Jake Dykstra's 1962 409/409 Impala!

[napa68]

A little slave labor never hurt anyone

Good to see Jacob involved!

[dykstra]

Originally Posted by napa68

A little slave labor never hurt anyone

Good to see Jacob involved!

Good to see our CFO of Dykstra Motorsports getting his hands dirty!

[RPOLS3]

Spent some time last night in the garage and was able to get the old front to rear brake line out. Went to install the new line and saw the front end flare was boogered up pretty good so that ended that project for the night. Supplier sending a new one out today.

I was able to get the wheel wells, lower firewall, and front suspension cleaned up using Simple Green sprayed directly on the components and then a warm water wipe down and rinse with a rag followed by a towel dry. I will spray some Boeshield on everything and then get some pics to post. So far pretty happy with how it looks prior to the Boeshield. I am resisting the urge to blow the control arms and related off for a full repaint but I know that will snowball into taking the front end completely apart and don't want to go there......

Speaking of scope creep...........I got some progress pics of the air cleaner assembly from the paint guy. Afraid to get the bill on that but it will look way nicer than it did. Will also do the fan shroud and radiator - and touch up the core support, and new valve cover decals......and that's it....

I ordered a windshield washer pump repair kit to make a run at getting that fixed in hopes I don't have to send it out as the wiper function works fine, just not the pump.

[RPOLS3]

I was able to spend a few hours in the garage last night and made some more progress...

Got the new front to rear brake line installed, it intermingles with the fuel line and uses the same bracketry so it took some patience and creativity to make that all work without cutting anything, having the body on the frame, and doing this on my back with the car on jack stands.......but it's done and it fits. I also removed the front crossmember line and installed the master cylinder to frame line.

I dug a little deeper into the project and took the radiator shroud and radiator out. I will have the shroud re-painted and I think I'm going to have the radiator re-cored as it has several spots were the fins are bashed in pretty well over the years.

I ordered a few more small parts yesterday and also installed a new set of valve cover decals and re-installed the opti-kleen decal that had come off.

One of the frustrating things I am finding the deeper I dig into this car is the previous restorer used a lot of generic hardware store fasteners - so I am trying to source and replace those with assembly line pieces as I come across them which is a whole other project in itself.

Last week I picked up the hub assemblies and now those are ready to bolt on.

Tonight I will install the new front crossmember brake line, distribution blocks, and hoses which should wrap up that portion of the project. Then I can get the front drum and hub assemblies installed and get brake fluid back in the system and bled.

[napa68]

The eye for detail is paying noticeable dividends!

[67since67]

Originally Posted by RPOLS3

One of the frustrating things I am finding the deeper I dig into this car is the previous restorer used a lot of generic hardware store fasteners - so I am trying to source and replace those with assembly line pieces as I come across them which is a whole other project in itself.

I feel your pain Jake!! My current project was also loaded with hardware store fasteners from a previous restoration requiring many searches through my stash and elsewhere for correct pieces.

[Lynn]

Just a few observations.
We have ice and snow today, so all our appointments called yesterday to reschedule, so I have some time on my hands.

Went back to post #1. I know I have looked at this thread multiple times over the years, but apparently did not take it all in. Just read the whole thing from start to finish. What an emotional rollercoaster.

Post #1. I laughed and cried. Love seeing the way this car facilitated the multi generational bonds in this family. Obviously a loving functional family that would have been close anyway; but things like this hobby bring us even closer sometimes. (Just ask Tony, with his recent wild snow storm, creepy hotel adventure with his son!!!).

Post #2 (don’t worry, I am NOT going to recap EVERY post) made me cry more seeing Jake the grandson sitting in the front seat. Really hits home as my twin grandsons just turned 12 on Monday. Holy crap!!! That can’t be. They were just born YESTERDAY!!!

Also got to me when Verne Frantz chimed in. I REALLY miss Verne. He was a giant in the hobby, especially the 409s. We bonded back in 2007 when I was writing the trim tag legislation in Oklahoma. Could not have done nearly as good a job without Verne.

Loved reading about the 30 year old Sears tires. I took some tires off my recent purchase (57 Chevy) that were dated EITHER 1995 or 1985; not sure which.

Three generations in the car is freakin awesome on page five. Will be doing that soon with the 57 once it is roadworthy. (Pic below).

Notable quote #1 from Big Jake: “Only in America could this have happened!”
Is this a great country, or what?

LOVE the pics of Big Jake working on the engine and trans.

Also great seeing the LONG time relationships the Dykstra family has with Bill S. I was honored and humbled to get to hang out briefly with them at MCACN 2024 (along with Tony). Best quote from Bill S: “I must sound like a broken record, but the Dykstra's are my favorite family on earth!” That’s what I’m talking about.

Best exchange:
Jake “...hopefully no scope creep on this one.”
Tim: “LOL......good luck with that.”

Best quote from a Dykstra: “Enjoy every minute with your loved ones while you can.”
Was moved to tears again at post 176. Wouldn’t expect anything less from this family.

[dykstra]

Thanks Lynn. We appreciate the kind words. The fact that we are a close family is not lost on us.
Being able to work on the old niner is icing on the cake.

Thanks again,
Dave Dykstra

[olredalert]

----Geez,,,I wish we were closer as I have s#it loads of bolts. some generic, but most off of old 60/70 GM cars.....Bill S

[RPOLS3]

Not much actual work on the car the last week as I've been busy with other commitments - but I've been able to get some things rounded up behind the scenes......

Dropped the radiator off at shop over in Woodstock and they air-water flow/pressure tested it and cleaned off the old paint. No issues were noted and they were able to repair the fins without replacing the core. I will just need to paint it. Will pick that up later this week. Found out it is a reproduction radiator so now I am working with Jody Anderson to put together a real one (scope creep.....? ) Jody has an original top tank and is trying to gather the balance of the 62 409 specific pieces. In the meantime I will re-install the one I have as functionally it is fine and I can keep moving forward.

I picked up the fan shroud yesterday from the painter - he will have the air cleaner finished up later this week as he wasn't happy with how it turned out and needs a bit more time to get it right. Happy I did this as it will bring the engine compartment a long way for the minimal investment. Turned out better than I could do at home......

The passenger side is ready to have the new drum assembly bolted on, all of the lines and hose are installed and tight. The distribution block and lines on the drivers side are a bit more challenging to finish up as the generator/exhaust manifold/steering shaft and clutch cross shaft are all in the way to be able to swing a wrench - so that will take some creativity to finalize.

I have a couple of people gathering up original fasteners - so hopefully that will work out.

New air cleaner decal arrived with some other small parts - I decided to replace the bolts in the upper ball joints with the rivet head ones for a more correct look. I have one month to get this back together and driving to be able to make my appointment at the interior shop to get the seat trim installed....and enjoy the spring weather hopefully.