73 Roadrunner 340 Auto

[Builderguy]

Rain is forecast for this evening so after work I wiped it down, tacked it off, and sprayed some epoxy before the humidity caused any more issues. Now I can work on it as time permits and not have worry about bare metal. Should have done this a month ago.

Engine compartment next????

 

[Builderguy]

Finally got a full day off. Sanded the last two pieces down to bare metal and got a coat of epoxy on them. Now I can get to the engine compartment. Well, after picking up the red Line rotisserie that just arrived. Should make life a little easier.
easier

 

[Builderguy]

Riddle me this Batman. Why put 8 locations for panel clips and then only use 5 of them to hold the panel on. This was done at the factory as both doors are the same, the were no witness marks, and the plastic underliner only had 5 holes in it.

 

[Builderguy]

I did finally manage to get the rotisserie home from a friends shop that had a forklift and was a stand alone business. Free shipping to business with a forktruck but the there are qualifiers like no residence on site, etc. It was a very quick ship. Left Pensacola on 4/22 @ 1400 hrs and arrived in MI on 4/24 @ 1238 hrs via FedEx. It is still in the back of the truck as life happens as the daughter's ride needed brake work and that got moved to the top of the to-do-list. This morning looks clear
so I will try and set it up today.

 

[Builderguy]

Got all the pieces out and time to put it together.

Couple of days later and it is ready.

Not too bad of a unit. Assembly instruction book sucks *** and some of the components are a little cheap, like the jack handles who's grips slip. Lifted the car without a problem and spun fine on the first try, except I had to jack the car about an inch in the rear to miss one of the bottom connecting bar lock screws (no harm no foul). This unit is the Redline ROT 3000 LD and if I had to do it over again I would opt for the RTS 3000 for the extra $185 since it has a hand crank to rotate the car and is a little beefier in its construction. I didn't go for that as I wanted the anti tip over legs and the bigger casters so I could roll it out of the garage when needed. Although I can spin the car myself, I had an extra person just in case. Maybe after using it a few more times I will feel more comfortable with spinning it alone. All good so far but I will let you all know if that changes. Any questions on this lift feel free to PM me.

 

[Builderguy]

Need a little help. Before I break this, what is the secret code to remove this throttle cable clip from the firewall. I see it has a metal clip of some type but I can't get a handle on how it releases.

 

[HawkRod]

So the short answer is I do not know. From a brainstorming perspective, could that tab on the right need to be squeezed in the release it?

Good luck!

Hawk

 

[Builderguy]

Here is the answer to this stubborn little clip. It did have a metal strap across the top that prevented the top tab from being pressed in to release it. I saw the metal piece but could not figure out how to get it to release without breaking it. Never did figure it out. I can fab up a new piece when it gets re-installed. Just a thin strip of metal inserted under the release tab and then bent over both sides to hold. Now I know and you do too.

 

[Builderguy]

Getting closer every day. Engine compartment just about ready. Heater box is out so I can check the core and replace the gaskets/seals.

 

[SureGrip]

Looking good!

 

[Builderguy]

Thanks SureGrip,
Got into it a little deeper than I wanted to go but once I took the body to bare metal, might as well take down everything else also. Then might as well rebuild the motor, trans, heater box, brakes, suspension and on and on and on. Probably doubled what I wanted to put into it. Regardless, it is good practice for the next 73 RR, that one is a 4-speed 340 that needs a lot more work. But it a 4-speed and they are just fun to drive!

 

[Builderguy]

I was able to pound a few more days on the project. Finished sanding the engine compartment and got it into epoxy primer. Really wanted to follow that up with some 2K high build primer surfacer but the weather here sucks. Raining and only in the 50's so the epoxy was taking it's sweet time drying. No problem, I will just shoot it in the morning and this gave me some extra time to do a few other projects. Drilled locator holes in the door hinges and then removed the doors. Pulled the stationary rear windows and trim. Removed the the roof line window seals and anti blowouts. Pulled the front and rear seats. Carpet sure looked nice under the seat brackets. Removed the carpet and found two broadcast sheets, both for this car. That makes a total of three sheets as the PO gave me one (no idea where he found it). No other good finds except for a few new window clips, a few brand new trim screws, and a data punch card. Floor boards are very good except for one spot in the driver foot well that is an easy fix. This car was undercoated and it helped a lot in saving the metal. Here are some pics:

 

[ahmincha]

Great work!!! very informative I will definitely be coming back For reference

 

[Builderguy]

Still raining and cold here but that let me focus on getting the Primer Surfacer sprayed. With that done I need to move a bunch of parts and take the seat to a shop to get some stitching and spring work done. I could probably do it but I have a shop I want to try out on a little job before giving them a bigger one.

 

[73PlyRR]

Nice work. Was the black that you sprayed on the engine bay first a primer?

 

[Builderguy]

Yup, sprayed JP377 Black Epoxy primer on the bare metal and then JP202 Gray Primer Surfacer over that. Now I can let the engine bay sit as I finish up the rest of the body. If I had left it just epoxy I would have needed to scuff it after the 72 hour window and the engine bay has a ton of hard to get at areas, unlike the body which is pretty easy sanding.

 

[Builderguy]

Finally got some sun today, so I didn't put too many hours in. Did get enough to fix the rust on the drivers floorboard.
Sprayed with rust stop, let it dry, prime, hit it with high build, sand and prime, then back to yellow.

 

[Builderguy]

Time and time again. You figure a couple of days to clean up a jamb and it takes a week! One down and one to go. To be fair there was little rust thru that needed to be addressed that I did not see at first look. All solid once again.

 

[Builderguy]

The other side needed a weld repair also. While waiting for some metal glaze to set up decided to sand down the epoxy at some areas that were dented in.

 

[Sparky Anderson]

I haven't checked on you in awhile, great job, you have made major strides. For the average Joe, this man has put a lot of hard work and money into this old girl, this is what you call passion!