Ironmightys Americana 1952, 58,59, 73 & 85

Liked for support, not because I’m enjoying you struggling. 👍

Probably a good example of where a quality ethos works against me, and whilst I don't regret implementing this sort of change it goes unseen and in truth is more around "deleting the ugly" than any great uplift in reliability or safety. As it's unseen work, the question is "does it add value?" or is it more about personal peace of mind and satisfaction?

However all the time I've been working under the dashboard I've been irritated by the ironmongery butchery that was the wiper motor mechanism. It's functional, but so badly put together it just annoyed me everytime I looked at it.

So some aluminium tube, thick walled with the ends tapped(both LH & RH threads!) with a couple of rose joints and it's a lot smarter and looks built for longevity now. OK I used metric fittings on this modification on the grounds of cost but much happier now. Need a couple more spacers to navigate around some interference issues before everything gets bolted up.

I absolutely agree with your approach. Yes, there's a time and place for "that'll do", but there's also a huge amount of personal satisfaction with doing a job that's 100% spot on, that nobody will see until many years later when it's uncovered and the next person in there looks at it and thinks "now that's a nice job".

Well after copious amounts of frustration and faffery I finally got the 52 back together with everything working... little shakedown around town left me caught out by lack of fuel🙄 my own fault, a combination of gauge reading full plus the filler spitting back really quickly when last at the pumps caught me out. Positives were fully functioning lights and really good(but not sudden) brake performance.


Few niggling issues with bleeding the new trans cooler and priming the power glide saw the trans slipping a bit but think that's now sorted. So with that done, I retorqued the front wheel bearings, sealed up the patina and got set for a proper shakedown 50 mile trip.


However, and in keeping with the theme of this it had kept one kick in the nether regions for its last hurrah. Sunday afternoon just doing one more round of checks in the workshop and spotted a pool of coolant in an unexpected place(the pool had formed on the floor slightly ahead of the transmission. My initial "hope" after that sinking sensation was a failed core plug... but alas it's not to be. The problem, with the cooling system finally holding pressure it's exposed another weakness and this turns out to be a cracked block, about 4 inches long running behind the exhaust downpipe.


I could strip it back and grind out a little metal and JB Weld it(K Seal made no difference) but decided I will find a replacement engine. Demoralised doesn't even come close, but for now I'll use it locally for a week or 2 whilst I do some other jobs on other cars before stripping it down and starting again(will use the time to rebuild the whole front suspension.)

However for a little balance I did find a pair(still need another 2) of 9 x 18 Detroit Steel Smoothie wheels for a great price for the New Yorker(another wiring horror show😩) and not sure I've seen 18s look small on anything before. Getting them powder coated black but not sure if I want satin or gloss, tempted with high gloss

Think I should rename this thread "Whinging about Wiring"...Whilst I contemplate the plan for the 52 Chevrolet(curveball there being an enquiry about buying it with knackered engine) , I'd been chasing round arranging the MoT on the Civic(2014 so no retro interest there) and rolling the New Yorker after chopping out an array of unnecessary splices and butt connectors alongside fixing the non working brake lights.

It's not really where I want it to be, but it made "usable" even if the lack of dash lights mean daytime use only.... but I then decided the worn hinge bushing needed changing😔 which has necessitated removing the drivers door and quelle surprise it's thrown up more sketchy wiring.





Got a plan to improve this set up, it's all mega heavy gauge(from the factory), so plan is to introduce relays and lighten the cabling passing into the drivers door. Given the switches are very tired and originalreplacements are expensive I'm hoping to use a modern alternative but they're some bench tests needed first.

However with the door off it's fair to say the lower bushes were toast




Frustratingly(again) the pin kits I have aren't the right ones so more downtime waiting for the right ones(if I'd been desperate I'd have drilled these out but for now I'd prefer to retain the original dimensions(although I might still need to bore one out).

Possibly the biggest lemon I've ever bought, and before landing in my custody it was potentially only a couple of bad ownership changes from finding it's way to the banger track.