Cruisin' Down teh Street in Mah Six-Fo

Strut your greasy stuff!
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Huckleberry
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I got the front end wired up as much as I could without having the headlights in place. Once those get installed, I'll be able to terminate the ends for the H4 halogens.
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This is a closeup of the bracket I made for mounting the clutch reservoir. Obviously, the car originally had a clutch with a mechanical linkage, so there was no factory provision for a hydraulic reservoir.
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Then it was on to the passenger rear quarter and the nice crease it was sporting. We stripped it down to metal:
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Then used a stud welder my dad picked up from Harbor Freight to pull it out as best we could:
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While waiting for the filler to set, we tackled the exhaust tips and got them placed and welded where we wanted:
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During that time, the filler had set, so we sanded it down with a DA and 120 grit sandpaper:
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And applied a second coat, which is where we left off last night:
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Huckleberry
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I haven't updated this in a while because it has been one tumultuous adventure. We had continued with the bodywork: sanding, applying coats, more sanding, and more applying.
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We even took the new reproduction hood and bolted it on. I know that people say the reproduction stuff is junk, but we haven't really had too many issues with the quarter, fender, floors, or hood. It all has seemed to line up really well.
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But we really needed a break from the bodywork. So, we decided to concentrate on getting the engine ready to start. I picked up an Airaid U-Build-It intake kit, which comes with a long tube that has various bends in it and can be cut down to shape. The tubing is black plastic, so it gives a much better appearance than the aluminum stuff. We capped the end of the tube off with a dry element filter from AEM.

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At that point, it was time to add fluids, double check the connections, and turn the key. So, we turned the key to ON to make sure everything came on.

And it didn't. My dad looked at me, and I looked at the car and remembered, "Right. Fuse blocks like fuses."

So, we installed the fuses. We turned the key back to ON. The gauge cluster lit up, which -I'll admit- brought about a similar joy I had as a kid when the Christmas tree first lit up for the year. I told my dad to turn the key to START to prime the engine. So, he pushed in the clutch and turned the key.

And nothing. God damn it. My dad looked at me, and I looked at the car and remembered, "Neutral safety switch. It is wired to work when the trans is in neutral." My dad took the trans out of gear and turned the key again. This time, the starter motor woke up and spun the engine. Oil pressure rose almost instantaneously. For anyone working on an LS engine, fill the oil pump with assembly lube on install. It makes a world of difference when trying to prime the engine.

At that point, I reinstalled the relays and spark plugs on the motor and told my dad to turn the key back to ON. He did and the fuel pump primed. I hopped under the car and checked every line connection for fuel leaks. When I verified that we had no leaks, I told my dad to start the car. So, he turned the key to START.

And it started.

And it died.

He turned the key again. And again it started, and then immediately died. Now, it was time to troubleshoot.

My friend came over with his Tech II software, and we attempted to start it a few more times to no avail. The computer threw the code P0336, which ties to the crankshaft position sensor, as well as a code for the security system. Fucking VATS. So, I called my brother-in-law, who has HP Tuners, and he came over to turn off the VATS. Once it was disabled, along with some other emissions codes, we tried starting it again. It fired and died. P0336 returned. FACK.

I couldn't remember if the sensor on the engine had come with the engine or if it was new, so the first step was replacing the sensor. We picked up a new sensor from the parts store and installed it. We cleared the code and turned the key. The motor fired, died, and the code returned. For the next step, I pulled the sensor plug and tested the terminals. With the key ON, I verified 12V reference and ohmed the ground terminal to the harness ground and the battery ground. With the key OFF, I then ohmed the signal wire at the correct pin on the PCM. I do not have an oscilloscope to check the actual sensor's signal. Going through GM's published troubleshooting guide for this code, one of the steps said to verify the signal wire is isolated from any solenoid, relay, and secondary ignition wires. So, I ordered some EMI-shielded wire sleeving and installed it on the sensor lead. No change.

