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Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:57 pm

Here is the start of my project, a 1970 'vert. I followed a bunch of other builds and I have enjoyed them a lot, so I thought I would share mine. I got the car from a fellow samba member and brought it home in the hopes of doing some tune up stuff to get it running. We got it home and into the garage to find the package panel was far worse than expected and it is in need of channels and pans. Thats ok, I can deal with that. So, I figured I would get her running and deal with the metal issues afterwards. After a quick rundown of what I would need to crank it over, I decided that dropping the engine and giving it a solid inspection 1st was a good idea. Glad I did! Once the engine was out I noticed what appeared to be a shop rag shredded in the shroud. What we found was the remains of a rats nest. Guess it was a good thing I did'nt start it huh? We spent the day today removing the tins and cleaning everything out. My girlfriend worked the wire wheel and cleaned up the parts as I got them off. She did a sweet job on the intake ends, especially for her 1st time I will take everything to the wash in the morning and spary all the crud off the engine, then I will bolt it all back up and adjust the valves and finish tuning it, hopefully I can hear it run tomorow nite. If its good, then I am going to just keep it cosmetic for now. Powered coat the tins, polish the rest. I really want to get the "heart" solid before I tackle anything else. I have seen people blow their cars completely apart and then try to keep motivation on the project. I am going to tackle one issue at a time and work through the entire car till its done. So whats the plan? For now, finish the engine. Next is the pan/body rust problems. With the pan free, new lines, narrowed beam. Clean everything else. Take care of the body rust inside the tub. Once its all back together, I'll go from there. I don't want to overwelm myself with unrealistic goals at this point. Any tips, feedback, critzism are welcome. I am relying on the wisedom of the people here, my bently and muir books and my family to make this come to life.

Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:58 pm

Well I seem to have done somthing wrong with my pics, mhhh.... anyone? Nevermind, I fixed it, lol :lol:

Sun Nov 25, 2007 11:37 pm

Looks like u have some work cut out for you. keep us posted.

Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:44 pm

Its been a bit since I last posted, but that doesn't mean that I have stopped progress... had to get some heat in the garage and make some room for the stuff coming off. I still haven't gotten the engine back together and I said I was going to, but the way work is going and the holidays things have been tight. I don't want to sit and look at the car, so I have been doing what I can. Basically finding MORE rust :? . I knew the pans needed to be replace, the heater channels are iffy and the support rails have issues. So much for having it road ready by the spring. I cut out the remaining parcel tray, but left the fire wall for now until I can order a replcement and decide how it will be best to repair the area There was also a fair amount of rust in the right rear wheelhouse that will have to addressed . I have had a few ideas on how I want the car to look in a "finished" form, 1st is to lower it with a 4/5 inch beam and turn the springplates 2 notchs. Wheels are up in the air, would like to switch to 5 lug pattern and run Radars. I like the look of those real well.... not there yet tho! I like the red, maybe go with a tan top and interior, transform my highbacks into low backs and lose the dashpad. I have the stuff to do a radio delete and add xm radio or an ipod set-up. Body-wise I wanna keep the trim and handles, use as much of the stock stuff as I can.

Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:07 pm

What did you pay for it? I have a 1970 vert to, that I payed $500 for but its about as rusty as yours except the package tray is no where near as bad. Nice to see another '70 vert

Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:12 pm

Three Words: Off Pan Restoration.

Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:21 pm

I traded a fellow samba member a bike that I had. :D . I am sure this is just the beginning of my rust issues and will find way more in the bottom after I pull the pans. The package tray is hammered for sure, but the biggest concern is the rearmost body mounts and the areas surrounding them. There just isn't a lot left in some places. I am going to start ordering repair panels and what I can't find I will have to fab.

Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:22 pm

2true wrote: Three Words: Off Pan Restoration. Oh yeah, there no way around it!

Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:24 pm

2true wrote: Three Words: Off Pan Restoration.

Three more words: Kill The Cancer!

Sat Feb 09, 2008 9:40 pm

Its been a while since I posted.... I chnaged jobs and blah, blah, blah, finally getting back to the car. I have removed all the rust out of the rear tub. I used a wire wheel that I picked up at harbor freight and a bell wire wheel to clean it all up. It took a while, there was tar board all over the inner firewall and coating on the wheel wells. But it looks good. I climbed under the car to asses the extent of the damage I was dealing with, as far as the rails and frame head. The head is in good shape, I found a spot of rust in the front firewall above the frame support that isn't visable from inside the car, but not a big deal. The rails are toast. The pans have rivets all the way around the permiter and for kicks I drilled out the passenger side. What I thought to 1st be a fiberglass pan riveted over the sheet metal turned out to be shaped and formed alminum. The car lost 40 pounds of rust when I dropped the cover, lol. Someone did a fine job of making a new floor, they just left the old one..... I have saved and am going to buy a mig in the next week or so. Once I do the body will come off and I will get the tunnel cleaned and ready for new pans. If anyone has an opinion on where to get the best pans I am all for it. The true up-side to my week came today when the guy in the building behind me, offered to help me do my top and gave me a set of fenders, a hood and deck and a complete super chassis. He does street rod uplosthery and just finished a nice 73 super. Not that I need any of the parts, but at this point I am learning to stockpile german stuff.

The areas where you still see rust are going to be replaced. They are all thin and non-repairable. Luckly most are less then 50 aside. So far the pans and the package tray are going to be the biggest cost.

Sat Feb 09, 2008 9:56 pm

Tuffluck wrote:

Is that considered iffy for the heater channels? my channels look about like that and i want to know if i should be worried.

Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:48 am

badcommando wrote: Tuffluck wrote:

Is that considered iffy for the heater channels? my channels look about like that and i want to know if i should be worried.

I was more concerned with the sections inside the car. I really don't wanna have to replace the entire channel. Once the body is off and I can get under it better, I will be able to see the extent of the damage. If the bottoms are ok then I will clean everything up and replace the running board supports.