• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

1968 Plymouth GTX

I’ve always found AMD’s customer service to be great. Never had a problem getting questions answered and issues resolved.
 
Prepped and sprayed epoxy primer on the roof skin, drip rails, underside of package tray and the rear deck supports today.
Roof in Epoxy.jpg


Deck Supports in Epoxy.JPG


Tried using the DeVilbiss DeKups for the first time today. They were perfect for spraying the underside of the package tray and the rear deck supports.

It did seem as though I needed to up the air pressure from where I normally set it. Anyone have experience with these things?
 
New roof skins and rear deck pans do not have the factory nubs for the moulding clips, so, what is the preferred method to installing them, pop rivets or small screws. Great metal work, really coming along.
 
My air compressor shut down on me so I am waiting for parts to arrive. New capacitors, tank check valve, pressure switch, etc.
Didn't realize how much I count on that thing. LOL
Worked flawlessly for about 15 years now, so I shouldn't really complain.
In the mean time, I am drilling out spot welds in the trunk floor pan with my cordless drill. Slow going.
 
When I'm looking at a car to possibly buy, the first point I focus on is that that rear window, dutchman area. And now you know why.
 
When I'm looking at a car to possibly buy, the first point I focus on is that that rear window, dutchman area. And now you know why.
Yes, I actually knew it needed quite a bit of work, however the price was right so I went for it.
By the way, I don't think I ever mentioned that I bought this car for $6500.
 
Last edited:
While waiting for my compressor parts, I decided to try and get the rear deck filler panel to fit better.
The problem seemed to be the right front corner and yesterday I found out why.

Here is the left front corner with a straight edge against the end of the panel.
Deck Panel Corner Shape.JPG


No compare that to the right front corner below:
Deck Panel Corner Flaw.jpg


No corner or cut away on this side.
I will get my tin snips out and make this side look like the other and then try the fit again. I am confident this will remedy the problem.
 
I was looking at my Fender Tag decoding and it states the paint is QQ1, which I knew, but then I noticed the Sport Stripe is also blue.

A blue stripe on blue paint? Anyone have picture of that?
 
Success.

$194.97 in parts and my compressor is up and running again.

Need to adjust the pressure regulator a bit, since it kicked off at 180 psi instead of 175 psi but other than that it sounds great.
 
Prepped and sprayed epoxy primer on the roof skin, drip rails, underside of package tray and the rear deck supports today.
View attachment 1302454

View attachment 1302453

Tried using the DeVilbiss DeKups for the first time today. They were perfect for spraying the underside of the package tray and the rear deck supports.

It did seem as though I needed to up the air pressure from where I normally set it. Anyone have experience with these things?

I use the 3M PPS which I'm guessing is similar to the DeVilbiss DeKups... I like it, turn it at any angle & get nothing but paint... No more sucking air cause the paint shifted & uncovered the suction port... Also 90% less clean-up.... Old style cups might be cheaper but the cost of clean up solvent keeps going up & my time is worth money too....
 
I learned yesterday that I do not need both the inner and out corners.
The outer corner has everything necessary to complete the repair. So I had to remove the inner corners I had installed to get things lined up properly.
The inner corner is simply the inner portion of the outside corner as best as I can tell:
Inside and Outside Lower Right Corner.jpg


In this picture you can see it fits perfectly inside that outer corner patch:
Inside Corner fit to Outside Corner.jpg


So I went to work on the lower left corner:
Left Outer Corner cut out.jpg


Left Corner Patch Fit.jpg


I had to round the right side to form a mating surface for the rear deck panel.

Getting it tack welded into place.
Left Corner Tacked into place.jpg


Leaving for a 2400 mile motorcycle ride tomorrow, so no updates for a week or so.
 
