Continued wire wheeling, sanding and cleaning the bottom of the floorpan....not fun on your back! Times like these that I wish I had a rotisserie... ...anyway, while taking a break from that, I had to make up new wire harness straps for the rear tailgate harness as most were rotted or gone! These are welded to the bottom of the floor near the rear bumper. They are basic 1/2"x3" strips of metal coated in rubber. I used tool handle "dip" to duplicate....came out very surprisingly nice!

 

Very creative and nifty looking. You going to finish dipping the other side when they're dry? Where did you get the idea for that Erik? I LIKE IT!!

 

Allan, the side where the hole is doesn't get dipped. I punched a hole there for the spot welds...i primed them first with galvanizing compound....prevents rust. Honestly, I was looking at a pair of pliers, and said to my brother,"how the heck do they make the grips?".....then my bro says too me, "I think I saw something at Home Cheapo that you dip your tools in......" Sho nuff, the idea was born! It also comes in different colors, would also work on the e-brake S hooks, just need to get it in green!

 

Thx Erik. I'll have to check out the local HD and see what they have here. If they have green I'll let you know. Yeah, for some of the brake lines/fuel lines I think that would be perfect to protect the lines and the clips. I won't be too worried if it doesn't look stock if it's going to stand the test of time.

I've seen that galvanizing compound but didn't really think about using it like you are. Great tip! That's something that a lot of guys wanting to preserve the natural metal look could use on their bolts/nuts/straps etc.

 

It's been a couple of weeks, so I decided it was time to update....after breaking my a$$ for 14 hrs yesterday on my back, I know if I ever do something to this extent again, and I am sure I will, I will need a rotisserie!
We finished cleaning, masked, epoxied, seam sealed and "linered" the belly of this beast yesterday. By going "wet on wet", I saved about 2 extra days of work on this....chemical adhesion is always a stronger bond than mechanical! Therefore, we eliminated the need to sand between epoxy and bed liner/sound deadner....

We got the car as high as we could, and trusted the roof would hold while I spent a good part of the day underneath...

 

I ended up using PPG DP Black....I will admit, it is an awesome product, so, I wasn't predjudiced! Spies Hecker Epoxy 4500 is what I would normally use here, but it is gray....therefore, I give the nod to the competition...


We sanded the majority of the factory black paint of where it was compromised. Where it was still in good shape, we sanded it to give it a good "tooth"(mechanical adhesion) We were amazed at the fact that the factory paint was just "slopped on" resulting in runs and sags just about everywhere! I'm guessing, that it was applied "upsidedown" while it moved through the assy line? We left a good amount of them there for authenticity's sake!


I used Lord Fusor Urethane Seam Sealer to handle that aspect of the job. Best part is, it can be topcoated rather quickly(chemical adhesion)....also, being it is black, any slight shrinkage wont show!

 

We decided to spray "Rock-It" (funny on an Oldsmobile, and quite coincidental I might add..) truck bed liner/sound deadner on the bottom of the old girl! We allowed proper flash of epoxy and seam sealer before spraying this product on. The results were quite nice, and will also be bullet proof over the flashed epoxy(chemical adhesion).......this product is a catylized spray which when bought as a kit, comes with its own spray gun. It's made by SEM!

 

The Rock-It Liner will dry down to a satin sheen that is very easy to wash, wipe and keep clean!



Now that we are finally finished with the underside, we will start restoring the gas tank in preparation to install it into the body before dropping it back on the chassis. Once that is done, finishing the chassis will be the priority. We need to detail the driveshaft, paint and install the engine, rebuild and detail the trans and finish the exhaust!

 

Wow , thats awesome.

 

Looks nice Erik. I hope your insurance is all paid up. Hanging the car from an overhead truss still scares the crap out of me.

I like this picture; it looks like it's all set to be put under the Christmas Tree. Gee, I wonder what it could be? Try to shake it and see if it rattles inside....

 

Looks great. My body man ask if i wanted the bed liner under my W-30. I like the idea but don't think i want to go that way on my W-30.

 

Yeah Eric, if this was a W-30, I wouldn't have done it either!

 

Allan, my wife would be very happywith the insurance payout! She pushed me to get under there...and it was snowing out too! Hopefully, the roof can handle the extra weight....

 

Thanks Henry!

 

Great job-as usual-going to be a incredible car!!!

 

Nice work Erik, That should hold up good and easy to take care of. Rough enough but not to rough. Steve

 

Thanks Greg and Steve....

 

Erik
I just took the time to read through all 15 pages. Truly impressive.. I can't wait to drive the 69 out to your shop and see the Vista in the Spring.

 

Your welcome anytime Matt!

 

Looking good Erik

 

Where have you been Eric? Good to see you back!

 

Thanks for all the time u send posting the work on your car. Your work is is insperational to all whom are interested in cars of any make, your dedication to this resteration is motivating

 

Thank you NDERISE....I wouldn't post without the positive comments or even the constructive criticism .....it's what keeps us all passionate about the hobby!

 

Well, started off great! Figured I would get the bodywork done on the gas tank, finish cleaning it and them prime it!

 

As you can see, was looking pretty good! This tank was rough...had a hundred dents in it, some pretty big! Also had a few patches where it was previously soldered or brazed. It had also been sealed on the inside at one point. Being we looked high and far for a new or good used tank, and couldn't find one, we had to live with it! Plan was to just fix the dents on the bottom half of the tank....top is not visible.....



Do you see what I see?

 

Just final cleaning for primer and what do we see? A couple of pinholes in the pinchweld/flange.......weeping! I picked them open and as you can see...we have leakage! Now will see about getting it patched again...and sealed again, hopefully!

You can see the pan filling up underneath.......at this point, the MAW hat comes out, and we will send the "sender" out for rebuild also.....

 

"at this point, the MAW hat comes out"
LMAO !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Bummer, Erik I sent you another pm, maybe this guy has a tank for you.

 

I have a tank i will give you if you pay shipping. Last i looked at it (2 years ago) it was completely rust free inside. The problem is, when i cut the quarters out of the car i poked a good hole in the side of it. I was not paying attention. As far as you are with your tank it is almost done so not sure it would be worth fixing mine.

 

Ent72olds, Very impressive work. You have inspired and given me lots of ideas and tips to Restore my 70 cutlass 4dr. Keep up the great work!! i will continue to follow this thread!

_Luke_

 

Thanks Luke! Post pics of your ride and start a build thread when work begins! We love 4 drs here too.....

 

Eric, PM sent!

 

Thanks Greg, I sent John a PM....

 

The kids and work have been cutting into my computer time.

 

If i may make a suggestion on you fuel tank, i restored a 56 chevy back in 83 and i had a leaking tank so i cut and access hole on the to inspect and repair the hole from the inside, also had the radiator shop vat it for me to remove any rust and clean it up

 

Thanks. I am probably going to bring it to the rad shop this week for them to take a look. In the meantime, I took out the sending unit, and it's on it's way to being rebuilt. Hopefully, they can fix it. I may also need to check out a gas tank resto place, I believe it's called Renew?

 

Tank Renu did our gas tank. $200 to clean up and seal. Took two days. Lifetime national warranty. We're pleased. I don't know how many locations they have. I was fortunate there is one not far from me.

 

Excellent, thanks...I'll check it out!

 

Erik.....WOW! Looks awesome!

Ted

 

Thanks Ted! Looking forward to your '68 build!