These people are a treasure trove of information, which they aer very willing to share. They also have a lot of opinions that they are equally willing to share, sometimes even when you want them. They have low tolerance for stupid questions and douchebaggery, and are more than willing to put someone in their place when they need it. And they are also an extremely generous bunch. There's almost always an auction or two going on to help out someone who is sick, or has hit a run of bad luck. Good guys to trade info and verbal punches with.
So- back to work. Time to totally disassemble the front suspension and evaluate just exactly what needs to be done. From a simple shakedown, I know it needs king pins, but I have to disassemble it to find all of the surprises. And oh, did it have a big one!
And to think I considered driving it home on this!
All in all, the front suspension wasn't in too bad shape, but that control arm is scary bad. Time to start doing some searching.
My search ended quickly and nicely, though. I posted this same picture in my build thread on HAMB, and the next day, I got a private message: Hey, I saw the picture of your lower control arm. I have a set from a '53 Chevy in my garage- if you want them, they're yours.
I'd seen some posts from Fred before. He's on the NW side of Indy, and I called him. As it turns out, he worked for a company that my father also worked for, but not at the same time. We arranged a day for me to go out there, and I had a GREAT time out in his shop. He's got a cool '54 Ford traditional kustom, as well as a nice 1940 International pickup, a really nice T bucket, and a WICKED cool old school front engine dragster that he used to race back in the day. I coud have talked with this guy all day, but I had to leave to make it to work.
Pre cleanup pile of parts (with the new control arms)
Where they all came from, and will have to go back to
That weekend, it was time to start cleaning the parts up, and while I was working, a cute little face appeared at the garage door and announced "Daddy, I want to get my hands dirty. Do you have a job for me?"
Not wanting to let her down, and wanting to see if she was really into helping as much as she said, I gave her a putty knife and told her to start scraping dirt and grease. And, to her credit, she not only jumped in with enthusiasm, she did a good job! She's on her way to becoming quite the garage girl!
With everything cleaned, it was time to repaint the parts that would be reused, and order replacements for the worn ones. Chevy's of the 40's and Paragon Corvette (because it's the same suspension that the 'vettes used until 1962) provided everything I needed.
Even though I got my big present early, on Father's day, 51 Chick and 51 kid wanted to decorate the car up a bit.
During that time, I also couldn't resist the temptation to start a bit of bodywork. I removed the chrome handle from the trunk, welded the holes shut, and smoothed it a bit. A minor thing, but I just HAD to do at least a little bit of sheemetal work!
Flying sparks = happy boy!
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