About Us

Fatty's Garage · 02-28-2011, 10:48 PM

Hey Guys,

New to the forum, been looking for a good one for a while and I think this one is as good as any. In 2004 right before I started college I bought a 1969 GTO that had been sitting in a man's yard for about 10 years. It had quite a bit of rust in it as I have come to find out. I was young, and didn't know any better. I've learned a lot since that time and would like to share what I've done since I bought the car, and all the stuff I have left to do (It's quite a lot, I'm still in grad school so progress has been slow, but I should be done with school this summer). For starters I'll post up some pictures of the car, and as I get time I'll post up pictures of the progress I've made. The first three are of the car when I picked it up in Southern Maryland.

That's all for now, maybe I'll post up some more tomorrow. Sorry for the poor quality, I took most of the pictures before I got a digital camera.

1978 T/A · 02-28-2011, 10:52 PM

Welcome! Looking foward to seeing pictures of the progress you've made.

PaulatFast · 03-01-2011, 04:15 AM

I love the "what-the-hell" look on that girls face in the background! We've all seen that look a time or two...

Fatty's Garage · 03-01-2011, 08:41 AM

Haha.. That girl is now my wife. She still has the same look on her face. She's a good sport though, puts up with alot of my crap..

Fatty's Garage · 03-01-2011, 10:07 AM

I'm a retard. Just realized I posted the same picture twice above. Here is the one I meant to put up.

Fatty's Garage · 03-01-2011, 06:43 PM

So here goes, more pictures for the day. I don't want to post them all at once, I'll run out quick! Once I got the car home I left for school pretty much the next day. I came home for fall break and pulled the interior and cleaned all the crap out of the trunk. It was pretty interesting. You find a lot of stuff in an old car left over from previous owners. I found a crusty Playboy and a crack pipe. Pictures are below.

As you can see, I really need new trunk floor pans. A few spots on the "cabin" floor pans need some patches, but nothing nearly as bad as the trunk. This is where I learned that the rear window was a prime spot for leaks if the window wasn't installed properly (poor seal). That has caused a lot of repairs that people will never see when the car is done. More on that later. That's all for now.

1969 Ram Air · 03-01-2011, 06:57 PM

It looks like a good project. Post some more pictures as you make progress.

PaulatFast · 03-02-2011, 03:43 AM

I'm disappointed... was hoping for pictures of the crusty Playboy and the crack pipe!

gregsgtos2 · 03-02-2011, 09:03 AM

Paul- look at the last pic-there is your Playboy and crack pipe.

PaulatFast · 03-02-2011, 10:28 AM

My eyes are really getting bad!

Mark Simiele · 03-02-2011, 10:34 AM

The Playboy and crack pipe were special order options! Good luck with your project and post more when you can.

68lemansman · 03-02-2011, 11:12 AM

crack and a playboy. Somebody had their own little party in a gto!

Simple Man · 03-03-2011, 07:40 PM

I've seen a lot worse than that one brought back to life. Good luck!

Hammertime Mike · 03-03-2011, 08:20 PM

Looks like you got yourself a good project. Also saw the look of disbelief on your future wife's face. That is priceless, most of us can relate. Getting that 69 done and your wife in the seat with a big grin on her face will be equally priceless. Welcome to the forum.

Greg Reid · 03-03-2011, 08:21 PM

That car actually looks pretty good. If it weren't for that beat up valence panel, a good scrubbing, some nice tires and refinish the wheels and it would just about be driver quality. Interior looks pretty nice. Both bumpers look pretty good and most importantly, it looks like just about everything is there.
Is it Mayfair Maize, White or Beige?

Fatty's Garage · 03-04-2011, 04:49 PM

Thanks for all the support guys. I've still got a long way to go, and every bit helps! I thought I would post up some more pictures. After I pulled out the interior, I decided I needed to pull the engine. The previous owner had replaced the 400 with what I was told was a 350 when he spun a bearing on the crank. I did get the original 400 when I bought the car, so as of right now the plan is to put the original back in.

Keep in mind that this is the first car I've ever restored, so there was quite a learning curve. My dad is a machinist (tool and die maker really), so I've got quite a bit of mechanical knowledge from him, but he never really did automotive work other than routine maintenance. In hindsight I probably would have kept the car together to do all the body work, but from what I was reading and being told at the time I pulled the motor and pulled the body to redo the frame. At least I learned the importance of bagging and tagging from my uncle. Otherwise the car will probably never make it back together.

Anyways, I pulled the hood. Its got quite a kink from some improper closing techniques, pulled the fenders, inner fenders, core support and bumper; then proceeded to pull the engine.

Quote:

it looks like just about everything is there.

Other than the engine it was. There really were no useful pictures to take of how things were in the engine compartment. Whoever swapped the engines made use of household plumbing supplies and Romex to get the engine up and running. Pictures of the yanked engine are below.

Quote:

Is it Mayfair Maize, White or Beige?

It was Mayfair Maize, it has been repainted at least twice from from what I can tell so far. I'm not sure what color it is going to end up, still a ways away away from that decision.

Greg Reid · 03-04-2011, 10:08 PM

Some don't like it but Mayfair is one of my favorite colors...as long as it has a black interior. Not often seen either.

merlin5353 · 03-06-2011, 09:57 AM

Lookin forward to this thread. Nice start, Fatty.

1-GTO · 03-06-2011, 05:02 PM

Looks like You got Your work cut out for You...its great to see another '69 GTO being Restored and saved tho!

Fatty's Garage · 03-06-2011, 08:13 PM

So here are some more pictures.. After my freshman year of college was over I was ready to get the project going. I thought I could have this thing done in no time! Man was I ever wrong. Anyways, once I got back from school I decided I was going to get the body off the frame so I could restore the frame. My plan was to sandblast, paint, and redo the suspension. I also wanted to rebuild the brakes and the rear end. To get the body off the frame I used two sets of 2x4's sistered together and a floor jack. I progressively lifted back to front and supported each side of the two by fours with cinder blocks. In hind sight it worked but was pretty dumb and unstable. Sorry I don't have any pictures of that operation. I did it by myself and was trying to get the body off quickly.

Once I got the body off, I got a chance to take a good look at the frame. There was a lot of surface rust, but certainly nothing too cancerous. The front half was actually pretty good. I think leaky transmissions and oil pans kept the rust at bay. I've posted some pictures below. The first one was right before I did the lift off. The rest are after the fact. Like I said in my last post. I probably would have done this after I did the body work, but at the time I knew more about chassis and suspension, so I thought that was the best way to go. I am currently fighting the body work issues.

I'll post some pictures of the frame restoration later this week!

Menu

About Us