Meet QUEENIE.... 69 Gulfstream Aqua Build

[Mike65 475]

Machspeed, nice work. You got lucky with the rear leaf spring front mount bolts the ones on my 69 Coupe were rusted to the bushing & I had to use a large cut off wheel on my angle grinder to cut them out. My old front windshield had so much sealer around it I broke it several times getting it out. It seems to be a pattern with a lot of these cars being off the road for many years, my Coupe has been off the road since 10/94. 

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

By the rear shackle mount you will see two holes ,that is where the factory tie down brackets were ,this is a good solid area ,it has anti crush plates inside ,i use this area plus the bumper mount holes below the tail panel for the mounting .

The air assist jack is the one i used for my bender ,you may have to order it . I asked for one at my local hatbor freight and now they keep them in stock. I actually bought two jacks ,one for my bender and one for another type bender i want to build

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

I have two places on the rotating head to pin it from spinning ,i found pinning was better than a bolt because the bolt will wear into the tube ,the front hole i have pinned now is horizontal and verticle ,the hole not pinned in the rear is in different 45*degree angles . This makes less holes in one area of the rotating tubing and less chance it could break

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

This is just about perfect balance for a fast back and coupe ,a convertible will be less because there is no roof weight ,i made this adjustable just for that reason

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

This is how i attached the front

[JET 445 43]

Here ya go Machspeed, this is how the brackets mount.

[Machspeed 219]

Hey fellas, thanks again!

That's a clean body, Jet. 

[Machspeed 219]

So, I'm making some progress now. Rotisserie built and car mounted. Spoke with media blaster just yesterday. Will likely be taking it in for blasting before months end. This car has been stored away since the early 80's and I long to drive her again. Turned 59 last month, males in my family don't have good longevity. Race for time....LOL! 

[mustangstofear 608]

It  looks  pretty  decent,  but you  never know  until you  blast  them.

[Machspeed 219]

On 2/20/2019 at 6:58 AM, mustangstofear said:

It  looks  pretty  decent,  but you  never know  until you  blast  them.

So true, but this is a Texas car and I am second owner. I know where this car has been, thus am very hopeful that I will find no more than what I am already aware of. Thanks for your contributions on this site, my friend.  

[Machspeed 219]

Spent the entire day today scraping sealant and under coating. Son was home from school, so he got a scrapper too!!! Just about have it knocked out. Not a fun job. Bummer was finding rust on passenger side floor panels, front and rear. I was not expecting that. Just ordered up a couple of replacements. Interestingly, the rust is isolated to specific areas so no need to replace the whole panel. I'll likely just make patch panels.  

[RPM 1,190]

Not a fun job, but you had outstanding help. Frame that pic!

[Machspeed 219]

Thanks, Bob. Really enjoyed having my son's presence and help here. 

[Grabber70Mach 107]

Nice progress it's always nice to have your son helping out.

[mustangstofear 608]

Wish my son would  help me with his Mustang  :( 

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Had the same problem with my nephew ,it is my mustang now 

[Machspeed 219]

On 4/1/2019 at 5:51 AM, mustangstofear said:

Wish my son would  help me with his Mustang  :( 

As I will never sell the car, he knows that it will probably be his someday...lol! He's a good kid, too! I am blessed. 

[Machspeed 219]

Finally, off for media blasting.  

[mustangstofear 608]

Let's  hope you have a  clean  body :)

[Machspeed 219]

Plastic media. 

Moderator, if this is too much, feel free to remove.  

[Machspeed 219]

4 minutes ago, mustangstofear said:

Let's  hope you have a  clean  body :)

Aman! As I have owned the car since 1976, feel pretty good about most of it. 

Thanks Rich! 

[RPM 1,190]

15 hours ago, Machspeed said:

Plastic media. 

Moderator, if this is too much, feel free to remove.  

IMG_2046.mov

Ain't gonna happen. 

[Machspeed 219]

Car is finished and delivered to painter for two coats of SPI epoxy. Found a few surprises, but all easy fixes. Media blaster guy was good to me at $825. Exterior shell was blasted with plastic while the undercarriage and engine bay were done with sand. Game out real nice and I'm very pleased.  

[Machspeed 219]

So, got the car back last week from my painter. My plan was to have him shoot it in epoxy primer, for which then I would check panel alignment, mock up the engine and such, and then return it to him for paint. I paid him for the epoxy application and in the discussion brought up the total cost of the remaining paint work. His response was not what I expected. I asked him a couple years ago what it would cost me to rotisserie paint my car. I never get myself into anything without knowing some approximate cost and I was certain that he gave me a number. When I repeated that number back to him, he said there is no way I would do this car for that. And, he told me he never quoted me a price, so there was some obvious miscommunication. To delve further into the discussion would elude to me calling him a liar and I didn't want to go there. While he never gave me a number, he spoke of an area that is far more than what I had planned. The discussion ended cordially and I told him I would have to re-think some things, but it has really left me depressed. I've spent the last week weighing my options and I know I will not release the amount of funds he eluded to, nor will I pay that amount to anyone else.....above $10k. And, I'm not saying it's ridiculous, as I have a very good idea as to the amount of work that goes into just making a car straight. That aside, I've never painted a car and I am incredibly picky about things. I want a show car finish. I've not said anything to him yet, but my thought now is to prep the body completely for paint......fix, sand, primer, block, seal, and hopefully he'll basecoat/clearcoat it for me. I know some painters wouldn't touch that, and I can understand why. I might consider the basecoat/clearcoat process myself but the color is metallic and I really don't want to mess with converting my shop into a booth to paint in, even if it is PVC and plastic construction. So, the car is back home in my shop and I don't even know where to begin. Right now, I don't even have the inclination or desire to clean up and organize my shop. Last couple of days, I've been on the autobody forums and YouTube studying paint prep and much of it is also conflicting.....sheez! I guess I'm kinda whoa'ing out a bit here. I'd welcome your suggestions, especially those of you whom painted your own cars. Thanks!  

 

[mustangstofear 608]

Most people are  shocked at the cost of an awarding paint job. Our time IQ that's  used to  keep  track of the  actual  hours,  plus our  computerized paint system tells us to  the penny how much we have in the job.  Labor  is 15,000 and materials  is 5,000.