Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Derek69SS · Founding Member

RE: My 66 "renovation" project

Lost in the 60s · President

Derek69SS wrote:
Why not paint the jambs all Aztek Bronze as you finish the panels, and black epoxy the rest of the car? Then you're not making as much extra work for yourself later, and it will look fine all one color as a work-in-progress.
That's a good suggestion, Derek, and I've considered it BUT, there's always a but isn't there...I don't see getting back to this car for 2-3 years and any paint I open now will be junk by then. I REALLY need to get my GTO to a place where I could realistically sell it for something close to what I have in it. I was supposed to get that back in the shop this winter yet and weld in all the floors and tail panel and get it permanently mounted on the rolling chassis. Maybe NEXT winter....

Lost in the 60s · President

The left lower door hinge was in poor condition so I pulled it off yesterday. I have a "complete hinge rebuild" kit from Heartbeat City for the hinges. Mine was missing the detent arm, roller, stud and the pivot pin for the arm was broke off. I soon discovered the "complete" wasn't complete... The kit doesn't have the pivot pins for the arms, so I had to rob one off a spare right hinge. I forgot the camara yesterday so no "in progress" pics. I took a few of it today.

This is the jamb half of the hinge. I've already disassembled it completey, run all the parts thru the blasting cabinet and cut off the remainder of the roller stud, drilled and tapped it for the replacement parts. The upper bushing was PLASTIC..... I've never seen that before. I thought they were all bronzite... The hinge pin was badly expanded from rust and was an absolute b!tch to drive out. What's left of the arm pivot pin, which is accessable from the bottom and came out nicely with a small punch and the lower, bronze bushing.

In researching this job on TC, I read where people had replaced their bushings a few years ago and they were already loose again. After I compared the original bushing with ther cheap-a$$ replacements, it's easy to see why. The replacements have only half the wear surface ...

I decided I wanted to be able to grease my bushings to avoid premature wear. I drilled and tapped the door side hinge in line with the hinge pin cavity for a grease fitting. This will be accessable with the door open as seen in the pic.

At first I thought the jamb hinge would catch the fitting so I ground some material off that for clearance. After threading the zerk in, I wouldn't have needed to remove as much or possibly any material. This is the door closed position.

I'll get more pics when I get back to the reassembly of it...

bowtie · Secretary

Curious, can you ge tthe dimensions for the bushings and pin? They look like bushings that are used on S-10 door hinges that I sell a ton of. We might ahve a boa-fide tech tip we can put our stamp on.

Lost in the 60s · President

bowtie wrote:
Curious, can you ge tthe dimensions for the bushings and pin? They look like bushings that are used on S-10 door hinges that I sell a ton of. We might ahve a boa-fide tech tip we can put our stamp on.
I'll measure them tomorrow but I'd be surprised if they were the same as the stamped steel hinges.

Lost in the 60s · President

bowtie wrote:
Curious, can you ge tthe dimensions for the bushings and pin? They look like bushings that are used on S-10 door hinges that I sell a ton of. We might ahve a boa-fide tech tip we can put our stamp on.
OK, finally remembered to do this....
Outside diameter= .460
Inside diameter = .350
Original bushing length= .460
Replacement bushing length = .240

Lost in the 60s · President

My new "paint booth".....

4 150 watt flood lights

With the while interior, it's actually very bright inside without the lights but they do illuminate the table better. With the dark exterior, it soaks up solar heat too. If it is really partly sunny and 50° Thursday, I'll be primering up a storm in there. I'll have a box fan blowing out the end for ventilation too...

Lost in the 60s · President

The temp got a little higher than forecast and the sun warmed the booth to 65° inside, so after I hammered out another box of parts for my production job, I decided to paint. The new gun is nice and the parts turned out pretty good. I really need to rig up a better holding system for the fenders rather than have them lay on a surface.

Tim H · Mega Poster

Lost in the 60s wrote:
. I really need to rig up a better holding system for the fenders rather than have them lay on a surface.

Tall saw horses

Lost in the 60s · President

After shooting the fenders with Grey primer and setting them on the car, I made up my mind about wether to paint them Orange. I didn't like the grey front enough to leave it. Today I went and got a quart of single stage urethane to match and got started. I had to paint the lower windshield channel where the car sat in the shop so I needed to protect the rest of it from overspray. MAN what a LOT of prep work to paint a 6 ft piece of metal 1.5 inches wide....

