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Andre · 02-07-2008, 03:47 PM

You could buy the body mount bolt kit, and attach the body to the frame using only some of the bolts.
This will keep it from falling off the frame.

If the convertible body was not missing the quarter, you would still have to bolt in braces to keep it from folding at the rockers in the door opening.
You can do that, but now the empty quarter panel becomes the weak spot.

GT182 · 02-07-2008, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireAm80

Don't most media blasters need some sort of conversion to use baking soda? Just curious if i need to go ahead and order that also.

I've no idea on that, but the guys at your local parts store should be able to tell you. I did see a small hand held blaster with a 20oz hopper at Harbor Freight last month that might work with baking soda, but it's way too small for stripping body panels I'd think. I was going to get it to strip the gold paint out of my 8 15x8 Formula FB honeycombs, but passed on it till later on.

FireAm80 · 02-07-2008, 11:19 PM

I'm planning on getting either a 5 or 10 gallon pressurized sandblasters. Seems to be the best for my application as far as price and capabilities. Alot like this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...211742549&rd=1

Greg Reid · 02-08-2008, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireAm80

I'm planning on getting either a 5 or 10 gallon pressurized sandblasters. Seems to be the best for my application as far as price and capabilities. Alot like this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...211742549&rd=1

That thing is gonna work you to death. I have one.
It does work but you will be shocked at how fast it'll go through a 50 pound bag of sand and how little you've actually accomplished at the end of it. That's one issue.
The other is...
That thing will work a compressor to death.
Unless you have a really good compressor that it well plumbed for water elimination, the compressor will work so hard with that blaster that it will quickly start forming water. One or two drops of water in the line where the sand siphons down will completely clog that blaster up because the sand will solidify somewhere in the line. Usually at the elbow fitting right at the outlet of the blaster tank.
You'll have to stop, dump all the sand out and find the clog and clear it. Then put that blasted hood back on and start blasting again. About that time, it'll clog again.

My suggestions....
Personally, I wouldn't recommend it for anything bigger than a core support. Otherwise, I'd spend a little more and go with a much larger one that you don't have to stop and refill every 10 minutes.
Next, spend some time exploring information on keeping condensation down in the compressor lines. There's some info out there and it's worth the extra effort and time to eliminate water in the lines as much as possible.
I didn't notice where you mention what kind of compressor you have but get the very best you can afford. It's going to "have a hard row to hoe" in this hobby.

FireAm80 · 02-08-2008, 03:20 AM

The air compressor i'll be using is a 30 gallon 6 hp Craftsman. Will this be a sufficient to use with a decent blaster? Also what blast would you recommend?

Something like this? http://cgi.ebay.com/Sandblaster-Texa...QQcmdZViewItem

FireAm80 · 02-08-2008, 04:03 AM

The air compressor i'll be using is a 30 gallon 6 hp Craftsman. Will this be a sufficient to use with a decent blaster? Also what blast would you recommend?

Something like this? http://cgi.ebay.com/Sandblaster-Texa...QQcmdZViewItem

Andre · 02-08-2008, 09:28 AM

I would blast all parts that will fit in the blasting box, but I think your compressor will be overworked.
I would take the big panels like core support, doors, fenders etc to a place that will blast them, and prime them.

Now before you do that, you gotta do some math, and weigh some options

While it may seem less expensive to have a fender blasted, primed, and patched. Sometimes it is actually less expensive to buy the reproduction fender if you don't have to get it shipped.

The same goes for the doors, hood, radiator support and inner fenders. I used them all on my car, and I never regretted it. They saved me a lot of money, and no one knows any different that they are not original parts.

There is plenty of items for you to work on restoring that you can't or don't need to buy new- bumper brackets, seat tracks

old66tiger · 02-08-2008, 06:16 PM

Nice find. Good luck in your efforts.

I have a 66 GTO that I did a frame off to 4 years back. Mine was extremely solid so the underside work was nothing much more than clean, blast and paint. My compressor is a 7 horse single stage with a 60 gallon tank and it had one heck of a time keeping up with the pressurized pot blaster. I bought a cheapie blaster from HArbor freight and it was a royal PITA. I only sand blasted the underside of the car and I was stopping constantly to re-fill and clean out the sand feed valve. Air traveling through the valve at high speeds generates lots of moisture and it was very troublesome. The nozzle wore out half way through the job and it was very difficult to locate replacement parts. I would NEVER blast top side sheet metal with sand. It will destroy every straight part to the panel. Sand blasting is messy, and very time consuming. ALSO if you decide to blast, make sure you wear a top of the line canister respirator and a good blaster hood. Silicosus (sp?) of the lungs will haunt you years down the road. If I did it over, I would probably hire the blasting part out. OR, only blast the underside of the car and either manually strip the top side with a DA or pay to have the top side media blasted. Money well spent. After it is blasted, get the thing in primer immediately. This will save you tons down the road.

As far as where things go on the car, don't sweat it at this point. You are so far away from putting it together that it really doesn't matter. Go to some car shows and take a ton of digital photos of complete cars. Pictures are worth a thousand words.

FireAm80 · 02-09-2008, 01:10 AM

FireAm80 · 02-09-2008, 02:56 AM

By the way i checked my vin and it said 242676Pxxxxxx. So i was right about what it was.

