Sleeper - 1936 ford phaeton

What a surprise seeing this down at the boat launch ramp.

Super clean 1936 ford phaeton.

Now I understand the dash differences between a real roadster

and a cut-down"coupster".

The sheetmetal flows around like a bathtub,

angled dashboard.

This one had a trick passenger windshield.

This was an aftermarket dealership option.

Looks like he'd been chauffeuring a long time.

The owners have had this for 45 years!

Bought it driving for $1000.

The '51 flathead was as dolled up as the body.

And it sounded like a sewing machine.

Thanks Don and family for letting me big you...

TP

hotrodjeep

The internet is a weird place.

Forums allow us to shamelessly self promote our handy-work,

or ask others for help.

Certain people gravitate to certain people.

Friendships are made through posted pictures

and witty comments.

The early HAMB was a great place to meet like-minded gearheads.

Over a dozen years,

my projects were picked apart or applauded,

by these invisible people,

and vice versa.

Last month "hotrodjeep" came into town,

all the way from Iowa.

One of the few onliners I've ever met.

We immediately dove into a series of mechanical tasks,

it was like I knew him for years,

which we have.

 Jeff helped dial in the mustang engine,

pull this '33 ford engine,

and pop the hood off the 40,

with good conversation in the mix.

Amazingly enough without getting his white shirt dirty!

Good times my future pig-farming friend!

Thanks for all the help...

TP

Swinger

We were in the Ventura area for a couple days,

always good to be back up there.

Only 200 miles away,

and the brown smog layer disappears.

The fresh air is definitely missed.

There's always time to squeeze in a craigslist hunt,

and the site is a reflection of the area.

In San Diego,

there are a couple pages every day 

in each category.

In Ventura,

there's maybe half a page in each,

and ads are up forever.

This ad was posted for a month,

and it seemed like a deal.

The guy met at a local parking lot,

and said to be on the lookout for a yellow dodge.

I was expecting a yellow molesta-van,

instead an original 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger.

Unbelievably original!

This was unrestored, 

stock black upholstery, 

top and butterscotch paint.

This was deservedly a Hemmings cover car in 2010,

yet still a driver.

I'd expect the slant 6 in a car this clean.

The 318 had less than 60k miles.

I want these tires on the green 40!

Cool to know there are caretakers hiding gems like this.

TP

The Leak

Back in February,

the house was overrun with a peculiar odor.

A crawl under the house...

Holey Chit!

Our very own cesspool.

Woops!

I don't check under there much.

The 60 year old cast iron pipe,

finally gave way.

The leak was in the wall,

not too obvious until disrupting the fragile plumbing,

then the leak was unstoppable.

Management sent out a plumbing crew,

who wouldn't fix it til the area was dry.

The wash room was sealed,

and a dehydrator was hooked up.

For almost 2 weeks this thing heated the enclosure,

and filtered the air.

In 2 strokes of genius,

the machines water drain was put in the sink,

which spilled back to the floor or under the house.

Then we realized the kitchen sink

partially drained back out the now open plumbing hole,

under the house.

Holey Double Chit!!

Instead of washing dishes in the bathroom,

a 5-gallon bucket did draining duty.

You don't realize how much water is used for dishes!

The grey water was utilized all over the yard,

the plants loved it.

After a couple weeks,

the demo could be started.

Until multiple red flags were thrown.

Mold and asbestos...

Fortunately the plumbers snuck in and fixed the leak first.

The mold wasn't the evil kind,

but to contractors mold is mold.

The asbestos was in the tile glue,

not the overly toxic type,

but to contractors...

The abatement was crazy,

multiple control tents.

One to enter,

one to dress,

one to walk,

and the main for work.

The guys really scrubbed the place clean.

Work couldn't continue until the area tested safe,

one of the reasons this had taken so long.

The garage like room was great for storage.

Now I know why there are specialty subcontractors.

Hopefully these wires weren't hot.

6 weeks later the room was back to normal!

Sadly the original cast iron sink was replaced.

Someone had tossed or taken the adjustable base.

The room got tight quick!

After 7 weeks we could finally use our hot rod washing machine.

This thing is awesome.

Not as water conscious,

but it will hold a big family load.

Clothesline a back!

TP

Whaler Restoration part V- Bottom's up

With the hull flipped,

the gelcoat and fiberglass issues could be addressed.

The problems were a mystery,

and the main reason the 1970 boston whaler was a good deal.

The gelcoat was buried underneath layers of paint, 

dried scum, and more paint,

in that order.

Not sure if this was intentional,

or just beer engineering.

The algae scum was stronger than the spray paint.

I couldn't wait to sand it to the white original gelcoat.

Luckily the issues weren't worse than expected.

The boat had pox and cracks,

a mix of 60's chemical technology limitations,

years of abuse,

and sitting in the water with no bottom paint.

The hull had been out of the water long enough 

to dry out the internal foam.

Many believe the correct way to repair pox,

is to sand the gelcoat down to the green fiberglass,

coat with resin,

and build up with a new protective gelcoat layer.

Sure this hull deserved a yacht restoration,

but not from me.

This would be a test of 21st century resins.

Any flakey spots were sanded/ground down,

and even hammered,

until only the strong remained.

A handful of scars and rub throughs needed fiberglass build up 

using epoxy resin and FG cloth.

A thinned resin coat seeped into the fibers and cracks,

bonding and sealing any section questionable.

The epoxy fairing compound smoothed things out.

The white epoxy filler primer had turned peach,

due to moisture turning the catalyst brown.

The first primer coat magnified the need for more putty.

A polyester based green autobody filler was used for this.

This method has been strong for car repair,

should be ok for a boat.

The second primer layer was much smoother.

The bow section needed a ton of bondo sculpturing,

over the built up fiberglass base.

The wallet was ripped off about this time.

A tough decision was made that changed the trajectory,

towards my typical ways of doing things.

Instead of wasting money on special colors,

I raided my stash of excess work boat paint.

The linear polyurethane was rolled on,

a little bumpy but nice and thick.

Better than owing a painter friend at this point.

Every morning the choice was justified.

If this is what the paint looks like wet with the dew,

than I can live with a little orange peel.

One evening we rushed the hull flip,

switching the a-frame and cherry-picker sides.

A little slow-motion craziness,

as the boat had a mind of it's own.

No injuries,

no problem.

A couple scars on the garage,

and on the boat.

If this is all that happened,

this hull will be bulletproof enough for our use.

The side smack was a bummer,

the trailer just dug right in.

Fiberglassed and smoothed over,

only you readers will ever know.

Now it was time to prep for the top coat.

The sides and now had been sanded.

And the outboard extension welded up.

Good old stick welder.

The boys and I struggled a bit carrying the 50 horse to the boat.

Cool to see an idea become a reality.

Now the plan is to weigh the boat down,

float it in the water,

and mark the real waterline.

Then finish up the luxurious bench seats,

figure out the controls,

and whatever else is on the std list...

TP