My 1967 Belvedere Convertible Plans and Restoration (aka - Mad Scientist Build)

[conv67bdere]

More work . . . more progress . . . decided to add the bed liner up here too so it needs to go down first . . .

The front of the drivers side ( no room for me to stand back and get a full view . . .

And the rear of the driver side . . .

And the passenger side . . . this probably shows the best why I figured it would be best to get this done before the suspension goes in place . . .

Tried to not put the liner where things need go, that will be only paint . . . and now I need to let it dry
( and get out of that shop because the fumes are horrible ) . . .

Got a 48 hour window in which I can paint and not have to prep the bed liner, however, by the time I get this posted, get some fresh air . . . the stuff will probably be dry enough that I could go back on paint it already . . . will give it some time to set and then, hopefully, get the paint in place later today so I can work on the front suspension tomorrow . . .

 

[conv67bdere]

Got (2) coats of 2K Uretahane paint on the fender areas . . . pretty happy with the results too . . .

And with that done, now I'll let it dry overnight and be able to work on building the front suspension on the car . . .

 

[conv67bdere]

And the front suspension building has begun . . .

Found a few more bolts that I'm not happy with the shoulders and have re-ordered new bolt to replace them . . .

This one holds that top of the shock - the shoulder needs to be 1 7/8" . . . replacement will be here this week . . .

Driver side upper installed . . .

Passenger side upper installed . . .

Drop in a shock . . .

Another bolt that I'm not happy with . . . the shoulder will not be long enough as seen in this picture . . .

Got a bunch of stuff in place . . waiting on the replacement bolts before they get snugged up . . .

 

[HawkRod]

Isn't it nice to work with nice clean parts? They go together so much nicer!

Suspension looks great!

 

[CudaChick1968]

Fabulous progress!!!

 

[conv67bdere]

Been trying to find a replacement provider for this bushing . . . goes on the E-brake cable and seals the connection from the cable to the backing plate . . .

As you can see this one is cracked and needs replacing . . .

So when you can't find the parts . . . then you 3D Print them ! ! !

Black on black ins kinda hard to see . . . but this is the stack-up of the bushing printing . . .

Design the part as needed . . . Pic of the image in the top right including the BSH emblem . . . LOL

Finished product UPDATE . . . Follow up to the 3D printing project . . .

This is a side by side of the old broken bushing and the new 3D printed bushing after installing it on the E-brake cable.

The Installation: It was a bit tight, but I'll take that over a bit loose and it took a bit to get it seated against the backing plate, but that's due to the new rubber being very fresh and new ( uh, just printed ).

End result - It's going to work perfectly for this application ! !

Even more exciting than this working is the view that I've got it the shop . . .

The stack of packing materials, plastic bags that once contained parts or hardware, and empty boxes is growing in the shop - looks like I've got some CLEANUP that will need to be done soon ! ! !

 

[conv67bdere]

Got my replacement bolts in this week and got back in the shop to swap them out with the other bolts (that I did not like)

The new bolt ( on top ) is noticeably longer on the shoulder than the originally supplied bolt . .

When it is dropped through the stackup, you can now see additional shoulder for the clevis spacer and washer . . .

Adding the spacer and the washer you can see that the shoulder is right there at the end . . . full contact on the shoulder
( even the washer )

After getting them all replaced and adding the sway bar bolts and washer . . . it's starting to like like a "real" suspension

Also, did not like the "squared" off look of the 3D printed washer for the E-brake - so some additional design work was done on the part, and then it was re-printed ( still learning how much this printing will allow you to print in mid air - really interesting stuff )

The one on the right is the "old" worn out washer . . . and slightly compressed too . . . the left two will be the replacements . . .

The sad part is that by changing the taper at the top we were not able to embed the BSH characters into the bushing . . BUMMER ! ! !

This shows the "squareness" of the bushing that I did not like even though it should not make any difference to the function of the part . . .

More building of the front suspension to come ! ! ! YAY ! ! !

 

[conv67bdere]

Talk about an exciting day in the shop ( even though it was 88 degrees in the shop - probable 95 outside )

Here's the progress . . . last night I pulled out the brakes and THIS got me motivated for today ( what heat ? )

Look at these babies ! ! !

Got all the parts pulled out to tackle one side of the car . . .

Bolt on the caliper bracket . . .

Next is the wheel hub . . . sweet looking parts . . .

