[keith k]

Originally Posted by roger1

What is your preferred method?

I have had good luck removing sags with my nib file, running it along the length of the sag. It takes time because the paint high spot is removed slowly, but it's a good way to remove only the high spot without getting into the surrounding surface..

Then wet sand as normal.

[jcleinmark]

Where's the curtains,,, hood scoop area or maybe back of hood where cut outs are?

[roger1]

As it hangs the sags are in the upper right and lower left.
These are the only sags that I did on the entire job. Hanging the hood probably made it more difficult for me to keep at the correct distance with my spray gun.

[roger1]

The trunk floor is painted.
I mixed up black epoxy primer with a bit of white to match the gray color of the spatter paint.



I waited an hour and then sprayed the spatter paint. I bought a quart from The Parts Place and used most of it. I'm pleased with how it turned out.







I got the rear wheel wells undercoated using the 3M spray can stuff. I then sprayed black epoxy over it to seal it. Same process as on the front inner fenders I did a while back.



Got a few things done on the interior. I installed the sound deadener on the floor. This is a Auto Customs Carpet kit and is like what is used stock. I used a heat gun to help it mold to the floor. I also installed the stock type of firewall insulation from the The Parts Place and it fits pretty well.





I decided to use an aftermarket in dash stereo by RetroSound and have that on order. For the front speakers, I bought a kit for a GTO from Classic Car Stereos that mounts in the stock dash speaker location. It fits well but I did have to modify it a bit.





I bought an upper dash insulation pad kit from Ames and will install that next.
That glues on the metal in that area you can see between where the speaker mounts and the top of the firewall insulation pad.

I installed the trunk lid hinges and torsion springs. I blasted and painted the springs with cast colored paint.



Since I had to grind off the rivet ends of the hinge pins to remove the hinges for painting, I had to devise a way to reuse them. I ended up welding a stud to the end so I could secure the pins with a washer and nut.



I've been working on a few other things too. I'll be updating again soon. I've also been spending a lot of time ordering parts. I'm trying to get the majority of things I'll need to complete the car.
After closely inspecting the original wiring that came with the car, I realized that most if it was really unusable. I decided to go with an American Autowire Classic update kit. I've used them before and I like the quality.

[north]

I just ordered a stock 69 Firebird engine harness from our host, July at the earliest.

Who would have thunk that outsourcing our manufacturing base to a murderous communist dictatorship over the last three four decades would ever come back to bite us?

Heck, we sent a billion a day for oil to murderous Islamic dictatorships for the last few decades of the twentieth century and nothing bad happened because of that did it?

[north]

Sorry, broke a rule or two in that last post. I’ll try to be a good boy going forward.

[Scarebird]

The joys of unfettered capitalism.

Looks superb Roger. AAW makes a really nice setup - I did reuse the tail lamp harnesses, did not like the AAW version/

[MUSLCAH]

Originally Posted by north

Sorry, broke a rule or two in that last post. I’ll try to be a good boy going forward.

Let it fly Brother..!

[roger1]

Several things done since my last post.

I mocked up the A/C evaporator case for a test fit with that later style evaporator core I bought. No good, the accumulator wouldn't clear the inner fender.



I then did a lot of studying of other newer style cores that might fit. It took me a while but I found a perfect fit for a core for a Chevy van application. It's a Four Seasons 54281 and has the same sized core as the original GTO core with an outlet that will allow an accumulator to clear perfectly.



My original squirrel cage fan was rusted badly so I bought a used original from Paul (68gtoMN). It was perfect and just needed to be blasted and painted. I mated it to a new blower motor from Napa.



Here's the case mounted permanently:



I changed the way the factory did the ground wire for the blower motor. I used 10 ga. wire and connected it to rivet nuts I installed.



I installed the upper dash insulation, Y defrost duct (also acquired from Paul as my original was disintegrated), accelerator pedal, brake pedal assembly and e-brake assembly.





I also installed the wiper transmission, new wiper motor and washer pump and new power brake booster.



Reinstalled the original data plate:



Here's a photo of the Lokar throttle cable:



It worked out perfectly with the original accelerator pedal rod arm. I just had to modify the connection at the top as you can see here:



Today I installed the tail light assemblies. I'm about ready now to see how well the new rear bumper from Ames will fit.

