MTFCA Forum

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Here’s a “rickshaw style” dolly that I fabricated to move my 1911 Touring body in and out of my workshop while I restore the car.

Two 8’ 2x4s
Two 1/2” body bolts
Two 3/4” axle bolts
Fifteen 2” construction screws
Two solid rubber lawnmower wheels
Bailing wire for fore and aft guy-wires

It’s places the body at the ideal level to work on, is as easy to move around as an empty wheel barrel, and I can approach it from every angle.

Just thought a fellow Model T-er might find this “shoestring restoration” idea useful.
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Nice work, Mr. Chase.
Don't work harder; Work smarter!
: ^ )

Good idea, Steve. I am happy that younger generation are beginning to take over the restoration work on the T's. We need to keep them running as long as we can to keep the history alive. And it is a fun hobby that most able bodied people can continue. This current generation is kind of a "Throw it away" generation and the T's have survived through two world wars, a great depression and many other good and bad times.
Your friend, Norm

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Shoestring Restoration

Sandblasting the Body

Great job! And I thought I was being inventive bending tail pipes in the fork of a tree!

Michael, that reminds me of my youth. I was looking for a pipe bender, a guy said he had 1 till 1 of the trees blew over.

Steve, What media do you use for the blast cleaning? Do sand the surface after blast cleaning?

BLB27 wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:14 pm

Steve, What media do you use for the blast cleaning? Do sand the surface after blast cleaning?

Hello Bruce,

The “shoestring” budget only allows for number 60 grit silica sand, $9/ hundred pounds. And, I capture it so that it may be reused. That grit worked great on the black fenders, running-boards, splash aprons, etc. However, for some reason it was way too slow on the green painted body. Therefore, I upgraded to number 30 grit silica sand. There was no in between grit available here in Lomita CA. It leaves only a slightly rougher mat surface on the bare metal. I will go back over the body and catch any imperfect areas with the 60 grit sandblasting.

I do not sand the bare body metal after sandblasting. I do not find that necessary. I do make sure it is acid prepped, degreased, and perfectly clean before priming it with a high fill two-part black primer. Only then do I start my 320 grit sanding, between coats, and 400 after the third primer coat.

Steve, Thanks, Do you have any concern about sand being embedded into the surface and that resulting in effecting the paint?

Sandblasting will warp the sheet metal. I know this for a fact from my years in the body shop.

Directing the blast square-on to the panels will distort them. If the pressure is turned back and the blast stream directed at 45 degrees or less, there is far less chance of damage, but it will take longer. That said, I will never have flat panels blasted. Crowned fenders are OK and any curved body panels like the cowl panels, but flat panels like the rear tub are at risk.

Just my experience. Allan from down under.

If your blasting operation pits and roughens the metal surface, it will distort sheet metal. It may or may not be easily visible, but it will occur. Crowned or creased surfaces will resist obvious distortion better than flat or near flat surfaces, but the peening effect of blasting pits into the surface will be present. Heavier gauge sheet metal will resist distortion better than lighter gauge metal. While the coarse, blasted metal surface mighjt appear to be ideal for primer to bond to, that may not be the case, since the pits can retain blasting media residue, air, lint, and moisture. That's a recipe for bubbling paint down the road. Each pit is a tiny impact crater. The blasting media particle strikes the metal at high speed and tends to embed in it, and in doing so, it pushes metal out from the center of the impact point. Angling the flow of the blast media relative to the plane of the surface will reduce damage, and reduce or prevent the cratering effect. It would be instructive for a person to practice blasting a flat piece of automotive sheet metal to observe the effect of blasting on it, and then to examine the blasted surface under high magnification.

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Like many in our hobby I live in a townhouse condominium that forbids their residents from working on vehicles in our carports, let alone doing a complete restoration. This restriction also prevents me from keeping all the necessary tools, compressor, etc. Therefore, I had to come up with a remote shoestring way to do this multi month project. The solution was this 13’x20’ x13’ high Shelter Logic backyard workshop from Walmart.com.

