The Bitch is Back!

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I can make you an outer skin for the trap door in fiberglass if you need it 

[RPM 1,190]

Thanks, I'll go that route if I'm not happy with the finished product Jim. I'm gonna use some knock off Dynamat on the back of the aluminum. Hopefully it'll keep the speakers from causing the panel to vibrate.

[RCodePaul 1]

What the Fresno Bob? Need an update. It's been a month and a half. Something has to have happened in that time yes? Since you don't call or email anymore, I have to log on here to see what the heck is happening. 

(I'm the brother with the offers to buy his cast off stuff.) 

[RPM 1,190]

Sheesh, sibling pressure. Speaking of which Paul, when are you going to start a thread on your R Code in the Project Progress Forum?

 

Well, starting with the most recent and working back in time...About a year ago I realized my $25 shaker purchase wasn't quite the deal I thought it was. Noticed it was missing the air filter lid. No worries, I'll just pick up an after market unit. Good luck trying to find a 13-1/2" lid. 14" lids are a dime a dozen but the filter won't line up with the recess in the lid. Found a 14" square of 1/8" remnant and cut to fit. It'll never be seen anyway.

 

 

 

Even if I had the mega dollar snorkel for the base, it won't clear the Monte Carlo bar. So I trimmed some aluminum mesh and attached it to the inside of the base to keep out small animals and such.

 

 

Finally got around to redoing the driver's side windshield pillar that the body shop screwed up. Thought it was going to be a bigger deal than what it turned out to be. Damn shops doing 85% of what they should. Now that I've crossed this hurdle I can get the front glass installed and start driving it at least weekly.

 

 

 

 

 

I added a T fitting at the oil pressure gauge sending unit for an oil pressure idiot light sending unit. Not sure where I'll put the idiot light, but somewhere in view of the idiot driver.

 

 

 

Another fine piece of body work done by a for profit shop is the top edge of the inner right tail lamp opening. Best practice I don't believe is to just float the filler and not worry about lines. I felt inside the hole and the metal still has the horizontal edge. A two inch sanding disk should make short work of it.

 

 

A few weeks ago I drove over to NPD in Ventura to exchange the dash pad and pick up a windshield. In the process I saved at least $200 in shipping. While there I grabbed a correct export brace which has a the deeper cross section. The export brace was one of the first parts I bought back in the 90's, and I don't even think I knew of the different grades available. When I installed it I couldn't just use some cheap Chicom bolts, so I splurged on some ARP 12 point bolts. Call me weird, but I think those 12 point fasteners are mighty sexy.

 

 

 

 

When I made the Monte Carlo bar I foolishly had the motor as far back as the tranny mount would allow. Once I installed the drive shaft I found that the MC bar interfered with the air cleaner. Brother Paul recommended using the tubing bender to put a small bend in the bar. That would be the easiest fix IF I had 1" round dies. Oy! So I instead welded shut the clevis mounting holes, drilled new holes half an inch forward and reshaped the tab. Looking at that pic makes me needing to have a look see at the tab angles and maybe grind them symmetrical.

 

 

And lastly, my son has been working on some pods for the front door speakers. Having swing out doors bars for the roll bar kind of limits how far the speaker can extend out from the door shell.

 

[stangnet33 88]

Ya Paul when are you starting the thread ;) ?  Good stuff Bob and yes they're sexy fasteners ! What did you have to do to straighten the pillar ?

[RPM 1,190]

Well Mike, if I had done the repairs back in 1999 when this project was started it would have been metal finished. However, since there is body filler all around that area I went ahead and used some Bondo. It's only 1/8" max there which is acceptable. I thought about welding in a small piece of metal but didn't want to possibly heat the filler and have it fail later.

[stangnet33 88]

Shouldn't be a problem. Looks like it blended in well. 

[Ash 145]

Beautiful work on the pillar, Bob. Well done!

[latoracing 256]

Oh the life of us OCD people lol.

 

Its fun sweating the detail, the pillar looks great and should last a very long time. 

 

Where did you get the perforated metal for the snorkel hole? That stuff is neat. (and expensive when bought in a full sheet)

[RPM 1,190]

OCD seems to cost me more and more cash as I proceed with the build. Case in point, I just bought some more coil over mounting bolts but in 12 point heads this time.

 

The perforated stuff was located in the remnant bin at a local metal yard. I used it first in the trunk for speaker accent and a vent window for the amp.

