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Yankee Express RestoMod Project

I've just began to follow your thread. Went thru most of it today. You're a pretty methodical builder. You started with quite a project and have made some really good progress. I learn a lot from these build threads and appreciate your pics and insightful commentary. You're going to have sweet one when she's all done.... Are they ever all done....
 
Your in deep now GR!

I am definitely interested in you mini-tub, might have to do that on mine some day.

Keep up the good work!

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Hey GetX'd, thanks for tuning in! I have given this a lot of thought. I know what I want it to look like overall when finished and have just broken that down into manageable bits. I have to weld in a new passenger side full floor pan and sew up the trunk floor when the spring relocation is done. I found that the base of the old spare tire tub has the right radius to cut some chunks out and use them to sew up the bottom rear of the tubs where they meet the floor. I decided to not blast the entire car. It's in such good shape I think i'll hit the jambs and edges of everything and the engine bay/frame that shows. Everything else is just sand and seal. No, they are never all done.lol.
I've just began to follow your thread. Went thru most of it today. You're a pretty methodical builder. You started with quite a project and have made some really good progress. I learn a lot from these build threads and appreciate your pics and insightful commentary. You're going to have sweet one when she's all done.... Are they ever all done....

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Hey MT_Mopar, this mini tub thing turned out to be so easy that I wonder now why I was hesitant to do it. I really is simple. It gives a total of almost 15 inches width for tires. That's a lot of rubber. These cars are sooo big the skinny tires don't look right to me.
Your in deep now GR!

I am definitely interested in you mini-tub, might have to do that on mine some day.

Keep up the good work!

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Progress....

I was waiting for a buddy to get to my house so we could go to a car show and I did a little welding and fab while I waited..
I cut a shaped a piece to direct airflow under the scoop and tacked it in and I tacked down the center front lip support too. Also I tacked up the back corners of the scoop.
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No pics today...I did not have my phone. I closed the other side of the cowl ahead of the scoop. I flipped the hood over and fabricated a 2 1/2 inch band around the factory triangle shaped opening above the carb location. I sliced the lower half of the band on each side and ran those strips left and right under the cowl on both sides. That makes a tunnel from the scoops to the opening under the sides of the cowl next to each scoop. With the directing strip under each scoop that moves the air flow into those tunnels the result is a ram air system. The band will hang down about a inch and a half so when I have the engine in place and the air cleaner I can fab a plate with a gasket to meet up to that bands lower edge and thereby close up the system when the hoods closed. I had to cut a funny shaped bit to sit flat on the top surface of the hood frame from the edge of the hood where it was cut to make the panel for the cowl to the edge of the band.
 
pics of finished fabrication....

Okay, I did a little this morning and got the right side scoop stitched up and mounted in place. So now you can see what I was going for and how the air flow works. Needs some fiber filler and smoothing out but this is the work in progress.

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July 27 UPDATE....

I unloaded my Ford 9 inch rear end this morning. It's a 78 1/2 ton truck unit with 3.50 gear, 31 spline axles, a true 9" ring gear and 11" brakes. Its about 5 inches longer but I have a friend that builds trikes with narrowed 9" axles that he narrows himself. He has about 35 years doing it so he will tutor me on narrowing mine. The Trac Loc unit is around 400 bucks so I have to save up for that. This beefy axle will take a lot of abuse and looks heavy duty setting next to the MOPAR 8 3/4 that came out. So, progress!IMG_0914.jpgIMG_0913.jpg

