Update on 1970 Cotington 48

[Nicholas Studer]

Realized I neglected vinyl photos. I searched high and low, but alas no luck with Colonial Classic.

I went with Armstrong Medintech 88419 "Silver Gray." Not only does it look like something the M-M/C/B folks originally used (part of a MM catalog pictured that I found online somewhere pictured below) - this stuff is designed for operating room use and is their toughest available...

I think it'll look good with the red upholstery.

 

[Nicholas Studer]

Car's moving along. Rust is never a fun thing. Luckily (all a matter of perspective) all the floor rot is apparently forward of the front seat.

Apparently it's more stripped now, blasted, and getting ready to weld in new metal and the new quarters. I'll get to see it in person next month.

 

[James Douglas]

Damn who drove this Ambulance... Fred Flintstone?

I'd also argue those front floor pans don't have much rust... of course I'd also argue they don't have much metal either.. maybe a sunroof installed by a dyslexic guy reading the instructions backwards..????. lol

Ok...ok All joking aside.. it's looking good and taking each step and doing it right the first time will pay off in the long run! Neat car for sure, I love these old Olds!

Look forward to more progress reports

 

[John ED Renstrom]

always interesting to see how other people go about things. thats a little more then a couple patch panels but once done up will be fine.

 

[Nicholas Studer]

Unfortunately, what you're seeing is the result of water leaking in from bad door seals and basically standing under the carpet for at least 8 years this thing was sitting outside.

No floor rust besides what you see they've already cut out. Luckily, the coupe I purchased has pristine floors for this purpose...

 

[Nicholas Studer]

More progress. We're getting there - the shop tackles this when they have free time. Can't complain - I'm not paying storage fees.

Rebuilt original 455 Rocket motor wrapped in plastic awaiting paint and being put back in the car. That was surely expensive...

Top is apparently cleaning up well. Just out of curiousity they hand sanded the top and there was nothing below the surface. Covered with a quick coat of primer before they do the whole thing. Apparently one of the small tunnels may need to be replaced, but they're convinced they can easily fabricate one.

Anyone got any guesses on what these black shrink-tubing covered metal straps sticking out below the curtain rods on the driver's side are for? There are indeed two. Not for a scoop stretcher - check out previous photos and you'll see a heavy duty apparatus was on the other side to hold one.

REAL important question sticking in my mind is whether we want to put nameplates on the doors like this one apparently had at some point in the past. No hardware inside the rear doors to hold nameplates - anyone got some MM-C/B style sitting around?

 

[John ED Renstrom]

the straps are the lower rest for either a backboard or scoop. most likely homemade. you will need CB name plate holders. they have a steeper angle and are taller them the MM ones.

 

[Daniel Scully]

Holders

they have a steeper angle and are taller them the MM ones.

This style?

 

[John ED Renstrom]

that the ones I have on my 72. the MM are short and flat off the ambulance with shades and short and angled off the combo . they used a 4 inch screw on the CB to go threw the trim pad and into the door frame

 

[Nicholas Studer]

Getting there... Really impressive that the floor was basically completely replaced from our parts car. Quite a change from previous condition.

Windshield was removed intact - too bad there was so much rust up there too.

 

[Tim Prieur]

I sure hope that old soul appreciates how it is being pampered back to life. Most of the cars in the day that required your care and attention would be long gone. Well done!

 

[John ED Renstrom]

they had a problem up there. one of the first place that set of years rusted. but

they should be able to splice in a patch. melt all the lead out of the front lights doing it I bet.

nice job on the floor transfer. that will be stronger then original. CB only has teh factory floor to just behind the seat. then they added a strip of tin to fill to the divider

 

[Richard Vyse]

All I can say is, "WOW!". What a project.

 

[Mike McDonald]

I think we should nominate you for a federal cancer research grant. As others here, I have taken on some pretty serious rust projects, but never one quite as involved as yours. Obviously your "willpower to succeed" is intact. MM

 

[Nicholas Studer]

Windshield repair. Coming along fast now...

 

[John ED Renstrom]

looks good bet he was cursing the lead as he was welding. now are they using any of the rust converters and encapsulators on the back side of that? so many places don't stop to consider repairing that damage should include stopping the original problem. which was C/B did not paint under there and condensation got trapped.

 

[Nicholas Studer]

So, a few things come to mind as details to consider later. Thankfully this car doesn't appear to have the parade of mysterious holes and changes like the 1963 Pinner-Chrysler. Sorry for poor photos, I took them before the restoration work started and the car was full of crap and ants...

1. Check out the roof-mounted switch panel. What does the unlabeled white switch correlate too? What's the hole for?

2. This switch is mounted to the partition on the passenger side. I presume it goes to the rear heater? Does cool indicate it was rear A/C as well?

3. Wish I had better photo, but this set of 4 holes is immediately adjacent to the switch on the passenger-side partition. Might it have been an electric fan? Rather looks like it might correspond to a radio control head too? The radio was mounted in the compartment underneath the attendant seat in the passenger side stepwell from what I could tell.

4. The PAR46 sealed beams are mounted in the trim rings with a rubber-like epoxy material and these odd metal projections. Couldn't easily find any guidance on this. Anyone dealt with this before? The beams need to be removed for the rings to be cleaned up and rechromed.

 

[Robert Shepard]

The holes on the deck may be related to the mount for a Rico suction unit.


http://www.ricosuction.com/Products/Aspirators/1001.html

 

[Kurt Arends]

"Metal objects" in the bulb retainer ring are the clips to hold the bulb in place. The black sealant material should not be there, but was probably done to keep the water out. If you are in need of a suction unit, I believe that I have an NOS spare that I would part with.

 

[Nicholas Studer]

That's a good point - but there is an on-board standard Rico RS-4 aspirator on the other side with standard mount. You can see it in the photos previously in the thread.

Maybe it's a Rico portable RS-6 hand-pump aspirator?