HAHAHA... It does look very close to that. You could always tell when a part was brand new from supply versus being reworked and put back in.
Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.
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HAHAHA... It does look very close to that. You could always tell when a part was brand new from supply versus being reworked and put back in.
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Rolls likes green and gold, think I like the white and that rim color allot more.
Actually Rolls-Royce will paint a car literally any color you want. You choose, they special mix and paint it. I would guess hoopty posted the owner's pic^^
You had me at green Mike. Maybe I'm partial to the color, ok who am I kidding? I am super partial to the color green but I like it. If it were my Gila Monster it would be green pearl with a green gold stipe 
Frustration.
Yeah, that seems to be the right word.
After spending...what?, A solid week on the hood,.......gooping, sanding, sweating, getting the thing straight enough to even consider spraying some primer on it, I take the thing out, set it on my trash can and level it, and back away from it far enough to get an eyeball on it.
Something is off. ( This is starting to sound like a freakin broken record, I know)
How I keep doing this to myself is beyond me. You'd think I'd have been anal meticulous after having to redo the one scoop in the first place, but evidently, I prefer to do stuff over and over...........and over.
I discounted the wonkiness when the scoops were unfinished, believing that body work would even things out. That was not to be. There still is an angle difference between the two scoops that makes one look "up" more, where the other appears more level.
I discovered this reality over the Labor day weekend, when on Saturday, ready to blow the thing off for its final blow,..I actually stepped away from the thing more than 5'. One scoop didn't match the other still.
I had to put the thing back in the garage, because the solution as to how to fix it was way more than I wanted to even consider.
On Sunday,..........at 5PM,.....I dealt with that.
I cut the wonky scoop back off the hood. Tomorrow, I'll cut the other one off as well. ( Kinda like a radical double scoop-ectomy)
The reason that the other has to go as well is because the hole left in the hood is now too large to re-attach the scoop back to. I'll have to add filler panels down the sides to widen it. If I'm gonna widen one,...I'll have to widen the other or else they won't match............... again. If there was a Fairmont hood to start over with, I'd throw the whole hood away, and start over, but I have the G vents cut into the back, one side now blocked so water wont drain onto the turbo system, and the entire bottom of which is completely stripped to bare metal.
Considering what has to be done to the hood, made todays action way more easy to swallow.
Off to soda blasting. I'm so freakin' sick of sanding,..I'll gladly pay the 375.00 to get the trunk, doors, and fenders returned to me bare metal.
Getting the doors stripped to make sure I got them completely clean wasn't without it's own drama,....as the getting the window out of the doors turned out to be a giant pain in the ass. The rubber window run channel had petrified into bakelite, as did the inside and outside dew wipes. Trying to get anything past that was a waste of time. Realizing that I was being stopped by the raggedy ass hardened crap I changed course, and dug out the crystalized window run channel one inch at a time, followed by prying the two crispy dew wipes out of the doors, then grinding off the rivets that hold the plastic mount to the door glass, and sliding just the glass out of the door.
While I was at it, the green-gold wheels got added to the tally.
I don't know how much additionally he'll charge me to blast the green goblin off of the wheels, but again, I ain't sandin another damn inch on something if I don't have to.
As a sidenote,.......if the trunk deck is on top of that pile,...you'd have to figure I did more than what I'm talking about here, considering that the trunk deck was literally sealed shut w/ bondo. You'd be right to think that,..but it's not done. It's close, but it's not done.
That leaves a few days w/o sheet metal w/ the exception of the freakin hood, the unfinished rear quarter/ deck area, and/or sitting around and doing nothing.
Let me seeeee..........
If you've been keeping count then this is just another of the " can't get it right the first time" scenarios that have played out so far w/ this car. If you haven't, the amount of extra work is mind boggling:
Engine compartment: painted twice.
Head gasket: Twice.
Serpentine belt system: Twice. Had to modify belt path to allow for more belt wrap on the crank pulley.
