'77 Boler -- total newbies

[Greg H]

Just like home!

[Gerda, H]

Uh oh, another complete makeover to look forward to....

[Sam and Jess]

Well, the weather was very pleasant here today, low 70's. So, with Grandma around to watch the little ones, Jess and I did this. Finally some actual work accomplished. Woo Hoo. Now, if I can just convince FedEx to ship my axle from Paul in Canada, I will be happy.


Front view minus frame. (Yep those are Christmas lights you see. My plan was to take those lights down today, I got side tracked with the Boler.)


I can't wait to paint it up with some POR15. The frame is still really solid. No serious rust, just surface stuff. The back of the frame sags just a smidge on the left rear. I am still trying to figure out how or even, if I want to fix it. There are no cracks anywhere and all of the welds are still solid. That is all for now. I will post more pictures after paint.

--Sam

[james kent]

Wow! All that 'stuff' that you've been collecting; quite a stash. It'll probably go together quickly once you're able to statr putting the puzzle back together. Looking forward to seeing the end results.

[Roland H]

Great project and I also love the tongue box along with your other plans! Only wish we had the temperature you do so I can start working on the Trillium!!
Roland

[Borden]

Looking forward to when it warms up; working outside in driveway so all projects on hold. Warmer weather needed to finish up the boler.

Originally Posted by Roland H

Great project and I also love the tongue box along with your other plans! Only wish we had the temperature you do so I can start working on the Trillium!!
Roland

[Dave Bese]

Sam; for surface rust, use a wire brush then get Rust Converter (Auto parts store). POR- 15 will not stop the rust; it will continue to rust under the application. It's meant to cover pittting and areas where there is minor holes eaten thru sheet metal. It still needs a clean surface.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Dave Bese

Sam; for surface rust, use a wire brush then get Rust Converter (Auto parts store). POR- 15 will not stop the rust; it will continue to rust under the application. It's meant to cover pittting and areas where there is minor holes eaten thru sheet metal. It still needs a clean surface.

Dave, we'll have to agree to disagree about this: POR15, Stop Rust Permanently I'm around hotrodders that spend thousands on their rides, this is the only product they'll use on frames, etc. The only thing, is the item being coated must be absolutely, positively grease free and all scale needs to be removed. It actually works better when there is surface rust, rather than a rust-free surface. POR15 will change from a high gloss to a satin finish unless top-coated, but the satin finish doesn't degrade it just looks different. YMMV

[Sam and Jess]

Thanks for the feedback, folks. Sam's been working a few minutes here and there grinding off the loose stuff with a wire brush. Once we get a dry day and a couple of free hours, looks like we'll be ready to clean, prep, and coat that lovely frame in POR-15.

The last chunk of our restoration budget was recently eaten up by a hungry Volvo (unexpected repair bills are fun) so the inflow of stuff has come to a screeching halt. The last few purchases (windows, paint, air conditioner, brake controller) will require some patient saving. But there's still plenty of work to do in the meantime. I've started making the patterns for our new cushions:



and...

never fear -- the axle is here:



The new tires/wheels are temporarily mounted so we can roll it around -- whether they're actually going to fit is still a cliffhanger.

-- Jess

[CliveAlive]

Looking good!

Are they bigger wheels? They look like alloys.

Also, can you say how much for the axle and shipping?

I didn't know you guys had a Volvo. What do you have? Do you use it as a TV?

[Sam and Jess]

Clive:
1: Thanks : )

2. They are indeed alloys (I think there's a better picture of one somewhere in our Flickr photostream linked below). Bigger for sure, but as long as everything works as needed, we're not bothered by having to cut away a bit of the shell. I admit to knowing about as much about tires & wheels as I do about electricity (ha!), but fortunately (or unfortunately?), Sam has a pretty sizable obsession with all things wheel-ish.

3. I can't find the debit for the axle purchase -- my spreadsheet says $425. Trying to ship via FedEx was a pain, so we eventually called UPS and the axle was on our doorstep in less than a week. They charged $190 to lug it from Canada to Kansas.

4. We just bought our Volvo last fall -- a '99 V70R with a whole heck of a lot of miles, but a nice maintenance record (to which we're adding more than we'd like!). It does a lot of nice things, though towing will not be one of them ; )

-- Jess

Jess is right, $425 for the axle with brakes. I don't recall the price with out brakes, I want to say $325. I ordered if from Paul Neumeister. He was a real pleasure to work with and would recommend him to anyone here.

The wheels are Ansen style wheels (kind of a retro five oval slotted wheel). They are 14x6, and I believe they use the same bolt pattern as some older fords. The fit will be tight, but should be okay with the fresh axle.

--Sam

[Greg H]

You might want to buy or rent a sandblaster, that will get ALL the rust off.

[Sam and Jess]

Finally made some progress today. We got the old axle off, the frame cleaned and painted and the new axle back on. We ran out of daylight (and energy) to put the frame back under the Boler. Maybe next weekend.

Before:


Here is how it looks now:

[Vickie B.]

Good job!!!!

[pbraunton]

YEAH looking good, .........

quick question how heavy is the frame by itself, i am going to be doing this come spring and just curious as to how much trouble it would be to flip it over to paint it!!???

thanks,

looking good by the way, .....

[Sam and Jess]

Originally Posted by pbraunton

quick question how heavy is the frame by itself?

Without the axle, the frame was easy to flip back and forth; a one-person job. With the axle back on, it was more awkward to lower down without a thud and an extra person was handy.

Oh, and while we did it we had a huge tarp down on the driveway -- the POR15 is thin and very drippy (and nearly impossible to clean off hands when one forgets to put his gloves back on before flipping the frame for the final coat -- just ask Sam).

-- Jess

[Peter_Crowl]

Originally Posted by Sam and Jess

Without the axle, the frame was easy to flip back and forth; a one-person job. With the axle back on, it was more awkward to lower down without a thud and an extra person was handy.

-- Jess

Looks good!
I'm vacillating between paint and powder coat.

[CliveAlive]

Sam and Jess:

Great! Thanks for the info. Price for the axle sounds reasonable when you can be sure you are getting the right one.

And yes, it's a funny thing, but wheels just are the focal point of any vehicle!!

Nice V70R!

[Sam and Jess]

Thanks for all of the nice comments everyone.

Peter: We were also debating between a quality sandblast and powder coat, but finally elected on the "cheap" route of the POR15. I used the "marine clean" followed by the "metal prep" (both POR products), and used them to the manufacturers specifics. I must say, I am astonished at the turn out. The picture does not really do it justice. It has two coats on it now and is really shiny now that it dried. Seems like really good stuff. I am super jealous of your lift, if only we had the room. I guess I could vault the ceiling in the garage.... Too many irons in a very small fire.

Clive: I saw these wheels on another Boler and really liked the look. I agree, wheels and stance can make or break a vehicle and possibly a trailer. That is our Volvo's best angle, Not to mention it is about a 40 footer.

I am on a new page and cannot recall who asked about the frame weight. I initially flipped the frame with the old axle still attached. It wasn't too heavy, but I wouldn't want to do it very many times. Once I had the axle off, it flipped really easily.

It is really nice to have some forward progress for once. I am hopeful we will get the body back on this weekend.

--Sam

[Peter_Crowl]

Lifts are cheap - height is expensive. Cost me a new Master Bedroom - Master Bath - vastly enlarged kitchen....but I got my height :~)