Finishing up a project

[Yadkin]

A 1965 Galaxie 500 that belongs to my adopted kid sister.

[Yadkin]

Some different angles.

[Yadkin]

Three years ago when she bought it I put in a dual master cylinder and power brakes in it, then rebuilt the carburetor. We just finished a more extensive restoration with all new brakes, new heavy duty sway bars, rebuilt the rear end, new wheel bearings, new U-joints, and I fixed leaks everywhere.

We made major repairs to rusted panels at the rear wheels, cleaned and painted the trunk, repaired the trunk opening lip (rusted out at two places). Then we took off all the chrome below the base of the top and gave it four coats of Rangoon Red urethane.

My son put in relays for the headlamps. I fixed all the lights and switches so everything works. I'm nearly complete with a full detail.

Everything is cleaning up nicely except the tops of the door cards. Years of sweat and sunscreen has contaminated the vinyl to the point that it is nearly brown instead of red. I've tried several products in my aresenal and am about to give up.

[bird 60]

Looks really good Steve. I guess She'll be complete when you find the "D".

Chris....From OZ.

[Yadkin]

Good eye.

The D is sitting here on my desk, minus one pin. I have a short list of little parts that I need and will order all at the same time once I get the owner to tell me her schedule when she can pick it up.

[del]

Everything is cleaning up nicely except the tops of the door cards. Years of sweat and sunscreen has contaminated the vinyl to the point that it is nearly brown instead of red. I've tried several products in my aresenal and am about to give up.

Have you tried the SEM Color Coat? You need to prep the surface well, but the look of the finished product is worth it. Color matching is always a challenge, but might be worth a try. Good Luck with it!

[Yadkin]

I thought of that, or some kind of dye. But the contaminants are still in there, or at least I think that's what is causing the discoloration. I used dilute Simple Green and that took some of it off. Then I used a bug and sap remover, and more came off. Then I used denatured alcohol and none of it came off. I'm thinking that I just have to find the right solvent to clean it without dissolving the vinyl.

[Yadkin]

One source said to use ammonia. It worked a little. So grease is in there, just baked in by the sun.

[del]

When I did my package tray it was pretty grungy. I used some aerosol "prep" product that was in the spray paint section at Pep Boys. I don't remember the brand, but they only had the one kind so it didn't really matter. Whatever it was, it worked great and didn't harm the vinyl at all. It took several applications and some scrubbing with a soft (white) scrubby pad to get it good and clean.

[Yadkin]

I test drove the car at length and brought it up to my place in the mountains last Friday afternoon. The attached photo is on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The trip was uneventful except:
1. Leaving my neighborhood here in the valley, traveling 30mph on my 35mph street, my new neighbor coming the other direction cut a left directly in front of me. This allowed me to test the brakes, and I locked up both front tires and narrowly avoided him. Apparently the car is too small and the color not bright enough to see in broad daylight with a slight overcast.
2. On 421 through Wilkesboro the sky opened up and dumped about an inch of rain. I was able to test the top for leaks and the tires for hydroplaning. Oh, and the brakes for near flood conditions and the 4-ways for visibility.
3. 421 N from the valley climbing the spine of the Blue Ridge. This is high speed twisties, and the Gal took them fast and level. This was followed by a short rest stop on the BRP. When I was a kid I always dreamed of driving that road. Now I travel it any time I want to avoid the traffic in Boone.
4. Shulls Mills Road from the BRP to SR 105. It's a slow tight twisty. In my 05 Mustang I can maybe do 35. This allowed me to test out the new stabilizer bars. This boat did pretty good, and I found the Lexus bumper in front of me just that much slower and annoying.
5. SR 105 climbing hills. There's a section with a climbing lane, 8 to 10% grade for several miles. The old 65 hit it at 65.