Has anyone cleaned internally in the 57 fords chassis? I was looking in mine and I can see dirt and debris. Just wondering if anyone know of any quick and easy way to clean inside chassis.
Lot harder to do than you would think. After sandblasting mine,I spent an entire 8 hour day trying to get the sand out with air hose and long extensions. Just kept moving it back and forth for the most part. For a while after, I was still seeing sand come out when I was hammering on something or jacking up and down. I figure most of it blew out on my first few road trips..which reminds me, I was up in your neck of the woods last weekend with the '57.
my last convertible I did got it from a shed it was in for over 10 years and I tried for a weekend to get all the nut shell out of the frame and had a half a trash can full and still had some come out later in the build and I used air and water
The two halves of each frame rail have several 'spacers' to align the halves during welding. These spacers create blockage every so far the entire length of the frame. The front cross member also goes through the frame and creates another blockage. Not only did I want to clean debris and media out of the frame but also wanted to route lines and wiring through the frame. I unsuccessfully attempted to remove these obstructions. I removed a couple before moving on. I hung the frame at every angle, hammered, used air, and flushed with water. I had the frame on a rotisserie and rotated and rotated. Needless to say, the paint has sand in it!!!
I made a small "sprayer" to clean the inside. Drilled a hole in the center of a 1/4 X 20 X 3/4" bolt to just short of going all the way through. Chucked it in a drill and rounded of the flats then drilled a bunch of holes (8) through the side to make a sprayer. I used the smallest bit in the index for this. Enlarged the center hole to as big as I could and still have a little strength left in it. Clamped a hose to it using one of the spring clamps the come with fuel filters, trimmed off the tabs after putting it and the hose on. Made an adapter to hook up to a garden hose, we have very high water pressure here, and now the spray comes out under very good pressure. It fits in many of the holes in the frame. Just have to put it in all of them and pump water in until it runs clear.
Sounds like it is. I was trying to see if I could clean up inside but it looks like a big task. I see dirty inside not sure what to do.