bigin1978

I pm'd you with my email. we can discuss how I did mine in detail that way.

bigin1978

Forward progress today. I started to put the front end back together. I also removed the exhaust and cleaned and painted some of the hardware.
















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bigin1978

Installed AC relays, voltage regulator, vacuum pod, horn relay, power booster and master cylinder on the firewall. started to reinstall rotors and calipers on the front.
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I also got the correct alternator fan and pulley today.


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costpenn

Looking great - the attention to detail is awesome.

bigin1978

Thank you! If it wasn't for you guys and all the great input and support I wouldn't be this far along. The information I have gotten has been great!

bigin1978

Front end going back together! I couldn't justify the cost of the spiral shocks, but I did spring for some spray bomb shock paint. Installed the front shocks tonight. Both front rotors/calipers are back on. front brake lines from valve to wheels and hoses installed. Sway bar installed. I had my oldest giving me a hand too.
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bigin1978

Tonight I had a few hours to work on the car. the front is done. steering installed. I finished a few detail things like painting the POA bracket and a few other little things. Next is under car clean up. the kids are done with basketball season and I have six weeks before soccer starts so the next few Saturdays will be a big push to get the engine in and the front end reassembled. the core support and trans crossmember will be dropped off and media blasted this week. here are the last of the front suspension pics. I am happy with how it turned out.


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bigin1978

Today I decided to get back after the floor issues. I patched two areas around the passenger side rear bench seat mount and seatbelt attach bolt areas. I have the same area on the driver side. I also have the passenger toe kick area that needs some attention. that will have to be next week! I am starting to get burned out. Hopefully once the engine is back in I will get motivated to make the final push!

bigin1978

Today I got the floor pan finished! I plan on undercoating it one night this week. I was going to mess around and try and paint the underside, but with the patches I would have way to much work to make it worth painting, plus having to remove all the old Ziebart undercoating is a nightmare. I have about eight hours so far in cleaning the front inner fender wells. for some reason they were undercoated inside and out! I still have more work to get them finished. I did manage to drop off the core support and trans cross member at the media blast place Friday. hopefully he will have it done in a few days! I am planning on reinstalling the engine next Saturday.
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bigin1978

Picked up the parts from the blaster. $63 to have it done. Very worth it.
got the stuff home and got some 2K urethane primer laid down. gotta sand a bit and then find some time to lay down the black. Still have the goal of getting the engine back in this Saturday!


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bigin1978

The trans cross member is painted. I spent about an hour making sure the fan belts are all aligned properly. I wish I could have found the correct v-belts. nobody makes them. All the reproductions I found are for a 455 none for a 350! all I could find were these cog belts. exhaust manifolds are on. Tomorrow the engine goes back in. I am excited!!!!


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bigin1978

Yesterday morning I had a few hours to install the engine and trans back between the frame rails!I just got it bolted in and got a phoine call. Unfortunately my wife had an accident at the YMCA and she was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She was playing racket ball, fell and hit her head bad. She has a severe concussion. With temporary memory loss. We spent the night on the neurological floor with constant observation. they did release her to home this morning. Her memory is starting to come back. The doc said it should all come back with the exception of yesterday and that might not. The car is on hold for a couple days now till she gets right.


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JpMotorsports

I did the same thing with my shocks. Great ride at half the price basically

bigin1978

lots of progress this weekend. Friday night I spent almost 3 hours sanding the core support to get it ready to paint! total time was 5 hours for sanding ,paint, and clear. this morning installed the core support and got all the wiring hooked up. starter back in. just need to hook up the front exhaust pipes and then try and start her up! the core support looks a bit shinny in the pics and it is. the satin clear I used will flatten out in a week or so. I used the same stuff on the firewall and frame. its just crazy how many small details go into a restoration. the fact that they built so many cars in a year is amazing. it is so time consuming. I wish I had kept track of the time like costpenn does. I must have 200 hours in it so far. its been almost 18 months since the wreck .


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bigin1978

Today I spent about 5 hours in the garage. The front inner fenders are all cleaned, finally. I counted 21 cans of gunk gel heavy duty degreaser. it was the only thing that would melt the ziebart undercoating without any scrubbing. they turned out ok. they will have to do. they have some scratches from age , but at least they are clean. I cleaned up the radiator and condenser, painted and installed them. new radiator seals all the way around. cleaned and fixed a crack in the fan shroud. installed that. radiator hoses installed. trans cooler lines installed. the front exhaust pipes installed. the big part of the day was when we had ignition. that's right she is ALIVE! I just put some gas in the carb and cranked her over enough to make sure she starts and idles. I don't have the gas tank in or the exhaust all hooked up and no coolant yet either. I just figured it would be easiest to fix anything before the whole front end is back on. no problems. so finalizing underhood details then back to paint prep. moving forward in big steps now!
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cus

Looking great!
That's going to be an awesome car when finished.