Even after sanding, cleaning with degreaser and wiping with a tack cloth it STILL got fisheyes from some dang oil on it !!!

Here's the rest of what I did today that got shot in the "paint booth". The lower hinge that I'm rebuilding, cowl grille, the A pillar covers and the front lower valance.

I only had time to prep the right fender as the clouds rolled in and I lost my thermal heating system in the booth...

The metal saw horses I have, have extendable legs and when I put them all the way out, it helds the fender PERFECT......thanks Tim....

Not perfect by any measure but it IS shiney.

-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Thursday 21st of April 2011 02:29:21 PM

SShink · 3K+ Club

Looks good Mitch!

Is that the original car color? Sorry if you posted that somewhere earlier...

Lost in the 60s · President

SShink wrote:
Looks good Mitch!
Is that the original car color? Sorry if you posted that somewhere earlier...
Thanks !
Not the original color. It's a close simulation of '69 Hugger Orange. Original color was Lemonwood Yellow. It won't ever be that either. My original intention was to paint it a '66 color Of Aztec Bronze but I really like the Copper Metallic that came out in '02 on the Avalanche. I've got time to decide. I re-painted it Orange so it wouldn't be in primer for years waiting for the rest of the body to be restored.

John D · 2K+ Club

Looking good man...

Sounds like you had some oil/contaminant sneak down the airline.... Are you running a trap at the gun as well?

Lost in the 60s · President

John D wrote:
Looking good man...
Sounds like you had some oil/contaminant sneak down the airline.... Are you running a trap at the gun as well?
Yes, I have a filter right at the gun. The window channel was the first thing I sprayed. The right side looked good but when I walked to the left and started shooting, the paint walked off 2 areas immediately. ALL the other parts were shot after the channel and no issues with fish eyes on any of them. I'm pretty sure it is something on the channel. I prepped The left fender and new door shell yesterday for paint, so I will sand and clean the channel again and re-spray it at the same time.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

You probably already did this. Make sure you drain the compressors tank of condensate water real well before you shoot again.

Lost in the 60s · President

Chris R wrote:
You probably already did this. Make sure you drain the compressors tank of condensate water real well before you shoot again.
I have 60' of pipe in the ceiling as an air cooler and 3 drop lines for the condensate to fall into. They and the tank get drained every day. I haven't had any issues with moisture but I do have a desiccant filter right at the gun too.
I rebuilt the dash panel at the channel too and remember using seam sealer to blend the repair and insure no leakage. I'm thinking i got some residue from that on the channel and that's what caused the separation. Wish I had thought of that when I was prepping it. I would've cleaned it more thoroughly...

Lost in the 60s · President

Assembly time... I put the A covers on and all the clips for the trim. I will be installing the new windshield Saturday.....

Re-installed the seal channel with new foam under it.

Removed all the old seal and replaced on both sides with Metro Super Soft. They are really nice and went in like original. A weird perspective with the rear seat cushion on the roof....

I was on a roll, so I removed the old door. I then pushed the hinge pin out while the hinge was still on the door, rather than trying to hold the hinge separately. I also drilled the hole for the grease zerk.

I was surprised to find BOTH lower bushings were plastic and quite worn. I re-used the original pin, as it was in good condition and has much more seration at the head than the replacement pin for retention in the hinge.

Here's the spring compressor to install the new spring. It works really slick...

I then installed the hinges on the new reproduction door, gave the zerks a shot of grease and hung the door.

Once I got the initial alignment close, the repro door problems quickly reared their ugly head. The door handle wouldn't fit the opening. I had to file it larger to get the handle to go on. Then the top of the door at the quarter panel is missing a curve and the window opening was badly misaligned.

5 minutes with a block of wood and a 2# maul and it looks better.

Now it just looks bad from the back. You can see the door doesn't follow the curvature of the quarter panel. It's not as noticable now and the windows should line up. Oh well, gotta live with it and move on.

Lost in the 60s · President

Todays progress.

The left rear quarter sill had what looked like deep scratches in it. I've never looked closely before today and I discovered they are actually dents. There was also deep rust under the stainless molding, so it all came off and got sanded to bare metal. Then I sprayed it with rust converter. I will need to get a tube of glazing putty to fill the dents before I can prime and paint now.

The right side had some rust too and a small depression, so I took it to bare metal too.

