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I just received my A pillar moldings back from Just Dashes. Beautifully done. I had my dash pad done by them also. Expensive? Yes but well worth the cost.
Their lead times are stretching out to about four months now. |
This is a re-post of what I posted this morning. With photos that show up now.
Stuart said moderators don't have the ability to turn editing back on but he was able to delete my posts so I could fix and re-post them. >>> Quote:
I am going to need to replace the dash or send this one out for recovering. I haven't done any research on that yet. I know it will be expensive. https://i.imgur.com/qcDm8jL.jpg https://i.imgur.com/GBAMZAd.jpg Quote:
The original dash harness is a non-rally but the seller of the car included a used dash harness w/ rally. I'll make the decision on what do when I inspect them both really closely. I do know that the inside and outside A/C harnesses have issues. May buy new or make my own for those. Not sure about the engine and front light harness yet. I have some studying to do on those. Not sure what caused this: https://i.imgur.com/U46a6lE.jpg |
2nd re-post from this morning.
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I did remove everything else from the dash and acquired the steel I will need to brace the body. Not exactly sure yet how I'm going to lift the body but I do have a preliminary plan. I will share that later. https://i.imgur.com/BvcEDdF.jpg https://i.imgur.com/69KENRC.jpg https://i.imgur.com/GMcfVNB.jpg |
In regards to the heater switch, I'd say the plug wasn't pushed all the way on.
The switch may be OK Saw this on Ebay this morning. Not mine so verify the part number https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1969-Po...EAAOSwHZJfc49s |
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I also see in the Ames catalog that repros are $45. |
Plan for lifting body
I got the bracing done and mocked up the equalizer for lifting. Haven't drilled the holes for the chain attachments yet.
The red bar is pretty much where I figure the front to back balance point of the body is. The hoist and equalizer are rated at 1,500 lbs. The 12" long eye-bolt goes up into the attic and through a long piece of 2"X6" where it has a big washer and nut on top. The 2"X6" is sitting flat on top of 2"X8" joists on 16" centers. I also plan on using a come-a-long to connect between the eyebolt and which ever end of the car is a bit heavier. This will help keep it level from front-to-back and keep the body from spinning. A friend of mine gave me that idea. https://i.imgur.com/u0tieHh.jpg"]htt...om/u0tieHh.jpg https://i.imgur.com/E4TiNYo.jpg"]htt...om/E4TiNYo.jpg https://i.imgur.com/SId4b6x.jpg"]htt...om/SId4b6x.jpg I did remove all the body mount bolts. The 4 front ones were stubborn. The nuts spun but I was able to go through the holes in the front and secure them with vise grips. The other 8 all came out OK. |
The weather turned cold and rainy so I'm not ready to lift the body and roll the frame outside yet.
So, I spent some time using a paint stripping disc. First the good: https://i.imgur.com/zKdtRg0.jpg https://i.imgur.com/m46SRfo.jpg https://i.imgur.com/77BSfgR.jpg Generally looks good. About 80% had been stripped before. All the upper parts but not towards the bottom. They used a very aggressive grit by the looks of the scratches. Now some not so good. Both quarters are going to need the set of 2 patch panels around and behind the wheel openings. The previous repairs were done very, very poorly and will make it a bit harder to fix correctly. There were some patches laid on top of rust holes and welded on. Then bondo was laid on thick to feather it out. The bondo went half way up the quarters and all the way around the wheel openings. Some holes are not patched and were just had bondo stuffed into the holes. Driver side: https://i.imgur.com/0a4wMOg.jpg https://i.imgur.com/FnAv8LO.jpg https://i.imgur.com/e5nbgcW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YSs1wqj.jpg Passenger side: https://i.imgur.com/rcn9uS2.jpg https://i.imgur.com/V7lnxuf.jpg https://i.imgur.com/N2CZVgH.jpg https://i.imgur.com/TuVcIRB.jpg No patch. Just bondo over and in the hole. I've seen a lot of GTOs that rust here. Does anyone know the root cause of rust in this location? https://i.imgur.com/eYRY6Nm.jpg No rust on this side but some kind of damage was repaired there and not done very well. It was built up with bondo. Hopefully I can correct with a little hammer and dolly work but the poor job done on this will make it more difficult. https://i.imgur.com/aBT1LYU.jpg The rockers appear good: https://i.imgur.com/KdJki1Z.jpg https://i.imgur.com/bV3ay96.jpg Cracks in the factory lead on both sides here. I will have to take the lead out and weld the seams to correct this. https://i.imgur.com/tSA93pK.jpg https://i.imgur.com/HiUILmq.jpg |
Very clean for 52 years! Those cracks behind the top well happen on all ragtops. The factory tack welds and lead smoothing are the cause of the problem. I've found that melting out the lead and then TIG welding fix this forever.
