My 69 Vert Project...Let The Games Begin

[Pakrat 1,043]

Yeah, yur' "conssle is mangeld" ...:scared:

 

Late night Pak?

 

Whatchu talkin' bout Willis? :001_huh: Been drinking again? Sniffing glue perhaps?

 

BTW Flight, what did you end up doing on the license plate?

[Pakrat 1,043]

Yeah, yur' "conssle is mangeld" ...:scared:

 

Late night Pak?

 

Whatchu talkin' bout Willis? :001_huh: Been drinking again? Sniffing glue perhaps?

 

BTW Flight, what did you end up doing on the license plate?

[flight96 14]

Well I haven't posted here for a while.....

As for the console, I haven't done anything with it yet. I've been busy with family stuff. As for the license plates, I still haven't decided, so for this summer I'm just running regular plates.

Now for the bad news....I have just over 1000 miles on the car and it's running great, I had a little trans slipping but it turned out to be just a linkage issue, no biggie. But I noticed my front tire starting to wear terribly on the outside. Then last week they started squealing. So I took it back to the place that did the alignment. I now realize they have no clue how to deal with these old cars. The guy asked me what I hit because both tie rod ends were bent !!! That's how they came with the rack, that's what their supposed to look like !! He just looked at me with a stupid look on his face. That's when I realized they didn't know what they were doing with this car. It seems nowadays unless they can plug it into their computers they can't do it !!

So now I have it at a place that deals with old cars. He had a 65 vert, a 69 Cougar and on old Dart in his shop when I was there this morning. He knows all about the UCA drop and agreed that most alignment shops don't know how to deal with these cars.

So hopefully this will be the end of my alignment issues. Hopefully there isn't any frame or bent shock tower issues. It shouldn't be too bad, all the sheet metal lined up fairly good when I put it all back together. Same with the shock tower brace. Once its all lined up, I'll put a Monte Carlo bar on to help stiffen it up.

[unfrozen1969 11]

I never think about the fine tuning that is required to get your car on the road, and keep it on the road. I hope that you are able to get it all worked out. I see that you are finally experiencing some Ontario weather.

 

Bill

[unfrozen1969 11]

Hey Flight, what is the status of your car????

[flight96 14]

Hey All,

Again I haven't posted in a while but I have been busy ! The car has been with the front end shop for about a month. I told him to use it a a filler job, and take his time and do it right. I gotta say he was very good. Anytime he had an issue he called me and I went down and we discussed what was best and what I wanted them to do. Great guy to deal with.. Now the bad stuff... If ya go back and look at all the pics you will see the one thing(s) I didn't replace were the shock towers....Here is where I phucked up. If I ever do this again, when I get to the point where I hung all the suspension on, I would take it to a good frame place to have it checked...As it turned out the towers were bent in and down. Making it almost impossible to get the right geometry for a wheel alignment. Needless to say, it cost me a fortune to get it right...sigh....gotta love this hobby !!!:surrender:... Anyway, now the car sits like it should...and doesn't bottom out on even the smallest bumps, and it handles great...Here's the list....

 

• Welded in new shock towers and inserts
  
• Replaced the springs with BB springs
  
• Aligned the UCA and LCA's to proper placement (A little frame work)
  
• Replaced the rear shock hangers
  
• Wheel alignment
  

Plus a whole whack of other small incidental chit. I didn't realize there were so many small things that ya have to get right to make everything work just right. Especially when your working with a 46 year old platform that has seen so much road. Man if these cars could only talk !!

Here's a word to the wise all. Before ya go to far be sure that front end is all straight. Just because the sheet metal lines up doesn't mean the undercarriage is straight !!

Edited December 6, 2010 by flight96

[rangerdoc 22]

I can sympathize with you. While not the same issues I've had a ton of little things pop up and they seem to hit the wallet the hardest. I guess that's what makes this hobby so fun...or at least that's what I tell my banker...er, my wife!

[stangme428 33]

flight96 - glad you figured it out!! im sure she drives like nothing else! :tongue_smilie:

[flight96 14]

flight96 - glad you figured it out!! im sure she drives like nothing else! :tongue_smilie:

 

Finally had a dry day on Sunday and took her out for a run. I finally feel comfortable pushing it, now that I have about 1200 miles on her and the front end feels safe....and WOW :w00t: what fun I had. She takes off like a bat outta hell. I'm definately gonna need rear disc's !! This thing is a real torque monster. Got the tire chip, on cold pavement, going into second gear !!

