Fell Into My Lap - Documented 1970 W-30
May 2nd, 2015, 06:58 AM
#1001
Final Details With The Painter (0 hours)
Made another trip to see the car and finalize the plan for getting it back. Gaps approved, striping locations for deck lid approved, and have decided to raise the RH side of the car's W stripe about 1/4" inch (correspondingly along with raising the W-30 emblem the same amount) to get the spacing of the top of stripe to numerals within the range of original paint cars. So, striping, windscreen and backglass reinstallation, and final paint and striping of the hood are all that is left. The plan is to get the car back as soon as we return from vacation on May 25th, and then have approx 6 weeks for reassembly. Will be pushing it, but everything is ready for installation and since so much of this car is the original parts to this car, there should be relatively few fiitment issues aside from the usual side glass installation blues.
It has taken forever, but it will be worth it. None of the pics I have taken shows how incredibly straight the panels are, the consistency in gaps (front fender to door gap varies about .010 along its' length) and how velvety smooth the paint feels.
Made another trip to see the car and finalize the plan for getting it back. Gaps approved, striping locations for deck lid approved, and have decided to raise the RH side of the car's W stripe about 1/4" inch (correspondingly along with raising the W-30 emblem the same amount) to get the spacing of the top of stripe to numerals within the range of original paint cars. So, striping, windscreen and backglass reinstallation, and final paint and striping of the hood are all that is left. The plan is to get the car back as soon as we return from vacation on May 25th, and then have approx 6 weeks for reassembly. Will be pushing it, but everything is ready for installation and since so much of this car is the original parts to this car, there should be relatively few fiitment issues aside from the usual side glass installation blues.
It has taken forever, but it will be worth it. None of the pics I have taken shows how incredibly straight the panels are, the consistency in gaps (front fender to door gap varies about .010 along its' length) and how velvety smooth the paint feels.
May 2nd, 2015, 09:44 AM
#1002
Also, a pic of the mocked up SS11 in the sunlight. The color and gloss level looks a lot closer to what I believe is correct in this lighting, and the guru of SS11 wheel color has bought off on it.
May 5th, 2015, 07:13 PM
#1004
20150505_202909.jpgNow, if I only had a car to go with them... (6 hours total - yesterday and today)
Got the tires and the rest of the wheels out of storage and got to work. The scotchbrite technique to get the right gloss on the wheel paint got a lot easier after I developed a pattern - the first wheel took well over an hour to get it all consistant, but by the last one it only took about 20 minutes per wheel. Then unwrapped the tires and had to spend at least 2 hours cleaning off all the blue protectant on the letters and some tape adhesive that was stubbornly sticking. Cleaned the wheels once again, and took the lot to the local Discount Tire for mounting and balancing. Thankfully, the sales guy who took care of me was a car guy, and immediately knew about valve stem hole to letter placement (he calls it "show mounting"), and went around the store till he got 5 correct length matching valve stems. Got them back all done for 60.00, and not a scratch on them. Got home, and got the bezels all in. This also took more time than expected since I had to check and adjust the tabs for the right bend so the bezels would stay tight against the wheel. Some were good from the get go but others required a bunch of work. Next moved onto mounting the center caps. I ordered 5 of them from the same place, but only one was threaded, and it was a metric size. The others weren't threaded at all, so I used some #14 X 3/4 sheet metal screw/bolts to attach them. Snugged them all up nice and tight and laid in the embossed center emblem. These came with the right diameter logo that is not sloppy in the cap "bowl" where they sit.
Lastly, used some Mother's polish on the excellent used OE trim rings I had bought from dmmfranco. It seems like they had a light layer of nicotine build up on them that came right off. I love that OE finish that the repros miss. Then the part I HATE the most - no matter what, you are going to scratch the hell out of your wheels getting the trim rings on. I beat the palm of my right hand to a pulp using it as a hammer to mount them on since I fear anything else will scratch or bend the outer face.