I also got to completely remove the right quarter glass to replace a broken roller. I tried to get the old one out while it was in the car but that never happens...

Best part is I now have a windshield and the trim is on too. I can call that part done.

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Looks like it is coming along. Will you be driving it by the time of the all chevy show in stillwater?

Lost in the 60s · President

jim larson wrote:
Looks like it is coming along. Will you be driving it by the time of the all chevy show in stillwater?
I should be but I keep taking backward steps lately, so who knows ?

Nottoopicky72 · Newbie

WOW! I thought we had done a lot of work on my 65...I am in awe...

bowtie · Secretary

Yeah, Mitch is an over-achiever when it comes to that stuff. If you go back far enough you can find his GTO project which I think was more involved than this one.

Lost in the 60s · President

bowtie wrote:
Yeah, Mitch is an over-achiever when it comes to that stuff. If you go back far enough you can find his GTO project which I think was more involved than this one.

And you'd think I would learn to avoid these "projects"....

Link to the GTO basket case http://northstarchevelles.activeboard.com/t34115833/my-basket-case-rebuild/?r=897613

Lost in the 60s · President

Well, here it is 2 MONTHS later and very little progress to report. I haven't found an economical source to repair/re-skin the right door, so I will call Denny on Monday and see about returning the skin for a complete door so I can paint it and start moving forward with the body again. I will keep the original door for future repair.

I did get a Lokar throttle cable conversion and pedal and installed them. I need to get my "electrician" back to finnish the wiring so I can start it and then get to work on the interior.

Chris R · 2K+ Club

Why not skin it yourself. Its actually not that bad of a job.

Lost in the 60s · President

I took a bunch of pics today.

Bought these a couple weeks ago for the Camaro and Chevelle 26X8.5X15

I installed the heater hoses today and poured 2 gallons of coolant in for an initial leak check. So far so good.

-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Sunday 17th of July 2011 05:58:57 PM

-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Sunday 17th of July 2011 06:03:16 PM

-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Sunday 17th of July 2011 06:12:03 PM

Lost in the 60s · President

Trying to add pics as an edit and it keeps losing them.

Lokar throttle cable conversion.

Another angle of the black pedal, the new radio and the color coordinated key fob.

'68 12 bolt, sway bar and KYB shocks.

Left side sheet metal is on to stay.

Lost in the 60s · President

Chris R wrote:
Why not skin it yourself. Its actually not that bad of a job.
Not something I have the proper tools for and it needs to be done right or the body lines don't line up.
I just talked to Denny at Auto City Classics and I will be returning the skin for a complete door. For another $200 I can just paint and install. I can't get the skin put on or the original panel repaired for that.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Mitch, that looks complete enough that I say throw in a milk crate and drive it to Car Craft! Just throw a sign on the windshield that says 'Work in progress!'

Your under carriage is starting to look like my Chevelle's. A mix of nice clean painted parts mixed in with road grime and surface rust! I'm not looking forward to cleaning up my frame rails, floor pans, etc., but one of these days it will need to be done...

jim larson · 2K+ Club

With those tires ,12 bolt rear & stabilizer bar, it looks like your planning to take it to rock falls soon. Just checked the beginning date of this post, my bet is that it will be drivable before the first snow , which makes the project drivable in under a year?

Lost in the 60s · President

Once I get a door, the car could be on the road within a few weeks. It was SUPPOSED to be on the road 4 months ago but the pictures tell some of the story about how this has snowballed....

Stan, I don't need a milk crate, I have actual seats for it !!

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
Stan, I don't need a milk crate, I have actual seats for it !!

Looks like it would work to me. Drive it!

jim larson · 2K+ Club

I would drive and leave the door off. That should help with the R 60-4 AC.

Lost in the 60s · President

jim larson wrote:
I would drive and leave the door off. That should help with the R 60-4 AC.
I exchanged the skin for a whole door today. Hope to scuff and shoot this weekend.....
As long as I was there I bought a set of wheel opening mouldings too.

Lost in the 60s · President

My electrical buddy came down today and we (he mostly) finished up the wiring. We started putting fuses in and checking circuits and when they were all in, decided to see if it cranked over. Cranked just fine so he jumped the wire to the fuel pump and filled the bowl. It fired off after only a few revolutions....IT RUNS AGAIN.......