Front oil cooler shroud: modified to eliminate the twist that occurred from heat distortion.
Dash console: Changed integrated console into stand alone console.
Door bars: Twice.
Wiper motor/mount. Welded wrong mount on new motor. Had to redo.
HVAC panel: Twice. Too stupid to properly mask the thing prior to painting.
Gas tank/ fuel system: Twice. Pump relocated to its third mounting point.
Gila gills: Took 4 attempts to get final version.
Axles: measured too short, had to buy additional set.
Tail lights: originally slotted for Fox mustang lights, they were replaced by sectioned steel thingy, that was replaced by current flat panel, that has eventually morphed into current iteration.
Hood: Going on round 3 of " How not to build a hood scoop".
Wheels: Second set of fronts, as originally purchased 17 x 9's were too wide. The new set of four Currently green, getting blasted so I can paint them again.
Gila hole: Three versions. Could not get long version to set right.
And to think........all of this, and I still got hundreds of hours of "doing it right" still in front of me to get the car done. Who knows how long it'll actually take?
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Coming up on a hundred pages and there hasn't even been a t-shirt giveaway. 
But think when it's over it will be like nirvavna.
With smoky burnouts and photos shoots with scantily clad women.
As it should be.
With smoky burnouts and photos shoots with scantily clad women.
As it should be.
5.0Droptop
...all those nights we shared, and you're a dude??
Special Agent Mukity-Muck Whats in Charge Round Here
Then he will sell it and start all over again.But think when it's over it will be like nirvavna.
With smoky burnouts and photos shoots with scantily clad women.
As it should be.
Well,...No real update per se',.. Just another one of my "shared experiences" from another day in my life.
A little over a month ago, I posted some rant about buying a whole bunch of body shop wannabe tools from Harbor Freight. While some of them worked OK, The straight line sander was a flaming pile of crap. It literally worked less than a minute right out of the box. Convinced that that was to be expected from a tool that cost 80% less than the real version that a body shop supplier typically sells. (37.95 for the HF piece, VS 280.00 for a pro piece), I just let it lay around on the floor in a corner.
I resigned myself to doing most of my flat panel stuff by hand then, because I wasn't gonna spend that much money for that tool considering I do this crap about once every 5 years.
Last week, I had had it w/ trying to do it by hand again, and took that junk back to harbor freight and exchanged it. Since I never keep a receipt, HF made me buy the 9.99 extended warranty when they did the exchange. That 10 bucks extended the 90 day warranty that the junker came with to one full year. Laughable, considering it wouldn't even make it one day. When I got the new one home, it works for about an hour, before it blows the gasket between the main body, and the inlet.
I throw it on the ground.
Back to doing it by hand, today again I reach the breaking point, and set off to HF again to exchange that future failure again. On a whim, I call the body shop supply place where I get my supplies from and ask if he has an alternative to the 37.95 piece of crap that won't cost me 300.00.
"Nope" dude says "Unless you can find a used one in a pawn shop".
I call the pawn shops.
Nobody has one,....most don't even know what the thing is I'm asking for.
I get online, Google "air file" and ebay pops up. I think that that piece will be exactly the same as the trash that HF has sold me.
I google "Straight line Sander" and Viola! A 100.00 alternative pops up from Ingersoll Rand. 50 online resellers are listing the thing from as low as 99.00, to as high as 149.00. Of the online resellers, Sears is listed as one. I wanted it today, so I call the Tool department.
They don't have it.
"he can order it for me though".
"No thanks, I want it today."
I call Ingersoll Rand Corporate, and ask if they have a stocking reseller in the city............They do. Tool Smith.
They give me the number, I call to confirm, they have two in stock. 125.00.
"Set one out for me, I'll be there in 15 minutes".
The thing is night and day better than the HF unit.
The same piece that you get if you buy the unit from Eastwood, I now had a reliable "hobby grade" inline sander that will enable me to finish the rest of this ordeal with my sanity intact.