At this point, I tested every other electrical component with the car to verify that they all work. Gauge cluster? Check. Seats? Check. Radio? Check. Headlights? Check. Neutral safety? Check. Wipers? Check. Horn? Check. Everything is working as it should, including the engine harness until it needs to staying running. I never give 100% certainty on anything, but I was 99% certain this issue wasn't a result of my wiring. This left me with two options: the PCM or the reluctor wheel. Both are suspects since the PCM was bought used and the crank was changed from a 58x to a 24x reluctor by the machine shop back in 2014. I contacted the guy I got the engine from and asked him if he has ever had any issues with a reluctor being installed incorrectly. He told me that he never has. Not once. Ever. Never ever ever ever.

So, I took that information and started with the reluctor while my brother-in-law searched to see if he had another 411 PCM laying around. I pulled the crank sensor and was able to slide my phone up to the port and get a picture:
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I rotated the engine and took a few more pictures after a few turns of the ratchet. Then, I saw this:
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That's a pretty sweet ding on the reluctor's tooth. So, the worst case scenario was confirmed and the motor needed to be pulled and torn down. We decided to get started on Friday after work.
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Once the motor was out, we called it a night. Saturday involved the teardown of the engine. When we got to the crank, we confirmed that the reluctor was, in fact, installed incorrectly. Not only was it installed backwards:
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It was also indexed improperly. This is a shot of the Impala's crank on the left being compared to a factor crank on the right. Fucking Stevie Wonder installed this reluctor.
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I don't have too many shots of the teardown and rebuild because we were busting our asses trying to get everything assembled. Luckily, we were able to source a brand new reluctor from my brother-in-law, as well as a homemade alignment tool for installation. We threw the new wheel in the oven at 425 for 30 minutes, set up the crank next to the oven, and slid the wheel right on. It is a very easy process with the alignment tool. As a bonus, we also decided to forego the H3 Hummer pan in favor of a 4th Gen F-Body pan. Painted, of course.

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And here she is ready to go back in Saturday night:
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And I hung up the old reluctor as a reminder:
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I think I'm going to make a clock out of it and put "12" at the 4 o'clock position.

Before setting the motor back in on Sunday, I took the time to repaint the passenger side inner fender, and add some final touches to the attached accessories.
I added some door edge trim to the bracket I made for the engine fuse block to protect the wires:
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I also made a cover out of ABS plastic for the fuse block. If I have any complaints about the PSI harness, it is that the fuse block does not come with any sort of protective cover. While my cover isn't water proof, it will at least prevent stuff from falling directly onto it. I may plastic-weld some sides to it and add a gasket of some sort later on. I cut some slots in the cover to slide over the existing notches. It locks firmly into place.

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I was pretty beat Sunday night, so I called it around 8pm. On Monday, we finished up reinstallation. I didn't start it because I wanted my dad to be there, and he was planning on coming over on Tuesday. So, the car was ready for him on Tuesday.
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After work on Tuesday, my dad and friend arrived for the start-up. We went through the checklist again: check for leaks, verify fluid fills, and prime the engine. I pulled the relays. My dad turned the key. The starter spun. And then it stopped spinning. We heard a pop. And then we saw a large plume of smoke come from the starter area. Boy, did the assholes pucker. I got under the car to inspect. As it turned out, the EMI shielding I had left on the wiring wound up contacting one of the power leads on the starter. Since I had soldered a ground wire to the sleeving and grounded it to the engine block, it shorted the circuit and the 12 AWG wire fried. Nothing else appeared to be damaged. The wire fell on that grenade alone.

I removed the sleeving and reinstalled the wiring. With fingers crossed, my dad got back in and turned the key....

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Desertbreh
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Holy F!@#$ck what an enormous amount of work.
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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Barnes93cb
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I just read everything without photos. Im hoping it just gets better when im home to see the work too.

But it was a nice short novel so far.
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ChrisoftheNorth
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[user not found] wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 11:19 am Love this build. Such detail. Much frustrate. So brub. :doge:
:dat:

Love this so much.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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wap
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Motherfucker this is so :impressive: ly awesome. Can't wait until the next installment.
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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Huckleberry
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Infrequent updates does not mean infrequently working on the car. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

