Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[AtomicEraTom]

Not particularly vintage, but decided to go a little more old-fashioned on the interior of the truck and install a lovely burlwood dash kit, which matches my Caddy almost perfectly.

 

[jamespowers]

Not particularly vintage, but decided to go a little more old-fashioned on the interior of the truck and install a lovely burlwood dash kit, which matches my Caddy almost perfectly.

Next up an Escalade grille.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Don't think I haven't considered it.

Next up an Escalade grille.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Anybody know a place where I might find some oversize kingpin bushings, or have them made? I'm having the kingpins done on the Plodge this week, and the garage tells me that the bushings are too loose in the kit I provided -- they measure factory spec, so apparently some past owner compensated for front-end wear by having the holes machined out to take an oversize. I haven't had much luck from the Usual Sources -- there are oversize kits for various GM products, but nobody ever heard of this on a Mopar.

I'll probably end up having to find some machine shop willing to make them for me, but if anybody knows of someone who specializes in this type of thing, please advise.

(And it wasn't even really wobbling, he just thought they were a little sloppy.)

 

[vitanola]

[video=youtube;Lf8miprLH60]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf8miprLH60[/video]

Beautiful, heavy, Cleveland-built machine.

Mrs. Cuneo drove a pink and white striped '07 White (among many other cars) in competition, and did so well that the Automobile Association changed its rules to discourage Distaff competitors.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Anybody know a place where I might find some oversize kingpin bushings, or have them made? I'm having the kingpins done on the Plodge this week, and the garage tells me that the bushings are too loose in the kit I provided -- they measure factory spec, so apparently some past owner compensated for front-end wear by having the holes machined out to take an oversize. I haven't had much luck from the Usual Sources -- there are oversize kits for various GM products, but nobody ever heard of this on a Mopar.

I'll probably end up having to find some machine shop willing to make them for me, but if anybody knows of someone who specializes in this type of thing, please advise.

(And it wasn't even really wobbling, he just thought they were a little sloppy.)

Bushings too big for the king pin? If they are too big for the king pin they will get smaller when pressed into place. This is normal, in fact they need to be reamed after being pressed in place.

I usually take them to an auto machine shop to have the old ones removed, new ones pressed in and reamed to size.

Worst case, a machine shop can make oversize bushings.

 

[jamespowers]

Don't think I haven't considered it.

I see it all the time out here---all the time.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Bushings too big for the king pin? If they are too big for the king pin they will get smaller when pressed into place. This is normal, in fact they need to be reamed after being pressed in place.

I usually take them to an auto machine shop to have the old ones removed, new ones pressed in and reamed to size.

Worst case, a machine shop can make oversize bushings.

Nope, it's that the hole the bushing fits into is bigger than it should be -- it probably was run with loose pins for a long time and it got beat out of round and was machined, and an oversize bushing was installed -- oversize at the O.D. and standard for the I. D.

I'd never heard of this, but apparently it's something people used to do when they drove a car for twenty-odd years, as was the case with mine.

In any event, we found a local machinist who could make the bushings out of rod stock for $185 or so. A bit pricey, but there isn't much other choice.

 

[tonyb]

Seeing how the machinist can fabricate the bushings for you, you're spared the trouble and expense of finding replacement kingpins.

But am I incorrect in thinking that such parts are to be found at what might be considered a reasonable cost? Were those particular kingpins used in Mopar models over much of a timespan?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Seeing how the machinist can fabricate the bushings for you, you're spared the trouble and expense of finding replacement kingpins.

But am I incorrect in thinking that such parts are to be found at what might be considered a reasonable cost? Were those particular kingpins used in Mopar models over much of a timespan?

You can actually still get the kingpin kit over the counter at NAPA, if your NAPA is an old one in a frowsy part of town. I paid $46 for the kit, which isn't too much under the circs. The front end parts in most of the Mopar makes were the same from the late thirties into the early fifties, so there's a lot of them still out there.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Off to fall Jefferson Car Show tomorrow, if any fellow loungers plan on going.

Also, put seat covers on the rig today.

 

[Pinhead]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/27/treasure-trove-vintage-cars-to-be-auctioned-in-nebraska/

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2700285802001/

 

[Stearmen]

Off to fall Jefferson Car Show tomorrow, if any fellow loungers plan on going.

Also, put seat covers on the rig today.

Are those the correct Indian blanket pattern seat covers? Had a set on my 79 Silverado, very comfortable!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

No, they're not correct, but my dad bought a set for his Silverado when it was new, in 2000 and I always liked them. Had to get a set for myself, and I thought they had more of a vintage feel than the factory pattern. It was showing a little wear, too and I can't have that!

Are those the correct Indian blanket pattern seat covers? Had a set on my 79 Silverado, very comfortable!

 

[jamespowers]

No, they're not correct, but my dad bought a set for his Silverado when it was new, in 2000 and I always liked them. Had to get a set for myself, and I thought they had more of a vintage feel than the factory pattern. It was showing a little wear, too and I can't have that!

So they just slip on the seats. You didn't recover/reupholster them.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Nope, it's that the hole the bushing fits into is bigger than it should be -- it probably was run with loose pins for a long time and it got beat out of round and was machined, and an oversize bushing was installed -- oversize at the O.D. and standard for the I. D.

I'd never heard of this, but apparently it's something people used to do when they drove a car for twenty-odd years, as was the case with mine.

In any event, we found a local machinist who could make the bushings out of rod stock for $185 or so. A bit pricey, but there isn't much other choice.

I don't know why they want to start with bar stock. You can buy bushings in all different sizes and machine them to suit.

This problem comes up on beam axles from time to time. The cure is to heat the eye red and pound on it with a big hammer. This shrinks it back to size when it cools down. But you have to have a mandrel, or the old king pin, to be sure it stays round.

If the hole has been reamed oversize it might be easier to replace the upright but they are not so easy to find anymore. Is it both sides or just one side? If it is both sides I would smell a rat. You may have gotten the wrong pins and bushings.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Yes, well it was a bit more of a process than just 'slipping' them on.

So they just slip on the seats. You didn't recover/reupholster them.

 

[tonyb]

Ouch. Of course, at that price, could you afford to enjoy the car if you owned it today? ...

Yeah, that very thought has occurred to me many times.

There's a fellow around the corner who has about the nicest mildly hot-rodded '66 (I think) Nova you'll likely ever see outside of a climate-controlled setting. It's truly better than new in many regards.

He acquired it in a trade not so ago (he clearly got the better end of the deal), and now he has it on the market for 22K, but he says he'll take 20. He could use the scratch, for one thing (he wants to sell his house and build new on some vacant land he has), and for another, it's so clean that he fears what might happen if he were to use it like, well, a car. And this is only a $20,000 collectible car. Something that might bring more than four times that amount might keep us mere mortals awake at night.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Come up dry trying to buy some inventory for the lot, but I did pick up a few things at the swap meet, anyway.

 

[dh66]

Very nice!

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