Before and After - Cavalier 51

[Pat Pixley]

Looks great, I've got one I have had for a long time need to get it done sometime soon .
keep up the great work.

[Marvin]

Does the belt come apart?  I've never had a chance to study one.

[collecture]

Does the belt come apart?  I've never had a chance to study one.

According to the manual it does - download the manual Section 10-Cavalier Coolers

[90grad]

Looks great! Who did the embossing?

Dan,

Actually, the embossing is the vinyl letters sold by Funtronics.  I can laugh at it now, but I got down to the "C" in Coca and I tore the letter.  So, I had to get another decal.  That actually worked out for the best, as I removed a few more letters that I didn't have exactly lined up correctly.

[Ken R]

Looks like you did an outstanding job on the restoration!!  Machine looks outstanding!

Question about the compressor assembly though.  I've been wondering how to do it, but how in the world do you restore a compressor assembly without discharging the system and taking it all apart?  Is it safe to sandblast the assembly and just repaint it like it is??  Just curious as I think I'm about to do something like this soon.  Thanks.  Great job!!

[90grad]

Ken,

When I remove the cooling system, I stick it on a homemade rack.  The Cavalier 51 is a little different, since it isn't the standard setup like in other machines.  Regardless, I remove all the electrical wiring, fans, stat, and tape up the connector pins on the compressor.  I then clean the entire assembly.  I will remove rust (where I can) with a small steel wool brush (gently).  You have to use that carefully, due to the chance of damaging something.  To clean all the dirt, I usually use an orange cleaner and a low-pressure hose.  Once everything is dry, I'm ready to paint.  I mask off the evap coil and then paint the compressor and condensor.  I use Rustoleum.  Then, I make sure I mask off that and spray the evap coil (again, with Rustoleum, but sliver color).

[Ken R]

Ok, cool.  Doesn't sound difficult, just very tedious and time consuming.  You did such a great job on the compressor I would have sworn you had blasted it, primed and painted with a spray gun as you would a car.  Was thinking that would put too much paint on it though since that is usually a pretty thick layer of paint.  So a small wire brush, cleaner, and some Rustoleum paint?  Guess that's what I'll do with mine!!  Thanks.

[90grad]

Yep, just be careful when using the brush around those lines.

[Ken R]

I have a brass wire brush, perhaps better to use that one...

[90grad]

That's what I used.  I just got as much of the surface stuff off as I could.  I also used a Rust Encapsulator product from Eastwood Automotive.  Then, you can spray over it.