[Greg Reid]

I wish that I knew a fraction of what that guy knows about metal work and welding!
Any updates on the tail panel restoration/experimentation you were doing?

Sent from my moto g stylus (2021) using Tapatalk

[1_Wild_Cat]

...also I believe when you disassemble the shifter all the pieces are separate and can be changed out individually. Pete Serio rebuilds these and could answer your question definitively

There are a couple of pretty good videos on taking these apart and fixing them up. The finish makes it look like only the reverse piece is different.

I'll contact Mr. Serio. He would known and likely have the part too.

Any updates on the tail panel restoration/experimentation you were doing?

Not yet. It has been too cold for me to shoot epoxy for months. The weather is starting to turn finally and I'm hoping I can make progress on that front soon.

Thanks for the questions and comments. And thanks everyone for following along.

[vwalburn]

Looking forward to catching up and keeping up with your restoration. I can soak up all this info too. I originally bought mine in 1984 in California and we're now in Kansas.

[1_Wild_Cat]

Looking forward to catching up and keeping up with your restoration.

Welcome to the forum...And welcome to my slowly moving restoration. Glad to have people following along.

I had a great conversation with Pete Serio today - a super nice guy and incredibly knowledgeable. He asked that I post a couple different views of the shifter. I hoping he has a useful reverse lever in his parts stash.

Thank you Mr. Serio for your time today.

[1_Wild_Cat]

Hi everyone -- In a fit of optimism I have started gathering the tools I will need to do the bodywork and still hopefully get the car into color by fall.

I came across a small start-up company making sanding blocks with adjustable flexibility. A lot of people remember (and still use) the similar AFS blocks - but since AFS closed there hasn't been anything similar around.

Anyway - I received this two-piece block kit yesterday. I haven't used them yet (obviously) but they feel like great quality. You adjust the flexibility and shape by adding or removing the steel rods that slide in or out of the block.

Pretty cool. I think having a flexible long block is really going to help in a few areas to get the curve but keep a light touch that doesn't flex the panel.





Lots more tools to collect up since I have never done the bodywork part of a restoration (just some teenage hack work years ago).

Gotta be ready when the car is done in metal work and the push is on. Thanks everyone for following along.

[wbnapier]

I have one of those modern M22W's with the Autogear case. It wines, especially in 3rd gear. It's pretty cool.

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Annoying noise? I LIKE that noise!!

(lol)

Seriously - (although I was being serious) one of my first projects as a young engineer was to fix gear whine in a manual transmission.

My mentor said "hear that? You gotta fix it."

"Fix it?" I said. "I LIKE it!!"

This might be a good time to make a move torwards a manual trans with overdrive, since you are still on the fence. Your three speed knob mounted on top of a 5 speed stick might be kind of fun.

K

[1_Wild_Cat]

Hmm. My friends original M-22 was really loud…Thanks for the warning - it would be OK if it wasn’t too loud.

[1_Wild_Cat]

Have you ever known and forgot about an issue on your project?

Well - I have. When I bought this car, I noticed two weird pieces of metal on the bottom side of the quarter panels next to the filler panel between the rear window.

The passenger side one was cut away when we replaced the quarter so I never investigated what was going on.

Fast forward to this week - when the patch for the driver side quarter was going to be welded in.

Cut the quarter...



Cam finds this on the backside of the quarter...



Investigates and finds this 3" diameter hole with three smaller holes. Now "patched" with a brazed in piece of metal.



Who does this kind of boneheaded garbage (cutting the hole in the first place, or "fixing" it this way)?

Thankfully Cam knows how to fix this properly...

And so my adventure continues -- Thanks to everyone for following along.

[Bill Hanlon]

CB radio antenna mount from the 70s??

[1_Wild_Cat]

That’s our best guess too…no reason to put a cup holder there. Haha.

[1_Wild_Cat]

Quick as that...the problem is fixed.

Just a template made out of tape...



A little piece of steel with the template transferred....



Cut the old crap out...Shape the patch...And weld the new in...





As easy as falling off a log...or so I'm told.

[1_Wild_Cat]

A day late for the goat's birthday -- but my 4"-stroke Molnar crank arrived today. I'm excited to be making progress on the engine front...





Thanks for following along...

[HWYSTR455]

Following!

...

[1_Wild_Cat]

Hi Everyone -- I thought I would post a little update for anyone still following along on this saga...

We resume the driver's quarter repair already in progress. The lip where the quarter meets the wheel well had some rust. Probably from water getting in after someone cut part of the lip off (I guess to clear wider rubber).

So that got a patch of new metal made and welded in...





An finished out -- looking really good.



But the BIG news is...(drums roll)...The quarter is welded in! No more big hole in the side of my car. Very exciting (for me).



Thanks everyone for following along while my project grinds relentlessly, albeit slowly toward completion.

[Cardo]

Very nice!!! These things are a marathon not a sprint.....glad to see progress. Everything he's done so far looks fantastic! Can't wait to see some paint!

[1_Wild_Cat]

Thanks for checking in Cardo...I'm definitely happy with how that "patch" worked out.

One upside to all the metal finishing is once I'm in the bodywork phase - it should get really straight really quick. All with minimal build or filler.

Color one of these days....

A couple more views of the fit-up (since I ran out of photo space in the last post).

Thanks again for following along...

[Greg Reid]

Does anyone know the purpose of doubling the Clecos?

[1_Wild_Cat]

Hi Greg -- I think the doubled Clecos just allow for securely clamping the panel where is needs to be. You can see that there is a little clip between the two Clecos (Cleci?).

I can certain ask Cam if you have questions...Like why that method instead of another?

[1_Wild_Cat]

Moving on to metal finishing...A picture is worth a thousand words - so I'll save myself some typing and you some reading...





Wetted...so you can see the reflections...





Thanks everyone for following along.

[HWYSTR455]

Wow, that turned out great!


.