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I've heard nothing but good reports about the new Kanter pumps, I know of a couple personally that are doing well thus far after several years. As far as the one a friend recently bought for his 1941 Super Eight, the casting was pretty much indistinguishable from the original.

Thanks Gents for your comments, it's nice to be able to use the 'original' pump, something that has the character (- and 60 years of history with it!).

The Chinese pumps would almost certainly be made from Australian iron ore . . . pic below of an ore train from Mt Tom Price (or rather, just a section of the entire train, which can be over a mile long) which we photographed in Western Australia after it had been unloaded. Entire contents were bound for China. There's a lot of car parts in one train-full!

Shaping the Restored Rear Quarter Panels & Sills:

Have been restoring shape to the re-built quarter panels and door sills. (About 12 inches of the lower quarters was cut away some months ago and totally replaced with new metal, because it was hopelessly rusted out).

The replaced sections of the quarters were very close to correct in new metal but of course they needed some filling and shaping to get that magic rounded 'sculpture' of the 24th Series which makes the rear quarters so nice. There's not much of the original metal left in the lower parts but the MetalMan had done a good job with the new sections welded in. Only needed a few ounces of filler to get the right shape.

I've been looking forward to this part of the restoration for a while, but when I started it the old sense of frustration returned. I've done a few panel-beating jobs on cars over the years and I certainly don't have the ability the pro's have to get the shape right in a reasonable time. My motto is 'keep trying - eventually it'll be right'.

Past attempts have sometimes been a bit 'wobbly' when the paint has gone on, so I'm spending a lot of time to get a really smooth result

Have been using U-Pol Top Stop Gold for the not-so-thick builds. Good to work with (- ease of sanding, non-sag, etc). I would recommend that anyone who is keen should have a go at doing their own repairs using this stuff. (If it all gets too much, you can always call in a professional to fix the mess).

There are dozens of YouTube videos available showing techniques and making it look easy, but I've found in the past that there are many areas where you can easily make mistakes if you don't know the tricks involved. It's not as easy as it looks, getting a really good result can take a lot of time. But very satisfying when you finally get it right.

Check out quite a few of the excellent videos before starting. Another recommendation is going to a body shop and watching how the pro's do it (if you can). But practice is the only way to get good at this.

There are a few ways to get the correct original shape, and a good variety of shaping / sanding tools make it much easier to achieve that. In fact, making a few of your own 'tools' can really help. Like for various inside curves such as along the pressings on '51 rear fenders, using 1" and 1-1/2" plastic pipe as the sandpaper holder works well.

Fenders:
620 Second application of filler



624 Shaping well under way



625 Checking the profile



630 Not much filler needed here




Sills:

231 The new sill is not a perfect match to the bottom of the front guard but not much thickness of Bondo will be needed to correct it. . .



232 Taking more (or less) off to adjust the gap



234



235 A straight run, not very difficult to achieve

I have this set of sanding blocks and they work very well. They just use PSA style sandpaper. They are flexible and the different shapes work well with most contours.






One of the problem most people have with block sanding is they use to small of a sanding block and/or don't sand in a cross hatch pattern and end up with sanding lines in the primer that shows in the finished paint.

Larry your body work is looking really good. I have a couple more patch panels to weld in, and then all the serious body works starts on my side over here as well.

On your post #33 you talked about casting your own sway bar rubber parts. Can you elaborate on the process a bit? How did you remove the PVC pipe that formed the hole in the bushing? Was the hole that was left 3/4"?

How have they held up? Thanks

Thanks BigKev. I'm hoping it will 'pass all tests' when the paint goes on!

I am using something similar to the Dura-Block called ChromaBlock, same rubber I think. (The Dura-Blocks are also available here locally). I haven't used their rounds yet, generally have made a rig like the one shown out of PVC pipe which works ok but a rubber one would be better - must get one next time I'm at the shop!

Grabbed a few of the shaping tools that were at hand for a photo in case it's helpful.

Right on about blocking with large blocks, and finishing with a large soft block like the large Dura-Block to avoid the ridges and scratches. And the cross-hatching - totally necessary or you never will get a good finish. Technique is everything, sanding from every direction instead of just one or two.

Last thing before painting I'll do some large flat areas with the random orbital sander with 1200-grit which is supposed to remove blocking lines. Curves and edges will be finished with the 3M foam-backed hand pads ('Superfine and Ultrafine') which are great, leave no edges.

Nothing like running a hand over the surface from several directions to feel the highs and lows, coupled with sighting with a strong light placed at different angles too. Just when you think you have it perfect you see (or feel) another area that needs a few microns off it!

Some Shaping Tools I've Been Using . . . .

Here's a few of them, the basic ones. You can (and should) make your own or buy whatever is required as the more you have at hand the easier it will be to get the job done well and quickly.Add to these a wide selection of wet & Dry papers.

543 Selection of shaping tools including random orbital sander, 17-inch strip sander, 3M Super - and UltraFine foam-backed pads, 'cheese grater' and blades, 1/3rd sheet blocks etc (- each with a different grit paper in it)



551 Body File - used on metal highs



546 Home-made round paper holder up close.



547 Quick-change large block

Hi Bob, just looked back at Post #33 . . . Since I fitted the bushings I have found that they split. This is for two reasons - because the Flexane I used was too soft, and also because the car doesn't have the motor fitted, so there is a lot of extra pressure on the rubbers due to the sway-bar sitting in the wrong position (unloaded) and forcing extra pressure on the rubbers (- for months now).

I'm going to try again, using a harder / tougher Flexane which you can buy, and I'll fit the re-made rubbers after I have put the motor into the car. Hopefully this will be OK.

I think I used 'Flexane 80' which is softer than the 'Flexane 94'. See data at Devcon Flexane 94

and Tech Data Sheet

The release agent I used was just a coating of penetrant - 'WD-40' (sprayed onto the PVC mold surfaces before I poured in the liquid Flexane). The pipe came out quite easily. It was a PVC pipe the same size as the sway bar, from memory 3/4inch. Rubbers slid into place because I used a bit of petroleum jelly on the sway bar to help them along the bar.

Try the hard Flexane - I think it should be OK . . . Others might have a recommendation -? Alternative is to buy the bushes - they're still available from a few places at a cost. Let me know if you need any more info on this.

Quote:


Thanks for the info. I did check with one of the distributers and thought $47.00 for a pair of them was pretty high. Checked with a local NAPA dealer and found they sell a similar bushing for around $18.00 a pair. Was unsuccessful matching anything up. Will keep trying.



I am very interested in how the harder flexane works out.

Larry, another thing you can use is sandpaper wrapped around a piece of hose, Heater or Radiator depending on the radius you need. Cheap and flexible.