62 Belvedere 318 poly granny cruiser (one day i hope)

[icetech]

Looking good.

Thanks, i haven't done any metal work in 20 years.. and never did stuff that had to look decent when done I figure a month or so of replacing metal, then find a engine and try to find a paint guy i can trust (anyone have a paint guy near detroit?) Mainly, i don't think i can pull the front/rear window trims cause if i break the glass.. just.. oh god.. no

 

[abloch]

Popping the glass out is quite easy on these. Take your time undoing the locking strip and they'll pop right out. I recommend that you avoid using anything metal for prying the strip apart and have an assistant when it comes time to remove. Once the locking strip is released apply a liberal amount of soapy water and make sure the glass isn't stuck to the seal. The seal "should" remain in place whilst the glass is removed. I sit inside the car and use my bare feet to push it out, starting at the top.

 

[icetech]

Popping the glass out is quite easy on these. Take your time undoing the locking strip and they'll pop right out. I recommend that you avoid using anything metal for prying the strip apart and have an assistant when it comes time to remove. Once the locking strip is released apply a liberal amount of soapy water and make sure the glass isn't stuck to the seal. The seal "should" remain in place whilst the glass is removed. I sit inside the car and use my bare feet to push it out, starting at the top.

Even thinking of that stresses me out... i can't imagine how much it would cost, or hard it is to find 62 glass, and mine is luckily all like new I am kind of hoping i can find a body guy that could match paint the stuff i'm fixing to match the rest, the original paint is in decent shape for most of the car.

 

[matthon]

I just r&r all my glass.
Cut the windshield out, bought a new seal, manual says put in top first, too difficult, I put it in bottom first.

Took less than an hour with a spray bottle of hot soapy water, including trying to put it in top first.

To remove undercoat, spray on automotive Goo Gone, walk away, come back 24hrs later, dried up and scrapes off .

 

[icetech]

I just r&r all my glass.
Cut the windshield out, bought a new seal, manual says put in top first, too difficult, I put it in bottom first.

Took less than an hour with a spray bottle of hot soapy water, including trying to put it in top first.

To remove undercoat, spray on automotive Goo Gone, walk away, come back 24hrs later, dried up and scrapes off .

I will try the goo gone And yeah... i'm just dreading the windows, will deal with it if i have to

One more thing done tonight it's not pretty but it's mostly hidden by the bumper, hoping to get better as i go..
P.S. the Yeswelder is damn nice...

Just noticed that angle makes it look like there is a big gap near the bottom, didn't look that bad working on it.. something to check tomorrow..

 

[icetech]

Got a few things done this week... a bit slow, i'm not working in crazy heat
So... not as pretty as i had hoped.. but at least it's steel and not rust now, this was my first try, hopefully i get better as i go.
Need to figure what i'm gonna use to seal it and maybe smooth it out a bit..
Still looking for a paint guy, and a 360 in the detroit area

How it started..

 

[icetech]

Got home from work last night and started on the other side, the metal above the shackle box was actually almost perfect but i ended up cutting it out as the box itself was 100% full of scale rust, i cleaned it out and it's surprisingly solid did rust convert last night and will paint it tonight and start work on forming replacement metal.. Not sure what i will do with the drain hole yet, the metal is pretty bad and i doubt i could get a weld to stick to it, and i don't have any idea on making a new piece.. sooo.. will figure it out.
On the upside, i expected the frame to be full of scale but i looked in it last night with a scope and it's barely got any rust at all which is weird, i figure it's due to the frame having holes along the bottom so moisture could dry up, the shackle boxes are almost sealed so they stayed wet..

 

[Bighouse]

Try some vinegar in those cylinders- it’ll eat the rust. But those rockers look like they’ve been undercoated!!! Lol

 

[icetech]

Try some vinegar in those cylinders- it’ll eat the rust. But those rockers look like they’ve been undercoated!!! Lol

Yeah, i was going to try to free it up and use it til i pulled the intake, you cant even tell the dist drive gear is a gear there is so much sludge, plus after 40 years it's rock hard so yeah... trying to find a 360 to throw in there..

 

[icetech]

Picked this up for $25 shipped.. pretty happy bout that.. i might never need it, but if i do

And got this back together, still need to clean up a bit.. sooo sick of grinding should be finishing the trunk repairs tonight, then on to the rear end coming out..

 

[ckessel]

Don't overlook the later 5.9's for a possible engine to start with if you can't latch onto an earlier 360.

 

[icetech]

Don't overlook the later 5.9's for a possible engine to start with if you can't latch onto an earlier 360.

Yup, been looking.. all the ones i see look like they were pulled out of a swamp and are 1k+ which to me is nuts for a small block needing to be gone through... i'm not in a rush though There is a 318 near me right now for 500.. but rather go 360 if i can.

 

[ckessel]

Look for trucks, vans and rev's too. Maybe there is a dead on of those in the area occupying a back yard.

 

[icetech]

K... got the trunk mostly done last night... not amazing but not a show car.
Started more cleaning of the underside, i think i'm going to reverse any rust i find and add more texturized undercoating, there is no reason for me to try to clean 60 year old undercoating off that's been doing a good job anyway.

P.S. i was looking up paint codes and the only red i found for 62 is vermillion? just making sure... wondering if i can get some in a aerosol can just for touchup stuff

 

[barbee6043]

Removing old undercoat, buy a needle scaler. Cheap.

 

[icetech]

Removing old undercoat, buy a needle scaler. Cheap.

yeah, i threw away like 5 of them years ago Gonna try the goo gone trick first.. then go from there

 

[icetech]

Got a little but done today.. rear end out, 2 hours of wire wheeling.. what a mess, i should have taken a before pic. It's coming along, once it's clean i'll give it a thick coat of brush on rustoleum.. not as pretty as spray but tough as hell..
P.S. 741 case with open diff, probably never opened.

BTW, the read of the case has 4 bumps on the cover can see the top one in the pic.. all 8.75' have that and i just never noticed?

 

[icetech]

A bit done on the fourth... got the rear end painted (will do the backing plates when i get a hub tool)
And got the bottom cleaned up upto the front seats, will get the rest when i get the back together (sick of holding a grinder) Ended up coating it in Corroseal which i forgot to wear gloves for.. hands looked like i dipped them in ink when i was done.

 

[icetech]

Gas tank and shocks showed up... ordered the sending unit, gas tank pad and hose... waiting 4 weeks for the springs is gonna be a long time I need to get the body work done anyway though.. have no idea how i'm going to form some of the curves.. wish someone made patch panels for this car.

 

[icetech]

Got both trunk extensions done (i need to drill a hole for the plug though) and have started on the inner wheel lip, only doing bout 90 mins a day as i get bored and am lazy, but will keep plugging away
How it started

'How it's going (not great but for me it's fine..