69again 10 Report post Posted April 16, 2008 Ok, here is our father/son restoration so far. Remember, amateur here. Haven't done this in 30 years. The car was a 1 family owner purchased in NV and spent the rest of it's days in OR. Which is a blessing. I grew up in Michigan were rust is really bad. Didn't look as though there was any rust, but I would know more after media blasting. Bought the car July 5th, 2007. Washed it and moved it into the garage for tear down. Took a few pictures, (you can never have too many pictures of the engine area, learned that the hard way) and labeled everything as we took it apart. Well almost as I have a couple of pieces I am not sure where they go yet. The PO tried to paint it and from a distance it was shiny, but close up has blisters and lots of tree sap and pine needles from sitting out side for the past few years. Lots of bolts missing from the front fenders and hood wasn't attached. Thought it was because they removed them for painting and never got it back together. I was planning on using new bolts and nuts anyway so at the time I didn't think much of it. Engine wasn't running as a couple of freeze plugs were popped out. Since it is a complete numbers matching car, I was hoping the block was ok, but if it wasn't that was ok too since my son and I just wanted restore it for him as a daily driver. Took the engine to a machine shop where it checked out really well. They did all the test and then I had them bore it 30 over grind and polish the crank, install new bearings, added srp pistons, had them recondition the rods, add new arp rod bolts, balance the rotating assembly and installed the crank and pistons. They sealed it in a plastic bag and I couldn't wait to get it home. Preparing to get the car ready for media blasting. Completely dis-assemble the car. Spent many days under the car removing undercoating. Found a really nice older man who does restorations. He has two huge buildings and inside one is a full size paint booth. Really nice guy and teaches restoration classes at a local community school. Took nearly 2 months to blast as it wasn't his highest priority, but he blasted 30 or 40 pieces, which I was able to pick up and prime and start painting before he started the body. He rents his paint booth out for $40 a day, so I was able to hang all the parts up and prime them with epoxy primer. I paid him for an hour of time to help me set up my gun. Finally got the car back to the house. One little surprise, I think the reason the PO didn't completely bolt the driver side fender on was because of fitment. The PO did a repair to the driver side and it wasn't done perfect. Not bad though since no metal needed to be repaired. The last evenings have been spent trying to fit the door so the gaps are even. Almost there. Bought tons of new interior/suspension parts for the restoration. Very exciting getting all these new parts. Went with the Edelbrock Top end package for heads, manifold, cam, etc. We are doing this rebuild for us to drive, however, I have kept all the original parts, (heads, manifold, carb, exhaust manifolds, etc) so if we ever sold it, it could be put back to stock if desired. We finished the engine and took it to the machine shop to beak in the cam and dyno it. Edelbrock says it should put out 376hp and 340lbft of torque. This was one of the most exciting/worrisome times. Will it start and will it make it through the dyno. I didn't sleep much the night before the test. Started right up and they broke in the cam. Pretty neat to see. They put a special oil filter on it so they can check for any problems after each pull. Makes for a long day, but fun for me. Everything is going back together well. Got the new wheels and tires. Thank you to all the other members for your tire threads. It really helped with size and fitment. Finally order them, rear wheels took longer because of the custom back spacing. Front bfg kdw 245/45/17 on TTII's 17x8, 4 3/4 bs, rear bfg kdw 285/40/17 on TTII's 17x9.5, 5 1/2 bs Have done a fair amount of the body work, but wanted the engine and suspension under her for final fitment, which brings us to today. Hope to paint her by mid May, interior after that and driving around in June. My son's 16th birthday is in June and it will be his car to drive (mine too I hope) Need more youth to keep the old muscle cars alive and well. I had a 69 fastback when I was in high school, so it's pretty cool that he likes the old cars. Lots more pics, but screen says can only do 5 That’s it for now. Dan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69again 10 Report post Posted April 16, 2008 hope it is ok to post more like this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69again 10 Report post Posted April 16, 2008 more pics Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69again 10 Report post Posted April 16, 2008 Tires Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69again 10 Report post Posted April 16, 2008 more work Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69again 10 Report post Posted April 16, 2008 pics Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UnrulySchoolboy 10 Report post Posted April 16, 2008 Looking good! Can't wait to see it finished... or whatever they call it these days. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SM69Mach 68 Report post Posted April 17, 2008 that is looking great. Will be a nice ride when completed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jgstang 21 Report post Posted April 17, 2008 your car is looking very nice...great job! could you give us the wheel/tires sizes and bs.i can't get the ones i wanted so i'm shopping again....thanks, Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69again 10 Report post Posted April 17, 2008 Thanks all, tires are front bfg kdw 245/45/17 on TTII's 17x8 w/ 4 3/4bs, rear 285/40/17 on TTII's 17x9.5 w/5 1/2bs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yamahasrx700 14 Report post Posted April 17, 2008 What size tires and wheels did you go with? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69RestoRod 10 Report post Posted April 18, 2008 Keep up the posts, we coupe owners love watching them even though few mention it. Which reminds me to get off my butt and start my own thread. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69RestoRod 10 Report post Posted April 18, 2008 Keep up the posts, we coupe owners love watching them even though few mention it. Which reminds me to get off my butt and start my own thread. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aw4g63 0 Report post Posted April 23, 2008 Wow, looks great! Love the wheel choice! Can't go wrong! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aw4g63 0 Report post Posted April 23, 2008 Wow, looks great! Love the wheel choice! Can't go wrong! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69again 10 Report post Posted September 11, 2008 Not a 100% finished but on the road and having fun. This is supposed to be a fun daily driver for my son and me and not a show car. We still have some alignment issues, more polishing and other small things to take care of. Not sure what we are going to do about the stance. We used 620 1" lowering springs in the front and the 4 1/2 leaf mid eye rear (1" lower), but as you can see the rear is slightly lower. Not sure if I remember well (it has been a lot of years since I rode in a car with headers and a nice exhaust, but with the windows open, this is loud. Son really likes it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stang69 11 Report post Posted September 11, 2008 Is it me, or is that every time someone has a 69 painted, the painter fails to repaint the inner door the interior color? Or are people choosing to leave it the body color? It looks alright, but when I had my coupe painted, I told the shop to do everything like they were bringing the car back to original...of course, they put it back together again with out painting the inner doors the interior color...I was really annoyed.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69again 10 Report post Posted September 11, 2008 I painted it my self. Mine had the interior panels the same as the out side so I just did it the same. I may change mine to black if it doesn't grow on me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GT350 16 Report post Posted September 14, 2008 Nice job its always satisfying when finished.javed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grabber70Mach 107 Report post Posted September 14, 2008 Looks nice congrats on a good job, hope you an your son enjoy it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unfrozen1969 11 Report post Posted September 15, 2008 (edited) What color red is your car? Is it a ford color, if so, is it Candy Apple, Indian Fire Red, Looks too dark for calypso coral, or is it flower power red? It looks great, good job. Bill Edited September 15, 2008 by unfrozen1969 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
69again 10 Report post Posted September 15, 2008 Thanks for the nice comments. I drove it a couple of days to ensure it was running ok. My son drives it to school and is getting hooked on it. It is the 69 Candy Apple Red from PPG Dan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites