[russosborne]

Here's a couple of pictures of the radiator and the Lincoln MK VIII fan. Again, this is not a stock sized replacement. I don't have to worry about fitting one in the radiator support opening, since I am not using one.
Not quite a perfect fit, but awful close. I am happy.

Thanks,
Russ

[mikes2nd]

Its nice not paying shipping with summit being local.

I also returned a quarter skin like 6 months after I bought it, full refund, no questions asked...

the skins are horrible...

I ordered a full quarter from Summit just to see what it looked like... was WAY better so I returned the skin.

[russosborne]

Yeah, if I had to pay for shipping I would probably have to go back to building model cars instead of real ones. That could seriously come close to doubling the price of some of this stuff.

No pictures yet, but I went out to the garage yesterday just to take some pulleys I had ordered out there, and ended up cutting out most of the under rear seat pan. Used the electric metal shears. Went pretty well, but I can see where having a cutoff wheel could come in handy. Although the shears did stop me from cutting through some bracing I hadn't really thought about, which happens more than I care to admit.

Russ

[gto406]

Very nice looking rad/fan combo Russ, keep at 'her and to 'her - my old shop-mate buddy used to say. 8^)

I went with the repop skins for my '72, and due to the colder weather and snow - it has been hard to get out to the garage (or get motivated) - even though it has been a relatively mild winter here in the Great White North!

BR/Brian.
'72 GTO (in resto-mode)
'69 Bird (street/strip terror).

[russosborne]

Been pretty mild here too, but it seems that when I feel up to going out and doing something to the car it is freezing out, and when I don't have the time or energy it is nice and warm.

I just got really lucky on the radiator/fan setup. Once in a while that happens even to me.

Thanks,
Russ

[russosborne]

I think I am going to change directions just a bit. I already have the replacement firewall, so I am pretty sure I want to set the car back down and start on the firewall repairs now. Once that is done then I can re-tilt it without having to worry about still needing to fix that area. Do that and the trunk stuff first, and work my way towards the middle. That way I have good metal to weld to.

Assuming I can get the energy to get out there and do anything. I need to move a bunch of parts (again) to be able to set the body back down.

I really need a 4 car garage just for this thing.

Russ

[russosborne]

Maybe I should find another hobby.
Right now I am wondering if I shouldn't just scrap this thing.

Had to work 4 hours today. So get up at 9am or so. 3 hours early for me. Get to work and the servers are not running right. All the stuff I do uses the servers. So it was pretty much a wasted day. I couldn't even get online or check email. So the day has already gone downhill. Oh, I have to drive 1 hour each way also. Servers came up a bit, got some stuff tested, but couldn't do the paperwork to ship them. Still, I am thinking this is more Lemans money, so no big deal.

On the way home I stop to pick up some prescriptions. $186 later, and I am on my way. And they wouldn't fill one of them, saying the insurance won't cover it. Well, it has for the last several months, including last month, so it wasn't a new year type thing. grrrr.
So I call my wife and tell her not to order a pizza cause we can't afford it. Day is getting worse.

Got home, ate, decided it was too nice a day weather wise to stay inside and decided to go out to the garage.
Went out to move stuff around so I could put the body back down to start on the firewall. After looking at what all I would have to move I decided that today wasn't a good day for that. So I was looking around the car. (BTW, no pictures, even my camera was acting up.)

Decided that there were still a couple of things I should do while the car is vertical anyway. One was to get rid of the underneath side of the trunk filler panel. It was really bad, but I knew that already. I think the trunk was really the only thing holding the hinges in place. Ok, still no biggie, I knew it was bad.

Still feeling destructive, I decided to see if I could remove more of the bondo on the lower quarters. They are a lot worse than I had thought. And I had thought they were pretty bad. The driver's side had been patched, and about half of that patch had rusted away. Bondo was pretty much all that was holding it together.

Then I was looking at the braces that go under the floor that run along the wheelhouse in the front of the trunk. Noticed some more bondo on the floor, removed that and voila, what was left of the driver's side brace from when I had sawzall'd the floor fell off. Bondo was the only thing holding that on at all.

I will try to get pictures tomorrow if I can force myself to go out there. It is worse than it sounds above, at least to me. I am honestly thinking that the only panel not full of rust and bondo is the roof, and I have yet to touch that, so who knows.

I am really considering cancelling the trunk floor pan order from Summit. I am not sure if there is even enough good metal to weld that to. That is if I don't face reality here. And this is still a salvage titled car in Ohio. Which flat out bites. I could do all this work and the inspector could say the numbers don't match and confiscate the stupid thing.

I need another body. Plain and simple. Problem is I can't afford one. I don't even have a way to get one here if one was given to me. Not that that would happen anyway.

This is a bad time for my antidepressants not to be working very well.

Russ

[russosborne]

Here are some pictures of the damage.

[russosborne]

more

[russosborne]

and the last.

[russosborne]

I honestly don't know what I want to do right now. I know the smart thing is to know when to fold, and this would be a good time. I just don't think I can handle giving up on another project because of rust. I really really really hate Ohio cars.

I can see it now. "Honey, you know that $6000 or so I have spent on the Lemans? Well, it was a total waste. Sorry."

Maybe I should put the chassis together, put the drivetrain back, and bolt a seat and the steering column to it and just drive that over a cliff.