Got the tires and the rest of the wheels out of storage and got to work. The scotchbrite technique to get the right gloss on the wheel paint got a lot easier after I developed a pattern - the first wheel took well over an hour to get it all consistant, but by the last one it only took about 20 minutes per wheel. Then unwrapped the tires and had to spend at least 2 hours cleaning off all the blue protectant on the letters and some tape adhesive that was stubbornly sticking. Cleaned the wheels once again, and took the lot to the local Discount Tire for mounting and balancing. Thankfully, the sales guy who took care of me was a car guy, and immediately knew about valve stem hole to letter placement (he calls it "show mounting"), and went around the store till he got 5 correct length matching valve stems. Got them back all done for 60.00, and not a scratch on them. Got home, and got the bezels all in. This also took more time than expected since I had to check and adjust the tabs for the right bend so the bezels would stay tight against the wheel. Some were good from the get go but others required a bunch of work. Next moved onto mounting the center caps. I ordered 5 of them from the same place, but only one was threaded, and it was a metric size. The others weren't threaded at all, so I used some #14 X 3/4 sheet metal screw/bolts to attach them. Snugged them all up nice and tight and laid in the embossed center emblem. These came with the right diameter logo that is not sloppy in the cap "bowl" where they sit.
Lastly, used some Mother's polish on the excellent used OE trim rings I had bought from dmmfranco. It seems like they had a light layer of nicotine build up on them that came right off. I love that OE finish that the repros miss. Then the part I HATE the most - no matter what, you are going to scratch the hell out of your wheels getting the trim rings on. I beat the palm of my right hand to a pulp using it as a hammer to mount them on since I fear anything else will scratch or bend the outer face.
Last edited by costpenn; May 6th, 2015 at 06:41 AM.
May 6th, 2015, 03:46 PM
#1005
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 1,587
Man, those wheels look nice!
Now, if you really want to go overboard, you need to mark each tire and wheel so they look like they are factory-mounted. On my '70, the original spare tire is marked with a reddish-orange, radial paint daub which I am told designates the tire's low spot. And the original XT wheel is marked with a BB weld which I am told designates the wheel's high spot. The tire is mounted so the two marks align. The idea being that if the low-spot of the tire is aligned with the high-spot on the wheel, the whole thing will be as round as it can get. I don't know if the SSII wheels were treated the same way.
EDIT:
OK, I pulled my original spare tire last night to refresh my memory. The orange stripe is perhaps more of a burnt orange and is painted on the inboard side of the tire using a 1-1/2 to 2" wide brush, from bead almost to the tread. There's also a white dot, smaller than a dime, right at the same location near the bead. Based on what Dave H. has said in the past, I believe the white dot designates where a lead weight needs to be added. And indeed, there is a weight right there (which of course suggests that the orange stripe might also have something to do with balancing, not run-out).
The bad news is that I could not locate the BB weld anywhere on the wheel. I swear I saw it before. Maybe it broke off, or maybe my eyes are just getting too old. So I dug up two more XT wheels of the same date code from my basement and couldn't find a BB weld on them either. So then I spent an hour going through all my notes and correspondence trying to find mention of BB welds -- and found none. Grrrr. I'm certain I've seen this before, maybe in a factory service bulletin, maybe in correspondence with one of the Daves. Anyway, I'm going to stop posting this story of high-spot low-spot matching until I find evidence again. I don't want to spread rumors if I'm wrong.
Now, if you really want to go overboard, you need to mark each tire and wheel so they look like they are factory-mounted. On my '70, the original spare tire is marked with a reddish-orange, radial paint daub which I am told designates the tire's low spot. And the original XT wheel is marked with a BB weld which I am told designates the wheel's high spot. The tire is mounted so the two marks align. The idea being that if the low-spot of the tire is aligned with the high-spot on the wheel, the whole thing will be as round as it can get. I don't know if the SSII wheels were treated the same way.
