1970 Convertible Restoration

[Vicfreg 790]

I wish it could’ve discovered these earlier, it’s such a simple tool, it goes right on my D Walt 20 Volt drill.

 

 

[Mach1 Driver 596]

Is the tool made by Beaspire?

[Vicfreg 790]

I don't remember, and I am not at home, so can't check.  I got it on Amazon, I think.

[Vicfreg 790]

Still working off my pre-paint punchlist.   First item was to install the tack strips that go into the top storage well behind the back seat.   I verified that most of the holes were stripped of the threads.  So, back to my rivnut tool, and installed rivnuts where the holes were stripped.   Note how the 2 curved strips go underneath the longer, straighter tack strip. There is an offset in the mounting surface, and the strips are designed to overlap this way.  This also required some special 1/4" hardware which I had acquired at some point along the way.  You can use a 1/4 - 20 bolt if you don't these. The tapered ends on the factory style bolts make it a little easier to center the strip on the mounting hole.   

Second item was to install the trunk torsion bar.   My car only came with one, which is guess is the case for the '70 convertibles. The convertibles, and, I assume the coupes do not have the bolt on hinges like other mustangs, and do not have the integral coil spring.  So, you have to use this single torsion bar.   The factory shop manual and "Orange Book" drawings do not show this detail, so I took a few pictures for the record.    I used a short extension and 3/8" deep socket for my tensioning "tool" it worked fine.

 

[Mike65 504]

Vic, I do not know if it makes a difference but my 69 Coupe has 2 torsion bars for the trunk.

[Mach1 Driver 596]

36 minutes ago, Mike65 said:

Vic, I do not know if it makes a difference but my 69 Coupe has 2 torsion bars for the trunk.

Huh, must be its the size/weight of the deck lid. My 69 Mach (fastback) has a pair of flat wound springs.

[Vicfreg 790]

Yeah, interesting variations here in the trunk springs.  
My ‘68 coupe has 2 just like the ‘69s

 

[Vicfreg 790]

Still working on my punchlist.   Installed main door handle actuator rod.  Got the "anti-rattle" sleeve from NPD, good fit and finish.  Also got some of those old "red" clips that hold the actuator rods to the door handle and latch mechanism.   Took picture from the top looking down inside the door, as a reminder to run the main rod with the bow toward the inside door skin. This will avoid contact with the window regulator arms.

Also, don't forget to slide the main door handle actuator rod retaining clip on the rod. This keeps it away from the widow mechanism.  It has an orientation tab and threaded insert, and is attached from the passenger compartment side of the door.  

[Vicfreg 790]

Sketched out an idea to use some dark tinted motorcycle blinker/parking lights to replace my standard parking light assemblies.  I had an old pair, so took my cutting wheel to them and sliced off the old light housing/lens assembly.   Made some brackets out of aluminum angle, and attached them with 10-32 screws and Riv Nuts.   In the process of coating these, and will use some black coated (not oxide) fasteners.   More pics to come.  Lights are really bright, so should be cool.

 

[Vicfreg 790]

Installed my convertible top header weatherstrip.  It does not use any trim adhesive, attaches with this retainer strip and screws to the underside of the header

 

[Vicfreg 790]

[Hertz65 3]

Enjoying watching your progress Vicfreg. I'm in the process of assembling my 69 convertible so your journey is a great learning tool for me.

With the rear tack strips. Did you replace or refurbish? I see you can buy just the tack strip material and use the original metal frame. Any recommendation of which path to take?

[Vicfreg 790]

The tack strips that are in the convertible rear well, cannot be replaced. They are permanently bonded to the metal backing plate. If you look a few posts back in my thread, it shows how I refurbished those, Scotch-Brite, staple puller and some black paint did the trick.

There are two other places the tack strips are used in the top. The first is the header, I provided a picture below, it’s next to that weatherstripping that was in my previous post. It gets installed with rivets, it’s a tricky installation but doable if you have patience and time.  The second place is in the fourth bow, which is the last one all the way to the back. That one gets installed to the bow using heavy metal staples. I have the material, I’ve taken a picture of the role I got from NPD.  I’ll give that to the top installer when I get ready.

The two intermediate post have a metal retainer strip that screws to the bow itself.   This is used to fasten the middle of the top to the frame.

I think when I disassembled my top, the intermediate bows also had tack strips in there for one of the previous owners, it may be because other tops staple to those bows instead of using the retaining strips.

I’m following the drawings that are in the “orange book”, for guidance. If others have comments that would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Hope that helps
 

 

 

 

[Vicfreg 790]

Coating finished, need to get some hardware and assemble

 

[Vicfreg 790]

Finished product, some smoke lens LED motorcycle blinker/parking lights. My front bumper and grill and lower valance are all going to be black, should be pretty cool

 

[Rich Ackermann 174]

They look great. Can't wait to see them installed and working.

