71 Road Runner Restoration Started

[tallhair]

That is simply another outstanding update on your build brother. I'm hooked and awaiting the next and hope everything goes smoothly for you tomorrow with no flash rust to hold you back!

 

[ct71rr]

Louis, that looks awesome! What are using for media? Sand?

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Paint it Black......... (I like the Rolling Stones too.........)

Louis, that looks awesome! What are using for media? Sand?

Thanks guys!!!!

Yes it's sand specifically for this type of work, that our local paint and body supply store carries in 50 pound bags. It has been sifted numerous times and is a uniform grain so it doesn't clog as easy.

If your thinking about using this for blasting media, please get a VERY good respirator first. My respirator covers my full face and has 2 replaceable cartridges. I almost looks like a gas mask.

I only use this stuff outside where I have great ventilation. I also use a disposable painters suit, a full face shield, heavy duty gloves and ear plugs . This sand media can cause some pretty serious respiratory problems for you if you don't take proper safety precautions. The problem is the very fine dust that is created when the sand impacts against the metal. The sand itself is safe as is in its normal state.

I have to warn you........ Its a NASTY & time consuming job. But if you really want to find out what is lurking underneath, it has to be done.

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After dinner, we got a lucky break with the rain. It stopped long enough for me to finish up the little spots that were left. I didn't want to take a chance by trying to finish up the section on the rear of the car where the back bumper mounts. I wanted to get some paint on the car to keep it from flash rusting.

Our weather forecast for tomorrow is bad. We have a cold front moving through, and with it comes a lot of rain. So I knew I HAD to get this bare metal painted or I would end up with a mess.

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So after the final bit of blasting was done out came the vacuum cleaner and blow nozzle. This stuff gets in every little nook and cranny...............

Then I gave the metal a good wipe down with a good metal prep that is also made by Southern Polyurethanes. It also acts as a grease remover in case you may have accidentally touched the car with bare hands. The oil from your hands can cause problems with the paint later down the road..................

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Now it's Back in Black !!!!!! I like AC / DC too

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No I can rest easier tonight knowing the car isn't rusting.

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[tallhair]

quick change .. looks better already

 

[71airgrabberRR]

An Early New Year present.............

quick change .. looks better already

Thanks, and I agree !!!!!

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After stopping by Todd's Body Shop today and picking up the new AMD parts, I had to open the box and see what was inside. I was kind of like a little kid in a candy store...............

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Inside the HUGE box were several smaller ones, and a large one.............. All were very nicely packaged to prevent damage.

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I couldn't resist. I had to see what they looked like, so I sat them in position for a better view.

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The initial report is that they look to be very nice parts.

Earlier today I stopped by the machine shop to check on the status of the 440 block. The block has been cleaned, cam bearings and dowel pins removed. They have the front 2 cylinders sleeved and the rough bore is done.

I dropped off the original forged steel crank to have them check it to see if it will clean and polish out OK, (or at the worst .001 undersize). If it does, that will determine what the next step is. If not, I will definitely be going the 500 Stroker route. If it does turn out to be OK without being turned, I may end up buying a new set of the 440 source replacement rods with 7/16 inch rod bolts. I will have them bushed for floating .990 pins

I have been looking at a set of CP or JE piston that weigh around 650 grams. They are offered in various compression ratios. I'm thinking that around 10.5 or 11.0 to 1 would be good considering the heads I will be running.

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My friend Todd was pleased that a red 68 Hemi Charger he restored for a customer won 1st place at the Mopar Nationals. Mopar Action magazine just did an article on the restoration in this month's issue. On the cover is a red / white Challenger.

He really does an outstanding job, and has helped me with some things in the past. I have learned a lot from him. He is a good all around Honest Mopar guy.

Kudo's to you Todd !!!!!

 

[tallhair]

Thanks for the update and review on the AMD stuff and now I'm also looking forward to hour engine build

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Final 'End of the Year" progress...............

Today was a good productive day. The transmission was ready, so I picked it up. After I got it home, I placed it on my engine stand to paint it in cast aluminum, so that it will not corrode and start looking nasty. I will now have to detail the other things on it like the deep oil pan, gear shift / kick down levers, bolts etc. You get the idea................

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Then I was able to finish the blasting on the rear of the car where the bumper is mounted............

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Once this area was blasted down to clean bare metal, It received a good coat of the epoxy primer.

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Once the paint was applied, I rolled the Satellite back inside the shop, where she will sit until next year.....................

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It seems like this year has really FLOWN past. A lot has happened during this time. Hopefully in 2014 I can have this car finished. There is still a lot to do though.

I want to wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

May you and your families stay safe and healthy.

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Happy New Year!!!

I wanted to take the time and wish each and every one of our FBBO members and visiting guests, another safe, healthy and happy new year.

May we all make some good progress with our rides, and spent some quality time with our loved ones this year.

Thank you for following this thread.

We have a great bunch of people here on FBBO !!!!!!!

 

[tallhair]

I wanted to take the time and wish each and every one of our FBBO members and visiting guests, another safe, healthy and happy new year.

May we all make some good progress with our rides, and spent some quality time with our loved ones this year.

Thank you for following this thread.

We have a great bunch of people here on FBBO !!!!!!!

Same to you and best wishes for your own projects

Happy New Year and thanks for the updates

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Sheet Metal Fabrication Started Today

Following the blasting of the interior section of the trunk floor, I really saw the real condition the trunk floor on the driver side. To sum it up in a few words, I'd call it Swiss Cheese...............

In a perfect world, I would replace the whole trunk floor. But I don't have a jig set up to hold everything in proper alignment. I have cut away as much as I dare to, without getting things out of shape. So what this means is I have to cut out and patch the bad spot. Lucky for me, it's all located in one spot.