EDIT:
OK, I pulled my original spare tire last night to refresh my memory. The orange stripe is perhaps more of a burnt orange and is painted on the inboard side of the tire using a 1-1/2 to 2" wide brush, from bead almost to the tread. There's also a white dot, smaller than a dime, right at the same location near the bead. Based on what Dave H. has said in the past, I believe the white dot designates where a lead weight needs to be added. And indeed, there is a weight right there (which of course suggests that the orange stripe might also have something to do with balancing, not run-out).
The bad news is that I could not locate the BB weld anywhere on the wheel. I swear I saw it before. Maybe it broke off, or maybe my eyes are just getting too old. So I dug up two more XT wheels of the same date code from my basement and couldn't find a BB weld on them either. So then I spent an hour going through all my notes and correspondence trying to find mention of BB welds -- and found none. Grrrr. I'm certain I've seen this before, maybe in a factory service bulletin, maybe in correspondence with one of the Daves. Anyway, I'm going to stop posting this story of high-spot low-spot matching until I find evidence again. I don't want to spread rumors if I'm wrong.
Last edited by BlackGold; May 7th, 2015 at 04:41 PM.
May 8th, 2015, 10:35 PM
#1006
Beginning work on loading the bumpers (3/4 hours)
Brought the bumpers home from storage. The front one is a triple chrome OE unit I bought on ebay and is really nice, and the rear is the original unit off my car I had replated here in Dallas. Front unit is a bolt on piece, but the rear, while the outside is excellent, the inside is rougher than I expected to be. Don't want to overdo it, but can't go back on the car as is so I started tonight by cleaning off some calcified tar off the lower edge surrounding the cut outs, and doing a clean up of surface corrosion in the pockets at the ends of the bumper.
Brought the bumpers home from storage. The front one is a triple chrome OE unit I bought on ebay and is really nice, and the rear is the original unit off my car I had replated here in Dallas. Front unit is a bolt on piece, but the rear, while the outside is excellent, the inside is rougher than I expected to be. Don't want to overdo it, but can't go back on the car as is so I started tonight by cleaning off some calcified tar off the lower edge surrounding the cut outs, and doing a clean up of surface corrosion in the pockets at the ends of the bumper.
Last edited by costpenn; May 8th, 2015 at 10:39 PM.
May 9th, 2015, 09:10 PM
#1007
Almost done with rear bumper (3 hours)
Thought about it overnight, and decided to mask off the bumper and shoot the high heat aluminum paint on the inside of the bumper. Began by lightly sanding the pitted areas down with 150, then cleaned again with carb cleaner. Then shot aerosol rust converter and two coats of the paint. Not thrilled about the color, but it looks a lot better than it was.
This stuff takes a while to dry and then installed the tail, reverse, and license plate lamps. Took care to route the wires per PIM, and used all the reconditioned original hardware. Tomorrow will install the lenses, bumpers and LP bracket, and get started on the front.
Thought about it overnight, and decided to mask off the bumper and shoot the high heat aluminum paint on the inside of the bumper. Began by lightly sanding the pitted areas down with 150, then cleaned again with carb cleaner. Then shot aerosol rust converter and two coats of the paint. Not thrilled about the color, but it looks a lot better than it was.
This stuff takes a while to dry and then installed the tail, reverse, and license plate lamps. Took care to route the wires per PIM, and used all the reconditioned original hardware. Tomorrow will install the lenses, bumpers and LP bracket, and get started on the front.
Last edited by costpenn; May 9th, 2015 at 09:19 PM.
May 10th, 2015, 01:45 PM
#1008
Rear Bumper Finished (1 1/2 hours)
Installed the lamps, lenses, gaskets, and reflectors. Also put on the original license plate bracket and rubber bumpers (carefully!) On the bumper fillers (see this thread over a year ago) I installed the detailled originals and think they look to me 95% of NOS, but have a set repops just in case they don't look OK when the bumper is installed.
For fun installed the 70 Illinois license plate. Lastly, somehow I forgot to get a license plate light lens. Hope it is available separate of the lamp.
