Detroit 3rd gen Marb restore "Back in Black"
Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 4:41 pmYet another restore has been completed and it's time to share the before, after and in between about it.
I purchased this signal off of Ebay awhile back along with a Alusig. Both signals were kind of leftovers due to another bidder purchasing all of the good stuff off of the pallets. Detroit certainly didn't treat this ol' girl to well as the signal was in very rough shape.
The pics pretty much tell the story here, and I knew this was gonna be a challenge to restore. Luckily a couple of the Detroit crew had the parts I needed to get the job done. Larry provided the authentic Detroit replacement body, and Joe basically sold me a 2nd gen parts signal and everything else I needed came off of that donor. I did have to turn new long hinge pins for this restore as two of the originals had to be cut off to get the doors removed. I used 304 stainless rod of the appropriate size from McMaster Carr, and utilized the lathe at my work to cut the grooves for the crimp rings. In the pic the original has the string attached.
The signal was media blasted along with a couple of others at a professional shop and I did all of the painting myself once again. I kinda regret having this blasted somewhere else as they used a rather aggressive media and it made the metal rather rough. It made more work for me to get a decent finish and a bit more sanding also. I decided to return this Detroit original back to its factory color of black. Not sure if Marbelite used gloss paint but that is what I used and I went to the extra effort of painting the undersides of the visors flat black. I think it came out good and it really stands out now in my intersection. Thanks for the look guys, and enjoy the pics!
I purchased this signal off of Ebay awhile back along with a Alusig. Both signals were kind of leftovers due to another bidder purchasing all of the good stuff off of the pallets. Detroit certainly didn't treat this ol' girl to well as the signal was in very rough shape.
The pics pretty much tell the story here, and I knew this was gonna be a challenge to restore. Luckily a couple of the Detroit crew had the parts I needed to get the job done. Larry provided the authentic Detroit replacement body, and Joe basically sold me a 2nd gen parts signal and everything else I needed came off of that donor. I did have to turn new long hinge pins for this restore as two of the originals had to be cut off to get the doors removed. I used 304 stainless rod of the appropriate size from McMaster Carr, and utilized the lathe at my work to cut the grooves for the crimp rings. In the pic the original has the string attached.
The signal was media blasted along with a couple of others at a professional shop and I did all of the painting myself once again. I kinda regret having this blasted somewhere else as they used a rather aggressive media and it made the metal rather rough. It made more work for me to get a decent finish and a bit more sanding also. I decided to return this Detroit original back to its factory color of black. Not sure if Marbelite used gloss paint but that is what I used and I went to the extra effort of painting the undersides of the visors flat black. I think it came out good and it really stands out now in my intersection. Thanks for the look guys, and enjoy the pics!
Nicely done!!