As a footnote, It p isses me off when you call a supplier, and they are so clue less as to competition, or alternatives to the stuff they sell.
I sell high end Audio Video, and I know damn well that there are alternatives to my equipment that may better fit my customers budget. I know this because it's my business to know.
The laptop programmable 650.00 remote control I sell may not be right for you. If you ask, I'll tell you that there is a remote from Logitech called a Harmony that you can program yourself that'll cost you 100.00 instead.
For some guy to mindlessly plod along day after day, and not bother to "mention" that Eastwood, or Ingersoll Rand sells a go between for hobbyists, is a guy that just lost my business for the rest of the stuff I'll need.
If you're a salesman,...know your products, know your competition's products. Offer solutions that may not get you a sale today,......people remember stuff like that, and they come back around the next time.
A little over a month ago, I posted some rant about buying a whole bunch of body shop wannabe tools from Harbor Freight. While some of them worked OK, The straight line sander was a flaming pile of crap. It literally worked less than a minute right out of the box. Convinced that that was to be expected from a tool that cost 80% less than the real version that a body shop supplier typically sells. (37.95 for the HF piece, VS 280.00 for a pro piece), I just let it lay around on the floor in a corner.
I resigned myself to doing most of my flat panel stuff by hand then, because I wasn't gonna spend that much money for that tool considering I do this crap about once every 5 years.
Last week, I had had it w/ trying to do it by hand again, and took that junk back to harbor freight and exchanged it. Since I never keep a receipt, HF made me buy the 9.99 extended warranty when they did the exchange. That 10 bucks extended the 90 day warranty that the junker came with to one full year. Laughable, considering it wouldn't even make it one day. When I got the new one home, it works for about an hour, before it blows the gasket between the main body, and the inlet.
I throw it on the ground.
Back to doing it by hand, today again I reach the breaking point, and set off to HF again to exchange that future failure again. On a whim, I call the body shop supply place where I get my supplies from and ask if he has an alternative to the 37.95 piece of crap that won't cost me 300.00.
"Nope" dude says "Unless you can find a used one in a pawn shop".
I call the pawn shops.
Nobody has one,....most don't even know what the thing is I'm asking for.
I get online, Google "air file" and ebay pops up. I think that that piece will be exactly the same as the trash that HF has sold me.
I google "Straight line Sander" and Viola! A 100.00 alternative pops up from Ingersoll Rand. 50 online resellers are listing the thing from as low as 99.00, to as high as 149.00. Of the online resellers, Sears is listed as one. I wanted it today, so I call the Tool department.
They don't have it.
"he can order it for me though".
"No thanks, I want it today."
I call Ingersoll Rand Corporate, and ask if they have a stocking reseller in the city............They do. Tool Smith.
They give me the number, I call to confirm, they have two in stock. 125.00.
"Set one out for me, I'll be there in 15 minutes".
The thing is night and day better than the HF unit.
The same piece that you get if you buy the unit from Eastwood, I now had a reliable "hobby grade" inline sander that will enable me to finish the rest of this ordeal with my sanity intact.
As a footnote, It p isses me off when you call a supplier, and they are so clue less as to competition, or alternatives to the stuff they sell.
I sell high end Audio Video, and I know damn well that there are alternatives to my equipment that may better fit my customers budget. I know this because it's my business to know.
The laptop programmable 650.00 remote control I sell may not be right for you. If you ask, I'll tell you that there is a remote from Logitech called a Harmony that you can program yourself that'll cost you 100.00 instead.
For some guy to mindlessly plod along day after day, and not bother to "mention" that Eastwood, or Ingersoll Rand sells a go between for hobbyists, is a guy that just lost my business for the rest of the stuff I'll need.
If you're a salesman,...know your products, know your competition's products. Offer solutions that may not get you a sale today,......people remember stuff like that, and they come back around the next time.
Get a text message today from the soda blaster telling me that my junk is done. This afternoon, I go pick it up.