Installed the lamps, lenses, gaskets, and reflectors. Also put on the original license plate bracket and rubber bumpers (carefully!) On the bumper fillers (see this thread over a year ago) I installed the detailled originals and think they look to me 95% of NOS, but have a set repops just in case they don't look OK when the bumper is installed.
For fun installed the 70 Illinois license plate. Lastly, somehow I forgot to get a license plate light lens. Hope it is available separate of the lamp.
Last edited by costpenn; May 11th, 2015 at 02:01 PM.
May 10th, 2015, 02:36 PM
#1009
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Brazil Indiana
Posts: 11,503
The lens is available alone. I have 15 to 20 of them but not one of them was clear enough. I had to get one also. Is that plate from that car? I have the Kentucky plate from my car and the registration to match. My plate is alot rougher than yours.
May 11th, 2015, 01:52 PM
#1010
Finished with the bumpers (?) (2 hours)
Today installed the turn signal lamps and license plate bracket on the front bumper. Of course, what was projected to be a 20 minute deal turned into two hours:
1) Realized I had no painted 1157A bulbs in inventory, so I tried painting some 1157NA's. No matter what I tried it did not look right due to not having the right shade of yellow and the underlying glass having the dark Amber tinting. So went to the store, bought some brass base 1157's and also got some Duplicolor School Bus yellow. Masked off the bases, painted them and they came out great - since that is almost exactly how the originals were done.
2) Next, had issues with the lamp mounting. After installing the lenses, the front edges protruded past the front plane the bumper with one side worse than the other. Had to remove the lenses and bend the mounting ledge back and forth till the lenses were in far enough to not protrude, but not so much the geometry of lens to lamp got off preventing the lens screws from starting due to misalignment. Finally found the sweet spot after many times of installing and removing the lenses.
3) Not sure if the repro plate bracket and mounting bolts are the correct color, so I have a call into my guru. Might have to wind up redoing these. Also not sure about the fasteners that hold the actual plate on.
Painter called today - all striping will be sprayed this week.
Today installed the turn signal lamps and license plate bracket on the front bumper. Of course, what was projected to be a 20 minute deal turned into two hours:
1) Realized I had no painted 1157A bulbs in inventory, so I tried painting some 1157NA's. No matter what I tried it did not look right due to not having the right shade of yellow and the underlying glass having the dark Amber tinting. So went to the store, bought some brass base 1157's and also got some Duplicolor School Bus yellow. Masked off the bases, painted them and they came out great - since that is almost exactly how the originals were done.
2) Next, had issues with the lamp mounting. After installing the lenses, the front edges protruded past the front plane the bumper with one side worse than the other. Had to remove the lenses and bend the mounting ledge back and forth till the lenses were in far enough to not protrude, but not so much the geometry of lens to lamp got off preventing the lens screws from starting due to misalignment. Finally found the sweet spot after many times of installing and removing the lenses.
3) Not sure if the repro plate bracket and mounting bolts are the correct color, so I have a call into my guru. Might have to wind up redoing these. Also not sure about the fasteners that hold the actual plate on.
Painter called today - all striping will be sprayed this week.
Last edited by costpenn; May 11th, 2015 at 04:01 PM.
May 11th, 2015, 08:36 PM
#1011
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 5
Hi Joe,
I just posted for the first time on this site in the wanted section. Hopefully I can find a quality 70 W30 in the near future. Your car is going to be stunning and I cannot wait to see it in person. This is such a cool thread with great information for future restorations. My hat is off to you for the level of detail!
Thanks,
Anthony
May 13th, 2015, 05:52 AM
#1012
Hi Joe,
I just posted for the first time on this site in the wanted section. Hopefully I can find a quality 70 W30 in the near future. Your car is going to be stunning and I cannot wait to see it in person. This is such a cool thread with great information for future restorations. My hat is off to you for the level of detail!
