Complete restoration?

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: Complete restoration?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Friday, December 12, 2014 - 11:08 pm:

When i purchased my car last April i was fortunate enough to have a complete picture gallery of the restoration. I have never seen a pictorial on a complete restoration here as it involves many pics and was wondering if anyone was interested in seeing the process my 25 went through. Obviously i would have to do this in sections as the people who restored Mildred said it took them 597 hours. What say yee, any interest?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jack Daron - Brownsburg IN on Friday, December 12, 2014 - 11:15 pm:

I would love to see them.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Friday, December 12, 2014 - 11:27 pm:

You bet. I might learn something.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Friday, December 12, 2014 - 11:28 pm:

Thanks Jack, i figured this time of year would be perfect to fill up some forum space..:-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Friday, December 12, 2014 - 11:48 pm:

Thanks Steve,...that's two!..


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Whaley, Georgetown Ontario Canada on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 12:11 am:

John,

Post away. I would love to see them!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 12:23 am:

OK than,..i will post the pics with the written notes by the people who restored the car, it will be interesting to see what they did right, and wrong in the process.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Allan Bennett - Australia on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 01:50 am:

When I came back to T's in 1986, it was with the profits from rebuilding a modern wreck in my pocket.
I'd earned the funds to do the job, so I kept a detailed photo log, expenses paid out and the time taken for each operation. Co-incidentally, it took a little over $5000 and 500 hours to do the job.

I am looking forward to John's photos and making comparisons.

Allan from down under.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 02:05 am:

My scanner is giving me some headaches since i rarely use it. The restoration was started on Aug 16 of 85 and completed Jan. 31 87. Lots of great pics to come, i promise.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Christopher Vasconcelos in Fairhaven, MA on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 09:00 am:

I'm just starting to restore my T.

I have never done it before and plan on taking it apart piece by piece.

If you have the pictures already I would love to see them.

vascon2196@comcast.net

Thanks,

Chris


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Kriegel Mishawaka Indiana on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 09:16 am:

As an idea, you can load all the photos in high resolution to a free site such as Photobucket create an album called restoration, then just post the link to the album here. A lot less work


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mark Strange on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 09:23 am:

Christopher, a word to the wise about car restoration - take lots of photographs of as much of the car as you can while it is still together. Don't rely on memory! As you take things apart, bag and tag everything so that you will know what fasteners and parts go where when it is time for re-assembly.

Also, do not dispose of the old parts until the restoration is finished! In some cases, the original Ford parts are superior in metallurgy and fit to the currently available reproductions. In fact, after the restoration is complete, if you have old parts you no longer need or want, advertise them on the forum classifieds, somebody else here will probably want them.

Good luck with your restoration! :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary Schreiber- Santa Isabel Ecuador on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 09:32 am:

Posting a link to a photobucket type sight is ok, but if there are detailed before/after resto pics, they should go here for future, searchable reference. How many times have you clicked on a broken or expired link?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Whaley, Georgetown Ontario Canada on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 09:45 am:

Christopher - Mark has some very good points. Your best friends are ziplock bags and a sharpie during the teardown process. Lots of pictures - you can never have too many. As you take pictures, keep a list of the picture number and what part of the car it is as well.

Good luck and have fun!:-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary Schreiber- Santa Isabel Ecuador on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 11:11 am:

Gentlemen, the car is restored. He has hundreds of detailed photos of the before/after process that I hope he posts here.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Whaley, Georgetown Ontario Canada on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 01:56 pm:

Gary, Mark and I were referring to Christopher Vasconcelos who stated that he is just starting a restoration.

Doesn't matter who is restoring what, or who has one restored - bring on the pictures! :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 06:24 pm:

Picture post away! Most of us love to look at photos of model Ts. Anyone that doesn't want to look at them can just move on to something else. So there.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 06:48 pm:

Coming up after dinner...:-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tim Wrenn on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 07:49 pm:

John..I love the name of your car! Our dog's name is "Millie" (given by the dog pound) but when she's in trouble, it's "MILDRED!".... :-)
Can't wait to see the pictorial history


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 09:10 pm:

Having technical difficulty's, hope to post soon..:-(


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 09:46 pm:

Restoration begins Aug. 1985
All parts are chemically stripped and frame is sprayed with DuPont variprime. Owner completely disassembled the car and brought it to the shop to save a few greenbacks.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 09:55 pm:

