Would love to have a clean shop like that. Would also like to be working from home, I might be able to make some big progress then. March 22nd my Pro Street project body goes under the blaster to see what all I have left to work with.
Great setup. You seem to have a clean and relatively safe, well thought out work space. However, be careful with the cinder blocks under the body. Take extra care or precautions if you will be under that at any time. I have seen/experienced in the past where cinder blocks have given way unexpectedly with no warning.
It looks like you have built wooden jigs for your frame and other projects. I'd feel better if you had a wooden jig for the body. Plus you have put casters on it and move the body around where the cinder blocks are fixed/stationary.
The cinder blocks are oriented in the direction they were designed for so should not be and issue just sitting there. I won't be working with it at all while it's up there, it's just out of the way while I finish the frame. I'll set it back down and let a much more experienced guy do the paint and body.
I built a rotisserie for the body for about $300 doing the welding my self. Used 2 engine stands for the rotators. Next is a frame jig, but my jig will have to be built to some pretty exacting standards as it will be the jig used to replace 2/3 rds of the frame with a 26" back half and narrowed rear end. Has to have good reference points for rear axle location and geometry with what will be left of the original frame and suspension. I've been told the jig can take longer than the actual frame modifications. This should allow me to get 18.5 inch or 21.5 inch Hoosier radials in back for the street and 16-18 inch slicks for the track.
It's back in the spot. (Im)patiently waiting on parts to put it back together. Being more meticulous this time and have about $120 sunk into just new hardware.
Don't want to revisit this one again.
Not really for sandblasting. The only way I've seen is an acid dip and that's not something I wanted to get into. For frames that are generally solid, the convention seems to be that no one does anything about stripping internally and they just use their preferred sealer like a paint or cavity wax.
Rust is one of the best anti oxidation coatings around, as long as it isn't flaking or disturbed. I'm probably going to blast my Convertible frame and then apply POR-15 as much as possible on the inside of the frame. On my Pro street I'm not sure what I will do yet. I'm only keeping the front 1/3rd of the original frame, but if I blast it the frame would have to be blasted prior to modifications since during modifications the frame will be welded to the cars rocker panels. Granted at a later date I might chop the remaining frame out and go tubular to cut down on front weight and try to go faster.
Everywhere is out of stock on them so no idea when I'll be able to get a replacement. These are American-made and I'm trying to keep the car in as many US parts as possible but to move forward I'm going to have to buy a set of the Chinese knock-offs to mock up the assembly. I don't relish the idea of doing it twice but it will be interesting to put up a side by side comparison with new parts from Global West and wherever the copies are coming from.
I looked at the Ridetech option but I'm a little wary of how much travel I'll be getting out of their control arms for a street car, plus I've already got expensive adjustable shocks that I don't want to replace with expensive struts.
Everywhere is out of stock on them so no idea when I'll be able to get a replacement. These are American-made and I'm trying to keep the car in as many US parts as possible but to move forward I'm going to have to buy a set of the Chinese knock-offs to mock up the assembly. I don't relish the idea of doing it twice but it will be interesting to put up a side by side comparison with new parts from Global West and wherever the copies are coming from.
I looked at the Ridetech option but I'm a little wary of how much travel I'll be getting out of their control arms for a street car, plus I've already got expensive adjustable shocks that I don't want to replace with expensive struts.
John, check out UMI Performance - they are based in PA (heart of steel country) and all parts are made in the USA. They are also cheaper than Global West. I'm not 100% sure what they have for a '69, but all their stuff I've put on my '68 has been great.
Looks like some one dropped that one off the Empire State building. That is an awful big ding for just falling off the work bench, unless that metal is very soft (in need of retempering).
The boredom continues... I can't get parts fast enough to fill the time. Bought a cheap set of lower control arms to mock up the front end.
Discovered a couple of things along the way. The aftermarket pittman arm isn't right for these cars. The offset is wrong and puts the center link at an angle. I just confirmed it today putting back together with an NOS part.
I keep a running project thread over at pro - touring dot com. What I've really been waiting for are the Global West front lower control arms, which came in this week. I set the engine in place over last weekend to check the new crossmember fit and set the pinion angle. This weekend I'll install the front control arms (current ones are knock offs for mock up), load up and install the front springs, and roll the chassis under the body to set it back down. Since body mounts are on back order, that will put me back in a hold pattern. Here's the current state:
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