This weeks progress also brought with it the removal of the remainder of the outer rocker panel. I also used the wire wheel on the front frame rail then sprayed it with some rust converter.
I also got excited to test fit some of the parts that I have on hand just so it looks like I had more progress than I really did......it worked and got me itching to weld some of these parts into place, but that will probably be next week when I get the rear torque box and frame rail pieces.
I also had to remove a ton of surface rust from the "new" front torque box and floor support since they have been sitting around for 13ish years.
I just ordered the new parts I'll need to finish up the frame section on the left side of the car. Once I get them I'll be able to fit everything together before tacking it all in place.....then I can say I'm actually restoring a car rather than just demolishing it.
Aft section of the outer rocker panel removed.
Rear torque box and the aft section of the floor was also removed.
You can see I got a little wild with the drill when removing the floor.
Removed the rest of the floor support from the front frame rail and cleaned up some of the
spot weld high spots.
Front frame rail with rust inhibitor and new matching torque box with rust inhibitor.
You can also see the outside of the inner rocker rail that must have a small coating of oil on it since it only rusted slightly by the spot welds.
I need to close up some of these gaps between the torque box and front frame rail, but
it fit in there with little effort.
Outer rocker panel held in place with some vise grips.....gets my welding finger excited!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the hasty prior post. I hadn't read through the previous entries of your blog first and jumped the gun. I get it now and am very much looking forward to following this story as it unravels. I like the idea of using the major structure from a coupe but spending extra time/effort repairing the donor's rear frame rails gives me pause. I'm thinking that if the rails are gone, then the rear transition/floor/etc might be gone too? Is there ANY chance to getting yet another donor? You'd probably have to ship it in from somewhere though... Please accept my apologies if I'm out of line.
DeleteYour not out of line at all. I appreciate the comments. Trust me, I've had plenty of pauses over the last several years as I've tried to figure out the best and least expensive way to restore this car. I have been going back and forth in my head whether or not I should buy a better donor car, or spend that money on repairing this one, or buy a complete aftermarket front clip for my convertible and have both a convertible and coupe.....lots of possibilities, so I had to choose and just dig in and start working. In the end I'll see if it was the best choice or not.
ReplyDeleteI figured it would be cheaper to go this route.
The rear transition isn't too bad, but I'll have to repair the trunk floor in spots and the tail light panel too. My main concern was keeping the frame square and keeping the dimensions correct. If I could find the original drawings with all the dimensions for the car it may have changed the method I chose.
I'm a little nervous that this car will be viewed as a conversion car rather than my original GT convertible and that could hurt the value. In that case I would be better off buying a new aftermarket front clip
What do you think?
The question of being a "conversion car" is likely going to be how it was titled depending on how the transition of the VIN codes is handled. A coupe VIN will definitely hurt the convertible (and GT!) value of the car. But transferring a convertible VIN to a coupe shell is another can of worms and I don't know enough to touch that topic.
DeleteThis has been my dilemma for several years. I wish I hadn't been so eager to chop it up in my younger years. I thought the rust was beyond repair back then (not as many after market party were available then), but recently looking at some of the other rusty project cars i realize it could have been saved.
DeleteI would hate to tarnish the value of the GT convertible, so I'm still hanging onto the original pieces I have left so I can keep my options open and possibly put an after market front on it.
Maybe I'll end up with 2 cars out of this......that can't be a bad option.
Which original convertible parts do you still have? Can you post a pic?
DeleteThanks to you finding Alex, I have found another restorer right here in Utah. Look forward to seeing how it all comes together. It looks like we have similar problems, I just finished installing a rear frame rail. I do have the frame measurements for a 67 by the way. I wonder if I might be able to talk you out of a few of those parts from the donor car...
ReplyDeleteMy brother had a '67 fastback that he and my dad restored as well. they are sweet cars. I don't have much left from the donor car other than the body, but what I'm not using I wouldn't mind giving to you if you wanted to come pick it up, however I'm not sure there's a whole lot that you could use after I'm done with it.
Delete