A fellow MTFCA member allows this to stand, out of the way, on the back of his property. And, there is ample open space, adjacent and behind his garage, for outdoor work like sandblasting and painting. Southern California weather allows for this. He is also generous with advice, the loan of an uncommon tool, and on occasion a Model T part if it can be easily replaced.

This shoestring backyard tent workshop can contain the detached touring body on wide sawhorses that span the rolling chassis below, the fenders, splash aprons, running boards, etc hanging from the rafters along with all the brass, as well as a 30 gal compressor and all the every day tools, parts, and supplies. This facility and the gentleman who allows it to be there are a godsend to this “shoestring restoration” project.

An excellent solution. Does the structure have a wind rating? High winds can be an issue here any day of the year.

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 23, 2021 2:34 pm

An excellent solution. Does the structure have a wind rating? High winds can be an issue here any day of the year.

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Hello Pat,

In answer to your question I suggest that you visit the Shelter Logic "garage in a Box" web description. Everything I know about this workshop tent came from there. Walmart had the best price on them.

web link: https://www.shelterlogic.com/shop/manuf ... box-series

Cheers
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I have a SUV Garage in a Box. Direct from Northern Tool.

My son and I put it up in three days. The tie downs that come with it are temporary use. Mine is anchored to the ground using 6 four foot tall metal fence posts driven into the ground until only about eight or nine inches stick up. It's not going anywhere.

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Outdoor Spray Booth

Three coats of “Pete Townsend approved” 1911 Ford Midnight Blue sprayed on top of 3 coats of black epoxy primer that had been hand sanded smooth with 320 grit paper.

We are looking good.
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1000 grit color sanding (wet), by hand, and two step (Meguire’s #12 compound followed by #6) buffing/ polishing with a $24 machine.
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Nice quality handwork, results paid off, spectacular finish I say!

Looks like factory new 1911!

Good work Steven. Practice makes perfect.

As to Dan’s photo. I’ve seen a lot of early photos where the car was obviously very shiny. Even though a Ford was comparatively cheap they still cost enough for people to take care of them.


Andy

Looking good Steve
This restoration is being done in the Los Angles basin and in spite of what the doomsayers tell you, it’s very, very unlikely he will ever see “high” winds. I can’t actually say never but my daughter has lived in the coastal area for 45 years and NEVER had wind damage. Now I use to live in the hills some twenty miles inland and that’s a different story.

I have a question. The water sandblasting that some of the car shows advertise indicate little or no metal distortion. Is this true?

Tmooreheadf wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 28, 2022 7:57 am

I have a question. The water sandblasting that some of the car shows advertise indicate little or no metal distortion. Is this true?

Don't know if this is the best place to ask that question, but my experiences:
Water sandblasting still uses high pressure, so I am not sure about the likelihood. I have never used it, but here are the facts. The common belief that warpage is caused by heat is incorrect. Rather it is the forces induced within the sheet of metal by the heavy abrasive particles hitting the metal surface. You will not see this same warping when light abrasives are used because they lack the kinetic energy required to compress the molecules in the steel sheet thus leaving the sheet in the same stress state as it was in when formed by the dies at the factory. Therefore, waterblasting will still probably cause warpage if you do not know what you are doing. Sandblasting done right won't warp metal. It is the best way to clean metal.

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The 1911 Ford Midnight Blue is on. 3 coats of Axalta Centari Acrylic Enamel, single stage. Here it is pictured in and out of the direct sunlight.

Now I have a few long days ahead of me of outdoor wet color-sanding with 1,000 grit, …followed by buffing with compound then again with polish.
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Now I have a few long days ahead of me of outdoor wet color-sanding with 1,000 grit, …followed by buffing with compound then again with polish.

Steve, my experience with color sanding and polishing the 15 runabout I restored a couple of years ago required using 1500 and 2000 grit before going to two stages of polishing compound. I think you will find that 1000 grit will leave too deep of scratches to start the polishing step.