'69 4-4-2 convertible restoration
July 10th, 2015, 05:04 PM
#1
Randy C.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Albany, OR
Posts: 3,245
'69 4-4-2 convertible restoration
I'm finally getting around to the mechanical aspect of restoring my '69 4-4-2. I got it painted clear back in the early 90s when lacquer was still widely available but the car has just sat since then. I kind of put the cart before the horse (painting before mechanical restoration) but I hope to work around the nice paint job to get a real nice car in the end.
The '69 is optioned much more nicely than my '68. It is a convertible as well, same color combination (but the '69 white is different than the '68 white), buckets, THM on the console, AM-FM stereo, A/C, factory cruise control, rallye pac, power windows, remote mirror, deluxe seat belts with the factory shoulder belts for the front seats only, SSI wheels for disc brakes, power steering, power disc brakes, 3.23 open differential, and the W42 hood stripe. I plan to make the 3.23 open differential a limited slip, add a power antenna and a power trunk release to the option list. I also have a power driver seat set-up and a power door lock set-up (vacuum) that I am considering as well. I thought about swapping out the remote driver side mirror for non-remote side mirrors on each side but I kinda like the remote option even though it eliminates seeing back out of the passenger side.
Tranny has been rebuilt with a mild upgrade. Engine is being rebuilt now. I'm cleaning the inner fenders right now - what a pain! Rear end comes later on. It will be as "stock" as possible.
It will be a nice car when it's done but I don't have the desire to go into the great detail I went into with the '68. All the part numbers will be correct, with complementing date codes where applicable, but the real close-in detail won't be as good as I worked with the '68.
The sad part about all of this is that I'll probably sell one of the two 4-4-2s when this restoration is done. The '69 is optioned so much better than the '68 (and I did graduate from HS in '69) that part of me says to keep it and sell the '68. BUT...the '68 has been in our family since it was new. I know the history of the '68 from day 1 and all of it is documented. So...I'll just have to wait on that decision.
It just feels good to finally get going on the '69!
Randy C.
The '69 is optioned much more nicely than my '68. It is a convertible as well, same color combination (but the '69 white is different than the '68 white), buckets, THM on the console, AM-FM stereo, A/C, factory cruise control, rallye pac, power windows, remote mirror, deluxe seat belts with the factory shoulder belts for the front seats only, SSI wheels for disc brakes, power steering, power disc brakes, 3.23 open differential, and the W42 hood stripe. I plan to make the 3.23 open differential a limited slip, add a power antenna and a power trunk release to the option list. I also have a power driver seat set-up and a power door lock set-up (vacuum) that I am considering as well. I thought about swapping out the remote driver side mirror for non-remote side mirrors on each side but I kinda like the remote option even though it eliminates seeing back out of the passenger side.
Tranny has been rebuilt with a mild upgrade. Engine is being rebuilt now. I'm cleaning the inner fenders right now - what a pain! Rear end comes later on. It will be as "stock" as possible.
It will be a nice car when it's done but I don't have the desire to go into the great detail I went into with the '68. All the part numbers will be correct, with complementing date codes where applicable, but the real close-in detail won't be as good as I worked with the '68.
The sad part about all of this is that I'll probably sell one of the two 4-4-2s when this restoration is done. The '69 is optioned so much better than the '68 (and I did graduate from HS in '69) that part of me says to keep it and sell the '68. BUT...the '68 has been in our family since it was new. I know the history of the '68 from day 1 and all of it is documented. So...I'll just have to wait on that decision.
It just feels good to finally get going on the '69!
Randy C.
Last edited by rcorrigan5; July 10th, 2015 at 05:07 PM.
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