[Scarebird]

Very nice - I like the note on the Chevy van accumulator.

Will you be able to slide the driver's kick panel in past the parking lever?

[roger1]

Originally Posted by Scarebird

Very nice - I like the note on the Chevy van accumulator.

Will you be able to slide the driver's kick panel in past the parking lever?

Thanks.
I really like the newer evaporator setup that uses an accumulator and orifice tube rather than a POA and expansion valve. It made sense since I had already gone with an aftermarket compressor that is designed for a cycling system. I also think it looks a lot cleaner. Although saving money wasn't why I did it, it does save quite a bit. An original evaporator is about $300 and this one was only $80. An accumulator is a lot less than an receiver/dryer, expansion valve and POA (or POA eliminator) cost as well.

Not sure about installing the kick panel with the e-brake assembly installed but I've haven't had another car where I wasn't able to do that. No big deal if I have remove it though.

[roger1]

I misspoke about the application for the evaporator that fits perfectly.
These are the applications for the Four Seasons 54281 evaporator according to Rock Auto:

BUICK REGAL 1977
BUICK RIVIERA 1979-1985
CADILLAC ELDORADO 1979-1985
CADILLAC SEVILLE 1980-1985
CHEVROLET EL CAMINO 1977
CHEVROLET MALIBU 1977
CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO 1977
OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS 1977
OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS SALON 1977
OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS SUPREME 1977
OLDSMOBILE TORONADO 1979-1985
PONTIAC GRAND PRIX 1976-1977
PONTIAC LEMANS 1977

[dataway]

Jeez that 69 looks like a breeze to work on compared to a 68, same with the tail lights. They obviously made some serviceability improvements in 69.

Does anyone make a solid state fan speed control that would replace the coiled wire setup? That coiled wire setup has got to waste a ton of energy running full power through the wiring and burning it off by heating up the coils.

When it comes time to install your carpet ... consider these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They worked fantastic for making accurate cuts, even through the Jute padding too.

[n20ta2]

Geez, are you retired? I can never seem to find any time ro work on mine. I was way ahead of you on my build a couple months back and you passed me up by a ton.

[roger1]

Originally Posted by dataway

Jeez that 69 looks like a breeze to work on compared to a 68, same with the tail lights. They obviously made some serviceability improvements in 69.
Does anyone make a solid state fan speed control that would replace the coiled wire setup? That coiled wire setup has got to waste a ton of energy running full power through the wiring and burning it off by heating up the coils.
When it comes time to install your carpet ... consider these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They worked fantastic for making accurate cuts, even through the Jute padding too.

I wondered about the amp draw of those resistors too. But the factory only used 16 ga wire for low and mid speeds so I figure it can't be that much. It was a setup they used for many years and they were very reliable too. I may upgrade those wires to 14 ga though. Definitely upgrading the high speed wire to 10 ga like I did for the ground wire. I'll upgrade the relay too. I want as little voltage drop to the fan motor on high speed as I can practically get. I'm custom building the entire the A/C harness anyway. The AAW wiring kit does not include wiring for factory air.
Just added those carpet shears to my Amazon cart. Thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by n20ta2

Geez, are you retired? I can never seem to find any time ro work on mine. I was way ahead of you on my build a couple months back and you passed me up by a ton.

Yes. I've been retired for 13 years.. I do work on the car most days but do my daily chores first so I usually don't get out to the shop until late morning or after lunch. I don't work on it after supper either.

[GTO.PAUL]

Great workmanship and detailed pics. I thought you would like the blower motor squirrel cage and defrost duct you got from me. Thanks for sharing "The Build". Paul

[fatindian]

Looks OUTSTANDING!!

[dataway]

roger ... is the high speed wire a straight shot from the dash control to the blower motor (after stopping at the resistor array)? I should just check the wiring diagram I guess

I have a new AC harness coming from AAW, and a new engine harness (V8 w/AC) also coming from AAW. May modify the blower wiring before installing.

[roger1]

On a stock '69, the fan switch just fires a relay via a small gray wire for high speed. Then the relay sends the current directly to the motor with a 12 ga wire. The power source for the relay is a 12 ga wire connected to the alternator. I would think the '68 was the same way when stock.

[OG68]

Check the diagnosis manual for the A/C schematic Data