I work in the restoration shop at Lane Motor Museum. AMA. 

"Torquesteered" (torquesteered) 05/02/2018 at 10:40 • Filed to: None

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I finally caved. Opposresidentlexusguy has convinced me to actually start posting here. For the last 4 months I’ve been working in the restoration shop at Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, TN as the resident new guy. I sweep floors, paint parts, and clean toilets mostly, but I occasionally get to work on the cars, and even drive them home from time to time.

American size garage, Japanese size car.

Lane Motor Museum was founded in 2003 when Jeff Lane purchased the former sunbeam bakery building in Nashville to consolidate his then roughly 80 car collection into one place and display it for the public to see. Since then we’ve grown to be the caretakers of over 530 cars, more than 70 motorcycles, and 25 or so planes. We mainly focus on French, Czech, and Japanese vehicles, but if a country has every made an attempt at making cars, chances are we have an example.

Enough about the museum, though, I work in the restoration shop as the new guy. I clean floors, wash parts, and generally do what I can to help the lead restorers keep the fleet running. Because depending on what you consider “running and driving” between 90 and 95 percent of our collection runs and drives and has a license plate of some sort as long as it has lights and turn signals, and some semblance of “road legality” Sadly, the Indy car doesn’t have a plate. But as far as I know it does run. In the restoration shop we do everything from simple service, like brake jobs and tire replacements in preparation for vehicles to go to events, to full, multi year, frame up restorations and rebuilds of vehicles where parts are completely non-existent, and we have to make or restore every part ourselves.

This is chuck, a 1936 Voisin c28, who currently sits as a bare aluminum body and frame, as we slowly piece together and replace all the pieces that go in him.

Our Citroen ID19 in its disassembled state, awaiting parts for a front brake rebuild. They’re inboard, against the transmission, hidden below most of the cooling system, in typical French fashion.

With that overly long primer and introduction to my job and the museum, ask me anything. I’ll try to answer as much as I can during my lunch break and throughout the afternoon.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 12:07

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Thanks for the beer last night. Also RIP the Focus.

PartyPooper2012 > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 12:11

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What’s for lunch?

Tapas > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 12:11

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I don’t have any questions. Just wanted to say that I’m super jealous! lol

Wacko > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 12:12

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Must be hard to listen to Opposresidentlexusguy constantly talk about Toyotas and rebadged Toyotas. How hard is it to not shut him up permanently?

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 12:13

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Do you have a big dip tank, or do most big pieces get sandblasted? I’m guessing from the looks of Chuck that you’re media-blasting with walnut or something, but I’m curious. Do you farm out your chrome somewhere?

Also, what techniques are you using to pattern old pieces for reproducing? Anything fun like a 3d scan, or hand measurements and something like an oak form?

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Wacko 05/02/2018 at 12:17

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I talk about Porsches and Lane cars too! Actually neither of my next two articles coming up on RFD are about ToyMoCo.

Wacko > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 05/02/2018 at 12:18

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I was only teasing....

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Wacko 05/02/2018 at 12:19

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I know lol. I do talk a lot about Toyotas and rebadged Toyotas though...

Wacko > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 05/02/2018 at 12:21

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well you are OpposResidentRebadgedToyotaGuy

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Wacko 05/02/2018 at 12:21

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hahaha

Torquesteered > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/02/2018 at 12:22

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For small parts we have a about a 4’ by 3’ by 3’ sandblasting cabinet that I use quite a bit. (I’m blasting a suspension arm right now actually!) Chuck was actually chemically stripped and hand removed with scotch Brite. It’s totally aluminum, so and kind of mechanized sanding or abrasives could harm it. We can zinc, nickel, and tin plate, powdercoat and paint in house on smaller parts, but a lot of bigger parts do get farmed out. We have a small desktop 3d scanner, and a folgertech ft-5 3d printer to print prototype parts before we have them either machined or cast elsewhere. But a lot of time old school hand measuring and machining on a mill and a lathe also happens.

Torquesteered > PartyPooper2012 05/02/2018 at 12:25

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Peanut butter sammich, chips, and an Arnold Palmer

Torquesteered > Wacko 05/02/2018 at 12:25

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I plea the 5th.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 12:34

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I’m familiar with aluminum being tricky, as I had to strip a ‘60s Land Rover with three complete layers of paint, and it’s an aircraft alloy called Birmabright. I did a chemical strip twice, but did finish with a (carefully used) dual action sander. I knew careful use of soft media can work on aluminum and wasn’t sure from the finish.

I was figuring you probably only rarely did replacement of large body parts, so that’s what I was asking about, but that’s really informative on the small parts, thanks. I had guessed you had a tank for small electro work, but since chrome is (chemically) a whole other ball of wax, it was a cinch you were contracting it out.

For big sheet metal, it used to be a technique to make an oak form and hammer the metal to it - it’s how the Soviets kept making the ZiL limos for years - and it’s more practical these days with huge 5-axis mills to make the forms, but I don’t know that many people are doing it that way instead of just “that looks about right” hand-forming and measuring to make sure. I worked in a place for a couple of months that made big wood forms (early prototype auto carpet molds) from IGES files and the real estate required is serious.

Torquesteered > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/02/2018 at 13:00

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You’d be surprised. We have a guy who’s an absolute artist who has the skills and the tools to hand beat body panels. He (and hopefully with my help as well) is gonna be entirely rebuilding a BMW Dixi ihle body from scratch. The “original” that we have was so improperly repaired over time that it’s easier to simply hand beat a new body out of sheet steel.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 13:06

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I’m trying to pick up hand-beating and leadwork, but it’s slow going on an amateur basis. Also slow going - getting all the tools, saving up for a mill...

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 13:09

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Man, I am a teacher way up here in Nova Scotia, but you have no idea how much I wish I could work full-time in that place! :(

Teaching people about cars all day would be my dream job!!!

As Oppo’s resident 2-cylinder / small FIAT lover and fan of basic, cheap, simple ‘People’s Cars’ (and kei cars!) and commie rides, what is your favorite car from the collection that falls in my favorite categories? :P

Torquesteered > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 05/02/2018 at 13:53

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I know it isn’t quite a basic people’s car, but the Honda city turbo is absolutely a favorite of mine. I’m actually gonna be exercising a Citroen 2cv 4x4 voisin tonight! My favorite commie/eastern block car is our tatra 607 monoposto replica. It’s an open wheel race car that packs the same air-cooled, small displacement hemi v8 as a 603, but with 4 webers, individual stacks, and no mufflers with oval shaped megaphone exhaust. The sound is..... ungodly.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 14:18

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How is the floating Corvair? Last time I was there it was in pieces.

Torquesteered > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 05/02/2018 at 14:37

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It’s done! It drives, but we haven’t float tested it yet. Hopefully we will a little later this summer.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 14:40

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Awesome!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Torquesteered 05/02/2018 at 15:59

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I would kill to join you in the 2CV! :D

Spridget > Torquesteered 05/10/2018 at 17:31

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I just saw this post; have belated welcome to Oppo! You’re basically living my dream job, and that Citroen is a very pretty car- it’s a shame it’s disassembled.