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The Venus Restoration

(For information on the history of Venus "cars", and the acquisition of this Venus, click on this link: The Venus History)

January 2004

The first order of business was to remove a lot of the crap in the engine compartment, including the air cleaner, battery tray, radiator hoses, plug wires, choke cable, fan, hood latch, etc...just a lot of junk that cluttered it up. I poured Marvel Mystery Oil into the plug holes and let it sit for a week. The engine does turned freely. I also removed the hideous side moldings and rear license plate bracket. The two front wheels had been altered for some reason. The center hub of the wheel had been removed, reversed, and then welded back on! What the heck? The front tires did rub on the inner fender at its full-turn position, so perhaps this was an attempt to offset the tire to prevent this...but if it was, it didn't work. So I had to go about the task of finding some 1952 Ford wheels. I finally found a set through a Ford Flathead forum, and at a good price...$25 each. I had the wheels sandblasted and gave them a cost of POR-15 black engine enamel. The wide-whitewall tires were cracking in places, so those will eventually have to be replaced...but for the time being, they'll hold the car alright. After putting on new wheels, only the right side rubs a little now. I suspect the suspension is shot and out of alignment somehow.

Here are some pictures of the engine with a lot of the clutter and junk removed.

When the wheels were off, I noticed the engine moved when I turned the steering wheel! Not good! Turns out that tie rod that links the right and left steering linkage, was rubbing on the oil pan. So now I need to either see if an oil pan from a passenger vehicle is shallower at that point than what I assume is a truck oil pan. This is a problem I would address during restoration (discussed below)

Lakewood Concours d’Elegance

For several years, I had been showing my restored Jaguar E-Type at this very prestigious (local) concours event. Having known the chairman of this event for some time, Mr. Bob Fuller, I copied him an earlier version of this document and told him I had located and purchased the last known remaining Venus up in MA. He was very interested in the story, and made me promise to show the Venus in “as found” condition at the 9th annual “Wheels and Keels” car show. Having bought the car in September, I would have to wait 8 months for the show to come around before starting to disassemble the car. I was more than glad to wait for this show, as I was busy with production work anyway. I only hoped that I would get a good spot at the show after waiting for so long. I was not disappointed.

As the “Venus” was being winched out of my trailer on the day of staging, Bob Fuller possibly had second thoughts as the Venus was indeed rough. He had forgotten that the engine wouldn’t run and that there were no brakes. The Venus was towed from the off-loading area to its designated spot via a little tractor. “What in the hell is that?” was a common murmur I heard from onlookers as we passed them by. Perhaps Bob won't ask for "as found" cars anymore!

Quite frankly, I was amazed at the spot I was given for the concours; the coveted “special” circle area near the clubhouse. I shared this space with some truly awesome vehicles: Fred Astaire’s Rolls Royce Limousine; Rita Hayworth’s Ghia-bodied Cadillac, both from the infamous Peterson Museum in Los Angeles. There was also a 1930 Isotta Fraschini Flying Star and a purple V-12 Aero Coupe Rolls-Royce (a custom creation). There was a no-show, which gave my Venus an even wider berth. So there was my “lump of coal” amongst all these diamonds. Very cool, yet very unnerving.

I had prepared some nice display boards that featured a collection of the 1953 publicity photos, as well as the Motor Trend article, and a short “Story of the Venus” page. I also placed some little photos on different “problem” areas of the car (hood scoop, instrument panel, front grille) to show the public what these areas will be restored back to.

Some photos of the Venus on display are shown below. It was a very popular exhibit if I do say so myself, and drew in an awful lot of people. In fact, the Venus drew more interest than Fred Astaire’s Rolls-Royce limousine.
 

                                                                                              That's Fred Astaire's Rolls-Royce limousine on the bottom left photo, but the crowd really liked the Venus!

Father's Day, 2004
After about 8 months of waiting, the Venus is finally in my (home) garage, but it was WAY too hot to start work; just getting it in the driveway was work enough for one day.

June 21st:
Okay, the time for talking is over. I've started disassembling the Venus, and it's going pretty quickly. Though I'm finding lots of weird engineering and work-arounds. Here are some disassembly photos (click on thumbnails for larger photo).

I have learned from my knowledgeable friends on the FordBarn forum that the engine block itself is from 1949. The "8RT" heads on the engine are from a truck, so it possible that this engine has been gone through. The is no wear ridge from the piston rings on the cylinders. The engine will still go to the machinist for a complete rebuild.