We addressed the issue with the firewall flexing every time the clutch pedal was pushed by making a bracket that tied one of the master's mounting bolts to the steering column. We may revisit and tie the upper bolt, as well, but the flex is basically gone at this point:
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We also gave the new 17" Rally wheels a test to see how they fit:
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The rear wheels are a little close to the exhaust. I may wrap that section of the exhaust instead of putting on a spacer.
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Then we proceeded with more sanding and body work. Despite going over the lower quarter multiple times, a magnet still sticks in the filler areas after sanding:
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And then we stripped the rest of the quarter panel down and sanded that metal, touching up areas that needed to be addressed:
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And then some more touching up when the primer makes other areas noticeable:
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Sanding the rear was fun:
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We tacked the rear latch in place, as well. One of the last few welding jobs on the car!
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On to the trunk lid we picked up from Craigslist a while back. It's funny how much better things look at the time of purchase:
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Body solder and a Dremel for redoing the factory leaded seam:
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The trunk back on and latched:
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Moving on to the passenger door:
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On a side note, when you are a little tired and aggravated, these two cans look identical. It doesn't help that their contents are both gray, either. Guess which one was initially used as body filler and then caused endless frustration as to why it wasn't sanding properly:
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The door stripped down with repairs made:
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Primed and then gone back over after the primer exposes more shit:
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On to the driver's side rocker and factory leaded seam. For this seam, we used the filler with aluminum strands. It is supposed to be for these factory seams.
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And this is where we left off:
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Up next on the docket is the driver door, hood, fenders, and roof. Then we will be ready to start priming with an epoxy primer, block sanding, and painting. I'd love to find a painter who was reliable enough to quote the job. So far, I've had one no-show, one guy refuse to give an actual quote, and a third guy bail because having the car done for my sister's wedding in October was too tight of a deadline. I'm probably going to just buy a turbine system and paint the thing myself.
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wap
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Continued :amaze: ment. Awesome.
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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Desertbreh
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Painting a car by October of 2019 was too tight a deadline?
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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D Griff
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Nuts build... nice work man! So much is going into this :wub:
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Irish
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D Griff wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:24 pm Nuts build... nice work man! So much is going into this :wub:
:dat: so :jelly: of your mad restoration skills.....

Fun Fact: My first car was this car's Ferd Counterpart ...... 62 Galaxie 500 ..... I always wished it was a Impaler...... :disappoint:
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Huckleberry
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Desertbreh wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:17 am Painting a car by October of 2019 was too tight a deadline?
Seriously, that's what the guy said. It caused me to go, "Dafuq?"
Irish wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:42 pm
D Griff wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:24 pm Nuts build... nice work man! So much is going into this :wub:
:dat: so :jelly: of your mad restoration skills.....

Fun Fact: My first car was this car's Ferd Counterpart ...... 62 Galaxie 500 ..... I always wished it was a Impaler...... :disappoint:
I don't know about mad skills. A lot of this has been trial by fire.

I always liked the Galaxies. I think they have remained relatively affordable, too.
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Huckleberry
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D Griff wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:24 pm Nuts build... nice work man! So much is going into this :wub:
Thanks.

We're trying to get this thing done for my sister's wedding. I also saw that they started demolishing the plant in which this car was originally built. I want to try and get it over for a few pictures before it is completely gone.
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Desertbreh
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Huckleberry wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:48 pm
D Griff wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:24 pm Nuts build... nice work man! So much is going into this :wub:
Thanks.

We're trying to get this thing done for my sister's wedding. I also saw that they started demolishing the plant in which this car was originally built. I want to try and get it over for a few pictures before it is completely gone.
Is it a wedding gift or do you intend to just need to arrive at the reception in style by laying a smoky burnout in heavy metal?
Detroit wrote:Buy 911s instead of diamonds.
Johnny_P wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:21 pm Earn it and burn it, Val.
max225 wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 5:35 pm Yes it's a cool car. But prepare the lube/sawdust.
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Irish
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Huckleberry wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:47 pm
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:17 am Painting a car by October of 2019 was too tight a deadline?
Seriously, that's what the guy said. It caused me to go, "Dafuq?"
Irish wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:42 pm

:dat: so :jelly: of your mad restoration skills.....

Fun Fact: My first car was this car's Ferd Counterpart ...... 62 Galaxie 500 ..... I always wished it was a Impaler...... :disappoint:
I don't know about mad skills. A lot of this has been trial by fire.

