Check Out These Homebrewed Fixes for Common Muscle Car Problems

Building and working on muscle cars is supposed to be fun. It often is (it’s a hobby after all), but there are a few times when drudgery can set in. You just encounter things, big and small, that prove troublesome and can stop your build progress cold. Some tasks, if not performed correctly, can damage either the parts you’re working on or the car itself. In other instances, the only apparent solution is to take the component to an expert or specialist and have him perform the necessary work. That can be expensive. Been there, done that. What follows is a short list of problems and the solutions we’ve come up with that can make life a bit easier in the shop. Bottom line? You can do this stuff!

Remove Rust With Molasses

With molasses? We’re kidding, right? That’s what we thought too, but we pressed forward with a little test based upon hearsay. For our purposes we used good old-fashioned Family Brand Cooking Molasses. Various molasses mixes can be found on the shelf of your local grocery store. If you need it in bulk, check out a livestock feed store, as molasses is sometimes used as a supplement for animal feed. It’s inexpensive and available in 5-gallon pails (for less than $30 if you shop around).

Just like (much) more expensive commercial products, Molasses is environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and nontoxic (obviously, since you can eat it). But does it work?

For our mix we poured a pint of molasses into a plastic ice cream bucket. We added a pint of hot water to the mix and stirred it. We tossed in a corroded motor mount with a bunch of heavily corroded bolts and fasteners. We let the stuff work overnight, but there was no appreciable change. Then we tried a week. Same thing. At that point we figured the molasses just wasn’t working, but we left the parts soaking for a month just to see if we missed something.

Take a look at the accompanying photos for the results. We also compared it to a name-brand rust remover. You might be surprised; we were.

1 What’s the magic rust removal elixir? Molasses that anyone can buy from a grocery store. We mixed it with hot water in a plastic ice cream bucket.

2 Our sample part was this rusty motor mount. As a side investigation, we also wanted to see if the molasses had any effect upon the rubber.

3 After allowing the molasses to work for several weeks, we think the result is rather remarkable. As you can see, the rubber section of the mount wasn’t affected by the molasses.

4 This comparison shows molasses rust removal on the left, commercial rust remover on the right. The molasses was actually superior to the commercial stuff.

Measuring & Setting Sheetmetal Gaps With Drill Bits

Establishing and then setting sheetmetal gaps on hoods, decklids, fenders, and doors can be a real pain. If the car has nice gaps before you tear it down, it’s a good idea to check them all first. There are a couple of different methods to do that, but the easy method we prefer is to check the respective dimensions with numbered drill bits.

To get there, first apply a strip of masking tape to each side of the gap (for example, a line of masking tape along the door edge and another along the facing fender edge). Then pick several spots, top to bottom of the gap, and insert a numbered drill bit. Use a go/no-go methodology. You will find that the gap actually varies quite a bit top to bottom. At each point where it changes, mark the drill bit dimension on the tape. Then photograph it. This way, you’ll have a permanent record of the gap before you tear down the car.

When the time comes for reassembly, tape the sheetmetal again, refer to your photos, and, using drill bits, move, nudge and shim everything back to where it was before it came apart. A tip: Most seasoned restorers advise setting the gap between the door and rear quarter-panel first and work outward from there.

1 The trailing edge of the fenders and the leading edge of the doors were taped (heavily) on this Nova prior to removal and before reassembly. Automotive painter’s tape works perfectly.

2 Drill bits make a handy tool to measure panel gap. Simply insert the respective bits using a go/no-go system.

Check the gap on several areas of the fender, and mark the dimension right on the tape. This way you can photograph it and you’ll have a perfect reference when reinstalling the fenders.

“Machining” Brake Drums for Larger Wheel Studs

Most aftermarket axles are drilled for wheel studs with a minimum diameter of 1/2 inch. That can be an issue if you have a GM small or intermediate car. They were factory fitted with 7/16-inch studs. That means the brake drums won’t slide over the bigger studs. Drilling out the hole with a standard 1/2-inch drill bit won’t work. If you’ve ever tried to enlarge holes one size over with a regular drill bit, you know what happens next: You end up with an oval-shaped hole. The solution is a step drill.

Step drill bits are nothing new, but honestly, quality is all over the map. We didn’t have one we could trust, so we spent an hour or two checking them out. Believe it or not, Home Depot had what we were looking for. On a tip from a retired electrician, we bought a USA-made Klein step drill bit. They are quite a bit more money than most of the others, but wow! You can knock out the stud holes in the drums in less than a minute (honestly). Equally important, there’s quite a bit of distance between the steps on the drill bit. That gives you accurate control when you’re drilling one or two sizes over.