I'm also giving serious thought to "sandwiching" the firewall with 1/8" aluminum on both sides. I considered stainless steel, but that stuff is so difficult to cut! Holes in the original fiberglass will be patched and smoothed. Then a layer of heat/sound barrier, then the aluminum sheet that has been cut and trimmed to the exact dimensions of the firewall. Whether I paint it or polish it remains to be decided. There are two braces on each side of the firewall that are quite ugly. I'll remove these and re-design a set that is not as obtrusive and crude looking; probably make a casting.

I have resigned to the realization that I will have to build a custom dolly for the body to sit on. I was sort of looking around for an old, one-axle 16-foot boat trailer to modify, but I'm not going to find one very easily or quickly. This dolly will use 10" pneumatic tires so that it's easy to roll around over cracks, and for getting it in the trailer.

October 12th:
I had built a body dolly out of angle iron; covered it with 3/4" plywood, and hand-made two custom saw horses to support the body at specific areas. Many thanks to Clay Ownby who helped me get the angle iron all welded up at his shop. I then invited a bunch of friends over for pizza and beer, and they were there anyway, we lifted the body off the chassis and moved it over to the dolly. For some reason, I was expecting it to be a heavy lift, but it turned out to be light as a feather....a mere 400 or so pounds. It was another milestone day!

For the next month, I removed everything from the frame, including all of the front suspension pieces and the rear axle w/leaf springs.
I also removed two of the four body supports coming off the frame (which may have been a mistake), and ground off old welds and plates. What a mess this makes in a garage!

       

Upon closer inspection, I noticed some debris in the square frame channels. Turns out that while this frame was up in a field somewhere in Massachusetts, little field mice managed to fill up both sides of the interior frame space with nut shells, twigs, insulation...all kinds of stuff...and it was packed from stem to stern. There was no way that I was going to leave this debris in the frame, so I had to cut some small panels in the inner side of each frame (see above right). I managed to get a 2" shop-vac hose into the space to vacuum it all out. The panels will eventually be welded back.

When I started to remove the rear axle, I thought it best to go ahead and remove the brake drums and parts since those would need restoring as well. The left side came off easy, however, I couldn't get the right drum off to save my life. I posted a photo of the rear-end and brake drum on the FordBarn site, and the pros all came back and told me that that rear-end was from a Dodge or Chrysler; it was NOT a Ford! I couldn't believe it. Why in the world would someone swap out an entire rear-end from a different manufacturer rather than replace it with the RIGHT unit? Surely there were plenty to be had back in the 60's or 70's. So there's one more mystery, and one more oddity to replace. A friend knew of a couple of junkyards not too far out of Houston that may have the parts I need.

       
                Wrong Rear-End Unit!                                            Correct Ford Rear-End Being Pulled in Salvage Yard

The frame finally returns from the sandblasting place; all clean and covered with an epoxy 2-part primer. Now, before any paint work on the frame begins, I've got to solve a couple of problems.

The Problem(s)

A problem I had was with steering connecting rod (or drag link) hitting the oil pan. When I first got the Venus, I noticed that the connecting rod was barley scraping on the oil pan, but it was enough to actually rock the engine a bit; seen below.

I also discovered that the rear motor mount had been turned 180 degrees out resulting in it being farther back. And since the motor mount was now 5.5 inches further back, the previous owner torch some new holes for the front motor mounts, seen below on the right. (Actually, 4 holes were made).

It is probable that they did this in order to get the connecting rod to at least clear the oil pan that was on the engine.

With the frame back from being sandblasted, I mounted the engine for a test fit. Since I wanted to move the engine back to the original mounting holes, I put a new rear mount back the way it is supposed to go, and fresh mounts under the water pumps. Everything seems to fit correctly!

Due to my frame having a stabilizer bracket on the front sway bar, I believe this is a 1949 frame. The 1951–53 had a different type set up that did not have the bracket. The steering linkage all seems to mount in the right places and I don’t see where any modifications could have occurred.

   


With the engine now moved forward by 5.5 inches, the oil pan became a complete obstacle.
 

