Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

and here's a little before and after comparison, old and new(ish)

[Gregski]

"Oh, now, just a minute. You must understand, my dear: On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before."

[smpoulin01]

Greg, did you make your own replacements or did you get a kit?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by smpoulin01

Greg, did you make your own replacements or did you get a kit?

not sure I follow your question since you see me assembling these myself, so yes these are all my original parts that I wired wheeled the rust off of then painted black, the only thing I bought new was the oval felt like material that gets sandwiched in the Oreo cookie, however had I known it was something someone just cut out free hand with scissors, and did a horrible job of it, I would have just pranced over to Walmart and bought my own material and cut them out myself, lol

if you follow the thread (huge I know) try the Table of Contents in the very first post, you will see how I worked these kick panels

[smpoulin01]

I was wondering if the gasket material was a kit.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Gregski

"Oh, now, just a minute. You must understand, my dear: On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before."

Is that chili and cornbread muffins? I'm on my way!

Don't the kids tell on you when you spread parts all over the kitchen?

[Gregski]

so got the passenger side kick panel back in, not to proud to bolt this shiny newish piece up to the rusty sheet metal, but its cold out and this is now my daily driver so git 'er done, come summer time things may git painted/POR15ed up

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Gregski

so got the passenger side kick panel back in, not to proud to bolt this shiny newish piece up to the rusty sheet metal, but its cold out and this is now my daily driver so git 'er done, come summer time things may git painted/POR15ed up

I actually think it's cool bolting renovated parts up against old, obviously aged parts. It shows the progress. Good work on on Rusty's gills.

[Gregski]

I realize some of you may think this is silly, but I love showing our "city" trucks doing truck things, ha ha

so the HOA insisted we replace the unapproved white rocks put in by the previous home owner with standard bark, so here we go

Rusty gettin' dirty and maintainin' his Street Cred!!! ha ha

[rusty76]

Cool

[blindbug]

1. I hate you, your propensity to actually get stuff DONE is making me feel inadequate.
2. I love you, your propensity to actually get stuff DONE AND take pictures is awesome and gives me ideas on things I can actually get done myself!

I have questions:
• I've heard from reviews that the POR 15 tends to lighten in color, turning a purple color (or even pinkish) when exposed to UV light... any thoughts on your application?
• You are using Phosphoric Acid to prep, and then applying POR 15, correct? I see concrete etcher at the local home improvement as Phosphoric Acid, but I'm not sure if that's the same, or if it is the same strength... Where'd you source your acid, and what strength is it (or do you even know)?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by blindbug

1. I hate you, your propensity to actually get stuff DONE is making me feel inadequate.
2. I love you, your propensity to actually get stuff DONE AND take pictures is awesome and gives me ideas on things I can actually get done myself!

Luv it, I mean I hate it!

[Gregski]

First of all, all excellent questions, I am no POR15 expert but I have used it a few times now.

Originally Posted by blindbug

I have questions:
• I've heard from reviews that the POR 15 tends to lighten in color, turning a purple color (or even pinkish) when exposed to UV light... any thoughts on your application?

I am not sure POR 15 was designed to be out in the sun, they make different products some are meant to be painter over, some are to be hidden under the vehicle like their chssis black, or hidden in the engine bay under the hood, is my understanding.

I have not seen mine turn purple, but I had it go blotchy, meaning I bought the glossy type and painted my '68 Mustang engine bay with it (two coates as per instructions) and when it all was said and done and dry, some spots were shinny and some were flat and dull. So I called the company up and they said sometimes it just does that? Say What?!

Originally Posted by blindbug

• You are using Phosphoric Acid to prep, and then applying POR 15, correct? I see concrete etcher at the local home improvement as Phosphoric Acid, but I'm not sure if that's the same, or if it is the same strength...

Best advice I can give you, is use it's two sister products, one is called Cleaner Degreaser (what I substitute Denatured Alcohol for) the other is Metal Prep (essentially really weak Phosphoric Acid (read the ingredients)). But if you use their stuff and follow their directions you have the best chance of getting proper results. This is not a cop out, I just suggest you try their stuff the first time around, and go from there.

Originally Posted by blindbug

Where'd you source your acid, and what strength is it (or do you even know)?

I have said this in the forum though I don't expect anybody to find it it's gotten so big, LOL, I buy mine at Home Depot, it's like $5 bucks for a gallon. Lessons Learned: Anything Home Depot sells is not true Automobile Quality, but it's good enuff. I use it straight up on really rusty bits and delute it with water on other bits, you will figure that out, it may eat some metal, it likes to ruin hood springs, lol.

[Bloodhound]

POR 15 has no UV protection so it will discolor if exposed to UV over time. Topcoat it with regular paint of your choice if it's going to see sunlight.

[daddyjeep]

Originally Posted by Gregski

First of all, all excellent questions, I am no POR15 expert but I have used it a few times now.