I always liked the Galaxies. I think they have remained relatively affordable, too.
My dad picked this up for $50 from a coworker when I was like 12 (1970's) ....it sat for 4 years and then almost killed me when I was 16 ( I wrote the whole story on the dead forum)
Image

years later (80's) I picked up a 68 for $200 from a coworker..when they looked a bit like Fairlanes......that thing was cherry except it kept seizing oil pumps and turning distributor rods into drill bits....and no one could figure out why.....

Image

:mindblown: fact: While these are good representations of what I had (and their condition).......These are not pics of my actual cars as my ownership predated cellphones and digital cameras...... by alot.......
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wap
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Irish wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:18 pm
Huckleberry wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:47 pm

Seriously, that's what the guy said. It caused me to go, "Dafuq?"



I don't know about mad skills. A lot of this has been trial by fire.

I always liked the Galaxies. I think they have remained relatively affordable, too.
My dad picked this up for $50 from a coworker when I was like 12 (1970's) ....it sat for 4 years and then almost killed me when I was 16 ( I wrote the whole story on the dead forum)
Image

years later (80's) I picked up a 68 for $200 from a coworker..when they looked a bit like Fairlanes......that thing was cherry except it kept seizing oil pumps and turning distributor rods into drill bits....and no one could figure out why.....

Image

:mindblown: fact: While these are good representations of what I had (and their condition).......These are not pics of my actual cars as my ownership predated cellphones and digital cameras...... by alot.......
Yea I didn't think that was your :jesus: fish. :lol:
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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Irish
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wap wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:46 pm
Irish wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:18 pm
My dad picked this up for $50 from a coworker when I was like 12 (1970's) ....it sat for 4 years and then almost killed me when I was 16 ( I wrote the whole story on the dead forum)

years later (80's) I picked up a 68 for $200 from a coworker..when they looked a bit like Fairlanes......that thing was cherry except it kept seizing oil pumps and turning distributor rods into drill bits....and no one could figure out why.....
Image
:mindblown: fact: While these are good representations of what I had (and their condition).......These are not pics of my actual cars as my ownership predated cellphones and digital cameras...... by alot.......
Yea I didn't think that was your :jesus: fish. :lol:
:iono: ....most of the wimenz I've been with seem to call me dat alot...... Oh Jeezus......don't stop, Jezeuss....jeeeeezuuuuuusssss!!!!!!!!!! :datass: :pokebeads: :tits: :jalepenis:
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Huckleberry
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Desertbreh wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:09 pm
Huckleberry wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 3:48 pm

Thanks.

We're trying to get this thing done for my sister's wedding. I also saw that they started demolishing the plant in which this car was originally built. I want to try and get it over for a few pictures before it is completely gone.
Is it a wedding gift or do you intend to just need to arrive at the reception in style by laying a smoky burnout in heavy metal?
Not a wedding gift. My dad just wants to drive her to the church in it.
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wap
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Irish wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:59 pm
wap wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:46 pm

Yea I didn't think that was your :jesus: fish. :lol:
:iono: ....most of the wimenz I've been with seem to call me dat alot...... Oh Jeezus......don't stop, Jezeuss....jeeeeezuuuuuusssss!!!!!!!!!! :datass: :pokebeads: :tits: :jalepenis:
:hue: :hue: :hue:
:wap: Where are these mangos?
Detroit wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:19 pm I don't understand anything anymore.
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Huckleberry
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Irish wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:18 pm My dad picked this up for $50 from a coworker when I was like 12 (1970's) ....it sat for 4 years and then almost killed me when I was 16 ( I wrote the whole story on the dead forum)
Image

years later (80's) I picked up a 68 for $200 from a coworker..when they looked a bit like Fairlanes......that thing was cherry except it kept seizing oil pumps and turning distributor rods into drill bits....and no one could figure out why.....

Image

:mindblown: fact: While these are good representations of what I had (and their condition).......These are not pics of my actual cars as my ownership predated cellphones and digital cameras...... by alot.......
What motor was in the 68?
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Irish
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Huckleberry wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:41 am
Irish wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:18 pm My dad picked this up for $50 from a coworker when I was like 12 (1970's) ....it sat for 4 years and then almost killed me when I was 16 ( I wrote the whole story on the dead forum)
Image

years later (80's) I picked up a 68 for $200 from a coworker..when they looked a bit like Fairlanes......that thing was cherry except it kept seizing oil pumps and turning distributor rods into drill bits....and no one could figure out why.....