The fix came by first finding out from my friends on the FordBarn site that the oil pan on my car was from a Mercury, and that I needed a pan for a Ford. I just happened to have one from EBay. So I dropped the Merc pan and removed the pickup assembly. The Ford pan went into place and the control link cleared through the notch in the back of the Ford pan!

So now with these problems solved, I can start work on finishing the frame and painting it gloss black. The suspension pieces will go to the powder coaters, and the engine to the mechanic.

January 2005

Work now concentrates on the engine and the rear-end. I took the engine to a local experienced machinist, who allowed me to use one of his engine stands and to disassemble the engine myself. Removing the flywheel, pistons, and crankshaft was very easy. The bearings showed very little wear, but then again, what do I know. This engine has a much sought-after Mercury crankshaft with the longer stroke of 4 inches. I discovered a stamping on the crankshaft "CM1". According to Mercury general specifications found on page 41 of Frank Oddo's book "Ford Flathead Builder's Handbook", CM1 designates this engine as being built in 1951. Bore and stroke: 3-3/16 x 4.00; CID 255.4; compression ratio 6.80; Horsepower 112 @ 3600 rpm; Torque 206@2000 rpm;, and 57 lbs or oil pressure at 40 mph.

I was VERY fortunate to have a guy that would let me use a corner of his machine shop to rebuild my engine. If I need some technical advice, it was readily available. The engine was bored and new pistons and rings were used. The crank was sent out for polishing. Installed new bearings and a new Schneider 3/4 cam shaft. The engine already had adjustable lifters, so those were sent to Red's for restoring. New stainless valves were installed. Almost every part was replaced with a new one. Here are some miscellaneous engine rebuild photos. I think it took me about 6 months, working mostly on weekends. The best machine shop in town....Frank Carlson at Katy-Houston Auto Machine!

May 2005

The most notable progress is that the entire chassis has been painted gloss black, and all other parts associated with the suspension or running gear have been painted or powder coated. But before doing so, a big hurdle had to be overcome. There had been a repair on the right rear side of frame where it had apparently cracked or buckled. Even though this repair held okay, it was crude and unsightly...this had to be redone. I traced the outline of the rear frame portion and had two repair plates cut that not only looked aesthetically pleasing, but provided additional strength. After being certain the frame was even and square, I had these professionally welded to both sides of the frame (even though the left side was okay).

The rear cross-member was quite thin (1/8") and irregular-shaped holes had been torched out for exhaust pipes. Again, I traced this piece for exact dimensions and took the pattern to be precision cut by water jet. I cut out the old piece and had the new pieces welded in place and then boxed-in across the top and bottom. Note the nice oval cut-outs for the exhaust. This is now a much stronger and better-looking cross-member. Also, the torched-out holes for the engine were blanked and smoothed out With these repairs made, the frame was then painted with a 2-part epoxy paint.

But before I could start reassembly, I had to get all of the special little fasteners plated in bright zinc (92 pieces total).

While the engine is being worked on, it was necessary to open the checkbook to start buying parts. This included new pistons, rings, crankshaft bearings, a new 3/4 race Schneider camshaft, timing gears, and adjustable lifters. Also amongst my purchases were "jewelry" in the form of a new polished Offenhauser intake manifold; a polished offset generator bracket w/stainless steel band, and other shiny engine parts. Seen below is a photo of the "stock" intake manifold (cast iron) next to the new intake (aluminum). Also notice the difference in height of the carburetors. Hopefully this new set-up will fit under the hood scoop when I get sized back down to the original shape.

I look forward to the day in the near future when the suspension, engine, and running gear is on the frame. When this happens, the frame will be put in storage and work can begin on the Venus body.

April 2006

Has been quite awhile since I've done an update on the Venus, and on the face of it, I've gotten a lot accomplished. Working mostly on weekends, and with the help of the guys at Katy-Houston Auto Machine shop (Frank Carlson, Sean, and Doby), I managed to completely disassemble and reassemble the engine, installing all new parts. I have come to the realization that the Venus will NOT be ready for a public debut at the 2006 Lakewood Yachtclub's concours d'elegance. Oh well, such are the trials and tribulations for a classic car guy!