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I also separated the hood skin from the frame so that I can derust it and weld in some bracing for the hood to tilt forward open. In addition I ground off the 1/2 of filler on the dent on the right top of the front cowl. Then I reached up through the fresh air vent holes under the dash and hammered the metal back up to close to the right height and contours. I will finish up with dolly and hammer to get as near to right as I can then finish with Evercoat. The hood frame is all surface rust except for one spot that I will have cut out. I used a thin cut off wheel on a 3" air cutter to cut the spot welds along the seams to get them apart. The rest is just splotches of that goop that levels the hood skin along the frame openings. I made a map of where those spots were so I can replace them before putting the hood back together. While I have them apart I will form the inside bits for the "Ram Air" tunnel under the cowl edges coming from the scoops. I will use a bit of panel bond to stick those bits to the underside of the hood as it goes down onto the frame. Here's a drawing of what I am talking about....
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bought a Brunner air compressor today, believe it's a 60 gallon tank. Has a 5 HP Dayton motor, new belts, new gate shut off valve, all cast iron compressor, 2 stage oil bath. The diaphragm on the pressure switch seems to be leaking down though. I have been unable to locate any parts on the web. Anyone know if I can replace that old switch with a new model that has the same # of out/in lets? Runs great, very quiet, also I wonder if it will hold the entire 300 psi that the gauge goes up to?

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Hinges015.jpgIMG_0922.jpgupdate... I found out that Grainger sells a 12" x 12" piece of natural rubber, 1/16th thick that is perfect to make a new diaphragm out of. Once that's done i'll see if the switch will cut it off at 150 and back on at 90psi. BTW I saw a 1967 Plymouth Sport fury today for sale out by the road in upper central Vermont. Yellow color, very straight looking body, good glass. Didn't stop had the wife with me on date day. lol. I have decided to rework the rear tail panel to accept the tail light buckets from a 66/67 Charger. I'll change the letters on the lenses to read Coronet. I know...weird right? Also here are pics of the hood hinges I want to use to tilt it to the front and my hood frame from which I have separated the skin to derust it and fix a small spot that rusted through. I also needed it apart to weld in two 1/2 x 1/2 x 36" braces up each side in the frame channels between the skin and frame to carry the load when it tilts forward and to bolt the hinges to.
 
Progress.....

I was feeling good yesterday and decided to spend the whole day in the garage to move this project along. I sewed up the right side mini tub and then got interested in cleaning out the wiring channel on the passenger side in preparation for removing the floor pan. After lunch I got out the sander and took the crap off the right quarter to see how bad it really was. It has a lot of holes where some damage was pulled out but it's not rusted. I can fix that. I found some holes on the left top rear edge of the quarter and some more on the right tail pan where some one missed a space with the goop at the factory. Sanded top of the trunk area sides of the quarters and the top panel of the right quarter down to bare metal. All very nice. it looks like most of the metal work will be the right lower quarter and around the trunk seal lip. Ran out of sand paper and energy. Removed the rear bumper finally.
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View attachment 273547RR_Rear2-1024x683.jpgNo not really. I have decided on a "look" though. I really like that twin turbo roadrunner " ROADKILL". That black chrome monochromatic look all over is badass. I think I will go that way.
I've just began to follow your thread. Went thru most of it today. You're a pretty methodical builder. You started with quite a project and have made some really good progress. I learn a lot from these build threads and appreciate your pics and insightful commentary. You're going to have sweet one when she's all done.... Are they ever all done....
 
YANKEE EXPRESS update.

IMG_1083.jpgIMG_1084.jpgToday I got interested in how much trash might be down in the trunk extensions and pulled the plugs. scraped and used high pressure air to get it all out of there. I plugged up the gaps in the trunk floor with old cloths so no more stuff falls in there. I had to pull the bottom lip of the quarter at the end by the bottom of the rear bumper out a little to make it straight. I sat and stared at the fake side scoops fir awhile and made some drawings, took another look online at Chip Foose's Imposter Impala where he fabbed in the gills on the front fenders. I got it down pat what needed to be done and where to cut it. I took a deep breath and started up the buzz saw. I used a thin cut off wheel on a 3" air cutoff tool and very slowly and carefully sliced into a nice 40 year old original quarter panel. I used a carbon wire to slice the remaining few millimeters at each corner. Using a body hammer with a blunt chisel tip I began to tease the back edge over and in to make the outer edge of the air scoop. Then I pushed gently down on the "tongue" of remaining metal to achieve the right curve down into the scoop bottom. All that's left is to cut and fit the funny shaped side bits that make the upper and lower walls of the scoop sides and tack it up. I made two today and fooled around with test fitting them and had to remodel them several times to get what the final shape needed to be to have the outcome I'm looking for. Assuming the welding goes ok it will then just need a bit of filler and glazing putty to smooth things out and it's done. So, one almost down and three to go. I still need to decide what to do about a screen for the bottom or to close it out and place a decal or a screen in there. Anyway, it was fun and I think the finished effect will be good looking and different than the other cars I might see at the local shows. Here's some pics, keep in mind it is a work in progress and there is much trimming and fussing about to do yet.
 

