Can of rusty worms

[Glenwood]

Sometimes you have to pick your battles. Since you are a retired sparky, maybe your trans connection needs some of your expertise. When I was working on my neighbors 68 C20 I was just getting started to do the front clip, finish the a/c, install electric fans, finish the wiring etc when my Mrs decided she wanted a bunch of honey do's done which I would have struggled doing correctly. I had an epiphany. The truck owner, John, was a retired contractor and that stuff was right up his alley. LABOR TRADE TIME! Worked out perfect for all involved.

Not a bad idea Carl! I wish I was retired, just been looking for work for nearly 5 months unfortunately. First time in well over 25 years.
My trans pro is an old friend going back some 30 years and owns his own shop. If he needed my help, I doubt I'd charge him. He picks away at the trans in between jobs in his shop and charges me very little. Now if I could just talk the engine builder into some trade off for the machine work, hmmm.

 

[conv67bdere]

Thanks Crumley. Got my head stuck in the wheel wells now lol. What a pain to fab up patches in there.

LMAO . . . oh boy do I remember trying to get my head up in the wheel well, with your welding helmet on, and get the MIG up there to and try and weld the patches in place . . . bring back fond memories ( or is that night mares ? )

I admire your patience in restoring your car. I wish I could do the same with my 1967 Plymouth Belvedere.

Nothing stopping you from digging into your 67 Belvedere . . . I'm fighting my way through my re-build now too . . . and a whole lotta fun to boot ! ! !

 

[Silverblade54]

It certainly has tested my patience from time to time! I didn't start out wanting to restore it though, just wanted to clean up the engine bay for an upgrade from the poly318. Kind of snowballed from there. Honestly, I didn't know what I was getting into in the beginning, but I got the car for a decent price I thought and it looked pretty good on the outside as well as the interior. I could see some issues like the firewall and the floor when I inspected it, but I didn't see some of the major work ahead like the cowl and trunk. Inexperience showing, but I looked at it like a challenge and the car seemed worth the effort to me. I could have just left the tired old 318 in there or just swap to a BB, but I'm always envious when I see the level of detail on other's cars at shows or our local club meets. Besides, where's the fun or satisfaction in just leaving it alone? lol
I think if this old electrician can tackle this much work with half decent results, anyone can. All comes down time, patience and a crapload of money!

Let's see some pics of that '67!

I will share pics as soon as my phone gets fixed. I really need to save money to have mine fully restored.

 

[69 GTX]

I had to buy cheaters for up close welding in mine!

 

[Glenwood]

I had to buy cheaters for up close welding in mine!

I have 200x lens in my helmut and my readers on...works as long as I'm also holding the trouble light nice & close! My glasses seem to get weaker over time. Probably chinese glass

 

[5.7 hemi]

He said "Chinese glass"! That's funny!!

 

[conv67bdere]

I have 200x lens in my helmut and my readers on...works as long as I'm also holding the trouble light nice & close! My glasses seem to get weaker over time. Probably chinese glass

Dang it . . . you too . . . I've got the same concern with my glasses getting worse over time . . . at least I'm not the only one . . .

 

[ckessel]

I have 200x lens in my helmut and my readers on...works as long as I'm also holding the trouble light nice & close! My glasses seem to get weaker over time. Probably chinese glass

I wear close ups under too. The other part sounds like your helmet is blocking too much light. I experienced that when I did some tig on ss and regular steel at low amps. Can't see the weld pool good enough and when I did see it, flamed the material. I'm currently using an Optrel Vega View 2.5 helmet and its way better than my Miller Elite was at light transmission. I can see what I'm welding and now its up to me not to flambe the material. Part of getting older, need more light to see.

 

[Glenwood]

the most annoying part is the needing the reading glasses for up close stuff, with the 200x lens and trouble light, then having to try to look over the readers in the helmet for a weld that is farther away with trouble light in one hand and torch in the other. That extra arm would sure come in handy!

 

[threewood]

the most annoying part is the needing the reading glasses for up close stuff, with the 200x lens and trouble light, then having to try to look over the readers in the helmet for a weld that is farther away with trouble light in one hand and torch in the other. That extra arm would sure come in handy!

You need a helmet mounted light. This can be attached with double sided tape, velcro or you can use the elastic band.https://www.amazon.com/Hands-Free-Miners-Light-Flashlight/dp/B00309Q1DI

 

[Glenwood]

Damn, I have one of those. I should have thought of that!

 

[Glenwood]

Well, that's the major sheet metal work done!
The old girl has new inners, floor, trunk & extentions and frame connectors!

The wheelhouse patch work was brutal to fab and fit. Not perfect but a heck of a lot better than the tarred over rust holes.

 

[Glenwood]

 

[Glenwood]

Now I have to figure out how to clean up underneath and coat it with something.

 

[miller]

Looking great!

I'm a sucker for self destruction. On mine, since it had sat dead almost 9 years, and had to replace the floor pans, anyway. All on my back, scraped most of the undercoating off, to get to any rusted areas. Sand-blasted the rust, the rest a big clean-up, to prep it for a fresh coat of primer. That was for the entire underneath.
Two coats of primer, two heavish coats of paint, then a light coat of new undercoating.

 

[Glenwood]

Looking great!

I'm a sucker for self destruction. On mine, since it had sat dead almost 9 years, and had to replace the floor pans, anyway. All on my back, scraped most of the undercoating off, to get to any rusted areas. Sand-blasted the rust, the rest a big clean-up, to prep it for a fresh coat of primer. That was for the entire underneath.
Two coats of primer, two heavish coats of paint, then a light coat of new undercoating.

I managed to get most of the undercoating off. There wasn't much on the frame, just mostly on the rockers and wheel wells. Not having a rotisserie makes it challenging. I don't know if I should bother to paint or just apply a product like lizard skin (or whatever the Canadian accepted version is!). This car is just a decent driver so I'm just interested in protecting it underneath. Either way, I'll be spraying upside down after sanding and cleaning the frame and floor pans unless I acquire a rotisserie.

 

[ckessel]

Canadian accepted version? Must be like what we get here in the Peoples Republic of California. Unfortunately for you, you probably can't just pop over to another state to purchase contraband like me.

 

[Glenwood]

Canadian accepted version? Must be like what we get here in the Peoples Republic of California. Unfortunately for you, you probably can't just pop over to another state to purchase contraband like me.

here in Libtario, the government are Californian wanna-be's! The next province is either a day's drive or you're into a foreign (french) country lol.
I see Lizard skin is available through select dealers but I'm not sure it's the right product for underneath.

 

[Glenwood]

Well, time to get the underside cleaned up and painted. A few days of sanding below was a treat!
All wrapped for spraying.

I went to remove the torsion bars and they wouldn't move, ugh! I just put them in with fresh grease a while back and I thought they would just pop out but noooooo.... I don't have a removal tool and didn't need one the first time since I dropped the K-frame, so I whipped this up in about 15 minutes. Worked great!

 

[Glenwood]

My definition of fun is definitely not lying on my back painting. I've had root canals that I enjoyed more... Turned out pretty good after a few coats of primer & paint. The underside looks better than the top now lol.