If I have to have a problem w/ the work, I guess the wheels would be my point of contention. He blasted the polished lip completely on one 17 x 10 wheel, and missed a few places on the others.
After looking at them, I may go a different direction on the gold wheel thing.
As opposed to completely painting them gold, maybe get them perfectly clean, and clear coat them in an orange pearl. That way, they look like raw cast aluminum in one light, and then light up orange when the sun hits them?
It cost me 200.00 to get the wheels this way,...I ain't gonna do this again.
As for the rest of the pieces, the sheet metal looks to be absolutely free of bad body work ( as long as we're not talking about my hood, and rear quarters)
There are these little doinky doos that clearly had to have filler in them, but they're small, and only in a couple of places on the doors.
Fenders look to be great, and the trunk deck is perfect.
I can actually say that spending the 375.00 to blast those parts was well worth the investment. The only parts remaining that need stripping are the roof, and the rest of the quarters, but given the fact that they blasted so clean, and really seem to be straight, kinda gives me a boost from what looked like a really long road towards getting this thing ready to even consider paint.
I only have a few days before the bare metal will start to oxidize, so it looks like I'll be priming them in a couple of days. Maybe somebody can tell me.......can you apply filler over the top of a 2 k primer, or will I have to strip off the areas that need filler after the pieces are primed?
If I have to have a problem w/ the work, I guess the wheels would be my point of contention. He blasted the polished lip completely on one 17 x 10 wheel, and missed a few places on the others.
After looking at them, I may go a different direction on the gold wheel thing.
As opposed to completely painting them gold, maybe get them perfectly clean, and clear coat them in an orange pearl. That way, they look like raw cast aluminum in one light, and then light up orange when the sun hits them?
It cost me 200.00 to get the wheels this way,...I ain't gonna do this again.
As for the rest of the pieces, the sheet metal looks to be absolutely free of bad body work ( as long as we're not talking about my hood, and rear quarters)
There are these little doinky doos that clearly had to have filler in them, but they're small, and only in a couple of places on the doors.
Fenders look to be great, and the trunk deck is perfect.
I can actually say that spending the 375.00 to blast those parts was well worth the investment. The only parts remaining that need stripping are the roof, and the rest of the quarters, but given the fact that they blasted so clean, and really seem to be straight, kinda gives me a boost from what looked like a really long road towards getting this thing ready to even consider paint.
I only have a few days before the bare metal will start to oxidize, so it looks like I'll be priming them in a couple of days. Maybe somebody can tell me.......can you apply filler over the top of a 2 k primer, or will I have to strip off the areas that need filler after the pieces are primed?
- Dec 19, 2010
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Get a text message today from the soda blaster telling me that my junk is done. This afternoon, I go pick it up.
If I have to have a problem w/ the work, I guess the wheels would be my point of contention. He blasted the polished lip completely on one 17 x 10 wheel, and missed a few places on the others.
After looking at them, I may go a different direction on the gold wheel thing.
As opposed to completely painting them gold, maybe get them perfectly clean, and clear coat them in an orange pearl. That way, they look like raw cast aluminum in one light, and then light up orange when the sun hits them?
It cost me 200.00 to get the wheels this way,...I ain't gonna do this again.
As for the rest of the pieces, the sheet metal looks to be absolutely free of bad body work ( as long as we're not talking about my hood, and rear quarters)
There are these little doinky doos that clearly had to have filler in them, but they're small, and only in a couple of places on the doors.
Fenders look to be great, and the trunk deck is perfect.
I can actually say that spending the 375.00 to blast those parts was well worth the investment. The only parts remaining that need stripping are the roof, and the rest of the quarters, but given the fact that they blasted so clean, and really seem to be straight, kinda gives me a boost from what looked like a really long road towards getting this thing ready to even consider paint.
I only have a few days before the bare metal will start to oxidize, so it looks like I'll be priming them in a couple of days. Maybe somebody can tell me.......can you apply filler over the top of a 2 k primer, or will I have to strip off the areas that need filler after the pieces are primed?
