My 66 thundrchikn

[zx28]

I want to post some pictures of my car on here but im not sure how... can someone give me a crash course?

[Guest]

Hey Eric,
To post pictures, you must become a paid member. Or you can send them to someone to post for ya! Would love to see her!
Richard D. Hord

[zx28]

thanks

alrighty thank ya sir. I'll see what i can do.

[Anders]

The price for the membership is the best investment I do every year. Easy! The support you get on this site is worth it 10 times a month.

[zx28]

temporary location for my pics until i can become donating member

http://s1025.photobucket.com/albums/y317/thundrchikn/

i ll try to get a video posted soon. thanks for looking

[simplyconnected]

Eric, your car is beautiful. It needs some sheet metal replacement, but you can do that if you learn to MIG weld.

You need some tools. Harbor Freight puts their 4-1/2" disk grinders on sale for $17 every so often. You can use the disk grinder to cut out rotted sections and weld-in some new ones.

See if you can find a good used Lincoln or Miller MIG welder. Sometimes welding supply stores will have sales on whole starter kits (including masks, wire, and tips, etc.). Time is on your side, so wait until you find a real good price. My Lincoln SP-170T is a 230-volt, but it's WAY more than you need. You can probably start with a 135-amp welder (or so). They run on 115-volts at 20-amps.

If your local high school offers a class in 'auto body repair', take it. Usually the course cost is minimal. They teach you the basics of sheet metal finishing and welding techniques.

Or maybe you have buddies that know sheet metal, and they are willing to teach you. That's just as well. I trade work with my restorer buddies all the time. - Dave

[zx28]

rust repair

Thank ya Dave for checking out my car. Luckily i do have both the grinder and the welder from past projects. My grinder is fine i reckon , but my welder is a Hobart something not sure what without looking at it. It is all electric and doesn't use gas. I have had some problems getting a good solid weld sometimes. Im not sure if its because of the welder or my amateur skills. Ha proly the later. I have a good buddy who works for MTD mowers. He welds the decks together all day. I'll probably see if i can get him to help me out.

I have a question about the brakes though. There is a reman. booster on it now, and it looks like the original master cylinder. The system was dry when purchased. I have filled with fluid and bled several times and my pedal is still very hard to push and the car stops like it weighs 10 tons. Should i try rebuilding components or will i be better off to look toward a new system up front and disks in rear?

I obviously wasn t around to know how well the cars stopped when new, and the only reason i wouldn't just rebuild the system is if it will still be "weak".

any suggestions?

[simplyconnected]

Hobart welders are as good as Lincoln or Miller. If you need good, inexpensive parts for it, check out 800-USA-WELD. Jeff Noland is real helpful, answering any welding questions. His prices are good, too. I'm assuming your welder is a MIG, not a STICK welder. Stick welders are good for welding heavy frame metals, but wire-feed (MIG) welders are MUCH better for sheet metal and light work.

Your '66 came with power front disk brakes. All you need is to restore it. Rear brakes don't do much braking, so changing to rear disks won't help it stop any better. That's why the OEM's kept drums in the rear for many decades. When your car was new, it stopped VERY well because of the power front disk brakes.

'Hard as a rock', can be two symptoms: Your booster isn't working, or your hoses are coming apart from the inside and plugging flow. I would change the booster AND master cylinder (to a dual reservoir), and buy three hoses. You can get a new booster and M/C combination for $200. Talk with Old Irish Dave (575) 544-4729. He is a brake professional and a Ford man. Tell him I sent you.

If your lines are rusted, your hoses are probably 'frozen' to the fittings and you may destroy the lines trying to get them apart. Re-pipe your 44 yr-old car. Brake line is cheap and easy to work with. Auto parts stores sell lengths of 3/16" line already made up with 3/8" and 7/16" fittings, or you can flare your own. Bending is much easier than you think.

- Dave