An Oil Leak, Center Council, and Seats

The oil leak was a combination of several things.  Loose valve covers, loose spark plugs, and an empty bolt hole (shown).  This is located on the front of the engine block in front of the fuel pump.

Viewed from below with an inspection mirror, you can see this is a open hole.  That's the fuel pump push rod on the far side of the hole.  Although this is not on the pressurized side of the oiling system, this open hole allowed oil to get on everything under the hood.

A bolt with sealant did the trick.  The bolt hole was used for front engine motor mounts used in the 50's.  It had no function in 63.

The center council was next.  That starts with the rubber shifter boot and retainer ring.  Also shown is the ash tray.

That's followed by radio side covers, center council trim and a trim ring.  Also shown is the arm rest.  This was installed for fitment only.  A new blue one is on order.

I finally got around to installing access plates located in front of the rear tires.    Also shown is the trailing arm center bolt and the stainless steel fuel line installed about 3 years ago.

The SEATS.

The fact that the seats are being worked tells me I am very close to being done with this restoration.  Think about it, the seats are the last "big ticket" item.  I am close!

The upholstery is generally correct but still not original to the car.  The seats were probably reupholstered 40+ years ago.  You can see they have lots of "patina".

Upholstery will be done by a highly recommended business located in Pasco.  They said it was OK for me to remove the existing upholstery and restore the frames.  Their only request was that I bring the old covers so they can see where the hog rings were located.

I ran about a 100 pounds of sand through the sand blaster.  The frames look great.  All the parts are there, there were no broken springs, and the sliding mechanisms function.

I blew sand out of the nooks and crannies then painted the frames with Por15.  The paint dried for a day then I irrigated the sliding mechanism with WD40.  I used a full can before they worked properly.  I will add white lithium grease after the seats have been upholstered. 

Double click on the photo.  The frames look really good.  

Blue leather seat covers, foam padding, clips, cardboard seat backing, hog rings and other seat related goodies have been ordered.  In fact, they shipped on March 30th so I expect them any day now.  When received, the folks in Pasco get to work their magic.

I found out some interesting things about the ignition system on our fuelie.  That will be the subject of our next post.

Thanks for watching.