My 69 Vert Project...Let The Games Begin

[flight96 14]

Sadly they don't have the speakers. But they are in nice shape. I will post a pic later. I haven't decided If I will do the re-covering or have someone do it.....

[Pakrat 1,043]

Well Mr Mikes shows you how to add speakers to non ones also, Opie added his own in fact. Anyone can do it using his free installation CD, it was my first upholstery job and they came out great. I watched the DVD first start to finish then step by step while doing the first one and the second one I did a few days later from memmory, it's that easy and you can start the day it arrives because he gives you literaly everything you need, new foam, batting, spray glue, hog rings and pliers, razor blades, the works, a complete DIY kit. You should defintely give it some thought unless you find a place that doesn't give you sticker shock to do it for you.

[flight96 14]

Here's the pics of the seats. I'm pretty happy with the buy. Now I gotta make them work !!!

[flight96 14]

I finally had a chance to get the car out of the garage to give it, and the car a good clean. Its almost starting to look like a car again !! ...Almost..

[flight96 14]

Well I tried my best to get the rear tail light panel staright but I have now given up...It beat me !!:surrender:...So a new one is now on order, it will be here today.

I'll have to undo a lot of work/welding to get the old one off but its the right thing to do.... I never would have been happy with the old one. Oh well...more welding...more time...more $$$$..... Ahhh good times.....

[flight96 14]

What a pain in the ass it is to take off that tail light panel !!! Especially after welding on new 1/4 panels !!! Oh well, live and learn...I have the old one torn off and the new one finally dry fitted to where I am happy. Tomorrow I will get it welded in.

I also finished the RH door. Tack welded the skin, stripped the inner door and primed it all.

[flight96 14]

On the engine side of things, I painted the harmonic balancer so you can read the timing marks... Got it installed along with the water pump...

[opie_803 14]

hey flight,

your car is taking great shape. i saw where you were using the fiero seats to. Pak got something started here i guess, lol. i have a post on here under "69 fiero seats done" or something close to that. it shows the covers done by mrmikes.com. i had taken pics and measurements of the rear seat and he matched them really well.

 

i highly recommend mrmikes and the speaker installation was pretty straight forward, mine didnt have any when i started.

[opie_803 14]

for what its worth, put the speakers in the headrest. they sound good and are plenty loud enough at speed. you wont be disappointed.

[flight96 14]

Thanks Opie !!

Ya I picked them up for a good price. I am seriously thinking about the speakers. I want to get the bodywork done and the car running first. So I may have the original seats in it for a bit while I redo the seats. How hard is it to put the speakers in ? Do you use 2 speakers on each seat ? Finally, what size speakers did you use ?

 

Tail Light Panel Update...

I got the panel half welded in last night after a lot of tweaking. The trunk lid finally closes and opens easily, and all the lines look workable. There's a lot of welding to do yet but I believe it was the right way to go. So hopefully I am done buying body panels !! I have replaced EVERY panel on the car except the right side fender !!:scared: But at least I know its all done properly. I'd really like to have the tail light panel and passenger door completed this weekend. Then I can work on getting the engine running and putting the interior back together.

What is the best sound deadner to use under the carpet ?? I was looking at the foil stuff. They sell it at Home Depot...I think its called Tyvek or something like that???

[opie_803 14]

the speakers are easy to install and i used two 3.5 round speakers in each seat. mrmikes.com has directions on the speaker installation.

 

i used the foil/bubble wrap from lowe's on my floor much like Pak. it does well for a heat barrier and so so for sound deadening. but then again, how much sound deadening can you expect out of a 69 convertible? lol.

[unfrozen1969 11]

question about the doors,

 

Did you glue or weld them, and once you had taken the skins off, did you put the door back on the car and align tgh elines to know they were on straight?

 

photos if you have em would be great.

 

Bill from Ottawa

[flight96 14]

I welded them...Im still not sold on the glue...As for how I did it, I left the door on the car and hung the skin on the door frame. I lined up all the body lines and made sure I was happy with the gaps. I then folded a couple of spots and tack welded them with the door still on the car. Once I was happy with the fit I the removed the door and finished all the folding and tack welding. Once that was done I ran a bead of Sika-Flex along the seams. Waited for it to dry, and painted the jams.....

