ckhorne's 1967 project

[ckhorne]

After a cold winter, I finally pulled my Patrol back into the garage.

The radiator couldn't be cleaned/rodded out; the radiator shop told me it was beyond repair. I had the option of having a new core made ($500) or buying a new one, so I went with a new one. I did a mini-writeup of that in another thread.

I had my carb rebuilt by Carb Junky's; they happened to be local to me, but I'd still recommend them. All gaskets and bushings replaced and came back looking like new.

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While I had the carb out for rebuild and front bib off, I decided to fix my engine's paint job. Even though I had painted everything when the engine was still out, I had only covered it with the engine paint in a spray can, thinking that'd be enough. But the coolant that sprayed on the nice blue engine left streaks everywhere. Even if it was just cosmetic, I wanted to fix it; I had put a lot of time into, so it was important enough for me to do so.

I tracked down a 2-part epoxy clear coat that I could still do without a paint booth. It took one full can to re-paint the engine, with about 3 coats. I'm hoping this will hold up to coolant and other fluids that otherwise make the standard paint run, but we'll see.

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[ckhorne]

I finally got around to cleaning up the air filter assembly.

Interestingly, I found what was possibly the only guaranteed original paint on the Patrol - in the bottom of the air filter, which has been sitting covered in oil for the past 48 years. I almost saved it out of posterity, but decided it'd be more work than it's worth, so the whole assembly got a black repaint.

I didn't want to mess with the oil bath filter, even though it looks in decent shape. Again, I found a great tidbit by Esteban on using standard lawnmower air filters.

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I found that a 3" (Kohler 33-155) and a 2.5" (Kohler 33-153) stacked together was perfect, as someone mentioned in a related thread. It's hard to take a picture of the fit, but you can somewhat see from this picture that it's a snug fit, without glue or any extra parts:

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I wasn't able to find a prefilter that would fit over the whole assembly...

[ckhorne]

I wasn't sure where else to post this - possibly it can go in the compatible parts list:

The Doorman 675-004 studs is nearly a drop-in replacement for the studs that mount the intake/exhaust headers to the engine block.

[RMP&O]

Bummer on the manifold, great another member took care of you though. I have found it is rather common for the manifolds to crack. Hairline cracks can be found on the backside of the manifold and if it is very clean they are easier to see. One I have has been tig welded and seems good to go. Couple different methods for welding cast iron but generally using a nickle rod and keeping heat under control works. That and letting it cool very slowly, ie pack it in sand and let it cool that way after welding. The way they burned through your old manifold looks like the went at it with an arc welder and put way to much heat at it. Arc welding works on cast but you need to use a nickle rod and keep heat way down.

Your Patrol is coming along nicely, looks great!

Cheers

[Flaggoni]

I've had good success on cast iron repairs using oxy/acetylene torch and brazing (brass) filler-rod.
A slightly oversize tip and a soft flame provides a uniform preheat, which minimizes cracking tendencies.
And, as mentioned above, cool slowly.

[miller]

Looking great mate, well done!

[Metaxas]

Nice work!!!!
Hope you can post your finished work

[RiverPatrol]

I moved the brake booster posts to a separate thread. Here is the link: http://www.60patrol.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3928&start=15

[ckhorne]

It's hard to believe my last update on my own thread was 3 years ago.... hopefully I can bring it current again.

After a long hiatus of sitting in my driveway, with the occasional driving, I finally started working on the body. The PO went over the Patrol with rattle cans at some point, which was flaking off in most places and there were a number of rusted out holes. Overall, the body was in decent shape, with the majority of the rust limited to the corners and low points where water collects - no major dents or other problems.

I've always thought it'd be interesting to paint my own vehicle, and I figured I couldn't make matters much worse by learning on my Patrol. I also didn't expect Pebble Beach Concours - level finish - enough to look good from a few steps back was good enough. I knew nothing of automotive painting, including any and all prep work, so I really had no idea what I was getting into.

I started with a basic DA sander and 80 grit sandpaper (my son lasted about 10 mins before getting bored...):

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Somewhere in there, I realized that I needed to take all the panels off to really get to a lot of the rust. I finished the tub after going through about fifty 80 grit pads:

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[ckhorne]

Next step was to get the first coat of paint on to seal the metal back up. I ended up going with Southern Polyurethanes for all my paints except for the color/base coat - mostly because of the online support and the excellent phone support.

I rolled the Patrol out into the garage one morning and, with my first attempt at using an HVLP gun, I nervously sprayed on two coats of epoxy primer. I look back later on myself and laugh, now knowing I had no reason to fear screwing up as much as I thought I did... Anyway, I made it through with only one paint run.

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