The mileage was 67,417 so i wasnt to far off on that either. Seems pretty low to me.

Andre · 02-09-2008, 08:42 AM

I see all the major parts there- 2 sets of fenders. I am still tenative about lifting the body with that much metal missing from the floor and quarter. Very Very tenative.

66GTO Jim · 02-09-2008, 02:40 PM

If you are going to lift the body off of the frame, you should put braces where the doors were. This is obviously not a problem with a hardtop or sports coupe, but safe insurance when removing a convertible body.

Good news on your VIN! I figured that was the case but it's easy to check on a 66. Jim

Jeff Walker · 02-09-2008, 02:52 PM

I agree with Andre on being concerned with removing the body. Could be very risky.

Also a note on soda blasting. I am doing a customers car right now that was soda blasted when the car was mostly complete, and I can tell you that stuff gets EVERYWHERE. And I mean every nook and cranny! I even found remnants of it in the instrument cluster when I took that apart!!

I will say it does a nice job of removing paint though but it won't take off rust.

That is a very big project you are taking on so be careful not to get overwhelmed by it.

FireAm80 · 02-09-2008, 05:14 PM

Due to everyones input i have opted to leave the body where it is for now, unless i feel froggy one day and make braces for the doors. I am going to weld in all patch panels first. Last thing i want is to get the car in the air and it fold in half on me. But my main question i have is about replacing the floor pans. You can see the area i cut out because of the rust. The replacement does the entire floor so should i only cut what i need out of the patch? or would i cut out the whole panel and just put that in it place?

Also can anyone tell me anything about the valve train on my car or if the gas tank can be saved from the pics i took yesterday?

Andre · 02-09-2008, 05:35 PM

There are a couple trains of thought on metal replacement. Mine is that you leave as much original metal as possible, so in this cars you would cut the floor pan piece to repair your rust area.

If you don't have the quarter panel patch, you should get it. Once you get it, you can get a metal guy to clean yours quarter up and weld the new one in. You will then get a chance to spend some time grinding welds.

After that you can make the door braces. These will connect across the door opening and are not that hard to make. After that you can move the body off. If you don't want to spring for a rotessire, I have seen them made out of 2 engine stands.

I would not try to save the gas tank, but since that is the least of your problems, don't worry about it for now.

You have roller rockers on that engine. Those were non stock items.

FireAm80 · 02-09-2008, 06:39 PM

I found found the plans you are talking about.
http://www.autorestorer.com/articles...rie_art106.gif
This is the route i will be going, since the price of a rotisseries are a little high for one time use.

As for the quarter patch, I have the entire right rear quarter panel replacement. But i am going to replace the braces and panels in the trunk and floor before i tackle that one. I would really like to do everything myself. I know that makes alot of people here cringe but i really really enjoy the whole process. Plus i have all the tools needed, just need the practice. So no sending to metal guy. I have a friend who has been doing body work for 10 years. So he can help if necessary.

Greg Reid · 02-09-2008, 07:38 PM

You might want to check Craigslist or the classifieds here or other car forums sites for a rotisserie. I see guys selling them fairly regularly.
Sometimes guys will build or buy one but have no use for it when their car is finished. Most guys aren't going into business restoring cars. Just hobbiests like us.
Of course, shipping may be a concern there but you don't know if you don't look around first. May be one near you for sale or that you could borrow for a while.

FireAm80 · 02-10-2008, 05:03 PM

Just curious. Where would everyone recommend getting the frame to body bushings? I'm not looking for the most expensive either, but i don't want junk.

6 Grrrs · 02-10-2008, 07:38 PM

I agree with the others about the Olds motor, but if you want to build it the way your grandfather planned on doing it, then keep the Olds motor. It still is a GM motor & far better than it having a Small Block or Big Block Chevy motor in it. That would be a sin.

Good luck with your project & feel free to ask for help on this board. There are plenty of people who have been down the same road. The bodywork should be most important to you now. Get all of the metal work done & the body back on the frame. This is usually the part that slows down a restoration & usually costs the most.

My GTO story is kind of similar. It was my father's car & I helped him do alot of work when I was in my early teens. It was about 90% finished, but in 1985 it had an engine fire. It then sat in his garage for 20 years with junk piled all over it. You can read more about it on my site http://www.akvalley.net/~ss/1966GTO.html

Here is how mine looked when I started:

6 Grrrs · 02-10-2008, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 66GTO Jim

If you are going to lift the body off of the frame, you should put braces where the doors were. This is obviously not a problem with a hardtop or sports coupe, but safe insurance when removing a convertible body.

I agree completely about the braces. They can be made from some angle iron & a welder. I posted this in another thread located here: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=545434

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

If it were my car I would do everything I could to make sure it stays straight. I would take the doors off & brace the body as I stated above. They also serve as a great lifting point, if you are using a cherry picker or overhead winch.

Pics below...

This '67 GTO 'vert had an NOS GM right rear 1/4 installed because of damage, not rust. You can see the date on the pics. This was a car my dad restored for a friend of his back then. It was a Georgia car that was pretty much a virgin before the frame-off. Original motor/trans/rearend/etc. with 400, TH400, A/C, His & hers, am/fm, etc. It was heavily modified during/after the restoration, but has since been sold.

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