Mike, I used to apply filler on bare metal, but got scolded severely by a pro for it. He said to put it over an epoxy primer that has been properly scuffed so as to get both mechanical and chemical adhesion. He said the moisture in the filler over bare metal coupled with the heat from the hardening reaction ultimately causes rust and release.
I posted another thread on another forum asking for leads on some dew wipes, and some replacement front side markers, and in a matter of days,. I have new stuff coming.
One guy provides me to an ebay link where I can buy an exact duplicate set of Futura Dew wipes for 100.00 for the 4 piece set.
replacemints | eBay
They're coming.
Another hooks me up w/ where I can buy actual Ford model numbered NOS marker lights for all four corners.
"Green Sales has N.O.S. front side markers in stock, their number is 1-800-543-4959. Ask for p/n's D9BZ-15A201-A and D9BZ-15A201-B."
25.00 ea.
And yet another guy sacrificed his marauder center caps for the cause.
Say hello to Mercury,...or, as I like to call him: FedEx B.C.
The Center caps fit the wheel like they were made for them. I have to modify nothing to make them fit.
That's a good thing considering that the wheels will requires hours of work before the caps will get popped on there for real.
#1, The soda blaster dude didn't get the old finish off completely, and compromised the polished rim in other places. The real problem there is that the polished rim is actually clear coated. Had it actually been raw polished, his soda wouldn't have hurt the finish. But since there is paint over the top of the polished surface, his soda did indeed hurt that finish. That is gonna require that I strip the clear coat off the rest of the way, and in doing that, I end up hurting the polished finish.
If you'll look at the lip on the pic, you'll notice it's now more like old school Ansen Sprint finish now, as opposed to what it used to be. And considering that there are remnants of the old finish all over the spokes, my idea to clear coat the wheels, and then add an orange pearl to that, requires more work than what I think I want to go through. I could paint the spokes a "cast aluminum" but that seems kinda stupid to do that, and then turn around, and paint an orange pearl clear coat over that, but then mama always said Stupid is as stupid does Drill Sargent!!
The wheels will wait on an actual color choice this time around, considering that they are no longer masked. I'll paint the car first, and then decide on a color then.
As for FedEx B.C.,.......he'll probably get a little roughed up and painted some color as well,......he seems a little too "flippant" to end up living in such a tough neighborhood.
For those that are confused, and kinda skim along, the plan for the car has always been a change from a Monster to a Messenger. So If you're wondering why a Mercury head hub cap is on my wheels,.... the answer to that is simple.
The World according to me:
Ford made a Fairlane, which took it's namesake from Edsel Fords'' big assed house (read boring). Not discounting the fact that T bolts were Fairlanes, there were waaaay more Fairlanes in dork mobile status than in T bolt mode.
It's my contention that Fairlane begat the Torino, and the Torino married a Maverick and that became the Fairmont. (read boring)
Mercury Made a Comet, which morphed into a Cyclone. Still plenty of old drag racing lineage behind the Comet namesake, but way more cool ass Cyclones in the days that followed when compared to Fairlanes..
Cyclones became Montegos, and again, Ford married it to it's cousin, the Comet, and thus it became a Zephyr. All things considered, I'm changing the car from a Ford, over to a Mercury. (At least Zephyr still has the word "wind" in its definition)
All this goes to say that given a choice, I prefer to model the car after a namesake that recognizes the power of the wind, instead of some kids house.
One guy provides me to an ebay link where I can buy an exact duplicate set of Futura Dew wipes for 100.00 for the 4 piece set.
replacemints | eBay
They're coming.
Another hooks me up w/ where I can buy actual Ford model numbered NOS marker lights for all four corners.
"Green Sales has N.O.S. front side markers in stock, their number is 1-800-543-4959. Ask for p/n's D9BZ-15A201-A and D9BZ-15A201-B."
25.00 ea.
And yet another guy sacrificed his marauder center caps for the cause.
