it was very well flushed.
The screws holding in the tank are 7/16 head tappers like the mudguard screws.  They should undo easily and the tank slides out from underneath with the neck attached.  Just twist and pull slowly until it is released from the 2 rubber grommets in the body.
As far as repairs go - locate a good wagon donor car and cut out a large section of the area around the tank.  Then only cut out as much metal as required from your car to get back to good metal.  Trim the donor section to fit and weld in.

Ken

[spanner]

As Ken said, don't use a grinder if the tank has petrol in it or you can smell fumes. A bit like having a smoke in your mouth. If the tank has been flushed of petrol you could fill the tank with water to rid the tank of fumes and then grind of any bolts you could not remove by any other means. The tank looks rs to me. A good secondhand one may be better. Welding new parts into a fuel tank can be a bit tricky unless you have the correct gear and you need to leak test it after welding.

[fccool59]

I made a straight section 9" long and 3" wide about, it took about 1 hr and was probably the easiest patch to go in.
I didnt have to repair the corners of the tank hole.
looks like your tank hasent been used for a while by the looks of the hole in the top, could it really still have fuel in it?

[20.4_seconds]

Cool, thanks for all of that. ..yes it still has fuel in it..I was driving the wagon a little just before I brought it home  
it was only then that it sucked up some crap and got blocked...lol
I will drain it tomorrow and undo the screws...grinder is staying in it's box....for now  
I'm not interested in trying to save the tank, I've seen it up close  
I will let you know how I go.
Nick

[20.4_seconds]

Ok,  tank came out no problems, no explosions either  
Hmmm I prob could have just pushed it out  
Really ordinary all around and abit worse on the left side...
I'll wait and see what I can salvage from my doner before doing any cutting...thanks guys...

oh now that I have easy access to basically the whole underneath of the Wagon  , anything I should check out  
Nick

[Jonno]

how do the upper shocker mounts look (mine were stuffed)?

Jonno

[Ed]

Hi,

under floor rust repairs.

I basically cut out the rusted sections up to the flange on the subframe rail.

folded a section of metal to the same profile,

cut out a strip of metal to reinforce the area where the tank bolts to and sticthed it in.

The corner sections were left standard as these areas were OK, and difficult to form up anyway.

welded the replacement section in.

Dont worry about not knowing how to weld, I couldnt weld before my project started.  since then ive learnt a thing or two about welding and reckon i can get by OK now.

it's all about practice and learning the settings on the machine you use (i use a MigoMag 195).

will see if i have any pics.

Cheers

Ed

[fccool59]

Me two, I had very little experience but since starting my car I  have had heaps of practice, with a car like this you will probably end up with so much welding that you will have to either pay out a fortune in paying someone to weld, or your mates that can weld wont talk to you anymore.
try to spend as much as you can on a welder as everyone seems to start with a $600 -$700 unit then upgrade in the near future, I still am on the cheap mig myself and regret not spending a couple of hundred more at the start.
I think you can haggle at BOC gasses and get something suitable for $800-$1000, seems like big dollars but it will probably save you money and headaches in the end, I have heard lots of stories about people throwing the cheaper migs across the yard.
One of my mates just got his back after having it repaired after he threw it over the fence while working on his EK.

[20.4_seconds]

Sorry I've been away from home with work...
Finally got the whole front end done in etch primer ...pretty happy with the result of my first go at spraying...had  two or three water droplets come out of the nossle?? but all good now..
I have 3 or 4 spots to sand back and touch up: re bodywork..... but I'm away again until the 5th of Dec...

More updates then....




Nick

[4hammers]

Hi Nick.
Looks good. BUT, watch those water drops. It is condensation. You will end up with a whole lot of little blisters under the paint. Does your compressor have an evaporator? It is a little plastic container thingo, with a release valve on the bottom. It catches the vapour & lets you vent it before it hits the gun.  Also, on the bottom of the compressor tank, there should be a little valve. When it is full of air, open it up a bit & it will blow all the water out.

If you have an evaporator, you also need to make sure that there is enough hose length coming from the tank to the evaporator. This gives the water a chance to condense & settle in the evaporator. If it is too short, the water will stay in vapour form & end up in the paint. Comes up in about 2 or 3 months as a heap of little blisters.

Goodluck & watch that vapour!

Rob J

[20.4_seconds]

Been away for quite a while but back now so the questions will start again.....
This is regarding my Smiths clock....just need someone to tell me if it's neg or positive earth?...nothing on the clock what so ever regarding that so any tips on testing it (A) to check if it works? and
 (b) how to wire it up are very much appreciated.....





And to who anyone who has any spare clock brackets p.m me  

Nick