Yay! Finally had a day dedicated to the F-85!!!!
Test fit the engine and trans with the gear vendors OD. Not quite done yet....
-need to fit the ARH headers
-need to fit the crossmember in to get the correct engine angle

But still...progress!
-peter

 

Good progress!

 

Yes your getting things done, I like the way your project is coming along. Brings back a lot of recent memories!

 

Those headers are awesome! Let us know how they fit, I’m considering them but they are pricey.

 

Its sibling was for sale in St. Lewis, MI a couple years ago.

 

Rocketguy...Damn! That's awesome. Any idea where it went?

 

New direction...
Scored a '65 400. B block and A heads with a "V"
Having the chance to put in a period correct 442 engine is way better than the 70 455.
I'm excited about this one!
-peter

 

Nice score!

 

Sweet!!

 

great score

 

Well, I finally started...like really started.
I got tired of waiting for a bigger garage and decided to just do it.

I have ALWAYS wanted to do a frame off- and getting this one in the air was a real thrill.
8 of the 10 cage nuts held firm. The 2 behind the rear wheels needed the bolts cut. Not too bad.
Now the real fun begins!!!
-peter

 

Nice looks like your well on your rt way!

 

No garage is big enough we just keep filling them.

looks good twoncage nuts aren’t bad

 

Well I started removing the undercoating...looks like someone paid extra for a few layers of this stuff...
But it did it's job. Only found one rusted spot.
I was using some pneumatic tools that left some scratches in the metal. May go back to a torch and a scraper...
unless anyone has any other techniques.
-peter

 

I read some where that goo be gone in the spray bottle works well to break it down. I haven’t personally tried it

 

Heat and a scraper is best method I've found. It works great.
Removing it is time consuming, and replacing it is even more difficult if you want it to look original.

 

Scored a very nice ‘65 convertible frame that was mint. Cleaned and powder coated.
Always wanted to box my frame to add rigidity. This will put me months ahead.
Also scored the reverse deletes I’ve been searching for!

-peter

 

And the DE-undercoating begins!
The tried-and-true torch and scraper method.
Although the final cleanup is heating with a torch and shooting it while hot with goo-gone method was something I just picked up.
1/20th of the car is done.


-peter

I can’t tell you how nice the hose for the torch has been for saving my arms!

 

I remember reading about the goo gone, so did it soften it enough to help scrap and then heat and and clean off ?
that looks pretty dang good and how much estimated time did that area take ?

 

No Justin… the bulk of the undercoating comes off with just the torch and the putty knife.
THEN you hit it again with the torch and spray the Goo Gone on while hot…and the rest of the residue wipes off with a rag.
-peter

 

Looks good!!

 

Good progress. Wish I still had your ambition. Lol!

 

i used a needle scaler to remove the undercoating from my 69. I preferred that to the torch and scraper method.

 

Took a little break from scraping undercoating to work on...brakes!
Getting these ready as my rear should be back from powder coating and off for a rebuild soon!
Not too shabby!

I can't tell you the value of having a parts car. The parking brake levers were gone and ordering them would have slowed me down today.

Old:

 

looking very nice !

 

reading this thread has my ambition flowing again. nice work you are performing there. i used a wire wheel on a die grinder to get the original undercoating off when i did my last resto(damn near 20 years ago), then used solvent to get the residue. the heat and scraper idea seems like that might have been a little easier than the route i took. i look forward to seeing your finished product. i am on the hunt to find me one to restore.

 

Just found this thread, Love it! I guess your parts car is that 65 that is creamed in the rear? That is tough to look at!

 

Yeah. It took a hard hit in a trailer accident. Thats a 64. The other parts car is a 65 4 door.
-peter

 

Just some progress.
Floors are done from firewall to trunk.
Also got in some powder coated parts. They're arent as shiny as they look here.
-peter

 

Looking good!

 

Wow! Very impressive. Can’t wait to see the finished product. I will be following.

 

Great job on the underside ! That is a miserable job to do! I looked like a coal miner for weeks when I did mine! I used a grinder and rope wire wheels , scrapers, flap wheels anything to get all the nooks and crannies lol yours looks like you had it blasted great job!

looking forward to following along

 

My gosh those floorboards are so clean.

This is going to be a nice car.

 

Thanks guys! I'm pretty psyched.

I have to say Eddie, I kinda liked it. In the morning I was miserable, but by 10-11 I was just lost in my own world...just thinking...or not thinking.
I used a torch and scraper with citrus clean, a needle scaler, an angle die grinder and wire wheels on a drill.
Different areas liked different methods...depended on thickness of undercoating.

-peter

 

Control arms reassembled.
I really like the look of the powder coated crossbars.

 

X2 I like powder coating various parts. I had the frame powder coated on my 64 F-85 "post car" build up years ago. Great job your doing, as Tom Silva says on This Old House, "money is in the details"

 

what bushing did you go with or did you use the ones from the big score you got

 

Haha...no. I used energy suspension bushings.
The ones from the score were incomplete.
But all the other rebuild components will be from there.

 

Nice!

what rear arms are you planning to use ?

 

This is the only hole that I really had to deal with on the floor.
First time welding on the car!





Close enough for county work!