With the engine completed, I now needed to turn my attention to the transmission. Originally, I was going to use the original 3-speed column shift as was used on the '54 prototype...but I finally came to my senses (or so I thought at the time). Many of the folks on the FordBarn web forum (for old Ford V8's) were touting the use of a GM T-5 manual transmission, mainly because the 3-speed just couldn't attain highway speeds without an overdrive (optional equipment back then). I didn't like the idea of running this engine at high rpm's on the freeway. Here in Houston, it's maintain 75mph or get run over!  But actually, the reason I migrated to the T-5 was because I pulled a bonehead move. One day while looking at the original transmission, I decided to separate the case from the driveshaft extension, so I removed some bolts and started tapping the two sections apart. Then came the sickening sound of needle bearings and all kinds of other parts falling to the bottom of the case into a heap. It was at that instant that I knew I was NOT going to be using this transmission again! No doubt, I'd have to spend big bucks shipping this to some old Ford flathead veteran for a rebuild. And then after all is said and done, it would still just be an old, out-dated 3-speed! No, the T5 started to sound mighty good.

So I bought a used one off EBay for a couple hundred bucks. I then found a guy in town who could rebuild it for me. But first, I needed to cleanup the tranny case. After the gears and bearings were taken out of it, I bead-blasted the casing and then applied 3 or 4 coats of clear DuPont Imron. The tranny guy carefully installed all new components and the transmission was ready for installation. ($600 bucks!)

In order for the T5 (circa 1993 Chevy S-10) to mate with this old 1951 block, I had to find two adaptors. First was a "half-bell" used on flathead pickups back then, and an adapter (new) from Offenhauser. So I got these parts, bead-blasted them, and painted them body color; same as the rest of the engine. But I wanted the aluminum look for the T5, so I kept it original. We did not renew the shifter until I determine where it's going to "land" when the body is mounted. New shifters come in all kinds of sizes and configurations....no big deal.  Here are a couple of pics, though not very good (this T5 floor-shift idea "sours" a bit further down):

The Venus body has been soda blasted down to the original resin. When I finally get the engine on the rolling chassis, I plan to store it in the enclosed trailer (or perhaps a U-Stor-It place would be a better idea), and bring the body into the garage for some initial clean-up and patch work. In the meantime, I've been looking far and wide for the RIGHT place to do the body work...not an easy task!

Soda blasting the body was the only way to do this. Chemical strip or sanding disks...fu-get-a-boud-it! There weren't as many coats to take off as I expected....dark grey>light colored primer>red oxide primer> to resin. The soda blast job cost about $800.

November 2006

Believe it or not, one of the big hang-ups was that of finding replacement leaf springs for the rear axle. The original springs, designed for a 1,500 - 2,000 pound body, were too stiff for the 400 lb. Venus body. Should be easy enough to get something like a set of leaf springs, right? Wrong!! My first attempt was at a place on the web called Detroit/Eaton Springs. If anyone could get me what I needed, it was them. But it turns out that this company is absolutely useless, and their customer service is even worse. On two separate occasions, I submitted exact measurements and details of what I needed. It was actually very easy...just take a set of springs for a '49 Ford, remove the top stiffest leaf, and that's it. I tried on 2 separate occasions to get this done, and they wouldn't even bother to pick up the phone or send me an e-mail. They are one of the worst companies I've ever dealt with. Then, I thought I could get the springs made here locally. I spoke on the phone to a place called Heitman Spring (Houston), "sure no problem". I dropped off the original spring to use as a guide, and it sat there for weeks and weeks and weeks. Finally disgusted with their "promises", I stopped by to get the original spring and told the manager what I thought of his service.

The thought finally occurred to me that the leaf springs for an early to mid-60's Corvette would probably be correct for the weight of the Venus. After requesting rough dimensions of their springs, the good folks at Mid-America Corvette responded very quickly. Turns out the leaf springs would fit my Ford chassis almost exactly! So I quickly ordered the springs (inexpensive to boot), sprayed them with black automotive paint, and mounted them to the axle. Finally, after many years of work, the chassis was actually on four wheels and could be pushed out of the garage! It was a glorious event!!  

However, it soon became obvious that I had made a COSTLY mistake with the T5 transmission. All of the articles on the Internet advised to get the Chebbie S-10 T5 because the shifter was located mid-way on the transmission and wouldn't interfere with bench seats. After I mounted the unit, it became painfully obvious that the shifter was on the engine side of the firewall, not the passenger side! Dammit!! And after spending nearly $800 on this unit! Perhaps I didn't ask enough of the right questions or get more specific transmission measurements. But to add insult to injury, the local transmission guy who rebuilt this unit had closed up shop and left no forwarding information whatsoever! My luck!

