Engine Pan, Some Fabric....and a little rant

This post will be a little different. No one was harmed in it's creation.

Let's begin with the engine pan and lower inspection cover. I purchased an inspection cover to go with my engine pan at Hershey. I spent a grand total of $20. Here's a photo of my beginning work.

At this point, I had already begun restoration. This piece was rusty and had some pitting as well as a coating of old oil. I sanded, filled, primed, spot puttied and repeated. I then sprayed it (with a rattle can) and sanded between coats.

The finished product. A satisfactory, shiny finish.

Over half of the bolts are reproductions. And they are NOT the same length as the originals. They are a tad longer. A new gasket also sets it off.

I then turned my attention to the oil pan itself. It needed minimal cleaning. I had purchased it at the 2024 Luray Pre-War Swap Meet along with a 1922 dated block. The combined total was $100 bucks and was hauled home in the trunk of my Ford Fusion.

The oil pan received a cleaning, painting, replacement of one pet cock and a front wishbone stud kit, which I had in my parts stash. This I painted with a paint brush. The inspection cover turned out nice. One vendor at Hershey had one with a mirror finish for sale for TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS. So, in my estimation, I got a great deal. The engine pan was actually from the block I bought at Luray. That gentleman was parting the engine out. I didn't buy its matching transmission as I already have one. Just need a rebuilt mag coil ring.

Below is the back of the passenger front jump seat. I previously posted about the seat on my original Centerdoor blog. The original fabric and padding are still attached to that seat upright.

I posted the above picture on Facebook and stated that the fabric was faded but was originally brown with a white pinstripe. And I am not wrong in that assessment.

The picture below I did not post, but it also confirms my assessment above. This is the footman's loop at the bottom of the door; in essence, a check strap. The metal loop attached to the wind lace where the rust marks are located and the strap encased the loop.

Now begins the RANT. Pertaining to the fabric, I was told that it probably faded but wasn't the color I suggested, and that if I peeled back a seam, I would see what color it really was. Gee...I didn't know you could do that. However, there was no need to do that. The rear of the seat panel has fabric folded over to the INSIDE of the seat and it's BROWN. The check strap also shows the original fabric and guess what? IT"S BROWN. I was born in the evening, but not last evening. Nor am I blind. I know the difference in faded and non-faded fabric.

Pertaining to the oil pan, I was admonished for not using star washers under the bolt heads and thereby scratching/lifting the paint when I tightened them down. This person basically said it hurt their soul when someone was happy with shoddy work because THEY were a "restoration specialist", and if it wasn't being judged in a points category, it didn't matter that the washers would be there. They assumed my car would not be judged in that type of environment. Who are they to know that? And if you are a restoration specialist, show your work. I've restored steam locomotives, railroad passenger equipment, and sewing machines.

Therein lies the problem: washers are not there because they aren't supposed to be there. I don't have a problem using fasteners or screws for that matter that aren't correct in places that are 100% not visible. I'm not that anal. I do draw a line. However, if a cotter key is to be used in an application, I'm not using a bent over nail.

These two individuals are exactly what's wrong in the car hobby today: "you didn't do it the way I would have, so therefore it's wrong." No.....I did it the way it WAS done. I'm not trying to improve the car. Visually, when done, it should look as it did when it was originally built. (In the case of my touring, I deliberately restored it to look used, but taken care of). These cars were not perfect off the assembly line anyway.

As the old adage goes: "there's more than one way to skin a cat." Really, there is. Do I plan on dipping my wheels and spinning them dry? No. Do I plan to spray the body with excess paint running off in a trough? Absolutely not. The way I restore my cars is limited by my ability and the ability to look at a photograph. And further limited by my finances and having the proper tools for the job. Not everyone has the space to own every specialized piece of equipment to do the job, and not everyone owns a heated, concrete floored garage in which to work. I constantly have to move stuff around just to function in the limited spaces I have.

I am not ashamed of any of the work I have done. If I was, my blogs would not exist. I also am NOT a master restorer. I do not have that skill set. But I did build my touring from the ground up. And that's something.

And as you can see from my blogs, I am attempting to build a Centerdoor Sedan from the ground up. Not a job to be taken lightly.

Rant over. More to come...