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Yankee express update.....

I finally found the stainless steel wire mesh that I wanted from a company called TWP. I ordered a couple of swatches for now. They sell them in a 6"x6" piece. This is big enough for what I'm doing at the moment. They will get cut down to fit inside the quarter panel scoops and will end up looking like this picture of the Impala Imposter. I also picked up a 6 foot hunk of 3/16 x 6" wide flat steel to make the spring hanger relocation brackets. And a sheet of 20 gauge steel for the trunk floor and scoops. I bought a piece of steel 36" x 3" x 3/16 for the plates to reinforce the hood frame where the hinge mounts go and along the upper end of the two diagonal center channels for stiffening since it will tilt forward.impala-chip-foose-vencedor-premio-ridler-2015-5.jpgs_s-8_0320178bwebready.jpg
 
Yankee express

IMG_1150.jpgIMG_1152.jpgupdate....

I got the second one finished fabrication and all welded up. on the right side. here's some pics.
 
Update

I picked up some 6 way power leather front buckets today from a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited and a gauge cluster w/ 150 MPH speedo, 8000 RPM tach, fuel and temp. Also bought a rear bumper '70 Road Runner.

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Update

IMG_1291.jpgIMG_1292.jpgIMG_1293.jpgIMG_1234.jpgIMG_1296.jpgWell I placed the speedo in the dash and did not like it. That's out. But, I did stomp around in the salvage yard for 2 hours looking at more than 80 cars and trucks with a tape measure in hand. The last car I looked at was a 1998 AUDI A-6 Quattro wagonback and low and behold the dash was the right length, right color and had the features I wanted. $120.00 for the complete dash, 4 door panels, and the console. 160 MPH speedo! Using the stock dash frame and most of the AUDI dash I'll fab it up. The 4 door panels will fab together in parts to fit the two long Coronet doors. Some sections will be recovered in saddle colored leather to match the final interior scheme.
I cut out the side scoops on the drivers side then found a rear '70 runner bumper and got interested in that. I had to cut it in half, reshape both ends, and I also shaved the mounting bolts. Welded it back together yesterday and sprayed primer on it for now. I sanded the trunk lid half way with a flap disc and found no rust other than surface stuff thankfully, that lid looked pretty bad to start out with but it's going to be ok. If anyone has a cheap set of 66/67 Charger tail light lenses I would like to get them. I got in the mail the two stainless wire mesh samples to close out the side scoops and they look perfect in there! Also here's a pic of the rear of the car with the 70 bumper and the car I am using as a model of the look I want.Thanks for following along. View attachment 276516View attachment 276517View attachment 276515
 
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Yanke express restomod update

I have gotten serious about sanding the paint off of this car due to winter closing in. I need to get it epoxy primed a couple of coats before then. Yesterday I cleaned the rain gutters out and sanded them down as well as the rear window channel. Removing the clips which were rusted in was fun. I used the 3" cut off to score a slot in the top of the screw and twisted them out. Did the front too. Sanded down the drivers side quarter, door frame and rocker, started on the roof and will finish that this morning. A few small nooks and crannies and blow it off with compressed air. First coat today. Any further mods will have to just be sanded down in the area I'm working in. I don't need the fenders and doors sanded down until spring. I will spend the winter sand blasting small parts and welding, and fitting the new dash/interior to the car. Fitting the gas tank and filler to the trunk. Fabbing and fitting a roll cage, frame connecters, spring relocation etc. Here's the current look,,,,......

2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited front buckets, leather , power 6 way..jpgIMG_1318.jpgIMG_1317.jpgIMG_1316.jpgIMG_1313.jpgIMG_1312.jpgIMG_1310.jpgIMG_1308.jpgIMG_1307.jpgIMG_1306.jpgIMG_1302.jpgIMG_1227.jpgIMG_1221.jpgcomparing.jpganother thought.....jpgIMG_1320.jpg
 
Update, update.....