So I contacted Bob Hanlon of Hanlon MotorSports up in Massachusetts, an outfit that sells and restores T5 transmissions. http://www.hanlonmotorsports.com/ Bob actually read the story of the Venus (on this website) and told me he was pleased to be able to work on such an interesting project as mine. After explaining my situation, he said he could put together a T5 from a Camaro where the shifter is on the very tail of the transmission housing. Unfortunately, shipping the unit down to me from Massachusetts wasn't cheap, adding a 100 bucks to the deal. So after another $800, I now have a correct T5 for the Venus. However, this time, I decided to paint the unit the same light blue as the rest of the engine; sort of a "continuation" of the color instead of it abruptly changing to a dark metallic gray.

It is now time to determine if I have a problem with the height of the engine. I need to be certain that the two Stromburg 97 carburetors are going to clear the hood scoop. If they don't, then I will have to make some semi-drastic changes...but now is the time to fix the problem, if one exists. There is a local body guy here, Danny Kurtz, who is highly regarded in the restoration circles. He is reworking the hood scoop, bringing it back down to original level. Again, Jack Kover, owner of the other Venus was gracious enough to lend me his original hood to serve as a guide. If my hood is not ready for this test, then I could use his. Here is a photo or two of the Venus hoods side-by-side. You can see why a really good body man is needed for this job!

January 2007

I brought the Venus body over to the house and fashioned a lifting frame around it. With the help of my son and one of his friends, we were able to get the body lifted and the chassis rolled under. Soon the car was back in my garage sitting on the frame mounts. Danny came by with the nearly-completed hood and we did a test fit. The Stromberg carbs cleared just fine...thank goodness!! I was NOT looking forward to the task of lowering the engine!!

A friend came by, one who is a collector of some extremely rare and expensive cars. He shows his cars at Pebble Beach and attends all of the really big shows, and when he has a suggestion, I listen very closely. In the most tactful manner, it was his opinion that I was straying away from originality, and was turning the Venus into some sort of hybrid. He said that this is the ONLY Venus (of the remaining two) that is being restored to show condition, and therefore should represent the technology that was present at that time. This is the "flagship" Venus; the one that everyone will see and remember. Sure, old cars leave a lot to be desired in terms of comfort and performance, but if given a choice between an authentic '34 Ford hot rod, or one that had automatic transmission, tilt steering wheel, and a Corvette engine...he would choose the authentic one every time.

It really didn't take me long at all to realize that Jim was right. After all, I tend to dislike the cars full of billet aluminum parts...heck, I don't even like to see alternators on cars that should have a generator (even though an alternator makes more sense from an electrical point of view). So why was I willing to slap a late-model T5 four-speed in the Venus? I really don't have a good answer for that. But not only was the T5 going to be incorrect, but also the "new style" clutch and brake master cylinder. I was also thinking about a slave cylinder for the clutch, and a fancy accelerator linkage system from Lokar. Perhaps the reason I was willing to make these changes can best be summed up by the photo below, as THIS is what I had to deal with:

I wanted this mish-mash of amateur engineering to simply go away; I was not about to allow something like this to exist in my Venus, original or not. As Jim stated, it was okay to alter and customize as long as it was period-correct. Hot-rodders in the 50's were known to dual out the exhaust, bolt on dual carburetors and finned heads, but using modern-day master brake and clutch cylinders would have not been possible. So from here on, I will try to use parts that were available in the 50's. Fortunately, I hadn't gotten too far into the restoration to have to back-track a lot.

Naturally, this meant that I now had TWO rebuilt T5 transmissions on my hands, as well as various adaptor bell-housings and the like. I'll just have to get what I can for them off E-Bay. I've probably got well over $2,000 in tranny parts that I can't use. But this also meant that I needed yet another transmission, that of a correct 3-speed for column shift. One call to Bob Baxter of Baxter Ford Parts in Kansas was all it took. He rustled up a correct tranny and bell housing, had it sand blasted, and rebuilt it with new parts. All told, about $500.

To recap what probably led to the mess that you see above, let's review:

The engine and transmission was a replacement, and came out of a 1951 Mercury truck.

Because the Mercury oil pan had a much different configuration, it would not allow the steering linkage to clear.

This required them to move the engine back about 5 inches or so.

