Greg's 68 RR Resto - Bayou Bird

[Greg68RR]

Thanks++

Appreciate the compliments, roadrunnerman & Swede! Yea, both my wife & daughter think I'm crazy. Especially when I had the "Dirt Factory" in production! Here's a picture she snapped after a grit blast session! I tried wearing an old Bullard helmet someone gave me years ago, but, with it combined w/ the grit blaster sucking air, my compressor was overwhelmed! So, no forced air, but, used a good 1/2 face respirator. Tried wrapping an old t-shirt around my head, but found that it was just too hot!



I'll let my daughter know that she got some compliments on her work! She'll be glad to hear!

Greg

 

[Donny]

Dude, you gotta NOT do this, trust me, you have to have a better air supply, don't breath this ****. I've had my dust analyzed from media blasting operations; the paint that comes off these old late 60s early 70s cars is filled with **** you DON'T want to breath; heavy lead, heavy candium, stuff that is IN that dust. And get a blast suit.

 

[Greg68RR]

Dust Protection

Yes, Donny, I know what you're talking about about regarding breathing this crap. Lead, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, etc. were all in the paints used "way back" then. I used a 3M damn good respirator rubber facepiece w/ particulate/vapor cartridges that I get fit tested on annually. I know how to choose and wear a respirator properly as I have many, many hours wearing one when I worked in the nuclear industry (FF, 1/2 face, SCBA, PAPR, etc.). I swapped out the cartridges a couple of times when I was blasting. The respirator was NOT the el-cheapo dust mask. You will kill yourself using those things when blasting!

As for the the best protection, a constant flow Bullard helmet IS the best way to go. I have one, as I mentioned before. Now that I reflect on what I could have done, I should have used a second smaller compressor to feed the Bullard helmet. I had a 3 HP one I could have tried, but didn't (cause I robbed the fittings off it). I just went with the respirator route.

I wonder how many folks actually use a "dust-mask" and think they're protected?

Thanks,

Greg

 

[Donny]

Sounds like you are well versed and very smart on your stuff! I only media blast when I have to; ie a paying customer and I do not do it for free -- which is HARD to not do for the first couple of years, this is why I'm hour based for my time, some stuff cleans up fast, some stuff not so fast. Fenders, hoods, doors I do all day, I can basically look at it and tell how much time it will take, then price it that way. It's because of the dangers of this profession that I don't engage in it unless I have a signed contract, or, I need to do something for myself. I always prep the area very well, about a half a day prep it all out on a checklist before I get going. Touching that media too sucks, wearing the gloves is vital! Be safe, nice thread you got going on here!

 

[Greg68RR]

Misc Update

Had to travel out of town on business last week, so not much progress. Before I left, I started to seam seal around the one of the doors. I was in a hurry and didn't allow the wax/grease remover to evap before I applied the seam sealer. It was an old tube of Evercoat 2-part self leveling sealer that I had already used to seam seal the deck lid. Well, for some reason, the clear part came out for a while, then the blue part came out. It ended up being a sticky, gooey mess. I ended up having to break out the die grinder w/ a roll-lok to get it all cleaned off. Then re-shot DP40 over the door edges. I hate it when you try to make forward progress, only to lose ground!

Well, Tropical Storm Lee is giving us plenty of rain & some wind, down here. Looks like I'll have to do some gutter repair on the house as a section became detached, on Friday, kinda hanging down. Looks like I'll have to replace a piece of facial board that is rotten.

I got bored of watching car stuff on TV and got started on doing filler work on the roadrunner, under the carport, while it rained & rained.








The dogs want to ride in the RR and wonder why I'm not busting my behind on it! OK! I'll get after it!




I'll try to make some progress over the next few days & hang some more pictures up here.

Greg

 

[Greg68RR]

Update, finally...

Well, It's been a couple of months since my last update on the Bayou Bird project. Work has taken over all of my time & I've been swamped with getting a huge water plant upgrade installed at the plant where I work. Plus, several people have recently transferred or left and I have thier work/responsibilities put on my plate, in addition to all the other work I have to do. 14 - 16 hours per day seems to be normal now. Crap.

Anyway, while I'm in this high work demand mode, I decided I'd get a couple of "outsourced" chores done.

I sent my thumbwheel AM radio to Vintage Auto Radio in Wisconsin for thier upgrade/conversion to modern AM/FM stereo guts. I got them to install the pre-amp outputs plus bought all my speakers and stuff from them. I'm still waiting on my AMP from thier factory supplier & when I get it in, I'll mock it up to test how the new Roadrunner sound system will perform. I have to fab up my bracket for my dash speakers. A complete review of it w/ pictures will follow.

I also shipped my instrument cluster off to Redline Guage Works for a full resto. Some of the needles, the white lettering, and the odometer background were faded or yellowed & needed to get freshened up. I also had them convert the Ammeter to a volt meter (no change to guage face tho), upgrade the factory tach guts w/ new electronics, and install the solid state instrument voltage regulator. They still have it at thier shop, but I expect it to be done very soon. Pic's of it will get posted after I have it back.

I hope to get back to bodywork if I can manage to cut back some time spent at work. I'm headed out right now to see if I can get a little done.

Greg

 

[rileys68plymouth]

Awsome post, just read it from the start:headbang:

I cant wait until my 68 is anywhere near yours, That'll be a nice ride when finished. And a big thumbs up:icon_thumleft::icon_thumleft: for having family involved..