69 Satellite

[donm]

So im posting this for my dad, easier for me than him, (internet understanding passed him). so he got a 69 satellite from his father when he was in high school belive it was mabye 77 or 76, he drove it for a few years, parked it till 86 drove a year and parked again till we started restoring in sept of 22. The build started with the basic new trunk, rear crossmember, all the normal rusty stuff an eastern snow driven car has, needed quarters repaired so skins were unavailable which meant new quarters, etc, so on way more than i planned. Here are a few pictures ill update so more info on whats been done already and where we hope its headed

 

[donm]

So not sure which would be quicker a list of the orginal metal left or what was replaced. All the major metal work is done, within the next few weeks ill be laying the epoxy on the outside and 2k and all the fun blocking to get ready to paint in probably end of August, mid September.

Car has been stiffened with usct torque boxes, frame connectors, inner fender and upper/lower core supports. Motor is a blueprint 408 with a TKX 5 speed. Still have to order the rearend. Suspension is from QA1 complete coil over conversion front and rear, Dad wanted to go with new stuff. Will be painted back to the B3, but with modern formula, close as i could get it, the inside is B7. Dad wants to put keystone classic back on but wont fit over the wilwood brakes, so looking into a company to make a modern 18" similar to the old keystones

 

[70chall440]

Looks/sounds like an awesome project. Not many small blocks in B bodies these days, somewhat refreshing.

I am of the same generation as you dad it sounds like and I do love me some Keystone Classics... Ran them on my 74 Challenger 440 6 pac back in the late 70's.

 

[donm]

Looks/sounds like an awesome project. Not many small blocks in B bodies these days, somewhat refreshing.

I am of the same generation as you dad it sounds like and I do love me some Keystone Classics... Ran them on my 74 Challenger 440 6 pac back in the late 70's.

Thanks! Ill pass it on to him. its always had a 360 in it since he got rid of the 318 back in the day, so we decided to stick with it. Ill end up putting the 360 out of it in my old 1st gen dodge d150

 

[ckessel]

I dig what's going on with that project!

 

[donm]

Few more picture's, some of the body work and paint

 

[donm]

Some more. Sorry about the random progress order, i guess i shouldve did this for him over the past two years

 

[donm]

Dad worked in the coal mines so i thought this would be cool tribute in the front core, gotta rig up a little LED to have the headlamp shine

 

[70chall440]

Awesome work and I really like that coal miner deal, super cool.

 

[donm]

Last photo dump for the day,this is early on in the project. Dragging dad to carlisle tomorrow. He has never been to a big show so should be fun

 

[Belvedere408]

Awesome car and story. Great work so far. Which Blueprint engine did you get? The aluminum headed one?

 

[donm]

Awesome car and story. Great work so far. Which Blueprint engine did you get? The aluminum headed one?

Yea the alum head motor. Originally we were gonna have a motor built by Hughes but when i contacted them they were not building complete motors at the time

 

[donm]

Here are some more pictures, garage was a mess at the time

 

[donm]

More. Sorryabout the random order again . Its probably driving everyone nuts, myself included.

 

[WileE]

Love your project, your work, and your story !! Awesome !! ( I hope you'll keep the model as a Satellite.... )

 

[donm]

Found seats out of a E92 BMW coupe, 60$ for the pair. Real close in size to the old buckets that were in it, just hard to do a little floor work to fit them. Ill dye them later on. Electronics work fine. Just a power and ground, will need a couple resistors, diodes and a small 555 timer to keep a pulse to them. Will be good for long hauls

 

[donm]

Some of the front end work, both frame rails were rotted and soft, so had to tackle replacing both. Did one at a time, with the k member bolted/welded to frame rack with 1" bolts to make minor adjustments as needed. Couldnt find any old rails close, so of course AMD rails were the choice, I won't say they were great but the fit close and little mods where they start to curve up a firewall made fitmet fine. DS was about 1/4" out where it met the torsion crossmember, but tek screws and jacks got it closer. Also where they met the crossmember the bends for the tabs were short so i had to cut and add a new tabs

 

[donm]

Love your project, your work, and your story !! Awesome !! ( I hope you'll keep the model as a Satellite.... )

Yes it will stay a satellite(little upgraded). Its not any rare car, so we can have fun with the build and put a little bit of what we both like in it. In the end when you build a car you gotta have some if yourself reflected in it. If it was a numbers car, id restore accordingly. I like the roadrunners, but i grew up with this model so i like seeing the lower door molding and trunk trim. Couldnt find an original style satellite hood, but thats fine

 

[donm]

Not a bbody, but i got this off my grandad 24 years ago. He bought it new, i have 103000 original miles. 318 with auto. rims and tires, 2" drop in rear to level, everthing else unchanged. Will do a little minor bodywork ( doors, PS bed wheel well) over the winter and put fresh paint it in the spring. Same colors. If you look at the old picture you can see dads satellite. It sat in that spot year after year.

 

[70chall440]

Awesome truck and fantastic work on the car.