Had the Chevy out for a last drive. A bit of salt on the road and it looks like the fall rains are starting. So time to take the L48 off the road and get at the winter work. I have trim work, dash work and ‘donor’ engine work to get done. I’ll also fit in some Studebaker work as I can.
First things first. Grease job and tire rotation. I won’t be changing oil or filter. No need as they engine will be coming out. It’s using about a quart every 100 kms or so, but not showing up as blue smoke thankfully.
When removing the rear tires I noticed an access plate on the front side of the wheel well. I decided to open them up to check for rust on the body mounts.
What I did find was the remains of a mouse nest. Fortunately the body mounts and rear bird cage assembly had only surface rusting.
I gave the cavity a good coating of the heavy duty (green can) rust check.
The inside of the access plates where somewhat rusted – bare metal from the factory. So I gave them a quick going over in the bead blast cabinet.
I gave them a coat of Rock Guard spray undercoating. I find it stands up well. I like to use it on the front end A arms, etc.
Next: my first bit of restoration will be the rocker panel trim and the rear window trim. Both are aluminum and were sanded off for the quickie paint job to sell the car. I found out the car came into the province in 1988. It apparently sat for 20 years before the sale – from 2003. So it was driven for about 24 years. which works out to about 6,000 km’s per year with 144,000 showing on the odometer. Definitely time for a complete overhaul!