Even though the transmission fit on the rear support pad (simply rotated 180 degrees), the cross-member was for a passenger car, not a truck, and may well have been too high.


So as a result of all of the above, the original clutch linkage configuration didn't stand a chance of fitting, and this is what I am now having to deal with. Isn't this fun?!!! Fortunately, I have the patience and will-power to see this through. But these are the kind of things that come to mind whenever a talk to anyone who "wants to restore a car, but hadn't done one yet". All kinds of obstacles and hard work lay in the path.

My next step is to lift the body off, install the correct 3-speed transmission (now painted), and temporarily re-install the body to work out how to get the steering shaft to the steering gearbox. I need to get all of this mechanical stuff worked out before having the body work done.

Click on photo to watch movie of T5 transmission being removed, and Ford 3-speed
for column shift installed, and the Venus body being lowered onto chassis.

April 2007

I friend from FordBarn (Jeff) sent this website over to The Jalopy Journal website, and I am PROUD the Venus story has been included on the "History" portion of their site (thank you Ryan Cochran). The subsequent comments on the H.A.M.B. forum have been have been positive and encouraging, and I really appreciate it.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/                             http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=177196

And least I forget, the good folks at the FordBarn forum have been very helpful over the years in advising me on issues of authenticity and with help on Ford Flathead V8 mechanical questions...and believe me, there have been many!

http://www.fordbarn.com/

As mentioned above, I need to get the remaining mechanical "problems" solved before I can begin final body work. This includes getting the steering column and shaft fitted using Borgeson components; getting clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals situated; front grill and windshield posts. By far, the most difficult will be making a new set of windshield posts because none exist. I will have to make them from scratch using only photos. My plan is to use dense modeling foam to shape an exact replica. or at least is as close as I can get it. I'll then turn this over to a CAD guy who can put the measurements into a 3-D drawing that can then be put into machine language. This way, exact right and left versions can be machined quite easily. Below is a composite that shows the windshield posts.

In addition, I will have to make the grille pieces from scratch as well. The early models had this "dragonfly" style grille, where later models used a grille from a '55 Chevy. Unfortunately, my Venus had the later version. I'll probably include a black screen of some sort behind the grille pieces just to dress it up a bit.

May 2007

After nearly a year of waiting, I finally got my hood back with the hoodscoop re-shaped back down to original configuration. I had given a body guy my hood along with an original from the Belville Venus as a guide. This was one of the main items that needed attention, and there was no way I was going to be able to do this myself. It cost about twice as much as I thought, but I couldn't be happier with the results. Below is a photo of the Belville hood and mine...you can see just how much it had been butchered. Adding the problem, whoever initially did this didn't use quite enough hardener in the resin, and as a result, the resin was on the gooey side. The third photo is of my hood back on the Venus.

My next task...as far as the hood goes....is to mount latching hardware and hinges. The steering column/shaft linkage is just about done; just waiting on some machine work on the solid stainless shaft. The clutch linkage is nearly completed as well, as it too is waiting on a small part being machined. Pretty soon, the chassis will be ready for storage while work begins on the body.

June 2007

Well, we're already in 90 degree heat here in Houston, and it's difficult to motivate oneself to start working in it. I had been putting off fixing a mistake I had made (though an understandable one), but finally told myself to get after it. After all, guys in the 50's didn't have A/C either, nor do many shops that work on hot rods 24/7. (Actually, I do have some AC in my garage, but it takes a while to cool down. For this job, I needed the garage door open).

One of the last jobs when restoring the engine was to install the oil pan. Mounted to the side of the oil pan is the aluminum boss that holds the dipstick tube and dipstick. For some reason, I used a new chrome boss for a Mercury engine...after all, it is a Merc. But I was mounting this on a Ford oil pan. Little did I know that the Merc and Ford dipsticks were different, holding each at different angles. This made my dipstick hit the headers and it was a completely impassable situation. I had no choice but to drop the pan and replace the Merc piece with the Ford. The steering linkage was painted and ready for installation, but I couldn't put the steering together knowing that I needed to drop the pan and fix that problem.

So I got under the car and started removing the oil-pan bolts, hoping that I wouldn't have to lift the engine to get the pan off. Sure enough, the pan wouldn't clear, only coming about half-way out. But rather than lift the engine, I simply jacked up the tranny by about 4 inches, and the pan came out okay. I did a test fit first before completely installing the pan, and the dipstick tube now clears in the correct place. Looking back, it wasn't as big a deal as I had made it out to be.