Cus

bigin1978

Thanks Cus! you get you car done yet?

cus

My car is booked in for April 4th for final coat, so not much progress the last couple
of weeks, trying to save up some $$ for the spray. Will start on the interior soon, dash,
door cards etc.
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bigin1978

Cus, it is looking fantastic!! that color is awesome! you should have a build thread going!!

cus

It's similar to your green, but correct for '73, "Crystal Green",
I have a build thread going, look under 73 Delta,
I would love a Cutlass, they are very expensive in Australia

bigin1978

This weekend was productive. The inner fender wells are finally all cleaned up. I installed the new splash aprons on the inner wells. That was a chore. Pushing the staples thru the liner and the splash shield was a bit tricky. I think they turned out good. All that's left to do is AC lines and the engine bay is done. I plan on doing that his week. I also am planning on painting the inside of the front fenders, the door jams, and the trunk jam area. here are some pics.
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Paxtonshelby

Car is looking great! By the recent progress I take it your wife is healed up and doing well?

cus

Looking great,
Splash Aprons, I didn't know about those, were they stock?


Cus

bigin1978

Yes she is! Its amazing how you take for granted that someone will always be there and be "normal". she doesn't remember much about the hospital, that's good for her , because it was terrifying for me. Remember to tell your loved ones you love them all the time.


Thank you for the kind words.

bigin1978

Yep. Stock. the picture of the black rubber pieces in the inner fender well.
the help keep water and what not out of the engine bay. I call them splash aprons. some might call them A arm seals. I am sure they probably are called something else. Its the name of the piece that the running boards attach on a model A ford are called. that's probably where I get the name from . I grew up restoring Model A's with my Dad. he has restored over 20 cars for himself and others. I have pictures from when I was 4 working on sanding primer on the fenders of one he still has 34 years later!

JpMotorsports

Wow the car and work you are doing look amazing! I just redid the engine and engine bay in my 72 last spring and thought mine looked good until I seen your work lol. Great job! Keep it up!

bigin1978

Thank you! I really appreciate the positive feedback!!!! It keeps me motivated!

costpenn

Looking great. I needed to see you post to get me motivated - I've got to start on my engine wiring harnesses today - uggghhhhh.

bigin1978

I know you have done them before. I just untapped small sections cleaned that and retapped with that pain in the *** non adhesive tape.it'll be over soon! I will check tonight to see if you got it done!

70vert

It's looking great. I hope I can get mine looking that good again.

bigin1978

I made lots of progress today. Front fender insides are painted.
I got the door handles, locks and door moldings removed. sanded and primed doors and jambs.
I also bought the east wood zinc plate kit.
I did the hood latch and hood light. I have some other parts to do, but I started with these.
lots of work with bead blasting, then rust dissolver to make sure that no rust was missed, sand, machine buffed and hand polished. then degreased, washed in clean water, then in the plating solution. it only takes about five minutes to actually plate, but an hour of prep on nice parts to begin with.
here are pics of the progress today.
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bigin1978

If anybody is going to do the zinc plate on their hood latch, here is a piece of advice, remove the springs before you plate. the electrolyte ate the spring for the catch. luckily I had a standard latch that had good springs , so those got swapped out.
Tonight I got the door jambs painted. lots to get done. I am getting burned out. maybe getting the front fenders on this weekend will help with the motivation.


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JpMotorsports

Its looking really really good! Keep it up the finish line is closer than you think.

bigin1978

Thank you! Its getting to the point that I am over having fun. I just want to get it done. I am afraid that I will put off quality work for speed. its real easy to do. I just have to keep telling myself to tackle one thing at a time.

bigin1978

I painted the inside of the front fenders all body color last week. well I thought about it and saw how NDERISE did his ....so I masked off and painted the inside portion black like they should be. Tomorrow the fenders get bolted back on!
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NDERISE

you r doing a great job the eng. detailing as the rest of the build looks great

bigin1978

today lots of progress. the front fenders are back on. all gaps are set. the hood has to come back off to have the bottom painted, but I needed to install it to get the core support and fenders adjusted properly. looking at paint in two weeks! big progress is a good motivator!hood_zpsf9wi9d8o.jpg


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NDERISE

wow hood and fender gaps look dead on, great job on the fit

bigin1978

thank you!

bigin1978

Today I got the trunk, rear window and hood edged in. removed the hood stripes that I put on 23 years ago! I was hoping to have her painted before Carlisle, but its not going to happen before Thursday so the Saturday after Carlisle is the day. Here are some pics!
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