Image

:mindblown: fact: While these are good representations of what I had (and their condition).......These are not pics of my actual cars as my ownership predated cellphones and digital cameras...... by alot.......
What motor was in the 68?
302.....def needed a big block :doe:
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Huckleberry
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When we last left our heroes, they were continuing with body work. Now, for this month's episode of "Hold the Effing Light."

There was a spot on the passenger side B-pillar that needed to be repaired:
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For weird pieces like this, the method that works for me is laying the cut piece down on a piece of sheet metal, and spraying it with a primer/paint.
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This will allow you to trace out the missing parts of the piece that have long since rotted away:
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Passenger side fender primed:
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And then it was time to start working on the driver side fender. This was a fender we found on Craigslist. Previous body work was done to it, but as well started looking at it more, was not done well. In retrospect, it would have been better to have just bought a reproduction panel. We've had great success with their fitments.

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Then we needed to take care of the things we found after priming:
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We repainted a used glove box door that we had found:
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Then we removed the hood and blocked it with 220, and then primed it.
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I decided to snag a nice overhead shot of the engine bay while the hood was off:
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The cowl was cleaned, sanded, and primed. This was an eBay find since I don't think they make reproduction cowls for the 64, or at least, they didn't when we realized the original one was toast:
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Everything back on:
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ChrisoftheNorth
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This is just so much :amazing:

:bravo: to you with all that body work :bs:
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Huckleberry
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We masked off the driver side opening to take care of the door jamb:
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I saw this tab completely bent over after priming and thought, "How did we do that?"
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I was going to pry it back until I realized that it was pretty tight against the B-pillar. I then remembered seeing that tab before. I looked back at old pictures and found it:
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That is how the car rolled out from the factory.


Then it was time to start on the roof.
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Those stripping discs really make quick work of taking everything down to metal. They also create one hell of a dusty mess.
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We found a nice dent after stripping everything down, so out came the stud welder.
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And after a little work with the slide hammer:
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Knocking the studs off with a flap wheel:
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Sanded with 180 and 220:
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And primed:
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I don't have any pictures of it, but we wound up scrapping the driver side door. After starting the strip the paint, we found that the door had been hit at some point. Instead of straightening the metal, they just put body filler overtop of the damage. This resulted in us finding a bunch of mangled metal underneath thick layers of filler. A new door was ordered and I had it delivered to my work since the vendor required a commercial address. My shipping guy was not happy.

However, even with it being a new door, the one corner did need a little work:
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Blocked with 220 and primed:
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Huckleberry
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The new door wound up requiring the hinges be adjusted on the body in order for the gaps to be acceptable. Unfortunately, this required breaking down the front end to access the hinges. So, off came the hood and driver fender, with the aid of some guy:
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And here's everything primed and back together for now:
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Of course, we found some low spots in the trunk, so we revisited that decklid, which was another Craigslist "treasure:"
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We decided to give the body work a break and jumped to the brakes. The original rear calipers we received were leaking out of the back of the calipers:
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After talking with Right Stuff Detailing, we were able to swap them out and get some nifty black powdercoated calipers:
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Adjusting the calipers takes some patience, since you need to properly adjust the parking brake in order to have some semblance of a pedal feel. Now, the parking set-up on the X-frame is a little bit of an oddball assortment of pivots and levers. Unfortunately, due to the TKO's tailshaft housing being longer and the driveshaft's diameter being larger, the factory set-up put everything far too close to the driveshaft. This isn't my picture, but it is one that someone else took with a 700R-4 conversion who experienced the same issue:

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We resolved the problem by making a shorter lever out of bar stock I had laying around. It moved everything down and away from the driveshaft:
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Next up was the rear deck and the butchered job that someone did for bigger speakers:
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I started with a Dremel and cleaned up the edges:
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Then I took some 18 gauge sheet metal and made a plate to hold a 5x7 speaker:
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A little paint, a few rivets, and boom:
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