I'm now ready to take a small box of parts for zinc plating....gotta do this before I put them on the car. As usual, I made a detailed list of each piece, what it looked like, how many, and what the part went to. When you get the parts all mixed up in a box 2 weeks later, you sometimes forget what small part went where. Digital photos work well for this also.
 

June 25th

I got a lot of work done in the past week. I completed the painting my newly rebuilt original starter; lightly greased the teeth in the ring gear, installed the cover/starter plate, and installed the starter. And after having an 1/8th inch keyway cut into a new solid shaft for the steering box cluster gear, I was able to put the steering gearbox together and mounted on the car. This allowed me to assemble the steering shaft which included a double-u-joint and various SS splined shafts from Borgeson. The only chore left to do is design and fabricate a bracket to mount the steady bearing on the steering shaft. This will be fabricated from 1/4" plate steel and securely attached to the chassis.

I also did a test mount of the driveshaft and discovered it was about 3.5 inches too short. Will take to driveshaft place for lengthening. My next obstacle is to reinstall the steering linkage components. I will hopefully soon be ready to put the chassis in storage and begin body work....there is oh so much to do on it!!

July 12th

Okay, the steering components are all in, though gearbox and wheel angles will be adjusted when body is off the car. I was worried the custom steady bracket would need to be removable so that the steering shaft could be disassembled, but this turns to not be the case. I will have this bracket welded to the frame instead of using the 4 unsightly bolts currently holding it in place.

I finally got some small pieces back from plating, and was able to finish the installation of the brake and clutch actuating mechanisms, shown below. I'm really glad to have this finally done. I placed an "as found" photo of what I started with (thumbnail; click for full view), and man was it a mess. I knew absolutely nothing about the correct configuration, so I researched, asked a lot of questions, and took a bunch of photographs. This mess is what drove me to thinking about installing a T5 tranny...so much in fact that I bought two them before reverting back to the original column 3-speed!! (Fortunately, I was able to sell the two T5's for a reasonable amount, though lost a couple hundred on each.)

The pedals come nowhere near where they need to be. The green tape in the lower right corner marks where the firewall sits. My plan is to shorten the lower portion of the pedal's "arc", and then lengthen the upper arc until it is in the car.

I am now ready to lift the body off the chassis and place it on the rolling body dolly. The chassis and engine will go into storage somewhere, or I may park it next to the body if room permits (doubtful). I have a few pieces at the plating shop which will allow the completion of the mechanicals on the chassis.

Body Work Begins (Finally!!)

Despite what you see below, the fiberglass on the Venus body is in excellent condition, and there is no evidence of patches from accidents whatsoever. Most of the problem areas are confined to the top portion of the car, probably because it experiences most of the weather. As mentioned before, I had the paint removed via soda blasting. I do not know if the soda blasting itself caused any of the cracks or problem areas. Below is a diagram showing the layers of material:

Here are additional photos of problems areas:

Below are areas that require more extensive work, for example, the instrument panel. Since the layout doesn't match that of the prototype, I will need to fill in all of these circles with fiberglass, smooth, and fill any small voids. Same is true for rectangular areas where circuit breaker and radio were installed. These areas are too large for filler only. I am not exactly certain what the best way is to fill these holes...either cut out a fiberglass disks with hole saw and insert/adhere to the panel, or, cut out small circles of fiberglass material and build each up until flush with panel. Inquiring minds want to know! There are panels that need repair where the stick-shift was, including the tunnel area for transmission. After repairing these back to original, I will make a mold for an appropriate tunnel inspection/access cover. The fuel filler door will require extensive amount of attention to make sure the gaps are perfect all the way around. The holes in the firewall (brown) will be filled in, and I plan to sheath the entire firewall with 3/16th's polished aluminum. Last but not least, it seems that when the door hinges are opened, a small ear on the hinge tends to dig into the body, hence the scalloped out area. I'll have to see what I can do to minimize or eliminate this problem without sacrificing the strength of the hinge.

Below are a couple of illustrations on my plan to repair the above body problems. Keep in mind that I will completely remove (by sanding) the tan body filler material, getting down to the very hard white "gel coat", which I consider the original surface as shipped from the factory. The filler material I am using is expensive stuff called "ClauPlast", and was recommended by a guy in town that regularly works on Corvettes. It's very hard stuff!