1 On a day-two car with aftermarket axles, you’ll find that wheel stud diameters start at 1/2 inch. That means a Chevy small car brake drum (which is machined for 7/16-inch studs) won’t fit. Simply redrilling with a 1/2-inch bit won’t work because it will oval the hole.

2 The solution is to use a high-quality step drill to enlarge the hole. This one is manufactured by a company called Klein, and we purchased it at Home Depot.

3 After redrilling, the brake drum slides right over the larger studs. Good tools make this job simple, and you don’t have to take the parts to a machine shop.

Replace Headrest Covers At Home

Removing and installing headrest covers seems simple enough, until you get into the project. We had a low-mileage Nova with a very nice interior, but one of the headrest covers was brittle and cracked. One of our biggest fears with replacement upholstery was getting a perfect color match. As it turns out, the headrest covers from PUI Interiors are right on when it comes color. Equally important, the fit was good too.

Stripping the headrest is relatively easy. Two screws at the base have to come out, then you are be faced with a number of little staples that hold it all together tightly. Truth? They’re evil. The staples usually translates into pain and bleeding. The solution? Cut off the old cover. It’s the easiest way to strip it—and least painful too!

Next you slip the new headrest cover into place. We were a bit concerned about this part of the install, as we had heard all sorts of horror stories. Some guys wrap the foam with kitchen plastic wrap, which supposedly makes it easier to pull the vinyl over the foam. Luckily our install didn’t need any help. It could be because the original headrest foam was in perfect shape aside from the split in the vinyl. With a bit of tugging, stretching, and shoving, the headrest cover slid over the foam neatly. By the way, this all goes better if the vinyl headrest cover is warm.

1 This is common on many muscle cars with original interiors. The headrest split because the vinyl upholstery became brittle.

2 To gain access, two screws are removed from the base of the headrest. The plastic base slides down the shaft and you’re met with . . .

3 . . . this view of the headrest without the trim piece. Note the little staples. They are a pain to remove. Just cut the old material away and don’t bother with the original staples.

4 Once the headrest cover is slipped over the foam, stretch it tightly and staple in place with a staple gun. It’s not that difficult to get it stretched cleanly, especially if the cover is warm.

5 Once the material is stapled, you can reinstall the plastic trim piece.

6 Here’s the finished job. It came out great and really didn’t take much time. Additionally, the color match of the PUI material was perfect.

Removing & Installing Dog Dish Hubcaps

Dog dish hubcaps can be a pain to install and remove. They regularly get dented during installation, and it’s easy to mar the wheel when removing them. The solution is pretty simple. Always place a dab of grease (white lithium works great) over the wheel “nubs” that the hubcaps lock into. Pull the hubcap over a couple of the nubs, and then it’s easy to tap it into place with the palm of a hand. To get the hubcaps off, it’s possible to work them off by finding the nub and pulling them off by hand, but there’s an easier method. Mac Tools has a small pry bar with a hook on one end that works perfectly. If you’re worried about scratching the wheel when using the bar, simply place something soft (tape) where you pry on the wheel.

1 Installing or removing dog dish hubcaps can prove frustrating. It’s easy to dent the caps or scratch the wheel. For installation, the trick is to use a dab of white grease on the hubcap nubs on each wheel prior to snapping on the caps.

2 This small Mac Tools pry bar works fabulously for pulling off a dog dish cap. If you’re concerned about marring the wheel, simply slip a piece of foam (or even paper) between the pry bar and the wheel.

Reworking a Steering Column for a Disabled Shifter Interlock

For many post-1969 GM muscle cars with headers, it’s necessary to remove the steering interlock (also called the back drive) to allow for clearance. The back drive was a major part of the antitheft steering column system introduced in all 1969 GM passenger cars. With the back drive, the car had to be in Park (automatic transmissions) or Reverse (manual) to get the column to lock and allow you to remove the key. The lockout mechanism on manual transmissions also performed the backup light activation at the same time by rotating the column sleeve that the switch was hooked to. It’s possible (with lots of effort) to modify a back drive to work, but it all depends upon the application and the headers in question. In order to get the backup lights working, Hurst Shifters offers a bolt-in switch kit (PN 2480003).

Removing the back drive and installing the switch is easy enough, but then you have another issue to deal with. You have to stop the column from rotating. We came up with a clean fix that’s illustrated in the photos. As a result, the key was easy to remove, and as a bonus, something like a column-mounted tach remains in one spot.