Thread: Helpfull Things

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here is a trick I found when restoring a 51 ford f1 I was trying to remove many of the rusted carrage boltd that hold the fenders ,running boards ,etc.I found by tightening with a air impact wrench they would snap off creating less damage to the surrounding metal and making it a whole lot easier to disassemble.I just wish I had figured this out earlier in the restoration

wrench in Rick
That is worth a try as I've been trying to get them off all weekend on my 48
F1! I tryed loosening with the impact wrench, but never thought to try tightening them!

NOW you tell be about all those little tricks. If I had known some of them, for sure my hands and arms wouldn't be a criss cross of scars

One trick that I learned putting the body on my TCI chassis. The cowl bolt holes are mean to line up, with skidding the body on a freshly painted or powder coated frame to drop a couple of 3/8" bolts into the nutsert. I was making up an order for McMaster-Carr when I came across some Gr B7 studs - . You guessed it - dropped right into place and every other bolt hole lined right up exactly. I have a couple of extras now - but so what.

From my order:
98758A468 4 Each ASTM A193 Grade B7 Alloy Fully Threaded Stud, Black-oxide, 3/8"-16 Thread, 2" Length @$1.82 each

I can't take credit for this "helpful tip" and have posted it before, but just in case anyone missed it I'll post it again.

All of us who play with old cars have to sometimes deal with screws that are frozen in place, especially if you are removing door hinges. I have used the old hammer impact tool for years with marginal results, but we ran across a nifty way of doing it that makes it so much easier.

Essentially, what you need is an air chisel. They give you several tips with it, one of which is a pointed chisel tip. What you do is weld a 1/4 drive x 1/4 socket onto the tip so that you can insert various screwdriver attachments into it. These attachments are available at places like Home Depot, and come in Phillips, slotted, and hex head configurations.You also weld a little handle to the side of the chisel tip that is used to turn the fastener counter clockwise to get it out once you have it loose.

Here is how it works. You insert the phillips or whatever tip into the fastener you want out, and press down tightly (like you were drilling it out) Now you start the hammering action of the air chisel, while holding the handle in your left hand. After a few seconds of the air chisel pounding away at the fastener you are usually able to turn the handle counter clockwise and the screw will come out very easily.

We have used this tool a bunch of times, most recently when we removed the four doors off of Dan's '49 Ford. It made childs play of something that used to be a very tough job. Try it, I guarantee you will be amazed. Here are some pictures of how we made ours.

Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

I can't take credit for this "helpful tip" and have posted it before, but just in case anyone missed it I'll post it again.

All of us who play with old cars have to sometimes deal with screws that are frozen in place, especially if you are removing door hinges. I have used the old hammer impact tool for years with marginal results, but we ran across a nifty way of doing it that makes it so much easier.

Essentially, what you need is an air chisel. They give you several tips with it, one of which is a pointed chisel tip. What you do is weld a 1/4 drive x 1/4 socket onto the tip so that you can insert various screwdriver attachments into it. These attachments are available at places like Home Depot, and come in Phillips, slotted, and hex head configurations.You also weld a little handle to the side of the chisel tip that is used to turn the fastener counter clockwise to get it out once you have it loose.

Here is how it works. You insert the phillips or whatever tip into the fastener you want out, and press down tightly (like you were drilling it out) Now you start the hammering action of the air chisel, while holding the handle in your left hand. After a few seconds of the air chisel pounding away at the fastener you are usually able to turn the handle counter clockwise and the screw will come out very easily.

We have used this tool a bunch of times, most recently when we removed the four doors off of Dan's '49 Ford. It made childs play of something that used to be a very tough job. Try it, I guarantee you will be amazed. Here are some pictures of how we made ours.

Don

That is really cool !!

When faced with the inevitable sag or run in new paint let it dry overnight, then you can work it down gently to even the surface. If you try to sand out a run you will be sanding the valleys on both sides of the peak, and will likely sand through your clear/color beside the run before you get it flat. Instead take a single edge razor blade and tape the ends to keep the corners from digging in, and to form a guage for your scraping.
Tilting the top of the blade toward you at about 60 degrees, draw it along the run toward you, applying a gentle pressure to slowly shave a curl of dry paint from the top. As you continue the tape will act as a gauge, leaving the run proud by the thickness of the masking tape. At this point you can block sand with 1500 grit, then two stage polish and the run will be history.

great idea rick. will use that one in the future