As for your dash pad you have three choices: a cap (cheapest choice and not as bad as it sounds but it has a stigma), Just dashes redo (about $700, the good is that it is new material so no fears of it cracking again, the bad is that they just don't look right if you are fussy; too "puffy" especially the top surface and around vents etc a nice used one (believe it or not they still turn up every now and then) is likely expensive ($1,000?) but the best looking, however the fear will always be there with 52 year old vinyl, will it crack during shipment, during install or that first hot or cold day? |
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btw, since you are doing bodywork on a nice never rusted or hit car with original sheetmetal you should try to keep the lower body "hollow" that all the 68-69 A bodies had. from the rear wheel opening to the back bumper the lower body (below the widest point of the car) has negative "hollows" in the sheetmetal obviously intended to visually lighten the car. Many guys flatten out these areas.
The attached photo is just a car off ebay but the white paint and the sun angle highlight this nicely on the front half of the car. This "hollowness" also continues into the quarter both in front and behind the wheel opening. Harder to see the effect on the back half of this car, perhaps because of body work or just the angle of the sun. In any case the effect of the hollowness on the quarters is similar to what you see on the fender and door of this car. |
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Do you know who does the ones Ames has in their catalog for $899? |
I forgot about the Ames ones, I don’t know anything personally about them but I heard that the vinyl grain was off and the shape varied from one to the next
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https://i.imgur.com/eYRY6Nm.jpg
Very common rust area here.... I was able to find a solid '68 LeMans in the junkyard right before mine was to get paint. I cut that piece off with a hacksaw blade (not easy!). I took the driver side only because I had a killer blister coming on by that time! I should have taken both and you could have used it I'm sure. |
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Maybe condensation from water standing in the trunk? I really don't know, just seems to be a common spot for rust. Mine had been built up with bondo and sanded to shape. When I stripped it down, I found just what you have there.
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At the rate you are working it's like you have three people helping you :)
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No help. Just a retired guy with a pandemic going on and nothing else to do. Plus, I enjoy the heck out out of it. |
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The Body is Off
Thanks guys.
The weather cleared up today and I got some time this afternoon to go ahead and raise the body. My plan worked perfectly. My guess for mounting the chains for a close front-to-back balance was pretty darn close. The front was only heavier by a little bit. There isn't a whole lot of tension on the come-a-long at all. https://i.imgur.com/q1MBF0w.jpg https://i.imgur.com/hO9bsih.jpg https://i.imgur.com/nwn3afF.jpg https://i.imgur.com/gYsrufc.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Tp0FC15.jpg I rolled the frame underneath the canopy for a place to dismantle it. I'll also take a wire wheel to it to get the dirt and undercoating off before I move it out into the yard for blasting. https://i.imgur.com/89EuJZj.jpg https://i.imgur.com/geVAGNg.jpg I was looking and thinking about buying a rotisserie for the body. It sure would be easier to clean up and work on the underside of the body and be able to roll it outside for any blasting I do on it. Otherwise I guess I'll put it on sawhorses where it is now and work from underneath. I don't know though, this may be the last body-off restoration I do. |
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