When Parting Out a Cadillac, Happiness Is.....

[Jason Edge]

I just started pulling apart my 45th parts car .... I like to call them donor cars .... and thought I might start a thread on things that make my day as I go along.  The one caveat is the fact I am now retired and don't have to rush at anything, and can stop and smell the roses... ah I mean grease... along the way.

So with that here are some things that "tickle my bippy" as I go along with this last car.  Of course with 44 Parts Cars behind me I could fill up pages from past experience, but thought I would post these "New Happy Items" as I go along!

SO... HERE GOES:

- WORKING T-3 HEADLIGHTS!  ... just love pulling those original style T-3's that work! 2 of the 4 on this car were T-3's and both worked...of course they were the less-in-demand 2 prong inner high beams, instead of the outer 3 prongs, but you take what you get!

- 3 WORKING HORNS! ... Yeah I like things that shine bright and sound loud! Guess that is why I have been to see AC/DC about 15 times!

- 3 of 4 NICE HUB CAPS! .... This car is a complete rust bucket in some respects (e.g. hood and trunk lid are toast), but it has some really good stuff. I always tell people when you dismantle a car, and know they breake down into approx. 5000 parts, you are going to end up with some good stuff!

- NICE CRACK FREE DASH .... SEE THE PICS IN FORSALE ALREADY POSTED

- NICE COMPLETE CRUISE CONTROL DASH SWITCH/WHEEL ASSEMBLY ... THE THE PICS.....

-  WD40... GEESH I LOVE THAT STUFF.... I have to remind myself to take the extra 5 seconds to spray all the forward lamp harness connectors...MAN THAT STUFF WORKS

- DARKNESS. NO PROBLEM.... THAT IS WHY THEY GOD MADE 20 VOLT DeWalt LED LIGHTS!  Remember those old corded lights.  I have almost forgot them thanks to the Battery LED lights

>>>> SO JUST GETTING STARTED ... but thought I would share some of my perspective. Other's feel free to chime in. I'll post more as I go along.

[Jason Edge]

One thing I have done since the last car is replace my stationary tool chests with the long roll out chests with a table top. that way I have a work bench, and tools within arms reach and do not have to make the trips back and forth to the garage. Before, I would try pull out tool sets on rolling cars, with storage bins laying all around ... now I pull the tools out to me. I'll have to get a picture of that set-up and post!

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

I'd like to see that rolling tool chest. I use a cart, but it has turned into a unofficial storage for parts.

[Jason Edge]

Good timing as I am just setting up...which is basically running my impact line out and pulling a couple of the tool boxes out by the car. They are Husky Tool boxes available at Home DePot.  There are different styles including one with the lid that raises but, I liked this one so much that after I bought the first one I bought 3 more and sold my 2 sets of large upright 3 tier Craftsman boxes.  So, I have a total of 4 with the most used basic tools like impact tools, wrenches, sockets, extensions, hammers, pliers, screw drivers in the 1st box, then the 2nd box is specific tools such as measuring tools, basic home construction tools like right angles, plumb bobs, small levels, cutting tools, drill bit sets, specific pullers, Allen tools, punches, C clamps, Hex tools, files, torque wrenches,  a couple of empties to throw odds and ends, and then a 3rd and 4th both more for specific items for electrical, plumbing, painting etc. They also serve as a buffer between me and the CDV as almost all damage incurred on that car has been by me in the Garage!  Anyway, it is evolving but 95% of what I need is in the main box by the front fender in the car below:

 

[Jason Edge]

I also use the large black with yellow top 27 gallon totes available at Home Depot to throw large items in as I dismantle. That way I can pull to the garage and work on at night or when raining and I can compartmentalize things as I go. I also use those storage bins everywhere to of course store the parts. I'll stick a label on the front and they go in the storage buildings or on the shelves in 3rd bay in the garage. Of course really big items go in the 1st bay and Cheryl loses her parking for the SRX temporarily!