Work resumes in Feb. 86
Assorted parts, sprayed with feather fill...30 hours of work to this point.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 10:05 pm:

All major parts (75 pieces) are variprimed, feather filled, sanded, laquer primed, sanded, and than 4 coats of black enamel...Feb.16 96 1/2 hours.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 10:15 pm:

Frame, rear end and front end primed and ready for paint. Apr. 86.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 10:25 pm:

Apr.23 1986. 129 hrs.
Frame, front and rear end painted with DuPont centuri black enamel.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 10:39 pm:

May 10 86
Chassis assembly begins.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 10:43 pm:

Method used to true wheels.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 10:56 pm:

May 11 86. Chassis begins to take shape,All wheels were ground and cadmium plated...200 hrs.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 11:02 pm:

May 12 86. Engine installed.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 11:14 pm:

May 16 86 242 hrs.

Manifold, exhaust system, gas tank, steering and radiator installed.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 11:22 pm:

May 16 86.

All wiring done, battery installed, all controls hooked up.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 11:26 pm:

Are you all bored to death by now and hitting that eggnog early?..Let me know because i have plenty more left to torture you with. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 11:40 pm:

Just a suggestion - crop your photos to eliminate the white space and scrolling.

1


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chris Cook on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 11:41 pm:

You can't stop now John!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 11:48 pm:

Erik, these are old pics i had to scan and than try to fit to below 196 kb,...I know its annoying as hell, but i cant find a way to fix it. OK Chris, full speed ahead and damn the torpedo's!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Saturday, December 13, 2014 - 11:59 pm:

May 17 86..247 1/2 hrs.

Engine run for the first time.




Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 12:06 am:

Car was missing door when purchased, bought old door that was rotted out at top and welded in new steel,leaded and smoothed.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 12:15 am:

May 30 86 300 hrs.

L.H.body side rotted out at bottom. Weld in new steel,lead and smooth,variprime.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 12:27 am:

June 1 86.

Hood, front fenders,and running boards fitted to car. Body wood frame starts to take shape.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 12:33 am:

Driver and passenger door and body wood assembled.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 12:37 am:

Gas tank and seat bottom bracket.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 12:39 am:

Hood fitted.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 12:46 am:

Body panels fitted to wood frame for body.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 12:55 am:

June 6 86.

Begin, and finish fitting oak flooring at rear with battery access.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:01 am:

Sheet metal skins are made, fitted, and installed to wood frame side rails. Oak deck is covered in 18 ga.sheet metal


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:05 am:

Turtle deck is installed after fitting battery access cover.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:07 am:

Turtle deck installed.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:23 am:

Rear fenders fitted and installed.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:28 am:

At 360 hrs. Mildreds body and fenders are fitted and installed.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:31 am:

New top bow assembly is put together and installed on car.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:38 am:

June 14 86 Mildred is taken for a short road test, passes with flying colors..(she made it back to the garage)..368 hours labor to date.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:45 am:

Work resumes on Nov.10 86
Car is disassembled to begin paint work.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:57 am:

Body and turtle deck are sprayed with feather fill and sanded, than lacquer primed with red oxide fill and sand.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 02:04 am:

Primer is wet sanded and 4 coats of DuPont Centuri black enamel are sprayed on. After one week paint is sanded with 1200 wet sandpaper before buffing.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 02:16 am:

Jan23 87.
Chassis and car to be united as one at 536 hrs. New safety glass is installed.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 02:28 am:

Jan. 24 87. Upholstery work begins.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 02:40 am:

Jan. 25 87.
Seat is finished, and side and door panels are cut and fitted and tacked in place.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 02:47 am:

Jan. 28 1987 572 hrs.

Top bows padded and side padding installed, as well as bow straps.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 02:55 am:

Waiting to leave shop..


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 02:57 am:

Shop door is open.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 03:07 am:

Sorry for all the huge gaps between pics, that's the best i could get it!..Hope you enjoyed the path my car went through to be the joy that she is to me today!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 03:51 am:

Excellent!. Lots of good work, nicely documented. I like seeing actual body solder used instead of plastic filler.

Cropping pictures as Erik showed is simple. Just click and drag the mouse, hit a couple of keys, and all the extra stuff is gone.


I always tell my fellow elderly persons to have some kid show them how.
:-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By kep on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 12:35 pm:

How is the top fixed to the body?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Christopher Vasconcelos in Fairhaven, MA on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 01:17 pm:

Awesome!!!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David J. Holland on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 04:54 pm:

Shows a labor of love and dedication.
Also shows the hours (572 noted) and money for parts and supplies involved in a full restoration.