Thanks,
Anthony
May 14th, 2015, 09:49 PM
#1014
Gas Tank Loading - and off on vacay (1 1/2 hours)
Brought the Spectra tank home from storage and prepped it for installation within the next few weeks. Began by applying the two "Inspector" stamps ILT sells. I could not find any vestige of old stamps on the front side of it as it appears in the ILT illustration (my tank was very badly corroded on that surface) but something indecipherable was on the side of it so I put one stamp there and the other on the front. A trick I did to get the paint applied smoothly to the stamp was to pour some of the furnished Testors paint in the center top of a smooth aerosol lid and swish it outwards towards the edges. Then let it set a bit and put the stamp in it.
Next moved onto the big gas tank raw sheet metal stencil. My guru told me that despite everyone usually putting it in the center front bottom flat area (because it is flat!), the original inkstamp was on the flat raw sheet metal before the tank was formed, so it could be anywhere on the tank in any direction - or most likely not at all - so I picked on the smooth curve on the side of the tank. Maybe it is the second most used surface for this?
Move onto applying the neck sticker - one of the very few decals in the ILT detail kit that was the correct P/N. Next tried to reproduce the weird either "609" or "6o9" that was written on top of my original tank. Going to have to use a tracing or my wife for any of this in the future - I can't mimic anyone else's writing at all. Finally installed the repro gas tank sending unit and NOS cap. Don't like that the cap ears are not parallel to the ground when it is tightened - going to see what I can do about it because it really bothers my symmetrical OCD mania.
Aloha and Mahalo!!
Joe
Brought the Spectra tank home from storage and prepped it for installation within the next few weeks. Began by applying the two "Inspector" stamps ILT sells. I could not find any vestige of old stamps on the front side of it as it appears in the ILT illustration (my tank was very badly corroded on that surface) but something indecipherable was on the side of it so I put one stamp there and the other on the front. A trick I did to get the paint applied smoothly to the stamp was to pour some of the furnished Testors paint in the center top of a smooth aerosol lid and swish it outwards towards the edges. Then let it set a bit and put the stamp in it.
Next moved onto the big gas tank raw sheet metal stencil. My guru told me that despite everyone usually putting it in the center front bottom flat area (because it is flat!), the original inkstamp was on the flat raw sheet metal before the tank was formed, so it could be anywhere on the tank in any direction - or most likely not at all - so I picked on the smooth curve on the side of the tank. Maybe it is the second most used surface for this?
Move onto applying the neck sticker - one of the very few decals in the ILT detail kit that was the correct P/N. Next tried to reproduce the weird either "609" or "6o9" that was written on top of my original tank. Going to have to use a tracing or my wife for any of this in the future - I can't mimic anyone else's writing at all. Finally installed the repro gas tank sending unit and NOS cap. Don't like that the cap ears are not parallel to the ground when it is tightened - going to see what I can do about it because it really bothers my symmetrical OCD mania.
Aloha and Mahalo!!
Joe
Last edited by costpenn; May 14th, 2015 at 10:04 PM.
May 15th, 2015, 03:15 AM
#1015
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Brazil Indiana
Posts: 11,503
Looks great. I am glad to see that you put the metal stamping marking on the side. I see so many on the small flat portion and the likelihood of it hitting that spot when making the tanks is so unlikely... I didn't put one on my tank but thought about getting one and cutting it in half, I was going to use half on the very back to where the other part would have been cut off and used on the next tank.
The Spectra tanks don't have the end soldered on in the correct rotation. I unsoldered mine and resoldered it in the correct position.
The Spectra tanks don't have the end soldered on in the correct rotation. I unsoldered mine and resoldered it in the correct position.
May 15th, 2015, 04:55 AM
#1016
Shoveling Snow
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Yoder-Hey-Land
Posts: 2,476
These are pics from a 1970 442, this is the original tank.
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May 15th, 2015, 06:02 AM
#1017
May 20th, 2015, 07:42 PM
#1020
Side stripes being applied. Layed them on the outer surface despite the wishes of the painter. Still planning on picking it up Saturday. Will have approx 45 days for the reassemble.