Say hello to Mercury,...or, as I like to call him: FedEx B.C.
The Center caps fit the wheel like they were made for them. I have to modify nothing to make them fit.
That's a good thing considering that the wheels will requires hours of work before the caps will get popped on there for real.
#1, The soda blaster dude didn't get the old finish off completely, and compromised the polished rim in other places. The real problem there is that the polished rim is actually clear coated. Had it actually been raw polished, his soda wouldn't have hurt the finish. But since there is paint over the top of the polished surface, his soda did indeed hurt that finish. That is gonna require that I strip the clear coat off the rest of the way, and in doing that, I end up hurting the polished finish.
If you'll look at the lip on the pic, you'll notice it's now more like old school Ansen Sprint finish now, as opposed to what it used to be. And considering that there are remnants of the old finish all over the spokes, my idea to clear coat the wheels, and then add an orange pearl to that, requires more work than what I think I want to go through. I could paint the spokes a "cast aluminum" but that seems kinda stupid to do that, and then turn around, and paint an orange pearl clear coat over that, but then mama always said Stupid is as stupid does Drill Sargent!!
The wheels will wait on an actual color choice this time around, considering that they are no longer masked. I'll paint the car first, and then decide on a color then.
As for FedEx B.C.,.......he'll probably get a little roughed up and painted some color as well,......he seems a little too "flippant" to end up living in such a tough neighborhood.
For those that are confused, and kinda skim along, the plan for the car has always been a change from a Monster to a Messenger. So If you're wondering why a Mercury head hub cap is on my wheels,.... the answer to that is simple.
The World according to me:
Ford made a Fairlane, which took it's namesake from Edsel Fords'' big assed house (read boring). Not discounting the fact that T bolts were Fairlanes, there were waaaay more Fairlanes in dork mobile status than in T bolt mode.
It's my contention that Fairlane begat the Torino, and the Torino married a Maverick and that became the Fairmont. (read boring)
Mercury Made a Comet, which morphed into a Cyclone. Still plenty of old drag racing lineage behind the Comet namesake, but way more cool ass Cyclones in the days that followed when compared to Fairlanes..
Cyclones became Montegos, and again, Ford married it to it's cousin, the Comet, and thus it became a Zephyr. All things considered, I'm changing the car from a Ford, over to a Mercury. (At least Zephyr still has the word "wind" in its definition)
All this goes to say that given a choice, I prefer to model the car after a namesake that recognizes the power of the wind, instead of some kids house.
This escalated quickly... Not that I'm surprised and not that I think for a second that any of this is boring. I'm just saying that by about the time that the Gila is done there may be an absolutely horrifying Zephyr to contend with coming from a certain NJ camp. One that will utterly undermine everything that this car stands for, more along the lines of breaking wind or passing wind lol. I can't divulge anymore because I've said to much already.
FWIW, I actually appreciated the back story and lineage that you described here and never made any of those correlations before on my own.
Hey, who am I to question why more guys don't get the" why would he" when Glidden fielded a Fairmont, and Nicholsen ran a Zephyr instead of the fox mustang. Then after that, an 80 T bird, followed by an 83 t bird after that.This escalated quickly... Not that I'm surprised and not that I think for a second that any of this is boring. I'm just saying that by about the time that the Gila is done there may be an absolutely horrifying Zephyr to contend with coming from a certain NJ camp. One that will utterly undermine everything that this car stands for, more along the lines of breaking wind or passing wind lol. I can't divulge anymore because I've said to much already.
FWIW, I actually appreciated the back story and lineage that you described here and never made any of those correlations before on my own.
Simple, actually.
Same chassis, w/ a 105" WB, and about a mile of rear overhang.
Besides it was only a matter of time before you, ( or who ever is building the new car) come to terms with the fact that it gets old having the same cheese sandwich over, and over, and over............
Time to put some ham on that sammich!
My sammich may look like all the other sammich'es out there, but it certainly has something different between the slices of bread!
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