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Jeffs64Cat · 01-29-2018, 10:51 PM

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68droptop · 02-06-2018, 10:08 PM

Another winter night working on the goat. As much as I love working on it.....I can't wait til it's done

PurelyGTO68 · 02-06-2018, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 68droptop

Another winter night working on the goat. As much as I love working on it.....I can't wait til it's done

Looking good. Keep plugging away and you will get there. What color is your car going to be? Looks like we both are at about the same stage in the journey. Maybe we should start a Buddy Program to keep each other motivated....I am trying to get mine painted and assembled while the weather is still nice. Starts to get too hot to work outside or even in the garage around mid June.

Here is what mine looked like on Sunday before I put it away for the week. I think I have one more pass of 3M plastic repair on the Endura bumper and then can final sand and get the contours correct. I need to move the RH fender in towards the hood about 1/16" to close up the gap and align with the front bumper.

Then I need to figure out how to adjust the hood where the pop up spring is lifting it too much.....not sure how to fix that but I will just keep working on it until I get it right......then finish block sanding the rest of the car, etc, etc, etc.
I keep telling myself it is going to be spectacular when it's finished....

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

68droptop · 02-06-2018, 11:00 PM

Looking good man. Where you at?.....AZ?
The hood thing may be the front hood bumpers that are on the core support?

PurelyGTO68 · 02-06-2018, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 68droptop

Looking good man. Where you at?.....AZ?
The hood thing may be the front hood bumpers that are on the core support?

Yes, Mesa AZ which is right next to Phoenix.
I have the hood bumpers adjusted so the hood sits nice without that spring installed. I then installed the original spring and it lifted the hood at the LH forward corner nearly 1/2". I then swapped it out with another spring that I took from a donor car and it doesn't lift as much. Maybe it will settle a bit....won't know until I pull out the car again on Sat morning.

MD79TA · 02-06-2018, 11:16 PM

Got to be nice working in AZ . Nice garage . Looks like it coming along great . Have s 68 vert that is slowly coming along . I only have a one car garage with a foot of snow coming tomorrow. Doug

PurelyGTO68 · 02-06-2018, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD79TA

Got to be nice working in AZ . Nice garage . Looks like it coming along great . Have s 68 vert that is slowly coming along . I only have a one car garage with a foot of snow coming tomorrow. Doug

Super nice weather lately. High 70s or so.....you guys suffer during the winter....I suffer during the summer. So that makes 3 of us working on 68 convertibles? That sounds like some sort of record. My car turns 50 on May 27th....should be a heck of a party if I can get it done by then!

68ragtop · 02-07-2018, 08:11 AM

My car turned 50 in January. Sadly its been in pieces for 15 of those years. I hope to have it together this year. I am a little ahead of you guys as my car is already painted, but my progress is slow & I tend to kill a lot of time with the details....... basically I am a putz.......

Mostly weekends, & lots of other things going on too.
My guess is you guys will pass me up sometime late spring, summer for sure.

Someday I will start a resto thread on my car. I have endless pictures.

dataway · 02-07-2018, 08:50 AM

You guys are a year ahead of me .... looking good. I'm still probably 2+ years away from the street.

It pains me to think that if I wanted to build a junker that would just drive on the street, no paint, no restoring parts .... I could have mine on the road in 2 months for another $500

68ragtop · 02-07-2018, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dataway

You guys are a year ahead of me .... looking good. I'm still probably 2+ years away from the street.

It pains me to think that if I wanted to build a junker that would just drive on the street, no paint, no restoring parts .... I could have mine on the road in 2 months for another $500

Mine started out with a similar mindset. Was going to do a nice frame off, but still a weekend driver. Then I kept upping what I wanted it to be over the years. 2 months ago, I completely knocked apart the drivetrain & chassis to bring it up to the same level I did with the body. Was ready to drop the body back on & realized I just couldn't do it. Damn, that completed chassis is what kept me motivated to finish the body, & then I tore that back apart. That was a tearful day, but had to be done. What I wanted 15 years ago, changed over the last 5 years. Mostly to putting a nicer finish on all the chassis parts & filling the typical rust pits that grab the light when there is 50-60% gloss on it. Seems simple, but has been a crazy amount of work. Kept wishing my car had come from New Mexico, not Illinois.

I think it does help though knowing all of us are going through similar hurdles in the progress of our restorations.

68droptop · 02-25-2018, 11:13 AM

Floating in the trunk gaps. Then it's almost time to shoot the slick sand after I get the front end sheet metal aligned again.

68ragtop · 02-25-2018, 11:42 AM

looks good! how are the gaps to the left & right side? my right gap got tighter as it got closer to the bumper edge. I ended up cutting a slice in the top of the quarter & widening the gap. Still cracks me up how similar our picts are.

68ragtop · 02-25-2018, 11:45 AM

Oh, one other really important thing. Make sure your torsion springs are in & adjusted tight enough, & install your trunk seal. It will absolutely change how you lid fits. You probably already figured this out but the lid can be raised & lowered without shims by bending the inner skin up & down. You might have this all in the bag already, but would hate to see you have issues after its painted..

68RT

68droptop · 02-26-2018, 12:04 PM

I don't have the trunk seal in yet. I'm waiting on a delivery from steel rubber. I bought a softseal one, but the trunk didn't even come close to shutting. I figured I'd have to do some adjusting after the seal install.

PurelyGTO68 · 02-28-2018, 05:56 PM

Working on a convertible has it's own unique challenges but thankfully the decklid adjustment is easier compared to a hardtop. I just leave the bolts slightly loose, close the lid and slide it around until the gaps are equal and aligned. Then reach in through the top well and tighten the bolts with the decklid still closed. Seems to work nicely.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

68droptop · 02-28-2018, 05:57 PM

Thanks for the tip. I'm gonna try that

Hammertime Mike · 03-01-2018, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PurelyGTO68

Working on a convertible has it's own unique challenges but thankfully the decklid adjustment is easier compared to a hardtop. I just leave the bolts slightly loose, close the lid and slide it around until the gaps are equal and aligned. Then reach in through the top well and tighten the bolts with the decklid still closed. Seems to work nicely.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Ditto- I be doing the same !!

68droptop · 03-04-2018, 05:31 PM

Shot some slick sand today from the doors back. After I align the front end, that's next.

PurelyGTO68 · 03-04-2018, 09:19 PM

Looking real nice!

PurelyGTO68 · 03-04-2018, 11:12 PM

I received a good tip from a local enthusiast who specializes in 69/70 GTO convertibles. He said I could use an 18" paint roller cover with some adhesive backed roll sandpaper to sand the concave contour on the rear quarters above the rear wheel openings. Works great. I didn't even know they made 18" roller covers but Home Depot has them in stock.

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