73 Roadrunner 340 Auto

[Builderguy]

Decided on getting a new tank for this project, but I had all the stuff, so I cleaned it using the stuff from Post #51 I guess if I could not get another tank this cleaning would probably work but one would have to repeat the process a bunch more times to get it really clean (Probable cranking up the strength of the acid would help). Then coat the inside of the tank with the sealer of your choice. Even after rinsing it 3 times the rust/crap was still coming loose. Anyway here it is:

BEFORE

AFTER

 

[Builderguy]

Got the springs off without too much difficulty. Didn't even have to cut the U-bolts which is not normal in Michigan.
For sitting the last 26 years the old car held up pretty well.

Brakes survived and the drums came off super easy, no lip!!!!!

Ratio stag still in place

 

[Builderguy]

Put a bunch of rusted parts into 6 gals of Muriatic Acid to see just how well this stuff attacks rust.

Parts like brake drums, U-bolts, hangers, etc just like these two parts

Stuff is turning black and and bubbling quite a bit. Will check on them after about 2 hours of soak time.

And yes, I did put a lid on the tote to keep out the nicer things in life, like kids, dogs, birds, etc but with the strong HCL odor I doubt anything would want to get near it. I will post what the parts look like after treatment. It is not cheap at about $10 a gal but hopefully it will work wonders and save a lot of time. Not sure if the acid is a one and done or if it is like Evapo-Rust that you can strain and re-use. BTW, I did not dilute the acid, but if you choose to use acid make sure you remember your high school chemistry and add the acid to water, not the other way around.

 

[Builderguy]

Wow, 2 hour soak and this is what it looks like. I am impressed to say the least.

Time to get the rest of the parts out and the next batch in.

 

[Builderguy]

Few more pics. Unintended result, and I knew about this, the acid running off the parts taken out of the bath, did stain the concrete. Well, not really stain, more like un-stained and left shadows. I can fix that later. The batch I just put in has some rubber attached so I guess we will see how rubber holds up to the acid. I did add one more gallon to the brew to cover some parts that were sticking up.

 

[Builderguy]

Did not bother the rubber from what I can see. Here is what I learned about using this stuff, FWIW. It is some powerful stuff. Do not use indoors! I repeat do not use indoors. Unlike Evapo-Rust this stuff doesn't seem to care what the temperature is. It is 33 degrees outside and it still destroys rust. As strong as it is, there does not seem to be any effect on grease. De-grease your stuff first. Once out of the acid, I rinsed the parts off with water, that was a great idea. Bad idea was not to protect the bare metal from flash rust right away. And I do mean, right away. Live and learn every day. So spray some WD on it or something like that. I have eight gallons in my tote right now and it did not matter how many items I put in there. The acid just kept eating rust, like it was it's job. To be fair I did add a new gallon with every 2 hour soak. I am doing the parts in large batches because I thought the acid would start losing strength as more and more rust was dissolved. Does not seem to be the case. I have one more batch in now the will come out at 2300 and that is it for tonight. Tomorrow I will work with fewer pieces at a time. That will give me more time to condition each part as it comes out of the bath. I think I will do a 2x4 frame around the springs (one at a time) with some plastic as a liner. Then soak just like the parts above. My springs were in great shape (no sag) so I want to save them. I just need to figure out what to spray the new metal with to keep the new metal look for the parts not going to frame black. Maybe spray with Zinc or just a good clear. IDK

 

[Builderguy]

Took the last batch for the night out of the tote.

BEFORE

AND AFTER

 

[HawkRod]

Looks like a nice way to remove rust - I've never tried it. I have always just bead blasted parts, but that can be a time consuming pain in the butt.

I would, however, be worried about ball joints, tie rod ends, etc. that have grease in them. Like you said, it doesn't seem to remove grease, but I'd have to believe that acid floating in around the grease would not be good for the operation of the ball joint. I'm not saying I know any better - just speculating....

Keep up the good work!

Hawk

 

[Sparky Anderson]

Thanks for info, I will try it, I did a similar process with my inside of gas tank, then neutralized with varsol or mineral spirits, then lined it with this white stuff that I bought threw Eastwood over 15 years ago and tank is still good to this day. Keep up the hard work and stay safe.

 

[Builderguy]

Hawk
I agree, but all the ball joints, tie rod ends, etc. are getting changed out. I was just being lazy and had not removed them yet. Speaking of the above, I was planning on MOOG replacement parts, any thoughts on these, or a better suggestion.