I just hung the passenger side door and it fits great. So Today Im planning on starting to put the front clip back together. Hopefully, by the end of the day, it will look like a car again !!!

The headers finally showed up yesterday !!!!:biggrin: I did a trial fit and they fit very nicely...

[stangme428 33]

Great progress! what headers did you end up with?:shifty: size, length etc etc..

[unfrozen1969 11]

I have heard that before putting the skins back on, get all of the window crank and door mechanisms in place, etc. Did you do that as well?

 

Bill

[flight96 14]

I went with the Flow Tech long tube headers. As for the doors....Definitely put all the inards back together before ya hang the door. Its way easier !!

Made some good progress today. I got both fenders hung and I laid the hood on just to see how the fit was. It has a few issues but they are to be expected. The front fenders are missing 2 brackets on the underside. Im gonna have to make something up.

Ill post some pics later....just starting the BBQ...and sipping a glass of wine.....

[flight96 14]

Well I made up some brackets to anchor the fenders to the body. It was a pretty simple job and it worked out great.

I also have the front end on and lined up pretty well. The real pain in the ass was making the repo fender fit....yikes !! Im still not 100% happy with it but I can't get it any better. I did battle with it for 4 hours !!!!! Im probably just being overly picky.....

I got the sending unit installed in the gas tank and the tank is ready to install. I also have the fuel line almost installed. Its in place I just need to bolt it to the body.

[flight96 14]

OK...Now the bad news...One of the issues I fixed...It took 4 hours of drilling out welds and refitting the inner piece on the fender but it now fits....(See Pic)

But my other issue may be even harder to fix. I think I may have the tie rods on the R&P too long. Please look at the pic and let me know what you think. Do I need to shorten the tie rods or will this issue be fixed at the alignment shop ????

 

On a happier note....doesn't that motor look nice in there !!:biggrin:

[69again 10]

Project is looking good. When do you get it painted? Your attention to detail will pay off when the project is finished.

 

An alignment will take care of it, however, it looks like your camber is way negative. Adjusted by your lower control arm. I would at least adjust camber so it is about nuetral until you get it aligned. At least that way you will know better how your stance is going to look. Then adjust toe-in/out so it looks straight.

 

Dan

[flight96 14]

I am hoping to spray it 2nd week of July. I have taken a week off to get it done then.

The gas tank and fuel lines are all in place. Starting today Im gonna be working on finishing the body work and getting the car in primer. Hopefully by Sunday the car will all be primer grey and guide coated.

Once the car is primed I will then try to get it running !! Im no mechanic so I may be enlisting some professional help in that regard. Id hate to spend all this cash on a new engine just to screw it up !!

[flight96 14]

Well I have accomplished a bit in the last 2 weeks... The gas tank is in and the fuel lines are all hooked up as far as the inner fender. I ran a thick bead of Sika-Flex around the base of the gas tank to seal it to the body. That way any exhaust fumes can't get through. I then sprayed the inner trunk and top of the tank with some Pro-Form undercoating. It looks really good.

I finally got all the body work done and finished lining up all the doors and hood to where I am reasonably happy. I also finally got a trunk lid I could work with and got it all stripped and primed. The wife is REALLY happy with me spraying primer in her garden !!:whistling:

[flight96 14]

Its not exactly painted but it is a step closer !!! Finally all the body work is done and the car is in primer....Next step is a few small pieces to finish then get the beast under the hood to take a breath !!!:helpsmilie:

[flight96 14]

A huge step forward....Fired her up for the first time today !!!:tongue: Fired right up and sounds GREAT. I have taken the week off to get her painted. Things are happening now !!!:blink:

 

[Mike65 476]

Looking good. My 69 Coupe in my sig pic is on hold for now. all the f/e sheet metal is on now & the f/e is primed brown. Next is drivers side front floor.

[flight96 14]

Well I have one side blocked out and it feels really good. I started on the side that I thought would need the most work so 'hopefully' the worst is behind me. That being said, anyone who has done the block sanding on these cars knows what the hood and fender tops can be like.

I've run the motor up twice now and it sounds great. The new issue is the trans will not engage. I have 10L of tranny fluid in it but still no luck. Time to call the trans shop....