A professional shop at $50 per hour would present a bill for $28,600 plus parts and material.

Yet a fully restored brass T may sell for around $20,000 or less.

Bravo to all the hobbyists that work on the Ford in their future! And have the ability that John P Noonan has.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 08:07 pm:

It looks like a very nice, well done, restoration! A car that you can be proud to own and care for.
Thank you for sharing the pictures.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Joseph Geisler on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 09:24 pm:

I don't care if it WAS DONE in the 80's. It is the SAME today as then except a little harder to come up with good sheetmetal and for a cheap price. Although the repo body metal is better today than it was. I use to have to MAKE a lot of stuff. Still do on some cars. Prices are definitely NOT what they were earlier years ago either. You did very well and I know you are proud of your work and the car. It came a long way from inception into your family (and it kept you off of the streets) LOL.
Some of the members did not like your post (old hat stuff) BUT there were several out there who would learn a lot from your documentation and photo essay. I think you should be congratulated, John. I have a couple of these 23-25 roadsters to do in my shop someday. I also have done everything that you did on your 25 but in the 60's. I STILL took a set of your photos for my T flashdrives. I will use these to show the guys how we will do the work on these cars.Unlike you my cars were a piece there and a piece there from several states even just to make up the body. Mine are exactly like yours were and will need butt splicing. As for lead work if you are welding everything properly and heat quenching it all to keep out of the warpage devil then you shouldn't have to use very much lead. Lead is ONLY the way they had to fix things back in the day as they did not have a workable and usable plastic filler like today. I run a restoration shop and I also taught those classes in Florida. Many people have HEARD about using lead but have never TRIED to apply or work it. They have just HEARD about it. Either way you go about finessing the surface for flatness depends upon doing either exactly the way it needs to be done and with the proper cleanliness and tools, Both will work well in one's lifetime. Unless the car will stay in the open air most of it's life than the lead will win out. Lead is HEAVY!!! Doesn't rust, doesn't hold paint well and neither does brass soldering (called brazing)!
Metalwork done by trained experts does not require much if any filler. Chasing warpage and dented creases takes a lot of knowledge and TIME. Mig welding is not what I am talking about. Using the torch is the way to go. BUT you must do a lot of it using the shrinking techniques along with the work. It is all part of the process. The mig (wire weld) is much stiffer and harder to message or grind down. Also it is harder to keep from burning thru. Using the Copper backers help but still if you master the torch with a oo or ooo tip you will never go back. Unless you are good a TIG welding. But you MUST have virgin sheet steel without any rust damage using the tig torch. Both gas and tig welds grind so much easier. And last longer if done properly. Again gas welding uses professional torches, lighter hoses, special gauges that do not have any CREEPAGE (fluctuations). Every little bit helps someone somewhere.
Again good show.
Thank you
Joe in Mo


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chris Cook on Sunday, December 14, 2014 - 10:26 pm:

Thanks John, never get tired of looking at how someone goes about restoration of a T. Chris.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By george house on Monday, December 15, 2014 - 09:11 am:

Excellent restoration pictorial ! I liked the correct sequence of events shown in a perfect restoration. It illustrates the importance of properly fitting in many stages before finish painting. One question I'd like to hear comments on is around your Jan. 25th of '87 picture of the open roadster door showing the check strap fastened to the door. It appears a footman loop wasn't used. Instead what I've always considered a C Cab door check strap fastener was used. Maybe I've always been wrong. If so, when was the footman loop discontinued? Thanks John!! I've saved your pictorial to my Favorites


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik Johnson on Monday, December 15, 2014 - 11:10 am:

A footman's loop was never used for door checks in open cars (roadsters and tourings).

During the years when cotton webbing was used, approximately 1916 through the end of production, the strap was tacked to the wood frame, under the leatherette panels.

Don't know what that extra square piece is that is shown in the photo.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Poane on Monday, December 15, 2014 - 12:24 pm:

Great show and great looking car. Thanks for sharing John!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John P Noonan on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 - 11:56 pm:

Thanks for all the great comments. I realize that restored cars aren't everyone's cup of tea here, and i for one love T's in both forms, restored and those completely untouched and preserved as they should be at their glorious old age. As far as my car goes, its an older restoration and i plan on driving it like an everyday car, the way it was meant to be.


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