[Jason Edge]

The 64 CDV just goes by 'Dino'... who of course was smooth and cool! Dino, as in Dean Martin of course. Hey, I'm just getting started. I was tagged by Murphy's Law of course... as soon as I rolled the tool chests out today, heavy clouds rolled over and got no less than 3 big parts orders... so tool chest went back inside and will TCB on the orders and that fender you see laying in the bay!   Well, maybe not Murphy's law... that seems negative. I'll call it the "You get ready to do something, and several other things pop up in front of it - LAW"! LOL   Usually when I go at a parts car I work at it in intermittent bursts!  Sometimes I get a good 8 to 16 hr day concentrating on a particular car, but that is rare... and when it happens that truly is Parts Car Heaven!

[Jason Edge]

Here were 3 "happy moments" for me today in parting out this latest "donor car":

First happy moment: This car has the Guidematic Auto Dimming with the front pocket in the LH fender for the photo tube, and they are not the easiest fender to find, not that any are right!.... so I really wanted to take a close look at this fender.  I had basically stripped it the day before of the trim, etc, but wanted to hit it hard with the sander and impact steel brush to see exactly what it was like. Well, it ended up basically being very straight,  no rework as I could tell, and just some surface pitting that can be filled. The infamous 'bottom rear' has some decay and will need some rework but is better than 90% of the fender I have pulled in, at least in that area. So bottom line, is I spend at least a couple hours sanding and priming to protect for a future owner. So, it's a big crazy fender that I might sit on for one month or 10 years but the bottom line is I feel I saved it!  (Look for it to be posted on my For Sale page in the near future!)

Second happy moment: Chris Codd posted yesterday that he needed the center ornament bar with lenses, and while I knew I had both lenses, I let his post ride to see if anyone else had one.. as we do have several other in house parts sellers ... and if I don't move a particular part today hopefully I've still got 20 more years on the flip side to do so. Anyway, no one had one with both lenses so I told Chris I had one. Well, this parts car had one that I thought might be nice but it was hard to tell beneath the dirt and grim if I was looking at grey primer on the outer lip, or really worn finish? I pulled it this morning and with a few wipes of acetone saw I had a really nice piece. I added the lower red lens I had already pulled to it and make sure Chris had a good mounting bracket and all 6 screws with the assembly all packed and ready to go out tomorrow.  Chris has been a long time member, has been to the house and even bought a convertible body shell, and he's been good to me and I try to return the favor. Anyway, another happy moment in the dismantling of this part car!

Third Happy Moment! Check out this near-mint original tail lamp lens after I had washed it up. LH side was complete busted, but the right was pristine! Love finding stuff like this!

[Chris Codd]

Thanks again, Jason. I'm really looking forward to getting the back end of this car in order. Now I won't have to remove the entire bumper to change a bulb.

[Jason Edge]

Lens left for Australia today to someone that had been on the Wait List for a really nice one for a couple years.  I know it has got to be hard to find this stuff abroad.

[Jason Edge]

Another "Happy Moment" for me that might be not so thrilling for others is dismantling a really rusty front bumper end. Of the 3 uppers and 3 lowers from this latest parts car I managed to save the LH upper, center upper, and lower center, and the large bumper to frame brackets, and a good selection of bolts and one lower bumper end splash guard bracket and lower center to grill bracket. Beyond that it was trash and goes into the trunk of the car.
I look at these less than friendly front bumper ends as a challenge and equipped with the "regular" removal tools, and a wide assortment of cutting tools, I go at these like a puzzle in reverse tackling section by section until I claim victory. This one gave me better than average resistance, however, after about 1 hour I had it completely disassemble and claimed it Mine-O-Mine! Anyway, I get my kicks with stuff like this. I use to love to put puzzled together as a kid and these parts cars are like doing one in reverse! Kinda, therapeutic for this old knuckle buster! Here's a couple of pictures of the bumper end in question, part way through "my therapy":

 

[Jason Edge]

Tony I need to stick it on the scales before I disassembly sometime. I have the net weight of individual items and can guestimate. I did weight the rear bumper assembly from this parts car and it was almost exactly 90 lb.

[Jason Edge]

Pulling some pics off the iPhone and found this one of the rear bumper assembly showing 90 lb:

[Jason Edge]

.... finding nice jewelry! Just pulled this piece and cleaned it up.