I can't wait for the next dry day !!! Crappy thing is, we don't get many dry days out here on the wet (west) coast at this time of year....:sad:

[70mstang 11]

What a feelin! Mine just came home from paint :thumbup1: Reconstruction can start this weekend!

[unfrozen1969 11]

Hey flight

 

Your car sits much nicer now.

 

Can you send me an email, I will be in Victoria in the near future and it would be cool to see your ride. (unfrozen2@yahoo.ca)

 

Bill

[flight96 14]

Well I finally have some progress on the console. I am still trying to find a way to re-coat the whole thing so I get the proper texture. I know SEM makes a plastic/vinyl spray. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them !!

I have a new center piece and also a gauge pod to replace the ashtray.

 

Hey Bill, I sent ya an email ....

Edited December 17, 2010 by flight96

[flight96 14]

Well, another Christmas has come and gone, now it's time to get back to work. I have the console pretty much done !! I am quit happy with how it came out. Considering buying a repo one costs a fortune, and I think it's always better to keep original pieces.

I am also working on the radio now. I found a proper 69 radio so now Im gonna wire it for an MP3/iPod. Then run the wire under the console and make a doc inside the console compartment. Im thinking of using the old seat belt piece as a doc base...

[rangerdoc 22]

That turned out great. I agree as well, keeping as much of the original pieces is helpful if it is possible.

[Pakrat 1,043]

Looks great but it's hard to tell from the pictures about the texture detail, how do you feel it matches in person and what did use?

[flight96 14]

It matches fairly well. I did finally find the SEM plastic texture spray. It took a little playing with to get it to where I was happy. I did a few practice pieces first so I knew what I had to do when I did the final parts. Then I used a satin black plastic paint to finish it all off. I bought 5 different brands and tested them all out before I found the one that was closest to the original. You have to take into account that these parts are over 40 years old. So over that time they have been bleached out by the sun and a whole whack of different cleaning products. So getting the 'exact' color match is pretty tough.

But Im pretty happy with it. Way cheaper than buying a repo one or a good used one. It's carzy how much $$$$ they want for these things !!!

[BuckeyeDemon 211]

which satin black? there are a lot on the market. Part numbers? Manufacturers?

[Angel 24]

Impressive work on that console man. Hard to tell but the texture looks right.

[69RavenConv 286]

I found a proper 69 radio so now Im gonna wire it for an MP3/iPod. Then run the wire under the console and make a doc inside the console compartment.

 

Great work on the console. I have a lot of respect for folks who salvage original pieces instead of tossing them for a repro. Of course, many times we have no choice, but they aren't making OEM parts any more, so saving them is cool.

 

Did you find a real 69 radio, without the balance slider? I bought a 1971 model, which looks authentic and works great but requires a mod to the mounting bracket. I fabricated a new bracket rather than mutilate the original. I'd love to get a real 69 but the one I've run across are prohibitively expensive...

[flight96 14]

Hello all ! Its been a long time since I have posted anything. I have been stalking on here a few times.

Great to see more of these great cars being saved! I haven't done too much to mine other than drive her. As summer is quickly approaching she will be on the road again very soon. My next project is gonna be the top. I have a new pump I am going to install this weekend and I also have a new top. Just wondering if the top is something I should have an upholstery shop do?

I have never done a convertible top before and I would hate to wreck a perfectly good top.

[69RavenConv 286]

I did my own top - the only one I've ever done - and it came out great. It is not easy, but like most things on this car, it is do-able. Do it where it is warm and the fabric is soft, and test fit 3 times before fastening, and be prepared to re-do a few spots -- but it can be done.

 

And I almost forgot, cut two of those wooden templates to hold the frame in the proper position while installing the top.

Edited April 11, 2014 by 69RavenConv

[flight96 14]

Thank for the info 69RavenConv....

[flight96 14]

Hey All ! I haven't been back for a while...WOW, a lot of changes !! All the pics are gone in the move I guess....

[69RavenConv 286]

Hey, welcome back. The site is still a work in progress, the old threads and pics may get restored someday. Did you ever get your top installed?

[flight96 14]

LOL...Not yet...Its still sitting in my parts room...I really meant to do it in Feb. but that was overtaken by lazyness :-) ...Now the weather is too nice... But I will get to it...and aligning the fricken windows...soon..