'59 Plymouth Forum

Finally, it's warm enough (and clear enough) to get back out to the garage. All the trim is stripped off now, with the exception of the lower windshield trim. I'm able to get the two speed nuts off each end, but the rest seem to be under some pan with weatherstripping around the seams - perhaps, for the windshield wipers?

I recall Ron saying that you have to remove the cowl vent to get to these nuts - is that what I'm missing? And if so - how do I do that?!

Yes, if I Remember correctly they are reached thru the cowl vent opening. Use a plastic pry tool or use a plastic credit card under a metal pry tool. Start on each end. There are spring loaded (crossed) clip at each end and each wider bar on the vent. Nothing is blocked under the dash.
Dick

Dan; There are 3 nuts under the vent cowl,gently pry/lift it straight up it is held with wire clips. You need to feel for the nuts near the windshield,you can get to them with A small ratchet or wrench Mark

Dick Koch wrote:Yes, if I Remember correctly they are reached thru the cowl vent opening. Use a plastic pry tool or use a plastic credit card under a metal pry tool. Start on each end. There are spring loaded (crossed) clip at each end and each wider bar on the vent. Nothing is blocked under the dash.

OK - but, whoever repainted Faulkner red was "generous" with the paint - amazingly, no runs - so I may need to first run a razor blade around the perimeter.

55 survivor wrote:There are 3 nuts under the vent cowl,gently pry/lift it straight up it is held with wire clips. You need to feel for the nuts near the windshield,you can get to them with A small ratchet or wrench.

Three, in addition to the two I can reach on the ends, Mark? For a total of five? That's not so bad.

The World's Slowest Auto Mechanic will try to get to it some evening this week - I'll keep you posted...

Thanks
Dan

OK, I was able to get the cowl vent off without bending the hell out of it, but not without some drama. One of the bracket spot welds broke, as you can see in this pic:

In trying to pop the vent off, the bracket bent slightly, with the clip still in it. Once I figured out what had happened (I'd never seen the underbelly of one of these bad boys), I put the flat blade of a screwdriver between the bracket and the sheet metal the clip pushes into, and gave it a slight twist - and out popped the clip. You can see here how the bracket should look, and here how the bent one looks:

No worries - I'll put a little epoxy on it and clamp it, no harm done. I did lose three clips to rust, though. If I don't have these in my stash, I guess I'll be paying Ed Ober a visit.

The windshield spray nozzles are fine, but the (disconnected) tubing is nice and brittle. Saved a piece, though, to match up with new. And there's a lot of Idaho silt in the chamber! No real rust to speak of, however. I'll be rustproofing this, fershur.

Mark was right - there are three speed nuts to remove, should be straightforward. However, I can tell from the spacing that in addition to the two under the dash that I removed, there are another two under the dash, for a total of seven. Damn if I was able to find them first time - I'll take another look if I can get to it this weekend. I may have to resort to the Dick Koch patented milk crate approach to under dash shenanigans.

Dan

Dan, pop the bracket out and JB weld it back in place when you do the bent one. The rest should hold the vent in place just fine. Just make sure the vent is the last thing to go back after the moulding and wiper hose is in place. I suggest you use OSPHO on all the rusty brackets and clips and then spray the entire underside with encapsulator from Eastwood.
Dick

Dick Koch wrote:Dan, pop the bracket out and JB weld it back in place when you do the bent one.

Dick, do you mean, break the rear spot weld, straighten the bracket and JB weld it back in place?

Can you believe, I did not know about Ospho! Just googled it, will do.

Dan

No, the one that the spot weld came loose, pop it out of the cowl. The bent one use a C clamp or vise grips to JB weld it down. OSPHO is a phosphoric acid product that penetrates rust and retards further rusting by turning it into an iron pirite. Wire brush the rust before you apply it (lightly) and after it dries. I lightly wipe down bare metal with it to prevent any flash rusting. It can usually be found at ACE Hardware or a marine store.
Dick

Ah, the spot weld is between the vent and the bracket - nothing remains in the cowl. It's spot welded in two places, and one broke. I think if I clamp it down with a dab of JB weld I'll be fine.

Thanks for the Ospho tip.

Dan

Well, TWSAM (The World's Slowest Auto Mechanic) finally got the windshield trim off. There are a total of 5 clips holding it on, not 7 like I thought - the ends are held down by the end trim that slips over them. It was the sealant around the screw that made me think I had another screw to remove, but working it back and forth, it finally let go.

The two end clips are different than the three center ones - besides having different bend points, the latter look like they had a rubber grommet around them or something:

Almost done stripping off everything I need to send to Dick! I'm trying to get the turn signal housings off - took the two nuts off the rear of it - but it looks like there are two more screws into the grille work. I'm guessing I have to remove the grille to get these bad boys out...

Enough for TWSAM tonight, I don't want to ruin my reputation.

Dan

Dan - The clips for the front and rear glass trim if not sealed will leak water under the dash and in the trunk as Trump would say "bigley". I have seen hose fitted to the stud but have no idea of its effectiveness. I used plumbers putty around the stud, smeared putty around the hole before inserting the stud and on the underside a rubber washer (Ace Hardware) and a putty filled cupped speed nut. So far so good. Maybe some of the members have other methods, I would like to here any suggestions.
Dick

Dan; I am looking into electrical clay,it it used around home outside meter/service line entrance. It also comes in strips.Home depot has it. You can as Dick say's, to put around the stud and fill the pal nut and also use an o ring or rubber washer around the stud for added measure. Mark

The grill - and the turn signal housings - are off. The turn signal housings are the last of what I need to send to Dick, now to box everything up... But wait! I forgot the hood trim!

I started removing the nuts, and got to the last one. Oh no - the bolt is turning with the nut.

I don't recall looking at these clips before. Is there a single clip with two bolts in it? If I cut it off - will I be able to replace it? Any ideas about how to get it off without cutting it?

Dan

Dan - There are two studs welded in each clip. I have an extra clip. I suggest you wire brush the nut and threads then soak real good overnight with a penetrant. If you can find two JAM nuts that size, they are thinner than a regular nut (Ace Hardware) place them as close to the end of the stud and tighten them to each other firmly, then with a wrench on the jam nuts and a wrench on the clip nut work the clip nut back and forth until it loosens. I'm sorry you will be upside down doing this but just think of how good you will feel when that nut breaks loose, yea! The other way is to clamp vise grips on the end of the stud, then wrench the nut, then cut the stud. Either way use plenty of penetrant.
Good luck,
Dick

Dick, I had forgotten about that jam nut trick. After the rebuilt engine was dropped in Faulkner, I had a leak from one of the exhaust manifold bolts that penetrated a coolant chamber in the block - not enough permatex. I used that trick to get it out.

That was the first year Faulkner went to Carlisle, 2006. That was also the year I met the Keijs, and Roger came along with us. Memories!

I never did get back out to the garage today, though - Mary Kay and I went for a bike ride, and now the old man is feeling it in his bones. Thank God for ibuprofen. But within a couple days, I'll be letting you know about the last shipment to you.

In other news! This is my last week of full time employment. I go to part time next week, 3 days a week. Maybe TWSAM will start to make some real progress now.

Dan