May 21st, 2015, 01:35 PM
#1024
Thanks guys. Flying home tonite on a red eye getting in around 1PM. That afternoon will have to drive to the painter's to drop off the hood latch and trunk lip trim for him to finish everything up Friday night so as to pick it up on Saturday.
Believe it or not, my wife and I saw the crash of that V-22 Ospery outside of Bellows Air Base here on Oahu. We saw all three flying in formation, lost sight of them for a minute, and then saw only two flying erratically and then begin hovering over a huge dust cloud. We didn't know one had crashed - we thought it was just part of the exercise.
Believe it or not, my wife and I saw the crash of that V-22 Ospery outside of Bellows Air Base here on Oahu. We saw all three flying in formation, lost sight of them for a minute, and then saw only two flying erratically and then begin hovering over a huge dust cloud. We didn't know one had crashed - we thought it was just part of the exercise.
May 23rd, 2015, 11:26 PM
#1027
Car is finally home!
After 1 year, 4 months and 12 days, the car is back but we're in the middle of a monsoon here so it will stay inside the trailer tonight. Panels are all lining up nicely, but of course the first thing I'll do after getting it in the garage is pull the hood back off (after marking its' position every way possible) to make the firewall mounted items easier to install. To me, the Astro Blue color really comes alive when you start adding the bright work to it. Pics below are of loading it in the trailer and Brian and his father - the duo who made it happen.
After 1 year, 4 months and 12 days, the car is back but we're in the middle of a monsoon here so it will stay inside the trailer tonight. Panels are all lining up nicely, but of course the first thing I'll do after getting it in the garage is pull the hood back off (after marking its' position every way possible) to make the firewall mounted items easier to install. To me, the Astro Blue color really comes alive when you start adding the bright work to it. Pics below are of loading it in the trailer and Brian and his father - the duo who made it happen.
Last edited by costpenn; May 23rd, 2015 at 11:32 PM.
May 24th, 2015, 06:45 AM
#1028
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: DELCAMBRE, LOUISIANA
Posts: 530
major hills
looks great joe I would say u are at a point that all the major thing are done and the joys and rewards of your fruits of labor are coming together. U are in the stages we all thrive to be at, were when ever u install a component u can look at it and enjoy seeing all of it come together. looks beautiful and I am sure the pictures don't do justice to the how nice it really looks. hope u can make the nationals.
May 24th, 2015, 09:03 PM
#1031
Sheri finally relented and let me have one. It was a godsend yesterday getting it home with all the rain we've been having. I'll be styling when I get a generator for it to run all the lights it has.
May 24th, 2015, 09:12 PM
#1032
Back to it (9 1/2 hours)
Got the car in the garage and the first thing Chris and I did was pull the hood off. Going to have to come up with a way of pulling a wayward piece of sandpaper out of the hood that is trapped between the screen and the under frame. Shaking it did no good.
First work was installing the correct fender cove to core support bolts, installing the missing forward ones the body shop did not install, and installing the "tuning fork" shim instead of the zinc plated body shims they used. Next moved onto cutting out all the undercar cocooning I had done. Even with this, primer dust still finds a way into everywhere, but it is manageable.
More in a minute - have to watch some Shark Tank with my family.
OK back. Anyway, next was cleaning off as much if the primer dust from everywhere I could possibly reach since it is just going to get harder as I add more things. The cowling black and core support finishes look great after cleaning. Tomorrow will get my wife to apply the W-30 squiggle marks to the fender insides.
Next mounted the gas tank. Installed Patton's pad, the surge vent deal with the original Swan hoses, new Spectra straps (needed to use the longer all thread bolts to "stretch" the straps so the correct bolts will work), the gas tank neck clamp and bracket, and connector hoses. God I HATE those stupid pinch clamps. Also screwed in the sender ground wire after grinding the connector contact surface free of paint.
Installed the rear quarter drain plugs. (tip - it is a lot easier to install these if the exhaust is not already in)
Moved to cleaning up the interior. Vacuumed up all the loose dust, especially in the dash area, and then onto what I was worried about most - the original headliner's condition. I did not remove it when I took it to the painter's because I knew it would not survive removal and reinstallation. Thankfully after vacuuming and brushing and a very light cleaning with pure water, looks like it will be OK - no tears or stains on it or the "muff" boards.