[Vicfreg 790]

After exchanging some lessons learned with Rich, I modified my shaker to rotate it so that the front indent in the base was correctly oriented to clear my distributor and ignition wires. With my particular base, which is a 351W fiberglass reproduction, I cut the 3 studs off the base, and aligned my shaker top so that it was "straight".   I then drilled new holes in the base to align with the holes in the midplate.   For now , I will use some 1/4-20 bolts and nuts to secure it.  Long term, plan to epoxy some T-Nuts on the base and use 1/4" bolts on top.

More to come..... 

Thanks, Rich....

 

[Vicfreg 790]

Rotating the base clockwise has moved the mounting stud clockwise as well.  As I have the "Slant Edge" valve covers, there really isn't a good place to attach a bracket there.  So, decided I would utilize a mounting spot on my Edelbrock Performer RPM intake to make my own bracket to mount to the Shaker base.  I will at some point I will have to grind off the stud that is in the base right now.

[Vicfreg 790]

[Vicfreg 790]

You will also probably notice my breather hose setup here.  Due to a surplus of "AN" fittings from various projects over the years, I plumbed this up with some of those fittings.   I drilled a clearance hole in the base, and used a AN connector to hook to a AN 120 degree "push on" elbow fitting. Then used a AN 90 degree push on elbow to hook to my breather cap.  I am not after a stock appearance here, so just want it to be functional and keep my "no bling" look going.

[Vicfreg 790]

I don't have a lot of metal forming equipment in my small shop, so I rely on basic tools and also basic metal working skills to make stuff.

In this case, the local Ace Hardware had some Aluminum stock that was had for a good price.  

When I want to make a bracket, I use a coat hanger to bend and re-bend until I get the shape I want.  Then I take a new, straight, coat hanger piece and bend it cleanly to match my original prototype.  I put my aluminum stock in my heavy vice.  I have magnetic/rubber vise blocks, but needing a tight fit, I used painters tape to wrap my aluminum stock to keep from marring the surface.

Using an old 8oz Ball Peen hammer (flat end), I carefully work the piece to the angle I want, with the coat hanger mock up next to it.   In this case, it worked quite nicely, as you can see.  

Then, I marked and drilled pilot holes, verified the locations, and drilled my final holes for mounting.   

Inside the base, I will use a 1/4 -20 Tee Bolt and epoxy it in.  

Now to use some self etching primer, and paint my bracket.

More to come

 

 

[Mike65 504]

Nice work Vic.

[Rich Ackermann 174]

On 10/11/2021 at 9:17 PM, Vicfreg said:

After exchanging some lessons learned with Rich, I modified my shaker to rotate it so that the front indent in the base was correctly oriented to clear my distributor and ignition wires. With my particular base, which is a 351W fiberglass reproduction, I cut the 3 studs off the base, and aligned my shaker top so that it was "straight".   I then drilled new holes in the base to align with the holes in the midplate.   For now , I will use some 1/4-20 bolts and nuts to secure it.  Long term, plan to epoxy some T-Nuts on the base and use 1/4" bolts on top.

More to come..... 

Thanks, Rich....

 

Hi Vic, Always happy to share ideas.  Helping each other with our builds is what makes this forum so valuable. It's what we do.

[Rich Ackermann 174]

On 10/23/2021 at 10:00 PM, Vicfreg said:

I don't have a lot of metal forming equipment in my small shop, so I rely on basic tools and also basic metal working skills to make stuff.

In this case, the local Ace Hardware had some Aluminum stock that was had for a good price.  

When I want to make a bracket, I use a coat hanger to bend and re-bend until I get the shape I want.  Then I take a new, straight, coat hanger piece and bend it cleanly to match my original prototype.  I put my aluminum stock in my heavy vice.  I have magnetic/rubber vise blocks, but needing a tight fit, I used painters tape to wrap my aluminum stock to keep from marring the surface.

Using an old 8oz Ball Peen hammer (flat end), I carefully work the piece to the angle I want, with the coat hanger mock up next to it.   In this case, it worked quite nicely, as you can see.  

Then, I marked and drilled pilot holes, verified the locations, and drilled my final holes for mounting.   

Inside the base, I will use a 1/4 -20 Tee Bolt and epoxy it in.  

Now to use some self etching primer, and paint my bracket.

More to come

 

 

Nice Vic! Aluminum stock is easy to work with. Building a template is important, because you can't bend and re-bend it too many times or aluminum begins to crack at the bends. I use very thin Sheetmetal for flat templates or wire or even pvc pipe for round ones.

[Vicfreg 790]

Nice weather in North Carolina today, so did some painting