commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Correct model fire extinguisher and bracket...
Unbelievable
Unbelievable
MrMopar's 1969 California Highway Patrol restoration
- Thread starter MrMoparCHP
- Start date
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
Yup,
I don't look at the CHP equipment any differently than I do the Dodge parts, every piece of equipment must match what was used in 1969.
To me this is no different than having the correct radiator cap, using a reproduction Mopar battery or date coded plug wires.
Whereas I may not be going all out and getting reproduction heater hose and vacuum lines I will try whenever feasible.
Alan
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
I meant that as high praise, btw.
Fratzog
Old Man with a Hat
Your attention to detail is amazing. Really enjoying this thread.
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
I thought I included this picture in my previous update but i guess I forgot.
The CHP use this tubing to run wire through, three different sizes were acquired and the correct size clamps. The clams were installed in the original holes drilled by the CHP. The CHP used sheet metal screws in most locations but the far clamp couldn't be put in with a sheet metal screw so a machine screw was used. This screw is seen in a vintage photo and a on the salvage harness we were lucky enough to find, oh, I had to track down a slotted round head screw, thank god for McMaster Carr.
Alan
The CHP use this tubing to run wire through, three different sizes were acquired and the correct size clamps. The clams were installed in the original holes drilled by the CHP. The CHP used sheet metal screws in most locations but the far clamp couldn't be put in with a sheet metal screw so a machine screw was used. This screw is seen in a vintage photo and a on the salvage harness we were lucky enough to find, oh, I had to track down a slotted round head screw, thank god for McMaster Carr.
Alan
rexus31
Senior Member
Attention to detail; love it!
tbm3fan
Old Man with a Hat
When I was doing the torpedo bomber I was lucky to find someone in Los Angeles who had all new molded canopy pieces for the plane. That is a lot of pieces when you include the machine gun turret. While in the final stages I allowed the fellow in charge of overall plane restoration, me being the TBM3E plane captain, to take the pieces to someone who could fit them into the various frames. Imagine my horror when they came back using steel phillips head screws. The originals were aluminum slots. Took me several months to go through the plane removing each and every screw to be replaced by the correct slot screw, washer and lock nut on the backside. Had to be around 1000. Thank god for the aircraft supply store opposite Oakland Airport. Same goes for the ship. I have a large supply of 6-32, 8-32 and 10-24 slotted brass screws to replace all the phillips head screws I run across due to sloppy sailors using whatever they had when they lost the original or damaged it beyond belief. It truly is the smallest details which set a restoration apart.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Another distinguished member of the OCD Fraternity.
Welcome... Nice plane.
Welcome... Nice plane.
tbm3fan
Old Man with a Hat
...and now you know why no one really wanted to work with me. They saw, they went nice, they went can I help, they went you're too much and left. Frankly, I was happier without their help. Now pretty soon a volunteer, who got a tour by me in 2007 and I don't remember it, will finish up on a 3"/50cal twin mount. He looks sloppy but is an ex-Marine who is building his own plane. I am very impressed by his work on the gun mount even though he admits some of his help isn't as particular. Now I know he wanted to volunteer in Aircraft restoration since he was a Marine hydraulics mechanic. They didn't take him seriously but I did when he told me recently. I asked him if he would be interested in rebuilding the bomber's hydraulic system back to operational status and he happily accepted. So here is a very rare example of me farming out work to someone else who I can trust versus the unknown guy, to me, who did the canopy.
IDK much about planes... isn't it improper to use steel with aluminum? I have dealt with a number of small aircraft guys and have always been impressed by the work effort that goes into the reskinning and wing replacements... but I thought there were a lot of rules about dissimilar metals and corrosion inspection.
To be a restoration craftsman such as yourself requires an attention to detail most are unwilling or unable to provide. I have an immense dislike of the better than original crowd who want to line up screw heads or mount tires with a certain letter at the valve stem... but somebody who wants to make it correct and authentic is a special person IMO.
Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
Steel being mounted to aluminum is unavoidable in some instances, there are many parts where steel is used such as undercarriage mounts in the old aircraft or the engine mounts etc.
It is interesting to note that when an aircraft is salvaged form the ocean the aluminum parts are heavily corroded while steel parts are untouched, yes the steel parts are fine after 50 or 60 years in the ocean. I have seen Corsairs brought up from off the east coast of Australia where they had been dumped after the war and in almost every case the engine mounts and accessory brackets were in good condition while the aluminum was mulch. Back in the 90's my restoration facility salvaged an intact Douglas A20 Havoc twin engine bomber from a fresh water lake in the New Guinea highlands, that aircraft had a wonderful airframe with next to no corrosion but all the steel parts had rusted out. SO in fresh water the steel will rust bad, but in salt water it wont when it proximity to aluminum.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Isn't this the phenomenon of where the steel forms a ferrous oxide type of surface plating thact actually protects itself.
In the 70's it was fashionable to design steel buildings that actually turned to a rusty red.
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
That is more of the sacrificial anode corrosion prevention, the aluminum saving the steel.
Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
300rag is right, Depending on the way the electron flow went via salt or fresh water, one or the other meal would corrode thus preserving the other. Years ago Mercedes Benz used to put zinc blocks in the chassis of their cars that would corrode away over the years and save the steel bodywork from corroding. I am not sure if they still do it or not.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
That's interesting, isn't it curious that they would develop a particular type of steel to rust up to self protect?
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
The reason I remembered about that was I was taking metallurgy in college and at the time a building using that steel was going up. Very radical for the time. The professor stole some material off the site and had us analyze it.
In fact, here is the building.
In fact, here is the building.
tbm3fan
Old Man with a Hat
As Wolfen said steel is used in planes particularly back in WWII. Remember Navy carrier planes had to have strong landing gear for when they hit the deck and that is steel to this day. Shots below show the corroded gear on a Wildcat pulled from Lake Michigan after sitting 50+ years. The other is the gun turret in a TBF/TBM torpedo bomber which would naturally be steel. The steel screws used in my case were in the plexiglass pieces of the canopy. No issue with dissimilar metals just rust over time making it hard to remove screws and damaging the plexiglass. Since our Wildcat was in fresh water the aluminum is near perfect while the steel isn't. The engine of the plane was so bad it couldn't be saved and needed a replacement from our spares.
Anyway back to the MrMopar's Polara as plane restoration should be elsewhere
Fratzog
Old Man with a Hat
The reason I remembered about that was I was taking metallurgy in college and at the time a building using that steel was going up. Very radical for the time. The professor stole some material off the site and had us analyze it.
In fact, here is the building.
My employer's former head office building was also made of the stuff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stelco_Tower
Similar threads