Sorry if this one was a little long - just happy to be working on it. Tomorrow is rear side glasses, and door/roof rail weatherstripping.
Got the car in the garage and the first thing Chris and I did was pull the hood off. Going to have to come up with a way of pulling a wayward piece of sandpaper out of the hood that is trapped between the screen and the under frame. Shaking it did no good.
First work was installing the correct fender cove to core support bolts, installing the missing forward ones the body shop did not install, and installing the "tuning fork" shim instead of the zinc plated body shims they used. Next moved onto cutting out all the undercar cocooning I had done. Even with this, primer dust still finds a way into everywhere, but it is manageable.
More in a minute - have to watch some Shark Tank with my family.
OK back. Anyway, next was cleaning off as much if the primer dust from everywhere I could possibly reach since it is just going to get harder as I add more things. The cowling black and core support finishes look great after cleaning. Tomorrow will get my wife to apply the W-30 squiggle marks to the fender insides.
Next mounted the gas tank. Installed Patton's pad, the surge vent deal with the original Swan hoses, new Spectra straps (needed to use the longer all thread bolts to "stretch" the straps so the correct bolts will work), the gas tank neck clamp and bracket, and connector hoses. God I HATE those stupid pinch clamps. Also screwed in the sender ground wire after grinding the connector contact surface free of paint.
Installed the rear quarter drain plugs. (tip - it is a lot easier to install these if the exhaust is not already in)
Moved to cleaning up the interior. Vacuumed up all the loose dust, especially in the dash area, and then onto what I was worried about most - the original headliner's condition. I did not remove it when I took it to the painter's because I knew it would not survive removal and reinstallation. Thankfully after vacuuming and brushing and a very light cleaning with pure water, looks like it will be OK - no tears or stains on it or the "muff" boards.
Sorry if this one was a little long - just happy to be working on it. Tomorrow is rear side glasses, and door/roof rail weatherstripping.
Last edited by costpenn; May 25th, 2015 at 06:45 AM.
May 25th, 2015, 09:25 PM
#1034
Another of many marathon days to come (9 hours)
Began by installing the side and rear headliner windlaces. The rear piece never fit well in the right rear corner - turns out it has been too long by about 1/2 inch since it was built. Cut it off and lays in a little better. Installed the roof rail weatherstrip channels with that thin wide tape from AMK. The connecting bend corners survived intact with the little plastic triangle pieces still attached. Installed the door weatherstrips using black 3M weatherstrip adhesives around the ends. Installed NOS trunk numerals and lock, door handles and locks ( rechromed the originals - they look stunning), all window regulators and tracks. Installed the quarter window chrome channel on the grass with the weatherstrips. Plenty of trimming here to get it to fit right.
Downer is somehow I forgot to order the outer window fuzzies. Want to get those in before installing the side glass.
The pics taken on my cell phone and the IPad seem to be getting worse - totally washed out from the flourescent lights. Tomorrow I'm going to try taking pics with a different light or in sunlight. Like Ray said, these photos do not accurately portray how nice everything is already looking.
Began by installing the side and rear headliner windlaces. The rear piece never fit well in the right rear corner - turns out it has been too long by about 1/2 inch since it was built. Cut it off and lays in a little better. Installed the roof rail weatherstrip channels with that thin wide tape from AMK. The connecting bend corners survived intact with the little plastic triangle pieces still attached. Installed the door weatherstrips using black 3M weatherstrip adhesives around the ends. Installed NOS trunk numerals and lock, door handles and locks ( rechromed the originals - they look stunning), all window regulators and tracks. Installed the quarter window chrome channel on the grass with the weatherstrips. Plenty of trimming here to get it to fit right.
Downer is somehow I forgot to order the outer window fuzzies. Want to get those in before installing the side glass.
