Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

Hello Bob,

Regarding original battery 'repacking'. Have spoken with several folks in town yesterday, and two have mentioned a particular business (business of one, I believe) who has done this with original batteries, and supplied to our local battery shop. While i'm in town I will call in on the battery shop to ask about this.

Problem with getting an original case is simply the total lack of cases in circulation. I fully expect I will look & not find a suitable case, then once bought something less than ideal, hundreds of the bloody things will show up! That seems to be the way for me. Macs Auto in USA have a new battery that is perfect for me, but they don't ship O.S, even though the batteries are shipped dry. Add to that the huge post cost and it's not even worth the time to consider as an option. Surely there MUST be someone who has these in Aus, and if so, I will find them eventually.

There was a discussion on batteries HERE.

Macs sources their batteries from THIS manufacturer (Click on Batteries>Ford>Ford 40-53). All well and good for North American customers, but we might baulk at the shipping costs here in Aus (and they will ship to Aus). As the manufacturer, you could ask if they would be prepared to ship you just the empty case for you to have packed here?

[Private_collector]

Tony, my dear chap,

Thanks for the web link. I have emailed Antique Auto Batteries a few minutes ago, asking (well kind of pleading) for either an empty case of the bits that would make up the top, so I could make my own. Visually at least.

If nothing else comes from visiting that site, there were some excellent photos showing every detail of the 2HF battery. That will come in handy, should I have to try and duplicate.
battery top for GM.jpg
I'm obviously not the first one to think of 'dummy' battery tops! Still haven't found a Ford one, but i'm still looking.

[Private_collector]

Battery box is finished.
Battery holder frame 1.jpg Battery holder frame 2.jpg Battery holder frame 3.jpg
Just requires painting & it's ready to be attached to the step assembly. None of those parts are ready yet, though. Still to be blasted......apparently.
Battery holder frame 4.jpg
I'm happy with the way these bolts look with the filler added. They're not perfect, but they will do me for 'claytons' rivets.

[Private_collector]

While awaiting the return of the chassis, I have a range of things to turn my attention to. The battery box was obviously the first, and this afternoon I started work on the fuel tanks. I have a number of tanks, ranging from totally buggered to not quite good enough to use as is. The passenger side tank falls into the latter category, but will only need minor cosmetic work, at least on the outside! Inside is full of flaky surface rust, but that will be addressed later. The driver side tank is sound but full of dents ranging from coin size to full blown heavy damage to one of the welded seam edges. I will post some photos of that little treasure in coming days, but what I wanted to write today is in relation to a funny incident that occured today.

I started pulling out the damage on the seam, and quickly realised I could do more harm than good, because I don't have the required equipment. Not wanting to cease completely, I investigated removal of the rusted-in drain plug. Whatever the bolt (or maybe something else) used to look like, was now just the portion left after somebody snapped it off at about 1/8in above the outside of the tank.

First I drilled the centre, then drilled larger, then larger, until I felt it would take a substantial size ezy-out. Using the ezy-out failed miserably and was looking likely that it too may snap, so I stopped. With the original bolt rusted tightly, I wondered if I could just tap a thread to its inside and add a smaller diameter bolt. Tapped the hole to 3/8in, made several passes with the tap, then inserted a 3/8in bolt. The bolt went in with much encouragement, getting harder to turn with each attempt..............until..............yep, it snapped too. Now I had a snapped bolt within another snapped bolt. Cursed myself for being so bloody stupid, then started the drilling all over again.

Finally removed both of the bolts. Cleaned up the now gaping hole, and tapped the hole to 1/2in. This one took, and I gingerly tried the correct size bolt without any problems.

The driver side tank will need to be given to a panel beater to pull out the damage on the edge, properly. Maybe next week for that. Passenger side tank will get a good sanding tomorrow or Sunday.

What do people use to de-rust the insides of fuel tanks?????

[Matt Baker]

Hi Tony,

Way back when i did my apprenticeship with Sleeping Beauties In Brisbane we used a product called EPIREZ, It was a two pack Epoxy that when mixed you poured it into the tank and then rotated/moved the tank in all directions to fully cover the inside. It was quite an effective method of sealing Rusty Inners and was Impervious to todays fuels.

Cheers Matt Baker

No Doubt One of the Geniuses Will Know Better.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

What do people use to de-rust the insides of fuel tanks?????

Some take a handful of pebbles and some water and shake the tank until the insides are clean. Others take sharp edged glass (smashed car glass) and bungee the tank to a cement mixer and let that do the hard work .

H.

[Private_collector]

Thanks guys,

Matt, I was hoping there would be something like that. Some miracle chemical that strips the rust away, leaving the inside clean (and possibly has a delightful minty fragrance). I have started looking into the range of tank cleaners & sealers, such as POR 15 etc.

Hanno,................seriously! People actually do those things. Guess the industrial revolution has come around again. I do understand that those would be good mechanical debridement, but what about the baffles inside preventing free movement, or worse, damaging the baffles themselves. I do like the glass idea. That's really quite ingenoius. Not sure exactly how I would set the tank up for continuous shaking or rotation.

A friend of mine has a dog that's epileptic. I could gaffer tape the tank to his back, I guess!

Seriously though, thanks guys

P.S: Ordered new front wheel cylinders from Rockauto in USA. They were just over $31.00US each, and with postage still came to less than $100AUD. Shipped via FedEx and trackable. I'm following their progress since they were despatched several days ago. I lead a sad little life.

[colin jones]

Tony, I would'nt use the dog. One spark and "WOOF" all over red rover?

[Private_collector]

It is with heavy heart that I acknowledge my idyl week of leasure is over. Back to work tomorrow morning. It will be a brave colleague that asks me if i'm glad to be back. I fear I may cut off their head, scoop out the insides, and send it to their mummy as a vase. (Thank you Cpt Blackadder)

Why couldn't I have been born rich instead of devistatingly handsome?
No, that's not true. I have a face like a dropped pie! And not rich either.
Fake Battery 1.jpg
As for todays efforts, nothing of great importance...again. Did get to a certain stage with work on the 'fake' battery top. The first layer of blade putty has been laid in the gaps between the three cells. There is not much that cannot be made either from scratch, or taken as a pettern from an original item. I have ordered 1x original period Ford cell cap from UK, and that will be used to make a mold for a batch of 'new' ones. The lead cell connectors can be easily made from scratch. I hope to be able to incorporate the "Ford" lettering from the top of the cap, into the cell connectors, making them look more realistic. The only thing I probably won't be trying to replicate will be the lead poles for the cables to attach to. These are easily obtainable from scrap metal place in town, so I will ask them if I can hack up a couple of old batterys to get em.
Ford Military Vehicles.jpg
That's enough for now. I'm off to bed to read my newly acquired Ford book.

Oooooh, just one more thing. I was following the journey of my front wheel cylinders via FedEx tracking, and see that they are now in Honolulu, HI.
Lucky bastards. Hope they bring me a nice loud shirt!