We're bringin' back the Flat Tops!

[Mike B]

Do you reuse the original fuel/brake lines and have them replated?  If so, do you have to bend them for plating and then bend them back?  Also why not apply a body color tint or paint over the undercoating instead of leaving it black?  Great work as usual.

-Mike

[motorman7]

Yes, I had the original fuel lines replated. I had to bend the long tubes into thirds to fit in the 48" plating tank. I put a large radius bend in two locations, approximately thirds, to prevent the tubes from kinking. I bent them back after they came back from plating. The bend locations are in the tunnel so not highly visible.
I stuck with the black because that is what the car was originally. I tried a different brand of undercoat, but am not very happy with it. It is not producing consistent texture. Will go back to my old brand and redo most of the areas.



Sent from my C6902 using Classic Zcar Club mobile

[hiyabrad]

11 hours ago, motorman7 said:

Yes, I had the original fuel lines replated. I had to bend the long tubes into thirds to fit in the 48" plating tank. I put a large radius bend in two locations, approximately thirds, to prevent the tubes from kinking. I bent them back after they came back from plating. The bend locations are in the tunnel so not highly visible.
I stuck with the black because that is what the car was originally. I tried a different brand of undercoat, but am not very happy with it. It is not producing consistent texture. Will go back to my old brand and redo most of the areas.



Sent from my C6902 using Classic Zcar Club mobile
 

What brand of undercoating is the old brand that you are going back to using? Curious to know why you tried a new brand. Thanks. 

[motorman7]

23 minutes ago, hiyabrad said:

What brand of undercoating is the old brand that you are going back to using? Curious to know why you tried a new brand. Thanks. 

The stuff I just bought and do not like is the Rust-oleum brand.  It did not 'crinkle-up' well at all.  It went on almost like thick paint.  I had to double check the label to make sure I grabbed the right stuff.  Might have been because it is a bit cold and damp here in San Diego, but it just did not come out well.  I tried the new brand because it was a package deal on Amazon with free delivery.  I will go back to the dupli-color brand which I have used on all the previous vehicles.  The texture is much more consistent.  Of course, now I need to cover up the parts that have been installed.
 

Edited February 11, 2019 by motorman7

[Zup]

1 hour ago, motorman7 said:

it is a bit cold and damp here in San Diego

Cry me a river would ya!

@zKars @wheee!  

JK! 

[240260280]

for injector/carb filters, did you see @Zed Head's excellent link:  https://injector-rehab.com/shop/Injector-Filters/

[motorman7]

51 minutes ago, 240260280 said:

for injector/carb filters, did you see @Zed Head's excellent link:  https://injector-rehab.com/shop/Injector-Filters/

Thanks for the link.  @grannyknotis sending me some injector filters that look very close to the correct size.  Will show side by side pics with the original filters when they come in.

[motorman7]

So here is a side-by-side pic of the Original Carb filter and the Injector filter sent by @grannyknot.  Looks like this may work if the injector filter is not too long (I guess I could file some to make it fit lengthwise if needed).  From the carb design, it looks like the open end of the Carb filter is 'capped' by the bolt that holds it in place.  Since that is the case, looks like the closed end of the injector filter will be OK as is.  It's actually a nice design for filter replacement since you just remove the short bolt on the side of the carb to access the filter.  I checked the filters in some of the other carbs and they were pretty much completely disintegrated.  I guess that happens with age.

22 hours ago, Zup said:

Cry me a river would ya!

JK! 

 I know, the challenges that we here in San Diego face with our weather is tough.  If its not 80 degrees and sunny, we have a hard time with things.  I think there has been a run on jackets at Costco...and I have to wear socks.

Edited February 12, 2019 by motorman7

[Captain Obvious]

I'm not sure that filter is going to work, but it's worth a try. The original filter is designed just a little bit too long on purpose so it is crushed some when you screw the plug home. That's what seals the ends.

You can see that injector filter is significantly longer than the flat top filter, and I worry that the plastic carrier on that injector filter will just shatter when it's crushed to length.

I betcha with a custom cap it could be made to work though... Custom machined brass plug/cap with a small recess in the center that accepts the blind sealed end of that injector filter. In other words, change the cap to be an innie instead of an outie. With an innie that's a snug fit around the outside of the blind end of that injector filter? I bet they're pretty consistent.

Just thinking out loud.   

[Captain Obvious]

9 hours ago, motorman7 said:

I think there has been a run on jackets at Costco...and I have to wear socks.

Oh, and you're killing me with that. We just got four inches of heavy wet slush.

[motorman7]

Painted the engine bay front panels satin black.  Also installed a few more parts; coil bracket & hood prop (Just a side note: with fresh paint, pretty much all holes need to be re-tapped before installing screws, otherwise they don't go in very well ?). Polished up and installed the trim that goes on the rain gutters.  Also cleaned up the spare and set it in it's compartment.

 

@Captain Obvious you were right about the filter being too long.   I set it in the carb and it is pretty close to the threads as you can kind of see in the picture.  Looks like I will need to find a different method.

[jayhawk]

It appears (from this youtube video) that early Hitachi 2bbl downdraft carbs may have used the same fuel filter.  These filters are also long gone and comments in the video indicate the poster does not know of any source.  I found some tune up kits for these carbs, but like ours, the kits do not have the filter/mesh/screen.

 

In the comments to this video they indicate they are just going to leave the filter/screen out as unnecessary. 

Edited February 13, 2019 by jayhawk