Winter Project - ‘69 GTX Engine Compartment Rehab

[Black_Sheep]

Tonight’s progress…

My better half went to dinner with the hens, so I cranked up the heat and took advantage of the empty stall. The baseplate cleaned up really well, so did the fan. The paint used is VHT semigloss black roll bar paint.

In between coats I turned my attention to the mini-starter. The lug under the white cover was kind of loose and pitted from arcing, but it never caused a problem. I straightened that out and squirted it with some Duplicolor semigloss black.

I’m hoping the subtle gloss and color variation between brands of paint adds some visual interest. Or am I overthinking this?

 

[Black_Sheep]

More stuff…

Reproductiion PCV hose
PCV grommet for the valve cover
Starter relay shield
Alternator battery + shield

The only parts I still need are an intake manifold gasket and a carb base gasket. I also need some Cosmoline for the LCA’s. Otherwise I think everything’s covered…

 

[Islandkent]

I have used that VHT paint seems to be a fairly durable paint. I used it on my old 25 year old lawn mower a few years back and is holding up better than I ever expected.

 

[dadsbee]

 

[Black_Sheep]

I have used that VHT paint seems to be a fairly durable paint. I used it on my old 25 year old lawn mower a few years back and is holding up better than I ever expected.

That’s been my experience as well.

View attachment 1401265

I plan to hang the LCA’s and spray with aerosol cosmoline in heavy coats to replicate the runs and drips so they look dipped.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

VHT roll bar paint? I put that sh*t on everything! Cheap, easy to get, easy to use, and durable!

Everything looks great!

 

[Islandkent]

What kind of cosmoline?
I picked up a couple of cans of the stuff. Didn't overly care for it and took for ever to dry. Just used it on a test card. I'm wondering if it's the same stuff? Maybe I didn't put enough coats on?? I wanted it to wait till it dried before I put anymore on. Took I think over a week. And even now I can srape it off with my finger nail. Maybe that's the way it's suppose to work?? Does it look like the right colour?

 

[Islandkent]

VHT roll bar paint? I put that sh*t on everything! Cheap, easy to get, easy to use, and durable!

Everything looks great!

That's it I just checked the paint stash. I love the look of that finish.

 

[Black_Sheep]

eBay link

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

That's it I just checked the paint stash. I love the look of that finish.

I’ve even had success with it on brake calipers

 

[Black_Sheep]

VHT was the go-to engine and header paint back in the day

 

[Black_Sheep]

Finishing some touch ups in the engine compartment so I can give it a quick polish and a couple coats of wax. Then I can start putting some parts back on the car.

I also got the the front splash apron prepped and painted with satin black.

The Air Grabber lid had too much orange peel for my liking so it got color sanded and polished with a random orbital buffer. It’s ready for the service decal if I can remember where I put it for safe keeping…

 

[Black_Sheep]

The last bit of painting left to do was this panel at the top of the grille opening. I put in a long day and got that knocked out too. Before breaking out the polisher and making a mess, I'm going to try a clay bar on the firewall and inner fenders. If I can put in a couple nights this week it should be ready to start bolting on parts next weekend...

 

[Black_Sheep]

The engine compartment is about as clean as it can get, tomorrow I’ll give a coat or two of wax to finish it off. Friday night I’ll organize all the parts that are ready to go back on, so everything should go pretty smoothly this weekend.

 

[Black_Sheep]

Working on the engine compartment, results with the clay bar weren’t quite satisfactory so I’m polishing the panels with a random orbital buffer. It won’t be perfect unless I repaint and that’s not going to happen. It’s cleaning up nicely for being painted almost 25 years ago. Not too bad for a regularly driven cruiser…

 

[Black_Sheep]

Done for today, buffed and waxed…

 

[Islandkent]

Looking great Mark!

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Looks good!

 

[Black_Sheep]

Looking great Mark!

Looks good!

Thanks guys! Now the fun begins, I can actually start putting some pieces back on the car. There's still a ton of work to do, but this is a major turning point. After this weekend I can dig into the engine reseal...

 

[Black_Sheep]

Getting started, it’s so fun working with fresh, clean parts….