68' Valiant 4 door

[kursplat]

also rebuilt the spare tire hold down. instead of reinstalling the holes in the floor, i welded studs to the 0.125 patches i made. then made a mounting plate to bolt to those. just waiting on paint to show up and i'll be able to finish the one thing that started all this, installing the battery

 

[Darter6]

Are you happy with the color match ? I plan on ordering from them for the 65's steel wheels. You think one can will be enough for 4 wheels ? Are you using their clear coat ?

 

[kursplat]

i am using their clear coat. 1 of the 12oz spray cans would probably be pretty close for all four wheels. if they're in primer, i would get two cans. if you're just over coating the factory paint, one would probably do it. they both lay down pretty good. i didn't do any sanding when i did the engine compartment, but i'm still happy with it. the paint code on the fender tag is FF1, mist green poly per the old PPG paint chart.

so, going by the names on the web site, i tried the Mist Green Metallic, the lighter of the 2 greens it looked like it could be, (paint chips could be larger on the web site). but when i shot the engine bay, it was way too light. redid it with the darker Avocado Green Metallic, which by the PPG chart would probably be the TT1, and that's very close. it's so close i can't decide if it's the same or not, depends on the light. plus it's tough to match a color on the computer. i ended up using up the rest of the lighter color as a base coat for the darker in the trunk, but ran out of paint, so waiting on that, but i think it will come out pretty well.
the body shop used the paint codes and mixed per the PPG chart, and that came out perfect (to me) based on the door jambs.

i don't know if that helps ya...

 

[Darter6]

So the paint code on your fender tag didn't match what they sent ?
I gotta get the code off my tag tomorrow to see if it is in their data base.

 

[kursplat]

they don't appear top use the factory paint codes. they use the names, or something close to the name. i just looked at the 67' paints colors, as this looks to be an early 68', and one of the 67' colors looks like it might be a little closer match. i don't know

 

[Darter6]

Paint is hard to match.

 

[kursplat]

i hadn't noticed before, too much grime on the labels, but this thing had a serious shock upgrade at one point.

also cleaned up the frame next to the gas tank. looks like they din't bother hitting this area with the under coating. just some surface rust, came off easy with a nylon cup brush.

 

[kursplat]

trunks all painted and going back together.

still need to run the battery cables. i usually like to do it on the inside, next to the trunk harness, but this time i'm thinking of just going along the frame rail the whole way. anyone have a preference? insides not bad to do since i need to pull the seats and carpet to weld in the torque boxes

 

[kursplat]

also need to clean up the side markers. anyone successfully pry the tabs open on these before? can't tell if they're just pot metal and going to snap off as soon as i move them.

 

[Darter6]

Well if you do break 'um the repops are well made.
I worked for Montgomery Ward long ago and they sold quality parts.Monroe made the shocks, and Firestone made their MW brand tires.We had a big parts counter and carried brakes,exhaust,ignition parts, filters, etc. A good company to work for.
All I can say is you are doing fine work.Better than new.That little car never had it so good.The battery cable run would be fine either way.

 

[kursplat]

Well if you do break 'um the repops are well made.
I worked for Montgomery Ward long ago and they sold quality parts.Monroe made the shocks, and Firestone made their MW brand tires.We had a big parts counter and carried brakes,exhaust,ignition parts, filters, etc. A good company to work for.
All I can say is you are doing fine work.Better than new.That little car never had it so good.The battery cable run would be fine either way.

thanks Romeo. i've seen the repops, and they do look nice. we'll see what happens when i take these apart . i bought my first dryer from Wards. the one near where i grew up had a big auto bay. now Sears has gone the same way .

 

[kursplat]

torque boxes going in today. i knew my upside down welding was bad, but dang...

 

[kursplat]

i'm jazzed, a lot of progress the last couple days. torque boxes are in and frame connectors are just about done. my inverted welding sucks, but i was lucky enough to only get 1 flaming dingle ball down my sleeve. also found out the car has zero rust in the floors. Darter6 had put down a nice layer of sound deadener, and i was bummed having to pull it out, but i was too paranoid about leaving it with all the welding.

apparently someone used a bottle jack on this car, alot. all four frame rails are distorted and stamped. this is the best one...

 

[Darter6]

Of all the cars I have owned over the years,that has the cleanest floors I have ever seen. I was amazed when I pulled the carpets out.

 

[kursplat]

Of all the cars I have owned over the years,that has the cleanest floors I have ever seen. I was amazed when I pulled the carpets out.

me too. what brand was that sound deadener? i was thinking it was going to be a pain to remove with that backing, but it came out no problem.

 

[Darter6]

A few guys on here said they were using stuff from Lowes for duct work. They were happy with the results so I thought I'd give it a try.Don't remember the brand.

 

[kursplat]

boxes done and sub-frame connectors in. welds look like crap, but you get what you pay for.

still need to add plates where the rears meet up with the frame and reinforce around the T bar anchors. i'll be glad when i'm done with this part

 

[kursplat]

progress with pics. leaf springs showed up from Eaton Spring.

got the shifter bracket made and mounted

and started installing the Vintage Air unit. i'm amazed how light this thing is

the only thing i don't like about the instructions is drilling even more holes. i'm going to end up with a bunch of them that need sealing up as it is. so i decided to make an adapter bracket for their mount.

garage cat helpin' out

 

[kursplat]

one of the things i like about digging into old cars are the finding the things other people have lost. found this under the radio

 

[kursplat]

i don't need a clock in this thing, and when i have added a clock, i usually get a cheep lcd one with 2 sided tape and stick it on the dash, but dang, i'm really thinkin' i might put a clock in this

356 Quartz Dash Clock, VDO Style (50-65)

 

[kursplat]

thanks to 440 Mike and 65 Dartman, got a couple new parts today.
heater blower motor ring that i'll use as a trim ring for the fire wall, running the A/C and heater lines through

and an excellent 68' under dash A/C vent. the pad is in perfect shape. i'll be adapting this to the vintage air system

 

[kursplat]

so i've had a lot of progress the last few weeks. really trying to hammer away on this thing before summer gets too nasty. i've always hated dealing with the factory fuse block. even when they're in good shape it's location makes it a PITA. add to that the stock A/C and heat are long gone and it wasn't too hard to talk myself into doing some surgery. and, if i'm in the area anyway,

might as well get rid of this too. found a 7 circuit fuse block from Painless that they sell for adding accessories, but in a car that only has 5 circuits to start with, it was pretty simple to cut in, just slow double checking everything and making good connections. also got the headlight relays wired and used a job box to clean things up a bit

also the battery trunk wiring is run and new leaf springs are in. if anyone in the north part of los angeles needs U-bolts made, check out Rite-Way Axle. they knocked out a set in 20 min for under $40

 

[Darter6]

You need to keep working and get this thing done... Then I'll trade you my 65 Hemi car straight up.

 

[kursplat]

You need to keep working and get this thing done... Then I'll trade you my 65 Hemi car straight up.

well thanks, but i don't think this one is going to come out quite nice enough for that

 

[Darter6]

Don't be shy, It's gonna be a great ride !