The underside of my 49 Kaiser

[JoeKeys2010]

Went under my Kaiser today and what a mess.  Started cleaning grease and grime out from under it.  Here are a few before and after photos on the driver side.  Still have a long way to go.  Does anyone know if all of this is supposed to be painted once I have it all cleaned off?  I know the frame gets painted black but what about all of the steering and grease fittings?

[joefrazer]

The entire chassis should be painted black. This included the steering and brake components, as well as the shock absorbers.

While I know it's a pain to remove...been there and done that...the grease did a great job of preserving everything!

[JoeKeys2010]

I'm still scraping grease and old paint off of the underside of my Kaiser.  Today I noticed a wire coming out of the steering box.  Most of the insulation was gone and the copper wire was green but it did have a plug on the bottom.  I'll look tomorrow in the shop manual but does anyone know what the wire is for and where does it plugin at?  I would assume it is maybe a wire for the back up lights (not even sure if it has back up lights).

One other thing I did notice a oil leak at the back of the motor at the transmission.  Assume it I maybe a rear main seal leaking.  It is just enough to notice.  If it is the seal, I assume the motor will have to come out to fix it.  Is that right and how difficult is it to pull the motor?

[pnw_oldmags]

That wire is probably the wire from your Horn Button ... goes to the horn relay.

[JoeKeys2010]

That sounds logical since the horn does not work.  When I bought the car the guy told me that if you put power to the horns they sounded but that he could not figure out why it would not blow from the steering wheel.  I have not tried to get the horn to blow. Maybe it will be as easy as plugging the wire in.

[JoeKeys2010]

Still scraping and cleaning the underside of the Kaiser.  I have been on it for about 20 hours now. It was pretty nasty underneath.  I have been using various scraping tools, gasoline, purple power.  I probably have another 10 hours of cleaning under the engine before I can start painting.  A nasty job that no one will hardly see, but I will know it is clean and freshly painted.

[BigDave LM6174]

Buy a couple closet door mirrors and Lay them under the car at car shows, let all the work be seen

[Fid]

If you noticed bare, uninsulated sections on the wire coming out of the column, that could be why it was disconnected - if it rubs bare and grounds, the horn honks continuously. It's easy to pull a new wire if  you have to.

[JoeKeys2010]

At long last the underside has been de greased.  Now comes the task of painting everything.  I have the correct engine color so it is just a matter of getting everything painted and then this part of the project will be over.

[JoeKeys2010]

Continue to work on the Kaiser.  Inside of the passenger fender well I found an access plate held in by three screws.  When I removed it you could really see the exhaust and motor good.  At the front of the fender well behind the blinker/parking light it looks like there was once a plate there but now it is gone.  I looked on the parts car but it did not have a plate there either. 

Can someone look at the photo and tell me if an access plate was supposed to be there or not?

I have the block down to bare medal now and the underside is to bare medal.  I'm in the fender wells now.  There seems to be a think layer of undercoating that is a pain to get off.  I nearly have everything on the passenger side down to bare medal but have not touched the driver side yet.

Slow going but will be worth it.

[JoeKeys2010]

I don't think I will ever be done.  I removed undercoating from both finder wells.  I am to medal again and almost ready to paint.  I discovered the inside finders are Caribbean Coral and not black.  It looks more like a thin coat, a little heaver than overspray but not a shinny coat like the body of the car.  I assume that is correct.  The parts of the inter fenders that are up against the motor seem to be black. 

I hope to have the underside and engine box completed by Thanksgiving weekend.

[joefrazer]

About the front park light housings, yes, there should be a cover in place. Of course, my 50K is in storage so I don't have pix handy, but I will take a pic or two this week when I swing by the garage.

[JoeKeys2010]

Both my car and the parts car is missing it.  It might be something I could have fabricated, but if anyone knows were some are available I would be interested. 

[JoeKeys2010]

Painted the underside today and the engine compartment. It's under heat now and in the morning I'll paint the fire wall and the fenders. Almost done with this part.

[JoeKeys2010]

Here are some photos of on the passenger side.  Big difference.  got the engine painted, the under frame painted and the firewall painted.