As planned I set the engine in place and bolted up the repro Thornton exhaust manifolds. I started making ready the radiator core support patches to repair the mount area. They all seem to rot in the same place. I also remembered I needed a rubber mount kit for the core support, that is on order. I am hoping to find Fusick at Carlisle swap this week to pick up a set of tail lights and other things needed.

 

Made it to Carlisle last week and picked up a set of repro taillights from Fusick...Ouch! The M20 Muncie was also given to Ed Hartnett for a freshening. I didn't want to have to pull it for repairs after I did a "try and see install" as I had to do with other projects! The flywheel got resurfaced and the clutch bolted up, its so close to brand new it will be reused but I will source a new throwout bearing.

 

Looking good. You make it look so easy!

 

Thanks!

 

Great thread youve done a ton of work to this car, you deserved a little break w the fr fenders.

i cant wait to see it finished. Thanks for sharing and excellent pictures.

 

Outstanding work

 

Thanks and Jeffs71, its nice to know there are followers who like seeing what is being done!

 

Well I picked up the M20 Muncie up today from Ed Hartnett. For the rebuild it was 1100.00 Seems nothing is inexpensive these days but it got a new input shaft, rebuild kit, new forks, 2 new gears, and the case had new bushings installed. It should be good to go along with the rebuilt Hurst shifter I sourced. I am still removing paint and plan on doing the door jams and sills 1st. They were color changed with a past repaint so that needs to be done. Very much more work needed for sure with this project!

 

It appears your project is moving along quite well... Seeing your trans all complete reminds me of the two I have in a tote waiting to be reassembled... Where is Ed Hartnett located???

 

He is in the Lansdale area of Pa, outskirts of Philadelphia. He also sets up a booth at Carlisle where he can look at your trans and you can leave it there for him to take back to his shop and fully evaluate and rebuild. You can also pick it up at the next Carlisle event. He is very thorough and knows his stuff. I was tired of trying things to find out they needed work and having to do things over again so do it once and do it right. So much time has passed that these parts are very questionable as to their condition. Buying a used trans these days is a crap shoot. Also buying a "rebuilt" trans can be a chance if you don't know who worked on it. The days of buying a 200 dollar Muncie and bolting it in, good to go are sadly over.

 

I know I’m going back a little bit, but how is the inside of the trunk lid at the back, where the two pieces are pinched together. I have some rust on the left side in that area that is spreading it apart.

 

On this car there is no issue there but the areas that create a slight void are good places to trap moisture and condensation and over time cause rot. Any rot areas need to be ground out and patched with new metal welded in. Mig welding is easy once you get past the purchase price of the welder and shielding gas setup....And I just saw that you did your trunk floor so you must have the welding setup...cool! And your trunk floor looks great.

 

Thank you! Here is a pic of the finished product. I just was


n’t sure about how to attack that trunk lid seam specifically.

 

Can you post a pict of it?

 

I took a few. It’s only the left side.

 

Hmmm, if it were me I would try and source another trunk lid but it looks like it can be fixed without issue, trunk lid off and laying pieces of metal on the inside and welding, then using filler to smooth. That area really doesn't show unless you look for it.

 

Thanks for the advice, I think I’ll try to repair it first. If I fall I’ll replace it.

 

You may find more rot and the holes may grow greatly when using a wire wheel or grinder there to make ready the spots for repair. Update your thread when you get into it for all to see the progress!

 

It's coming along nicely, great work.

 

No big surprises under the paint on the passenger door. There were a couple of dings that will need to be gone over. Also the lower door where the stainless goes has some pitting that will need some attent


ion. I installed the trans yesterday. Had some difficulty getting it to slide all the way into the pilot bearing. I had to take loose the bell housing bolts to get it to go. All seems well with the install at this point.

 

While under the car I noticed a bad frame mount. It was slightly hidden by the fuel line support midway on the passenger side. I opened up the floor to install the new mount.

 

Good idea on the frame mount repair!

 

Have been busy removing paint. To my surprise I found a single edge razor blade was the perfect tool. The paint zipped off without effort leaving behind a hard epoxy type primer it seems. I have never seen auto paint do this but lucky for me it did. This eliminated a lot of stripper usage, wire wheeling. The primer will be sanded down to bare metal. I also sourced a correct non rubber coupled stick driveshaft. The one that came with the car has been shortened a bit to fit the later year rear that the car came with and was not a solid tube driveshaft.

 

Progress is always a good thing... Especially when the task at hand was easier then expected... Good luck as your efforts continue... The light at the end of the tunnel will be visible before you realize it...

