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Rebirth of my 1970 GTX!

t.flatt

Well-Known Member
Local time
6:49 PM
Joined
Feb 28, 2014
Messages
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Location
North Dakota
Well, I think it's time to start this thing up! Some of you might have seen a few posts of the progress on the car but I may as well get it all in one spot and start at the beginning. I call a rebirth because many people told me my car was done, fubar, not fixable, parts car... blah, blah, blah... How wrong they were!!! A couple early pictures...

IMG_4934.JPG IMG_4936.JPG IMG_4952.JPG
 
It had taken quite a bit of work to get it this far. It was my dad's car. He bought it in the mid '80's. Having bought one new in 1970 when my parents were married and selling it, he bought this one when a friend asked him to come along and look at it! I got a few rides when I was about 12 years old and thought that was the coolest car ever! He started to tear it down and I remember helping take off the Plymouth letters on the tail panel. He succeeded in getting the car apart then chased a girl to Florida taking all the parts with him leaving leaving a shell of a car on wheels and the engine block at the farm.

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After many years of phone calls and letters I finally got the title in the mail!!! Time for a trip from North Dakota to Florida! We fit what we could in my car and shipped the rest. He had everything down there, the entire interior, hood, all the glass, bumpers, wheels, all the trim, the wiring, it was a haul! I got everything back and decided I would get the car running and when I had the time and money, do a nice restoration. I was a college student in my early 20's at the time.
And you let it get that way?
I sure did, bud. Fast cars and young guys have a tendency to destroy one or the other...many times, both.
 
"Start it up" as in begin a project or to literally start the engine?
 
"Start it up" as in begin a project or to literally start the engine?
Start the thread up. I wish it was about starting the engine up! I've got a few things halfways done on the car and would like to document it. What better place than here? The car is now painted and it's up to me to get the rest as nice as the paint. Looking at it as a whole, it is a very daunting project! It is my first restoration so I need all the help, inspiration, tips and knowledge I can get! I put it together once with no regard to restoring the parts and this is a whole new ballgame! I'm pretty handy myself, so hopefully I can help other people out as well.
 
Good luck with the restoration, uh, rebirth!

Any significant restoration IS a daunting project, but for me, it is better to think of it as lots of little projects, and you can celebrate the success of each as you go along. It's hard to believe it's been over 5 years since I finished my 70. Let me know if you need pictures of any parts - I took quite a few before I tore the car all apart.

Keep up the good work and pictures too so we can travel along with you!
 
Good luck with the restoration, uh, rebirth!

Any significant restoration IS a daunting project, but for me, it is better to think of it as lots of little projects, and you can celebrate the success of each as you go along. It's hard to believe it's been over 5 years since I finished my 70. Let me know if you need pictures of any parts - I took quite a few before I tore the car all apart.

Keep up the good work and pictures too so we can travel along with you!
Thank you! Yes, you have to look at it as a bunch of small projects.
 
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My favourite model of car. I cannot wait to see your progress. :)

Winding the clock back 23 years......this is near the beginning of a three and a half year restoration for mine...
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Good luck. :thumbsup:
 
So, I had the motor rebuilt and got the X drivable. That was all great and fun, then this happened! The tree packed a pretty good punch but the X won! Only because the tree got ripped out of the ground! There I was with a really cool car all smashed to **** and a tree laying in the boulevard 30 feet in front of it! Not my proudest moment...

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So, I had the motor rebuilt and got the X drivable. That was all great and fun, then this happened! The tree packed a pretty good punch but the X won! Only because the tree got ripped out of the ground! There I was with a really cool car all smashed to **** and a tree laying in the boulevard 30 feet in front of it! Not my proudest moment...

View attachment 1056349
Ouch!!!

Hopefully a radiator support replacement, radiator and some front sheet metal can repair? You'll obviously need to check the frame rails to be sure they aren't bent, but hopefully the K member kept them pretty straight.

Good luck with the fix.
 
So, I had the motor rebuilt and got the X drivable. That was all great and fun, then this happened! The tree packed a pretty good punch but the X won! Only because the tree got ripped out of the ground! There I was with a really cool car all smashed to **** and a tree laying in the boulevard 30 feet in front of it! Not my proudest moment...

View attachment 1056349
Damn.....that hurts...even from here. :(
 
The GTX went back out to the farm and I moved around a lot and never had a garage. It was always in my mind to fix it so I bought parts as I could. The hood, bumper and a front clip from a donor satellite the main things.
 
Ouch!!!

Hopefully a radiator support replacement, radiator and some front sheet metal can repair? You'll obviously need to check the frame rails to be sure they aren't bent, but hopefully the K member kept them pretty straight.

Good luck with the fix.
No luck there. The rails got bent and the K-member got horseshoed a bit too!
 
My favourite model of car. I cannot wait to see your progress. :)

Winding the clock back 23 years......this is near the beginning of a three and a half year restoration for mine...
View attachment 1056352

Good luck. :thumbsup:
I've seen the after photos of yours and it is beautiful! There is something about a '70 GTX that is just amazing, my favorite as well!
 
Holy crap! That must have hurt a bit. Glad to hear you’ve been working on it since the crash.
 
Fast forwarding about 20 years I was looking on-line about straightening uni-bodies and found a good article on it. The shop was Muscle Car Restorations and the author said they were one of the best in the business at this. And, they were located kinda close to me! About 300 miles away. I called 'em up and they said, "yeah, sure, we can fix your car!" They had about a year waiting list so I got signed up. A mistake or not, I was in. I'm not a paint and body guy and I did not want to practice on the X! All the repairs it needed were way beyond my skillset.
 
I did get the front clip blasted and primered before I brought it out there.

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