Soo i really want to go to either mcPherson or ohio technical school for teh classic car restoration program. but my dad wont let me. it sucks cuz thats what i really wanna do but he says i will be poor and go nowhere. grr. so i think i'll prolly end up going to university of RI because i cant afford to go anywhere else. im also lookin at worcester polytech but theres no way my fam could ever even begin to think about paying for it. i guess mechanical engineerin is where its at for me. second choice tho, id rather restore cars :[

Plans for the Dart

1. Drain brake fluid out of the master cylinder.
2. Open rear bleeder screws on the two rear wheel cylinders, drain fluid.
3. Open front bleeder screws on the two front wheel cylinders, drain fluid.
4. Remove and replace flexible lines between the rear brake fluid supply pipe and the two rear wheels.
5. Remove and replace the two flexible brake lines on the front wheel cylinders.
6. At the firewall, remove and replace the existing master cylinder with the new master cylinder.
7. Disassemble spring assemblies, brake shoes, and wheel cylinder from the front right wheel. and reassemble in opposite order.
8. Repeat process for front left wheel, and both rear wheels.
9. On all four wheels, back the adjuster off to allow clearance to fit brake drum
10. Install rear brake drums and install two wheel lugs to hold drum in place.
11. Rear drums will be sandblasted externally, primed, and painted.
12. Front brakes drums should have bearing and seal removed.
13. Front brakes should be externally sandblasted, primed, and painted.
14. Insure bearing surface area is clean, repack and install bearings, press in new seals; front left and right.
15. Replace front drums on car. Install front wheel bearings, set preload of bearings, and install the retaining washer and cotter pin. Check for proper rotation and no binding. Replace dust cap.
16. Fill the master cylinder with brake fluid as specified.
17. Crack the rear bleeders; left then right until fluid flows freely with no bubbles. Close bleeders.
18. Repeat for front bleeders.
19. Adjust the brakes using appropriate brake spoon, while spinning the drum by hand until a slight drag is felt. Repeat for all four wheels. This is the initial adjustment.
20. With an assistant applying moderate pressure to brake pedal; pedal movement should be approximately half an inch. Crack the left bleeder slightly until fluid flows freely with no bubbles. Secure bleeder.
21. Repeat for three remaining wheels.
22. Check for slight drag, adjust brakes as needed.
23. Apply pressure to the brake pedal. Pedal should be firm with no drift to the floor.
24. Replace all four wheel/tire assemblies.
25. Test drive for straight tracking while stopping.

so im gonna need to think of a thesis and research topic for my senior project, which is fixing up my dart (that's the product aspect of things). right now im kinda stuck. whatever i do has to prove something but i dont know what provable about fixing up my dart. the only idea i have so far is proveing that it takes more skill to keep an old car running than driving something new because technology has reaLLy improved. any ideas/feedback would be appreicated.

Saturday – September 5, 2009

I checked back in on the rust reformer after about a week and decided it needed another coat. I think my first layer was too thick so that the Ospho didn’t have a chance to go through the chemical reaction. I took a toothbrush-sized wire brush to the floor and started scraping away. I decided a mask and glasses were probably a smart decision because phosphoric acid particles probably aren’t good for you. I wish I could have found a bigger brush but that was all that was available, so I scraped. And scraped some more. A good while later, I was finished and a loose layer of dust covered the floor. I sucked it up with the Shop-Vac and proceeded to paint a very thin layer of the rust converter on the floor. Almost immediately the floor started turning black, the rust was reforming to an inert form. I had some Ospho left over so I attacked the minimal surface rust that was in the trunk.

Sunday – September 6, 2009

A thin layer of the rust converter worked much better than the thicker one. There was nothing to scrape off this time, so all I had to do was mix up the Rustoleum Primer for clean to lightly rusted metal, and paint it on the floor. I only did the areas where the rust had been converted, because areas where there was still paint were sticky because the chemical reaction had not occurred there. I’m going to have to wash that off somehow before I paint it. Overall, I’m very happy with the primer, but I think I’m going to put another layer on when it is completely dried because it’s a bit thin in some places.

