There were several places where rust had to be removed. Two seat mount repairs needed to be cut our and redone and both kick panels needed metal to replace them. When I got the car each seat only had about 1 bolt holding it in because the bolt pattern had been changed from going from one rusted hole to a new drilled hole. Now all of the metal has been replaced and the seat bolt patterns are correct with the nut welded on the underside.
The cowl had seen better days. There were scratches and little repairs all over the place. These were simple drilled out and re-glassed properly. Then the cowl was sanded, primed, and painted. The underside received a coat of 3M rubberized coating as did the fender wells. Both inner fenders had cracks in the factory seams so I ground out the old glue, separated the hood surround from the inner fender and re-cemented them. They are super strong and straight now. The car came to me without the AC and heater box. I have since scavenged all of the correct boxes and plumbing to add AC back. Here you can see the AC box and drier bolted in. Better do this before the body goes back on to save sanity!
The lift was straight forward using the engine crane to position the body and lower it slowly on the new body mounts and shims. Got it first try with all 8 bolts hitting their targets! I took some quick measurements to straighten and center the body on the chassis and then tightened it down. The engine looks good in it's newly cleaned home! You can see the refinished underside in the below lifting pics. The 3M rubberized coating will help deaden sound and prevent rust.
After the body was on I installed the new aluminum radiator and shroud. After hooking up all the hoses and filling the radiator I was able to run the motor for about 90 minutes to get it tuned and do a general leak test. I also raised the rear and ran the motor for 45 minutes with the car in gear to check the drive train. Before under load the drive shaft would hit the seatbelt bolt under acceleration, but that has been corrected now. Motor, tranny, rear, and radiator are all tight, but there was a leak in the rear left exhaust pipe where a clamp did need to be tightened up.
The doors have been put back on and the wiring is the next step. Right now all of the fiberglass repairs are complete and the body has been mocked up with the tops and is ready for paint. Before it goes to the paint shop though, most of the interior will be assembled. The seat is firmly and correctly mounted in the holes it was meant to be in and even though it doesn't have brakes, I have driven it a little in the neighborhood:) It is a STRONG car!
Dissasembly
The body bolts came off easily with only 1 bolt needed to be be ground down and cut (There's always one in the bunch). The bolts and bushings were shot and will be replaced with new poly bushings to add to the stiffness of the car's new handling. The body is in great shape with no repairs on the painted surfaces needed - a HUGE relief. All of the bonds are in tact and very little repairs will be necessary.
The underside of the body is also in great shape. There is surface rust on the header bars and light mounts, but that is to be expected. All of the threads are in good shape and none will have to be replaced, or worse drilled out. On the back bumper there were plenty of dirt-dobber's nests indicating at one point the car did sit for a time.
On the inside there are a couple of rusty issues. The outer seat mounts on both sides have been crudely repaired. These repairs will be cut out and new metal fabricated in back to factory shape and specs. The sheet metal covering the AC/Heater hole will be removed and rebuilt heater boxes will be put back in it's place. The car had AC when it was new and will have again when complete. All of the fiberglass in the car is in exceptional shape. No repairs needed inside.
The tank sticker was intact but totally unreadable. I'll keep it with the car's records, but it is worthless as a reference. The front and rear bumper covers are in great shape with no tears on the bolt holes and no gouges in the plastic. These will be reused and will look great when complete!