Russ

[russosborne]

Well, I just did the first smart thing I have done in a while. I cancelled the order from Summit Racing.
Russ

[mikes2nd]

ack Russ...

just step back

I know I paid 3k for my project(no engine)... it had alread been blasted and they put another trunk in it for 100$. The right floorpan had been redone(pro), new roof(done professionally). Rockers were great, and I just needed to do the front windshield channel and replace the lower quarters and I did the full quarter on the passenger side(trunk drops) and 1 outer wheel housing. I bought it for the fully redone frame and suspension already, new disc brakes on the front. back brakes all brand new also.

add it up. 120 trunk drops, quarter 300, skin 185, wheel housing 75. Welding supplies.. 100... window channel 60$...other misc metal 50... =830$. add another lower oem quarter for 150..

I have almost 1000$ just in my body repair(plus another 150$ for rust bullet) and it was in pretty good shape not including the 50 hours probably. and i have to finish by removing the skin bottom and putting an oem quarter on the bottom.

I saw yours and it scared the living beejezzes out of me all i saw was rust, your quarters weren't bad but I didnt realize they were all bondo I saw all the body mounts were gone and the front was in bad shape, rockers in trouble...

I think your car has sat on wet ground for a couple years. It hurts my back just to think about the labor.

I would step back... you need to decide to possibly cut your losses on the body. Cut what is usable and sell that, while looking for a shell? If all you have is a frame in the garage, work on it while hunting. Sell the scrap body parts that are unusable for scrap metal. If it takes you a year to find a good shell so be it...

If you need to sit down and do the math... You don't want to spend 3000-4000$ on a body that is a salvage car I don't think not to mention spend a year welding.

I am waiting to hear about that good shell for 700-800. I am always looking for a good deal but I can't store anymore so if this body is good I will buy it, you let me store it in your garage for free

If after a year you want to buy it off me, then I will sell it to you, if not I will come get it and buy your frame, front pro clip off you or if you want it, start giving me 50$ a month. It is a utah car btw

Or if you do truly give up... start selling the parts off. Don't give them away this time

[gto406]

Agree w/Mike. Take a step back. Think about next steps and weigh out pros/cons of one option (replacement body clip) vs abother option (trying to repair).

Remember, determine what your free time is worrh and rry to estimate each repair (separately). You may see that a new clip is (or is not) the way to go.

Keep smiling and don't give up!
BR/Brian.

[russosborne]

Thanks.

Yeah, I know. Just had to get it out of my system. I've got clinical depression, and stuff like this just hits me really hard. If I can get past the first day or so then I tend to get back to reality and can see the good I can still do.

I pretty much have everything to get the frame together. I just need to figure out what to do with that body, it needs to be out of the garage before I can work on the frame. I would just cut it up and save what I think is good, but then with my luck I would need something later on that I got rid of. Maybe take the sawzall to it and store everything that might possibly be fixable. Cowl/firewall, roof, the door jambs, part of the package tray. And anything else that looks useable. If there is anything else. I've destroyed cars before, but never cut one up.

When all is said and done, it is still just a Lemans. When I saw just how bad the quarters were I knew I couldn't justify fixing it.

Mike, I can definitely do something if you get that body. Or, I always wanted a go-kart, but we never had the money when I was a kid. I couldn't fit on a regular go-kart now as big as I am, so maybe I should take this and make an adult sized kart.

Russ

[russosborne]

Tried out the sandblaster on the frame this weekend. It will work, just going to have to take lots of breaks.

I was going to start cutting the body up, but by the time I cleaned up the garage enough to find the sawzall I was getting tired. Plus I need to buy some more blades for it.

didn't make it to the Pontiac swap meet in Columbus yesterday. Decided that it would cost too much just in gas to go and window shop.

Russ

[markjenks]

First off, I did my frame in about 4 hours with my 50lb harbor freight blaster and my 60gal compressor @ 120psi. Not has bad as it looks.

Go kinda quick and don't spend much time other than making it smooth looking. You can always go back and clean up areas.

As for cutting it up, get the Milwaukee Torch blades. The fire dept's use them for cut cars apart quickly if the need to. If you bend them, hammer them flat and keep cutting. They are completely awesome for quick demo work.

[russosborne]

Thanks. I'll look for them.

I'm using a 20 or 30 gal compressor, and I have a bad back. So the two kind of work out. :-) I want to get a couple of cheap engine stands to make a rotissorie for the frame, but not finding anything that falls into my idea of cheap right now. So it is just leaning up against the fence. Really don't want to do any real blasting there.


Russ

[markjenks]

Neighborhood kids are cheap. I used 9 bags of media at $7 a bag.

Originally Posted by russosborne

Thanks. I'll look for them.

I'm using a 20 or 30 gal compressor, and I have a bad back. So the two kind of work out. :-) I want to get a couple of cheap engine stands to make a rotissorie for the frame, but not finding anything that falls into my idea of cheap right now. So it is just leaning up against the fence. Really don't want to do any real blasting there.


Russ

[mikes2nd]

ack yeah that isnt a big blaster. can you put it up on a couple saw horses?

maybe sit down and blast? its going to take a while I know...

You might have to throw some oil in that compressor? I forget if I filled it up?

Originally Posted by russosborne

Thanks. I'll look for them.

I'm using a 20 or 30 gal compressor, and I have a bad back. So the two kind of work out. :-) I want to get a couple of cheap engine stands to make a rotissorie for the frame, but not finding anything that falls into my idea of cheap right now. So it is just leaning up against the fence. Really don't want to do any real blasting there.


Russ