 

 

I tried to located this mesh style, but they had no rem pieces, only full sheets.

 

[Caseyrhe 650]

Nice nails, RPM

[RPM 1,190]

Thanks Casey, I treat myself to it every few months :)

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Next time you are in Home Depot ,check out the hardware row down at the end .I found this metal ,actually aluminum ,it comes in this painted finish or bare aluminum .I think it would make a great grill for scoops or what ever , or a nice speaker cover ...and my nails are nowhere near as purdy as Bobs! Maybe with the right color nail polish?

[RogerC 136]

I've used SS mesh from McMaster-Carr for fuel sump screening. https://www.mcmaster.com/#wire-cloth/=157a11r

I bought fine mesh in 12"X12" size, Larger mesh is available. Also larger sizes are available but pricing seems to rise quickly.

[RPM 1,190]

My first try at installing a windshield, time will tell if I did it right. Now I gotta get my nails redone.

Edit: I caught some rain on my October 2017 trip to Florida in Eastern Oklahoma without flooding the interior, so...

 

[latoracing 256]

You obviously didn't install it backwards lol. Looks good.

 

Done tore up your nails, what are we going to do with you Bob?

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

You obviously didn't install it backwards lol. Looks good.

 

Done tore up your nails, what are we going to do with you Bob?

He done tore off the sticker that said THIS END UP haha.

[RPM 1,190]

Ha ha, you funny. I could've used one of you guy's help on math though. I measured the center of the opening and the center of the glass for alignment and marked them on some masking tape. As we were bringing the glass into position it was off by about 3/4". WTFresno? Could've done better without making the "centers". Hopefully I'll do better on my next one.

[Silver_69_Coupe 31]

Ha ha, you funny. I could've used one of you guy's help on math though. I measured the center of the opening and the center of the glass for alignment and marked them on some masking tape. As we were bringing the glass into position it was off by about 3/4". WTFresno? Could've done better without making the "centers". Hopefully I'll do better on my next one.

 I did the same thing when I was putting in my headliner. But mine was closer to 1/2" Off. My windshield came with free installation and he had problems getting it centered too.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

They may not be centered top to bottom with the aftermarket glass ,how do the sides look ? Do they run even with the door pillars ?

[Silver_69_Coupe 31]

They may not be centered top to bottom with the aftermarket glass ,how do the sides look ? Do they run even with the door pillars ?

The sides lined up uniformly and look really good. He had to pull it back up and redo all of the glue because the curve was a little different and it screwed up his center lines. Just an FYI for anyone working around glass with a grinder. The sparks will leave pits in your glass. I messed up my windshield with it. Luckily I was able to fix most of them with a lot of elbow grease and glass polishing.

 

RPM. Don't worry your nails are going to be just fine. Use your buffer and some good buffing compound and they will be good as new.

[RPM 1,190]

I centered the glass so the sides lined up spaced equally and parallel with pillar. I believe I didn't mark one of the centers correctly.

 

I think I'll need to hit the nails on the wire wheel before polishing.

 

And I've screwed up plenty of things with mig spatter. You'd think I'd have learned by now. Another reason to use the tig.

[Silver_69_Coupe 31]

I recently purchased 2 98 Grand Am for 200 a piece. I put them together and made one. In my state you can not scrap a car without the title. So I cut the left over car up with my Plasma Cutter. The bottom of the car had oil all over it. and a section of fuel line that I failed to remove. I am cutting along and I notice a lot of smoke. (More than normal when Cutting painted metal with the plasma.).  I stopped cutting and by the time I got about 2 Feet away from it the Entire bottom the car burst into flames. I have the garage door open but a truck in the way so cannot drag the burning chunk of metal out of the garage. Luckily I have had some experience with fires and was smart enough to not try to put it out with water. The Oil caught on fire and burned out rather quickly but the 2 Foot section of fuel line turned into a flame thrower. I did what any pyromaniac would do. I just let it burn. Although I did move anything that was flammable from its path. Not much I really could do at this point without doing more harm. That  was a interesting day. Talk about getting the Adrenaline level up. And a reminder that I really should have a fire extinguisher.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

They call that a warming fire here ,we just tell the fire dept. we were cold 

[RPM 1,190]

Okaaay.

 

Cleaned up and painted the shaker assembly with Eastwood's 2k Ford Blue and Rat Rod black satin finish. I like the sheen, has more shine in the pic than live.