Set the timing and filled the cooling system. Now I need to get it together so I can DRIVE it.....

I did paint the new door but couldn't see the lower half well in the paint booth and I have massive runs that I need to remove and then reshoot.....

Now that it runs, I'm really motivated to finish it.

jim larson · 2K+ Club

Just in time for better weather.

Lost in the 60s · President

Been assembling the left door glass and needed to replace the rear track felt. I got replacement felt a while back but just started this a couple days ago. I used lacquer thinner to loosen/remove the old felt and then adhesive remover and sand paper to clean the track at the top. The right side track is the same poor condition.

I used some 3M adhesive that is supposed to take up to 30 minutes to dry. Yeah right, it set before I could get the felt centered so the sides aren't even but the track is nicely lined. I used the rear guide and the window edge to seat the felt.

bwild70ss396 · Active Member

I like looking at your progress to make me get off my lazy backside to the garage! Looking good!

Lost in the 60s · President

It's looking more like a car !!!

Front clip is done except the hood which needs major surgery.

Right door is painted and installed. Now I need to put all the glass in.

Left side is done. All new seals and sweeps.

Left door panel. I got this far and discovered the holes for the arm rest screws were punched too big in the shell. Now I get to take it off and weld/rivet a patch over the holes so I can make smaller holes.

My custom door panel

-- Edited by Lost in the 60s on Saturday 30th of July 2011 06:07:10 PM

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lookin' good Mitch! I predict it will be on the road soon.

Lost in the 60s · President

All the glass is in the right door and the door panels installed on both sides...

Lost in the 60s · President

I got a new rear end.....

I had to install new bushings and there were no brake parts. I kept everything from the other one but I got new wheel cylinders and flex hose. I had to make the brake lines too. He had some lube in it but didn't remember what brand and there wasn't any posi additive, so I removed the rear cover to drain it. Re-sealed it and poured in 1 quart of Castrol lube and a bottle of additive. Tomorrow I'll top it off, install the brakes and set it in place.

SShink · 3K+ Club

Lost in the 60s wrote:
I got a new rear end.....

How many times do you hear that! You'd think we were in California or something...

Lost in the 60s · President

SShink wrote:
Lost in the 60s wrote:
I got a new rear end.....
How many times do you hear that! You'd think we were in California or something...
My wife said I didn't need a new rear end. She liked the one I have just fine. When I told her with a posi I'd get better traction, she said that might prove interesting...

bwild70ss396 · Active Member

Nice twelve bolt! Does not look like it was pitted up before rebuild like my El Camino one was.

Lost in the 60s · President

bwild70ss396 wrote:
Nice twelve bolt! Does not look like it was pitted up before rebuild like my El Camino one was.
It was pretty clean. There are a few pits on top of the tubes but nothing that can be seen from behind. The 68 that I traded for this was really nice too. I went from a 3.08 open to 3.31 posi.

Lost in the 60s · President

Latest rendition. I welded up the holes in the hood for the hood pins and am now in the process of attempting to use body filler/glazing putty to get it smooth enough to paint. I bought a set of blocks to help with that.

Bungy L-76 · Active Member

Mitch, after seeing the rest of your body and paint work, I'm sure that hood will look cherry. Could you do me a favor though? When you have the paint gun out to paint the hood, shoot some on the rockers and lower rear quarters. Please? just for me?

Lost in the 60s · President

Bungy L-76 wrote:
Mitch, after seeing the rest of your body and paint work, I'm sure that hood will look cherry. Could you do me a favor though? When you have the paint gun out to paint the hood, shoot some on the rockers and lower rear quarters. Please? just for me?
Steve, I had planned to paint the rockers all summer but life gets in the way. The quarters are a "whole nuther story". Nothing on the right but bondo that's falling off. I bought a patch panel for over the arch and the lower patch for the rear along with both outer wheels houses. It also ahs no trunk floor left. I have a 7 piece kit for that. I'll see if I can get all that put on this winter. I really need to get my GTO to a point that others may be willing to take it on so I can sell it first. I also am being forced to have ulnar transposition surgery on my right arm in November/December. I was supposed to have it last winter but I got too far in the Chevelle to be down for 8 weeks. My hand is going numb and if I don't do this soon, I could loose feeling permanently.

67ss · 1K+ Club

Had I known you were fixing your hood I would not have bugged you with those pm's. Looks good can't wait to see it in color.