 

Looking good. It’s always nice to get a bonus!

 

Am still working on the body but happy to say its about done for now, I just have the door jams to remove paint and primer. Once the car is operable I will wet sand and primer again. The lower door hinges on both sides need replacing and the interior lower dash and door sills need sanding and painting. I just placed an order to Classic Exhaust for a stock style exhaust system but I may go with a Turbo Muffler set for a little more sound. I still need a carpet, rear package tray, misc window fuzzies, door and trunk weatherstrips, windlace, seats recovered, (I have the covers) and the exterior paint. I will purchase the Pewter Lacquer from TCP global as I have done for my other projects.

 

The body is looking great! They were originally sprayed in lacquer, right? Is lacquer pretty easy to use? I’m thinking about trying my hand at body/paint when I finish the mechanical stuff. I’ve never really done it before.

 

My opinion is that lacquer is the easiest paint to apply. I did my wagon with a Harbor Freight 9 dollar spray gun. It dries to the touch in a minute or less if you must spray outside. Multiple coats are needed, about 5 is what I do. If you are careful 2 gallons of paint will cover an A body. The paint is generally thinned 50/50. I also sand between coats so it is a bit labor intensive. If you get a run you just sand it out after it dries. It needs no clear coat and will buff to a high gloss.

 

The exhaust arrived from Classic Exhaust. I ordered it from their website and was surprised when the sent a shipping invoice for 100 bucks going from Ohio to NJ! I have ordered from them before and the long pipes were cut and marked for easy assembly but these were full length tail and head pipe so I guess that explains ship cost. Since these were listed for a 442 the tailpipes are straight out, similar to factory but of course not tipped or chambered. My plan is to install a rolled angled chrome tip to simulate factory tips. I had trouble contacting them by phone to see if a turbo muffler was optional but was not successful so stock mufflers they will be. I have been busy with interior painting, the lower dash needs to be done yet. My lower door hinges have been successfully replaced and a correct model quadrajet with divorced choke has been rebuilt. Only thing is the circular carb tag is missing so there isn't a way to tell what it originated on. It was pretty clean inside with a seemingly recent rebuild but I have no history on it. It came with the purchase of the red 442 in 2009. Am waiting though for delivery of the choke pull-off to complete and install along with a Fusick metal carb to pump fuel line.

 

Thought I would try and duplicate the tipped 67 442 exhaust pipes. I think my attempt came out decent. These will slide over the tailpipes and clamped. The exhaust system has been mounted but not clamped tight until the rear bumper goes on to be sure of the proper fit at rear. The rebuilt carb has been mounted and the Sun vintage blue line gauges which I like so much. I mounted the Z bar and see the fork push rod is on an angle. It doesn't look right to me and I am wondering if I have the 68-up Z bar and not a 67 if there is a difference. I ordered a reproduction 67 z bar and will compare it to what I have.

 

The exhaust tip looks good!

 

What did you use for the chrome section and what does it look like from the open end???

 

I will get a picture, I found some tips on Ebay with angled rolled ends. Trouble is most are way too large, these may have been for a motorcycle as they had a reducer inside to about 1 inch, but I only needed the rolled ends. They are bit larger than stock sliding onto a 2.25" OD pipe versus 2 " stock.

 

Nice tips!
I am always in awe of those who have the facilities and expertise to bend metal to their will. For me, it is much more of an immutable material.

 

They really turned out nice.

 

Here are a few more pictures of those exhaust tips... I got the repro Z bar.... well if you look at the picture below you will see the 1st one is the new one, the gray one I believe possibly the correct factory one for a 67 and the other one a 68 up. The repro does not have the bushing like factory ones at the top hole. And the hole needed to be opened up a bit for the rod to go thru.... Ok its mounted and will work fine. A slighter angle is still there from the pushrod to the fork but I believe it will be ok. Thanks all for your comments!

 

Those pipe tips really look great... I'm sure it was time well spent researching for the chrome pieces and the time involved to adapt them... Again. Nice job...

 

Yep lots of time looking, would have preferred a bit smaller tips but they will be ok... and Thanks!

 

I got just a quart of paint to do some areas like door gasket area, roof rail underside and door jams, door underside. Its lots of work when a color change is done and you go back to original color. I am liking the original Pewter! I will order 2 gallons more of this Lacquer





shortly to have on hand for Spring.

 

That's a nice color. Mine calls for antique pewter, so I get to go the color JB Weld.