Well I had written a long detailed account of what I did to create the space into which the tail light buckets will fit but my stupid laptop hiccupped and froze. Lost it all. So suffice to say, cause I'm not typing it all again, that I fabricated the slot for it to set in and the surface to mount them on. I have to reshape the quarter tail extensions to not slant inward on the top and bottom but rather to be a slot the same height all the way across because I want those buckets of the 66/67 Charger lights to set back in that slot rather than out along the sheet metal. I bought some aluminum brazing rods to put it all together after cutting.
That's where I'm at now and we have B&B guests above the garages in our apartment so I cant work on it right now. If they go out today I will open the overhead door and take some pics of the mess as it sits at the moment. It's coming along though.
More recently I have been studying the front clip trying to decipher why I don't like how it looks. I think now that I don't care for the way the front fenders stick out past the hood lip on each end. That angle along the front top of the fender on each side. The hood lines that I erased which used to flow out on an angle to meet the fender angles no longer are there. I looked at some pics of (again) a 70 Road Runner fender leading edge and it is aligned with the hood. Flat front in other words. I thought about what it would take to swing those front edges back a few degrees to align with my hood. I would have to cut a wedge shaped slice on top and slice along the top of the fender fold and down to the bottom just in front of the downward line of the bumper depression. I would cut out a strip vertical along that line for the metal to slid back as I swing the top surface backwards to align with the hood. Then tack it all back together. After that the 66 Grill surround would need to be sliced,again in a wedge shape, to swing it's outer ends back square with the rest. I drew a picture of what it would look like and I like it. I will do that after I finish the tail light /trunk area. I think that will the last modification I will make to the cars body overall.

Stay tuned, I will put up pics as I go along. Thanks for looking.

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Yankee Express UPdate

My mother in law has been visiting for 10 days and staying in the apartment above our garages. So, nothing got done. She has returned to the crypt and I can get back to work. I sourced a complete 2001 Audi Allroad A-6 Quattro interior including the complete dash/ wiring harness, center lower dash with Audi Symphony radio and CD/cassette and dual digital climate control. Also the console between seats with shift bezel,park brake arm, popup cup holder, etc..including rear seat ac/heat outlets. Also got the steering wheel and shaft w/ tilt/telescope & airbag. All door panels w. hinged storage compartment, CD storage& player, and speakers. Door power locks, power windows, 12 way leather bucket seats ( to swap with the Jeep seats I had but found out were defective). So....all of this is being installed in the Express, it has wood accent trim and is just the right width door to door. 170MPH speedo 8000RPM tach. I do have to fab up a base for the console and center tower as the Audi tunnel came up higher and square to mount all of it. I have the dash shell fabricated into the car now, had to make 3/16 plate steel mount brackets to get it setting exactly centered and rearward far enough to use the door panels and have the steering mount plate line up. I trimmed the front edge of the dash pad to match the curve of the Coronets windshield and now have to cover that edge with something and fasten it to the lip. I stopped by Audi and looked at new cars and noticed a new A-6 has a small panel the goes across the dash next to the inside bottom of the windshield, it has a chrome trim on the front edge and a vertical clear plastic window all along under the edge that puts up data as a heads up. Ill do that with a sliced off portion( about 3 " ) of the stock dash and put something up there. That will let me run bolts down through the stock piece, through the Audi dash into the stock dash mounting holes along the windshield frame. I mocked up the door panels and dash w console and it looks right at home in there, very posh. I also took the front half of the overhead console with map lights storage, sun shade etc and will construct a headliner of my own off of it and place all of that in it. I also took both visors w/ lighted mirrors and a control for the garage doors. The interior is charcoal/ platinum/brown. The leather on the door panels and the dash shell can be changed or re-stained. I like the colors though. It's a lot of wiring but fortunately I was an auto electric guy in the service on my first tour and I have the complete schematics for the Audi stuff. So resto mod is coming along nicely and I am going to be traveling in "executive level" German comfort. hahaha...

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