[Laurie_S]

This afternoon, we went back to work on my coupe. While I was cleaning and polishing the gas tank, Chuck worked on the rear axle. Finally, he suggested what I had been thinking--we needed to pull the axle to do the job properly. So we went to work on the axle and finally got it out of the car. I'm not as much help as normal and it was about 104 degrees and humid today so we're kind of struggling with things. After we pulled the axle we got under the car to get a better look at things. It was as I feared, little areas of surface rust that have to be dealt with, other areas that need cleaning, the shock absorbers need to come out, the parking brake cable needs cleaning, and when we looked at the wheels it's apparent the seals are leaking. So, while we're at it, Murphy is going to get a ground up restoration on his rear end. Good thing we have six, uh oh, better make that five weeks, until the Grand National. And we haven't even looked at Chuck's GT/CS yet.

Here's how the gas tank turned out:

http://www.tucsonpony.com/gas3.jpg


And here's what we have to work on, you can see the small areas of rust that need sanding and repainting. Nothing major or alarming, but it needs fixing. It's the result of the car sitting in snow banks, driving across the desert, driving up a creek bed, and general abuse. No, Murphy was not always a pampered trailer queen and he really isn't now either.


http://www.tucsonpony.com/rear1.jpg

http://www.tucsonpony.com/rear3.jpg


Yeah, we're going to pull the exhaust system, too.

 

[dutchshadow]

I hope that some day to be as confident as you to take apart a perfectly good machine for general cleaning and be able to put it back together without breaking something else.

Dave

 

[sharkmouth]

Wow....that car is so clean!!

 

[Laurie_S]

I'm really good at taking things apart. Fortunately, I have good help for putting those same things back together correctly. ::

 

[bishir]

You know... a good coat of dirt and grime would probably help prevent a lot of rust. ::

James

 

[Laurie_S]

Murphy's undercarriage always has fascinated me--it is remarkably clean and rustfree despite having 99,000+ miles on the car. I've driven it in all kinds of weather and places, yet the undercarriage really never suffered for it. The other unusual thing about it is the paint, as it has a lot of metallic in it. I guess the batch of chassis paint mixed at the Dearborn plant the day the coupe was built may have had a little Sunlit Gold added in.

We did discover today that there is some black paint under the metallic mix--at least in some portions of the rear of the car.

 

[bosscars]

Laurie,

Dont take this the wrong way, but PLEASE don't get too "anal" about Murphy. It is an OUSTANDING example of a true survivor from an original owner. Don't let MCA rules dictate the way they THINK it should look rather than the history you have personally built with Murphy. I know you are really involved in the MCA show scene, but don't ever lose sight of that day way back when you took delivery of that car at the tender age of 16.... ::

randy

 

[Gatlin69]

That sounds a lot like what i just went through with my motor. I had a bad lifter, so i ended up getting alum heads and intake.. along with a big cam... roller rockers.. the whole bit . Someday my car will be that clean... heh someday.

 

[Midlife]

Oh, that rust is just terrible! How can you stand it? That car is an excellent candidate for the crusher. There's no structural integrity left at all! Please don't drive it. Awful. Simply Awful.

[/sarcasm]

 

[Laurie_S]

Not to worry, Randy, my stubbornness holds out on most things. The work we're doing now is mainly cleaning and taking care of little problems before they become big problems. Other than the rear axle, the rear end of the car never has been restored. I've cleaned under there, of course, but with the gas tank and axle in place, I could only do so much. I won't cover up original paint, just match it so Murphy will just look a little fresher without being actually changed from original. I made the discovery a couple of years ago that the paint for styled-steel wheels is an exact match to the primer mix they put under my coupe so touch-ups are easy. ::

 

[Laurie_S]

::

 

[73GrandStang]

Forget about concours (spelling?) and just add a 4.11 detroit locker, TKO 5 speed, and a 428!

Just kiddin'...

 

[Laurie_S]

Oh, now you have Trouble drooling! ::

 

[nylhtak]

Looks like my daughter got under your car with some finger paints, look at those blobs on the drive shaft and shocks...the horror (JK). And, just to note, my underdash area looked worse than your "little areas of surface rust!" But again, in five weeks, I hope I have my rear done too...