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So I studied how the area was connected to the rest of the car, and marked it out for cutting. I tried to locate the cuts along the frame rail, where there will be more metal to weld to. On the back cut, it will be covered with seam sealer, so this repair will hopefully be hardly noticeable.

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Then I made a wooden form that will allow me to hammer in the rolled reinforcement channels that were on the original part.

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This was a practice run to see how it would turn out. With a little more finessing, I think I can get it very close. At the worst, I can use a little body filler to make it look right. The good part is that all of the rust is now gone...............

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When I was test fitting the trunk floor extensions, I noticed that the original end support brackets kept the part from sitting nice and flush against the trunk floor. Also after I blasted the floor, I saw that the passenger side one had a little rust. So I cut them off.

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It's not the best picture, but if you look close, you can see where the rust is. Its about a half dollar in diameter.

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So I cut the parts off both sides. This will allow me to stop the rust, and make for a much better fit with the new parts.

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I used the originals to make a pattern.

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The parts use the same dimensions, they are just reversed in how they are bent.

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So I made two of these...............

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And bent them in shape. (just opposites of each other) I used my 6 inch bench vise and pliers to make the bends. The corners were "tightened up" a little with al little persuasion from a hammer.

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Here is the driver side test fitted in position.

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This is the passenger side. By replacing these parts I now have an almost "ZERO" gap between the trunk floor extensions and the actual trunk floor.

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Now I just need to glass bead them, followed by paint, and they will be ready to weld in place.

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Hopefully tomorrow I can get started on making a new patch panel for the section I cut out from the trunk floor.

Stay Tuned !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and have a good evening.

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Trunk Floor Patch Work

Today went rather well. I was able to form the patch panel and weld it in. It will require just a small amount of body filler to make it undetectable.

Follow along, and I'll show you how I did it.

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[tallhair]

Excellent update 71AG! You pack some much in it's always a great read

 

[71airgrabberRR]

Here is the rough outline of the patch after I cut it out of 18 gauge metal. Here you can see how I made alignment marks for the rolled reinforcements that were in the original part.

Remember the wooden shaping form ??? I secured it to the metal patch with sheet metal screws and washer, so that it would not move while I was hammer shaping the recessed areas.

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Once the recessed area was done, I bent the edge at a 90 degree angle to the floor. This gives it the proper edge for the trunk floor extension to weld against.

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The final bend was a slight one. The original part had a little bend in it about 1/3 of the way from one end. This allows the part to follow the frame rail contour.

Then I positioned it in place and marked out the areas where the rear leaf spring support was spot welded against the original part. After that, it was only a matter of drilling out holes in the same place as the original part was spot welded in................

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Here is the part as I was test fitting it to get the edge gaps proper. It is not in the exact position here just yet. It is pretty close though..............

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Here the part is held in final position by the clamps. I really wish the gaps were just a little tighter in a few places. It made for a little harder welding the part in place later on.

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Then I started tack welding it in position. I used the large vise grip pliers to hold the patch down tight against the frame supports underneath during the welding in the original spot weld places.

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When you start tack welding, do one spot, and then move to another location, preferably on the opposite side, and make another weld. Right now, you just want enough to hold the part in place. You need a small gap, to help prevent distortion as the metal heats up while you are welding. Here you can see the gaps are a little too wide. It can be welded like this, but it is very easy to burn through the edge if your not careful. It happened to me several times while welding on this part today...............

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Then I used a flap wheel to smooth out the tack welds, so that I could see how things were going. I also wanted the paint to be removed form the edges, to make a better weld.

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You can now see some small pits in the spot welds. They were filled in by a second round of tack welding over the area.

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Then it's a matter of welding in the areas in between the tack welds.... Keep skipping around and try not to get one spot too hot.

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Then you start connecting the spots with a quick pass over the top of the tack welds.

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Then when you think you have it good enough, grind off the slag and polish the metal down to where it is even along the edges. If you have any gaps or holes, simply go back and give it another tack weld in that place.

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I gave the bare metal a quick spray in black to keep it from rusting. I painted both the top and the underside. The patch is now in place, and will require a little filler to blend everything in. Once that's done, it will get some undercoating on the bottom, and will be virtually undetectable when completed.

 

[Photon440]

You're just showing off now. Making it look easy!
:yourock:

 

[tallhair]

Outstanding and thanks very much for the work you put into these "how to" s

 

[747mopar]

Very nice work on making the patch panels "looks very professional". Boy your resent post brings back some memories, the blasting, whole rear of car gone, black epoxy primer, new AMD sheetmetal, 727 painted aluminum silver, patches and all "way to familiar" haha. Your doing a great job on you car and I'm sure it will look terrific when your done. Keep up to awesome work.

 

[roadrunnerman]

71AG, you have surpassed any level of amazement I had when you first started this thread. Did you use a flange tool after you cut out the holes.

 

[conv67bdere]

Following the blasting of the interior section of the trunk floor, I really saw the real condition the trunk floor on the driver side. To sum it up in a few words, I'd call it Swiss Cheese...............

View attachment 160973

Hummm . . . Let's see . . .

there's the Orion constellation . . .

can I find Ursa Major ? ? ( SMILE )

Great job on the patch and very nice update ! ! Thanks !

 

[Ron 73]

Wow bud, ive been reading and looking and you sure have done some great work since ive been here last!! Your fab skills and the way you do it with some things is inspiring!! Hope it continues to go good for ya!!

 

[ct71rr]

Holy crap Louis!! That patch looks great. Did you just use a hammer to make those recessed areas or did you hammer in a round bar or something?