Sunday – September 13, 2009

Well today I started off by cleaning the thin layer of Ospho off of the painted areas using a rag and some water. After it dried off I painted with primer and gave the entire floor another coat. Then my dad unbolted the rear seat belts so I wouldn’t destroy them with the primer. They will either need to be cleaned or replaced because they look pretty tired. I had more primer left over so I decided to do the trunk too. We also unbolted the trunk lid and put it safely out of the way. We’re definitely making some progress here.

Friday – August 28, 2009

The foam kit for the heater from DetroitMuscleTechnologies.com finally arrived. I was really impressed with the quality of the kit. It included all of the pieces I needed and good instructions. I would definitely recommend it to anyone refurbishing a Mopar heating system. I glued the foams with spray glue onto their corresponding places, masking off areas to prevent overspray. While this was drying, I started scraping off the old rubber gasket that seals between the top of the dash and the heater with a razor blade. I realized that I was cutting towards myself, decided that I’d prefer to keep my intestines intact, and reversed the direction of my scraping. I washed off the area, dried it, and applied the new rubber. I sanded down and painted the ring that holds the heater motor in place on the firewall. The kit also included some caulk to put around the edge of the heater box to further seal it, so I put it on. While I was doing this, my Dad finished installing the other wiper pivot. Naturally I wanted to do this myself, but I realized that it would be more efficient to have him put it in. After all, we need to be done by the end of April. He also sprayed some clear red spray paint on firewall where the original paint had been a little thin. It looked as though something had been brutally murdered up near the front of the car. I wasn’t particularly pleased, but when we’re done you won’t be able to see it anyways. Since all the foam and paint was sufficiently dry, it was time to reassemble the heater. We figured this would be easier to do outside of the car, rather than attempting to put it back piece by piece. First we put the heater core back in, but realized that we had forgotten to put a seal on and had to unscrew everything and take it apart. We had to put it together and take it apart a couple times because we kept either forgetting pieces or putting them in wrong. Finally we got the heater core where it was supposed to be and could move on. I reinstalled the piece of insulation on the firewall, putting in the original plugs, even though a few were a bit mangled. I put the bad ones out of sight though, so it didn’t matter much. After that, it was time to attach the cables back to their corresponding places on the heater box. I wanted to do it myself, but Dad did it himself because it was “difficult.” One of the cables had become detached from the controls on the dash and we had to take the knobs off the heater controls to see how to fix it. Eventually that problem was solved, but another one arose in its place. After the cables were reattached, we discovered that the new foam was making the controls too stiff. We ended up using silicone spray in the heater so it would slide better which helped a little. Then, we lifted the heater box back into place on the firewall and started bolting it back on. Unfortunately we were one screw short. We tried to pirate one off of an old Plymouth Suburban we have in the back yard but they were all too rusty to remove. My dad put on the front of the heater box on with c-clamps and we closed up shop for the day.

Saturday - August 29, 2009

The caulk had shrunk a little overnight, but it was still incredibly difficult to get the clips back on. My Dad was having a terrible time with it so there was no way I could have possibly put them back. Eventually though, we got it on. I then set about reinstalling the left heater vent. If I thought it was hard to take out, it was even more of a nightmare to put it back. There wasn’t much space to work in and the vent took up most of it, so I ended up with my face under the brake pedal. I used a socket wrench extension to put the bolts back on, and after I got the first one on it was a bit more bearable. After that I had to go get ready for work, so nothing else was accomplished.

Sunday – August 30, 2009

Nothing exceptionally thrilling to report here. Vacuumed out the inside of the car again and did two test patches of different rust reformers. Rustoleum Rust Reformer made the surface rustier, but Skyco Ospho worked nicely. So I filled up a metal pan, got myself a paint brush, and coated the interior. And then I went away for a while. As is it dries, it turns black and then white. I sopped up the excess that had pooled in the indents in the floor so it wouldn’t harden up there or something odd like that. The Ospho is mildly irritating to the skin, so I’d recommend gloves. Other than that, my only complaint is that it smells bad. So overall, it’s a good product and I’d give it a thumbs up.