After the problem areas have been completely filled and eliminated, I will put a thin sheet of fiberglass over the entire body. This will seal and strengthen the body surface, providing a good foundation for final body blocking for paint. I hope to do as much as possible before turning the car over to a painter. Fitting and installation of the grille pieces; the all-important windshield pillars; and hood hinges and latches will be done as well (much easier said than done, I might add!!)

February 2008

Well, here it is at the first week of February....man, how time flies! The Venus body has been in storage for 5 months now without a lick of work getting done. But I finally swapped the Jaguar for the Venus body. As you can see, it is upside down on the body dolly which will enable me to repair a few spots much easier than if it were right-side up. I also plan to paint the entire under-body.

Not a very pretty sight!! All of the small holes in the instrument panel will be cleaned and filled with Clauplast epoxy filler. The larger sections where gauges and radio were installed will be filled with fiberglass, and ultimately, completely blanked and smooth off for new gauge layout. The lower left photo shows where some de-lamination occurred at a seam. There are only a couple of these instances on the body. The separated glass will be removed and a new strip installed. Lower right shows the holes in the taillight area that will be filled as I cannot re-use any of these mounting holes. Having the body upside down makes this chore a lot easier, otherwise I'd have to be on my back with sticky resin dripping onto my face!

Above are photos of the copper fuel-filler box that was on the Venus. I assume this to be an original part, but it wasn't made very well. Functional, yes....attractive, no.
It appears that the previous owner used plumber putty tape as a seal. I will probably have another copper box made to these same dimensions, but with wider flaps.
I will glass in a steel U-shaped bracket with studs upon which the new box can be securely mounted and sealed properly with a rubber gasket. I'll also add a proper drain hole.

Above left, a bracket used to mount the upholstered door panel. These have been removed and will either be replaced with wood or steel. On the right, a previous owner's idea of a cable or wiring harness conduit. Again, functional, but not very eloquent.

March 2008

Due to the dust and noise involved in this body work, I have moved the Venus body to an old enclosed boat storage place. It has 100v outlet and a light, so I can power the air compressor to run sanding tools as well as a spray gun for underside primer and paint. I checked with the owners first, and they said it was okay as long as I didn't make a mess or get stuff on any other trailer or boat in storage. So, work continues when I can get out there.

In the meantime, there has been movement in the quest for grille components. I had received a letter from DeWitt Gorman, the guy who used to work on Venus' as a teenager (see history section), that the 4 spokes used in the grille came from some known automobile of that era...they were not custom made as I once believed. I posted a question on the HAMB site (Hokey Ass Message Board), and got many guesses. Finally, the right guess came in with indisputable proof that the part came from the rear bumper of a 1951 Mercury passenger car!

According to the guy that furnish the photo, this bar is 17" long, and by my accounts, this will barely fit. I won't know until I get a couple of them in my hands to check, but I think it is clear by the two tapered ends, that this IS the piece my Dad used. But finding 4 of these now in 2008 is proving to be a little difficult, but not impossible....just takes a lot of phone calls to salvage yards At the time of this writing, I have two confirmed, and awaiting word on two others. Actually, the guy that made this determination said he has 4 of them, but that some are bent and/or dented up. Although I am very grateful, I'd rather work with 4 good examples before I have to start straightening and knocking out dents. But as I told him, he is my "ace in the hole" if the others do not become available. No doubt all 4 will undergo re-chroming.

But I am very happy to have found these as I no longer have to worry about taking the time to make one out of hard foam and then turning it over to a foundry or to metal-smiths to reproduce. I've even got a message from a guy over in Mississippi who is willing to help by making the center piece. (One guy on the HAMB said it looked like Dad stole the top of mom's toaster...I thought that was funny and appropriate, so it is now known as the "toaster" section!)

July 2008

Well, it has been quite awhile since updating this website. This is partly due to (a) my switch to VISTA operating system, where I lost all functionality with my website, (b) starting a maintaining a BLOG for Venus updates, and (c) the good folks at THE PLANET completely losing my website from their servers. If my website ever worked at all, it was probably due to internet waves being reflected back from the planet Vulcan. But I'm now with Network Solutions, a big outfit that is going nowhere but up.

Continue update...work in progress...