Got back to work on it today.
Installed the lower right window corner.
Lower Right window patch.JPG


Decided it would be better to replace the trunk floor now, with the filler panel not installed.
After drill spot welds out, I cut the floor in front of the cross brace so I could remove the front section.
Cutting Floor for Removal.jpg


It was a fight but got the front section out, then tackled the rear portion.
Old Floor Front Section Cut Out.jpg


Still need to clean it up, hammer and dolly the edges straight for welding, then get it all in epoxy primer.
Measured the location of the pieces I will need to transfer to the new floor pan.
Old floor removed.JPG
Old Floor Cut Out.jpg
 
I am wanting to put this trunk floor pan in without cutting it. However the only way I have found is by a guy who removed the rear cross brace.
Here's a some pictures of what he does:
Floor Pan Installation 6.jpg

Floor Pan Installation 1.jpg

Floor Pan Installation 2.jpg

Floor Pan Installation 3.jpg

Floor Pan Installation 4.jpg

Floor Pan Installation 5.jpg


Looking at removing the rear cross bracing, I found it is spot welded to nearly everything, including the inside of the trunk floor extensions.

This seems like way too much work to me and a risk of distorting the tail panel as well.

One thought I had was to drill the spot weld holes and then cut a seem through the holes that run front to back on the frame rail. This would allow me to install the panel and have some metal backing for welding the seam.

Any other ideas on how to install the one piece floor pan without having to cut it? I will cut it like I described if I have to.
 
Started media blasting the frame rails and trunk supports today.
Removing rust from trunk supports.JPG


Hot and dirty work, especially with the monsoon rains here in Arizona.
Progress on frame rails.JPG


Got tired so still more to do.
More to do.JPG


My goal is to get the worst of it the first time through and then go back and make sure I got all the rust. Clean it up and apply some epoxy primer.
 
Got the floor pan installed today in one piece. Not going to say it was easy but I did learn a few things during the process.

First, you need to drill out all of the spot welds along the bottom and sides of the tail panel. You will be bending this out quite a bit to be able to maneuver the floor pan into place. I actually used a couple of 2x4 pieces to help hold the gap wide enough to get the front edge of the floor pan under it.

Second, you need to have the rear of the car elevated high enough to start the lip of the pan up under the tail panel. I was able to do this on the jack stands by raising them up about 6".

Next, be sure you have all your holes drilled and cleaned on both side, especially where they weld to the trunk floor extensions.

Here's where I got to when I realized I hadn't drill all the holes in the floor pan yet. Fortunately I was able to drill them with the panel in this position. Notice that I clamped it in place while drilling.
Install Floor Pan 1.JPG


The next step was the most difficult as it required bending the tail panel out quite a bit. I had been trying not to bend it any farther than necessary but it became obvious after a few minutes struggle that things weren't going to work out the way I was doing it.
Working by myself, I had to bend one side of the tail panel out while pushing the panel up an inch or two, then do the same on the other side.
In this next photo, I had it inserted just far enough to clear the rear deck supports and it is resting against the trunk lid hinge brackets.
Install Floor Pan 2.JPG


From this point I had to push on the floor pan with my legs, while lifting the tail panel high enough to let it slide forward.
Here it is fully resting in place. Look at all those spots welds I have to make.
New Pan in place.JPG


Here's the tail panel after installation:
Tail Panel Bent.JPG


I carefully bent it back down and then working from the center to each outside edge, I would use vise grips and a body hammer to slowly put it back into place.

Reshaping tail panel.JPG


I will get the trunk floor all welded in and then concentrate on getting the tail panel as nice as possible.
 
Just an FYI. When doing the roof skin, I found one of the support rail corners hadn't been welded from the factory.

Yesterday I discovered the same thing on the left hinge support brackets for the trunk lid where it attaches to the rear window support area. There were two places that looked like spot welds but had never fully penetrated and bonded with the rear of the bracket. The other side was welded solidly in those two spots.

After taking several measurements I found it was nearly 1/2" out of position. The trunk lid spring rods and the welds at the rear of the bracket on the deck filler panel were all that was holding it in place.
 
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top