This is how I was taught to grease the bearings in your hand, push it in from the big side until it is oozing out the little side ( top of the picture )

Install the hub . . .

Install the rotor . . .

now - to work on the alignment of the rotor, caliper . . . using shims . . . and then onto the other side . . .

Need to do some cleanup in the shop as the pile of empty boxes are beginning to grow . . .

Sorry about the bad pic . . . 88 in the shop today . . . UGH . . .

 

[mopar4don]

Looking Good!

 

[conv67bdere]

Got some mess on the facias on the house that needs some attention - so, of course, the car work is on the back burner ( again )

When you have to install 12' boards and you tend to do all your work alone . . . how do you get that to "work" . . .

Here's what I came up with to make it work . . .

Made a simple little jig that I could use to hole the far end of the board . . . worked like a champ . . .

Getting these new facias up on the house . . . most of the front is done . . . soon the back ! ! !

 

[HawkRod]

Houses are a PITA - always something to do to keep them going...

Wait a minute, I think my cars need the same thing!

 

[HYRDGOON]

I love that there's 5 screws through the end piece of that jig... you even overkill the Jig! Lol

 

[Budnicks]

Cars looking great (house too)

love the suspension & hardware choices

car's gonna' be a bad m-fer

progress baby, progress

 

[Ghostrider 67]

You have to burn brain cells to work alone... looking great!

 

[biomedtechguy]

The spindle for the front disc brake looks new, but my understanding is that ONLY original DRUM brake spindles work with the Wilwood disc brake system, and NO ONE has those drum brake spindles available new.
So are yours just cleaned up old ones or...??

Thanks

 

[Sixtynine_Bird]

The spindle for the front disc brake looks new, but my understanding is that ONLY original DRUM brake spindles work with the Wilwood disc brake system, and NO ONE has those drum brake spindles available new.
So are yours just cleaned up old ones or...??

Thanks

If those are new, (I don't remember if conv67bdere bought them but) perhaps he bought the new 2inch drop spindles from Magnum Force when he ordered his transformer K member...
It is n option listed when you order that Kmember from Magnum Force.

When I ordered mine, I chose to keep my stock drum brake spindles though.

 

[biomedtechguy]

If those are new, (I don't remember if conv67bdere bought them but) perhaps he bought the new 2inch drop spindles from Magnum Force when he ordered his transformer K member...
It is n option listed when you order that Kmember from Magnum Force.

When I ordered mine, I chose to keep my stock drum brake spindles though.

They are new Magnum Force spindles.
What baffles me is that "The Right Stuff" front drum to disc brake conversion system that I have on it now included new spindles, and even with the drilled and slotted discs the system was appx $750, but the Wilwood $1,500 front brake conversion system forces the buyer to use 50 year old drum spindles that cannot be found new!

 

[Sixtynine_Bird]

They are new Magnum Force spindles.
What baffles me is that "The Right Stuff" front drum to disc brake conversion system that I have on it now included new spindles, and even with the drilled and slotted discs the system was appx $750, but the Wilwood $1,500 front brake conversion system forces the buyer to use 50 year old drum spindles that cannot be found new!

Oh ok sorry I didn't get it the first time I read your post.
Yes you are right when I started working on my brakes I bought the Wilwood disc brakes conversion kit and my drum brake spindles looked a bit tired so I decided to look out there if they were some new spindles and wasn't able to find some. So just worked on mine refurbished them and they turned out pretty great.

 

[Sixtynine_Bird]

Hi conv67bdere, any update on your build?

I wanted to ask you a question as I have just received my transformer Kmember from magnum force, and I am not happy with some of those bolts that they provided just like you.. I saw that you bought some new with a longer shoulder befor the threaded extremity of the bolt.
Here in France we don't have such bolt in imperial dimensions, just wanted to know, if it is possible, where did you buy yours?
That would be really helpful

Thanks for your time

 

[conv67bdere]

Hi conv67bdere, any update on your build?

I wanted to ask you a question as I have just received my transformer Kmember from magnum force, and I am not happy with some of those bolts that they provided just like you.. I saw that you bought some new with a longer shoulder befor the threaded extremity of the bolt.
Here in France we don't have such bolt in imperial dimensions, just wanted to know, if it is possible, where did you buy yours?
That would be really helpful

Thanks for your time

Got the bolts at Aircraft Spruce . . . https://www.aircraftspruce.com/

I can look up the bolts that I ordered to replace the ones that I did not like - if you like . . . let me know.