MTFCA Forum

Odd assembly questions:

I am told that there is brass underneath the nickel and the nickel can be removed with a wire wheel? Is that true? won't that damage the brass underneath? How do I mount a foot starter switch if it is only going to be floor board there? I want to put my horn brass hose through the quarter size hole in the firewall. Is that what it is for or is the quarter sized hole for something else?

On the headlight rims, I have always been concerned with putting plating on; not taking it off, but I would be very leery of using a wire wheel or brush on brass to remove plating. Even if using a very fine wire size, I would worry that it would scratch the brass. If you have a cotton buffing wheel on your bench grinder, you might be successful buffing the plating off with jeweler's rouge, but the easiest way would be to take them to a plating shop and let them remove the plating by electrolysis.

A plating shop can take the nickel off with no damage to the brass underneath. Otherwise I would suggest wet rubbing paper and lots of elbow grease. As you get back to the brass, switch to a finer grade of paper to reduce any scratching in the brass. The finer the finish the easier to polish the brass later. Any machine use is fraught with danger, both to the operator and the parts being polished. My thumb tells me so.

Allan from down under.

Nice looking car! keep up the good work.

Re the Nickel - NO please don't try a wire wheel, it will destroy the brass. A YOUTUBE search will give you suggestions to remove the nickel yourself using chemical process. You can sand it off as Alan suggested. Youtube/ Google will show you how to re do the nickel yourself, it is not too hard but does rely on you getting the base as perfect as possible, any wire brush scratch or rough bits or sanding marks - or even just a finger print - will always show through the nickel finish.


The foot starter switch is attached to a bracket that bolts to the top of the frame:

A hole is cut in the floor board for the button. An extension may be useful to raise the button above the floor board, but is not usually needed.




I don't know for sure about the hole, but think it is for the speedo drive cable.

On the '13 Im working on, thae starter switch mount was one of the flimsy sheetmetal mounts and it was too Low.. The switch needed a Top Hat Extension to make the button taller, and when you pushed the Button with your foot, it would bend down making it hard to press next time..

I made my own mount..
Cap

You might think about a starter solenoid with push button some place. You would not need to mount and drill a hole for that switch.

A starter solenoid is probably better for the starter, since it assure a single, positive engagement of the contacts. The solenoid arrangement was used with great success with the Bendix-type starter drive for many decades. The solenoid can be activated by the original foot switch or by a button-type switch mounted most anywhere, or a modern key-type switch which combines ignition, accessory, and start functions.