The pics taken on my cell phone and the IPad seem to be getting worse - totally washed out from the flourescent lights. Tomorrow I'm going to try taking pics with a different light or in sunlight. Like Ray said, these photos do not accurately portray how nice everything is already looking.
Last edited by costpenn; May 25th, 2015 at 09:32 PM.
May 26th, 2015, 08:57 PM
#1035
Grinding away (3 1/2 hours)
Started by installing the trunk and roof rail weatherstrips. Did the detail markings on the upper weatherstrip and offset the parting line.
Installed the RH quarter window leaving the stops out until the outer window fuzzies are involved. The way that finally worked for me was to put the loose guide track in the pocket, slide the window partially in, then slide the window into the guide, attach the two top guide to body bolts LEAVING THE BOTTOM BOLT out, install the regulator arm into the track, and THEN attach the bottom guide bolt. Will do the otherside tomorrow.
Installed shoulder belts to the roof along with hooks and the coat hooks, rear view mirror and sun visors. Sounds like these parts are going in out of order, but I wanted to make sure no tears or holes resulted doing these installations that would have required a new headliner. No issues, and a major worry lifted.
Maybe some pics tomorrow if the &!?# sun would come out. Everything is totally soaked down here.
Started by installing the trunk and roof rail weatherstrips. Did the detail markings on the upper weatherstrip and offset the parting line.
Installed the RH quarter window leaving the stops out until the outer window fuzzies are involved. The way that finally worked for me was to put the loose guide track in the pocket, slide the window partially in, then slide the window into the guide, attach the two top guide to body bolts LEAVING THE BOTTOM BOLT out, install the regulator arm into the track, and THEN attach the bottom guide bolt. Will do the otherside tomorrow.
Installed shoulder belts to the roof along with hooks and the coat hooks, rear view mirror and sun visors. Sounds like these parts are going in out of order, but I wanted to make sure no tears or holes resulted doing these installations that would have required a new headliner. No issues, and a major worry lifted.
Maybe some pics tomorrow if the &!?# sun would come out. Everything is totally soaked down here.
May 27th, 2015, 09:30 PM
#1037
May 27th, 2015, 09:45 PM
#1038
Fun stuff - it's all good after the quarter windows (4 hours)
I must be doing something wrong. I did the same steps for the LH quarter window I did for the right, but no go getting it in the guide track. Wound up taking the top angle bracket off, and finally got it in, but needed some one else holding the glass while I got all the bolts started. Ugh...
Moved onto other things. Next cleaned the inside of the backglass throughly - steel wooled it, and wiped down one more time. It requires moving body parts in angles not achieved since I had the fold down seat in my old Mustang - heh, heh. Backglass now matches the quality of the side glasses - excellent with no visible scratches or chips anywhere.
Next was caulking in the 7 floor pan body plugs. I installed them using the beige 3M fast caulk stuff, and oriented the plugs with the dome facing up. Someone told me to make 'em messy looking.....
Finally loaded the condenser with the dryer, and installed on the car.
Got some pics of the car outside in cloudy weather, but still better than indoors.
I must be doing something wrong. I did the same steps for the LH quarter window I did for the right, but no go getting it in the guide track. Wound up taking the top angle bracket off, and finally got it in, but needed some one else holding the glass while I got all the bolts started. Ugh...
Moved onto other things. Next cleaned the inside of the backglass throughly - steel wooled it, and wiped down one more time. It requires moving body parts in angles not achieved since I had the fold down seat in my old Mustang - heh, heh. Backglass now matches the quality of the side glasses - excellent with no visible scratches or chips anywhere.
Next was caulking in the 7 floor pan body plugs. I installed them using the beige 3M fast caulk stuff, and oriented the plugs with the dome facing up. Someone told me to make 'em messy looking.....
Finally loaded the condenser with the dryer, and installed on the car.
Got some pics of the car outside in cloudy weather, but still better than indoors.
Last edited by costpenn; May 27th, 2015 at 09:53 PM.