I am not sure POR 15 was designed to be out in the sun, they make different products some are meant to be painter over, some are to be hidden under the vehicle like their chssis black, or hidden in the engine bay under the hood, is my understanding.

I have not seen mine turn purple, but I had it go blotchy, meaning I bought the glossy type and painted my '68 Mustang engine bay with it (two coates as per instructions) and when it all was said and done and dry, some spots were shinny and some were flat and dull. So I called the company up and they said sometimes it just does that? Say What?!




Best advice I can give you, is use it's two sister products, one is called Cleaner Degreaser (what I substitute Denatured Alcohol for) the other is Metal Prep (essentially really weak Phosphoric Acid (read the ingredients)). But if you use their stuff and follow their directions you have the best chance of getting proper results. This is not a cop out, I just suggest you try their stuff the first time around, and go from there.



I have said this in the forum though I don't expect anybody to find it it's gotten so big, LOL, I buy mine at Home Depot, it's like $5 bucks for a gallon. Lessons Learned: Anything Home Depot sells is not true Automobile Quality, but it's good enuff. I use it straight up on really rusty bits and delute it with water on other bits, you will figure that out, it may eat some metal, it likes to ruin hood springs, lol.

The POR15 metal prep has phosphoric acid as well as zink Phosphate. The zink Phosphate is what is used for galvanizing, so that I what I used.
Now back to the Christmas in December.... I see truck parts a strange box and more truck parts.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

Now back to the Christmas in December.... I see truck parts a strange box and more truck parts.

LOL, that's what The Greg said, I recon the strange box may be my X-mas present from the wife, Kansas City Chiefs T shirt maybe, fingers crossed (yes I am a recovering 49ers fan who followed my boy Alex Smith to K.C. like Montana before him... my '9er friends call the Chiefs, 49ers [Mid] West, ha ha)

... and for the record I asked for that T shirt when the boys in red were [ahem] still winning!!!

[Rich84]

Originally Posted by Gregski

LOL, that's what The Greg said, I recon the strange box may be my X-mas present from the wife, Kansas City Chiefs T shirt maybe, fingers crossed (yes I am a recovering 49ers fan who followed my boy Alex Smith to K.C. like Montana before him... my '9er friends call the Chiefs, 49ers [Mid] West, ha ha)

... and for the record I asked for that T shirt when the boys in red were [ahem] still winning!!!

No sympathy from a Giant fan here...LOL

[blindbug]

Delete me. I am a duplicate.

[Gregski]

Christmas in December... (oh wait...)

[Gregski]

So this $273 Northern aluminum radiator I bought on Amazon exactly 1 year ago just made it one year and sprung a leak. So a leak after 10,000 miles, lame

leaks about 1/2 a gallon a day

[Ratman74]

Sorry to see that, but I feel your pain. I bought one from LMC a couple years ago for my '78 and had the same thing happen. I returned it and bought one from NAPA (not aluminum). That was 7 or 8 years ago and no problems.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Ratman74

Sorry to see that, but I feel your pain. I bought one from LMC a couple years ago for my '78 and had the same thing happen. I returned it and bought one from NAPA (not aluminum). That was 7 or 8 years ago and no problems.

thank you for your feedback, that is great news, can you share more info, did you buy one of them plastic/aluminum ones, or a full metal one? how many rows? do you drive a V8 etc.

[Gregski]

so took the original brass/copper radiator for a drive the other day to Sacramento Radiator Service shop, they said it would cost more money to get it re cored than to just buy a new one for $369 bucks, they also offered a cheap new replacement for $139

man that was too rich for my blood especially around this time of year (ie Christmas) so I drove over to another shop for a second opinion and just for the heck of it, at Ideal Radiator (the owner is 90 years old by the way and has done this for a long time) so the younger lady running the front office was super nice and explained everything that was wrong with my old rad and also confirmed a rebuild would be over $400 so I ended up buying a cheap plastic and aluminum one from her for $114 a RadCool brand?, I figured at that price I can take my chances and or buy myself some time, she convinced me if I change the radiator cap once a year this one will last me a long time, we shall see....

we will be installing this one tomorrow on Saturday, pics to follow

[SkinnyG]

I had my original rad re-cored locally with a high-density 4-row core a couple years ago. It was as pricey as your quotes, but it's holding dandy.

As an aside - I fabricated an all-aluminum radiator using a good core that had a cracked plastic tank, and I made my own tanks and spigots and all that. Careful TIG welding, pressure-tested, and it's holding up fine so far (not for my truck - for my V8 Chevy Sprint).

If you can find the leak, and know someone with TIG, you could probably repair the rad. The cheap rad will at least get you going.

[Matt Man]

I had the same dilemma when I did my motor swap. I took my old harrison radiator to a couple of shops to have it re cored 450$ no thank you... I bought a cheapo aluminum one off summit and it has been fine no leaks and holds up in 110+ heat out here.