 

[HawkRod]

Hawk
I agree, but all the ball joints, tie rod ends, etc. are getting changed out. I was just being lazy and had not removed them yet. Speaking of the above, I was planning on MOOG replacement parts, any thoughts on these, or a better suggestion.

I used Moog quite a few years ago on my 73 (now my Son's - the car pictured in your avatar ;-). They were American made at the time, I don't know if they still are. Moog was great stuff before - they might still be but I just don't know.

Hawk

 

[Builderguy]

Learned a few more things. Use coated wire to lower your parts into the acid. Uncoated tends to dissolve leaving a bunch of nuts that you have to fish out later. I used WD-40 to coat the clean metal. That did not work so well as the parts still rusted up. I put them back in for 10 minutes to take this rust off. Best way to keep them clean, at least for me was to pull them out of the acid, immediately rinse them off with water, and then submerge them in a tote of clean water and let them soak for an hour or so. Then I pulled them out, one at a time, and used the air gun to blow all the water off. I then placed them in front of ceramic heater atop a 20 pound cylinder to heat them up and push all the water out. This is what resulted:

For the front calipers I did a little something different. I coated them with Fluid Film from AA, let it sit overnight, and them wiped the excess off. The darker spots are not rust it is just Fluid Film that I missed. This is the result:

The drums have been sprayed and are going to sit overnight before wiping them down.

There are still a few parts left underwater in the tote that I will take care of tomorrow as it is getting late.

 

[Sparky Anderson]

I bought all my front end parts threw rock auto, mostly, mevotech and moog. All seems to be good quality. Thanks for updated pics and stay safe.

 

[Rusty 72]

Nice Job! I think that stuff is only about 10% concentration but still be aware of routes of entry ie: inhalation, ingestion, absorption.

 

[Builderguy]

Decided to make a mold for the leaf springs and try that. Used 2" styrofoam doubled up and then lined with two layers of 6 mil plastic.

SPRING BEFORE

MOLD FOR SPRING

AFTER ABOUT 11/2 HOURS

Got to get back on the body work, this stuff will wait. The humidity around here is starting to go up and I can see some rust staring to show on the car's bare sheet metal. Sand it all down again and get some epoxy primer on it then I can do the finish work with no rush. Too many things to do and not enough of me to do them.

 

[Builderguy]

I really need to get back on the body so I sprayed the parts down with a rust reformer that I have used before and like. I don't think I am going to leave any of the suspension parts bare metal so using the reformer is not an issue. If I change my mind I can just wire wheel it off and seal the bare metal but for now I have to walk away from the suspension for a few weeks and finish the body. This is what the parts look like once sprayed.

I did forget that I left the brake calipers and the drums with a coat of Fluid Film on them.

Even with all that acid treatment you can still see the red paint the factory applied to the brake drums.

 

[Chargerjase]

I believe a mixture of baking soda and water will neutralize the acid. You can soak the parts in that and it should prevent it from flash rusting immediately. If you want to preserve the natural look of the steel, use Boeshield T9 or RPM from ECS.

 

[Charger72]

Very nice, those results are excellent.

 

[Builderguy]

Chargerjase
I will try the baking soda because I really liked the way they looked when they first came out and when they were underwater. Once out in the air the flash started, and you could be right, that there was still some weak acid on the parts making them rust. I do like the look of the bare metal and the fluid film gives the metal a slight yellowish look.
I was looking at this page for trying to figure out what I wanted the look to be: http://www.mmcdetroit.com/ICCA/References/Chassis/#pop01 I did check out the RPM from ECS video and ordered a couple 4 oz containers as they were on sale. Thanks again for the help!

 

[Builderguy]

Back to the body work that I really should not have stepped away from to do the suspension but I had some help available to pull it, so it sounded like the right thing to do. Then I needed to get it out the way since the garage is so small. Figured I would rip it apart, clean it all, and then put it away until needed. There is a difference in "ready for primer" and me being "ready to prime". Have to work on the schedule a little better. Probably all that HCL in the air from the tote I was using to rinse the parts off. Left it in the garage a few days and instant flash rust. But I got lucky as it was only a very thin coating on about half of the car. Could have stopped it all with a car cover. Water under the bridge. It came off really easy with a wipe of vinegar. Then like Chargerjase said, "a mixture of baking soda and water will neutralize the acid", then a rinse with only water, then a wipe down with acetone and back to where I started. Will DA the whole body tomorrow and then get some epoxy on it. If nothing at work comes up.