Project Crusty Biscuit (65 Plymouth Valiant)

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I guess I didn’t take as many pictures as I thought I did. Began work on the tunnel next. Somehow this turned into a tunnel:
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After getting it bent up I placed it over the floor and traced out where I needed to cut, removed it and cut out where I traced; and added some weld through primer/black spray paint.
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Fully done!

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Well so much for the rear seat fitting .

Now you’re going to have to mod it or go with buckets and a center counsel that runs front to rear like the ‘66 Charger .
 
GGs66GT said:
Well so much for the rear seat fitting .

Now you’re going to have to mod it or go with buckets and a center counsel that runs front to rear like the ‘66 Charger .
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Yep, already did a few test fits; very minor mods needed to get the back seat to fit. I hope no one has to sit in the middle cause they will have a floor hump up their rear end!
 
GGs66GT said:
Coming along nicely .

What fuel pump location in or out of the tank ? If I recall Tanks inc has an in tank stock type tank for the A bodies .

Because the stock filler is too low , fuel sloshes out on hard right turns with anything over 12 gallons in the tank and the thing is a pain to fill with those vapor recovery nozzles .
I've been kicking around the idea of a Mustang tank with the filler moved from the rear to the top center and of course an in tank EFI pump . Down side one has to open the trunk to fill , and loose the spare tire well .

An other option use the spacer I got from another member here and use the Charger flip cap I have . But that doesn't solve the pain filling .

So you say why don't I move the filler higher on the fender ?
I should have before the car got painted .

You still have that option and while your at it make the fill pipe have a downward angle .
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Sorry, you asked so many questions in this post I couldn’t think of an answer to give you right away.
The filler is in the stock location; I set it up to fit a modern challenger fuel cap on so that might help with leakage. I plan to use the plastic DOT approved air lines for the suspension. And I’m probably going to use one of the fuel pumps that fits in a stock tank as that is what I have.
 
You are one hell of a metal worker, I'll give you that.
 
RustyRatRod said:
You are one hell of a metal worker, I'll give you that.
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Thanks! I learned a lot of my metal working building ductwork for Comercial HVAC systems. I’ve done that since high school mostly on volunteer construction projects for the past 9 years; two of those every day for a long term project. I really just take my time and that how I get the best results. I believe that the right amount of patience can compensate for any lack of skill that a person might have. If one cultivates patience above all things, they can really accomplish what ever they set their mind to.
 
I just looked through this thread and I have to say you are a man on a mission. This thread proves that if you have the energy and are not afraid to try you can accomplish a lot more than you think. Excellent work sir!
 
Sometimes you have to re-do things. I recently installed the hood on the car and noticed a massive 1/2” height difference between the hood and the cowl.
The first mistake I made was using the crappy 22 ga Home Depot sheet metal foil to patch the cowl vent. 2nd, I left the sheet metal flat when I welded it on even though there is an obvious curve in the panel. I have since learned the value of shaping and forming any metal patch panels even if the curvature is only slight and also taking the time to get it to fit perfectly without having to fenagle the piece around as you lay tacs.
I also did the patch work before the cowl was installed on the car and didn’t think to match up the gap between the it and the hood.

Here’s a pic of the gap I’m speaking of. Looks like a poor attempt at cowl induction!
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Old cut out
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I had to use one of my paintless dent removal rods to work the edge up to meet level with the hood.
I cut a new piece from some nice proper 18Ga sheet, took several hours to trim and form, and ended up with this fitment!
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Here’s welded in:
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Final after grinding the welds and going over with 80 grit on the orbital sander:
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On the home stretch when it comes to sheet metal work on the shell of my car. It’s been a long and honestly painful road. I can easily say it’s taken a years worth of weekends and nights to get this far and I so happy to say that the car will be getting primer next weekend.

Here’s a few of the little annoying things I got done this weekend:
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I also started going around and flattening out some of the booger spot welds I did on the floor. The didn’t look bad but I want the butle sound deadening that I’m putting down to stick nice and flat.

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a full shot of the car so here’s where it’s at after I finished up today:
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The shops getting a super clean this week to prepare for primer. The floor is supposed to be light gray but it is now dark gray from all the metal dust! I thoroughly vacuum the floor about every two weeks but it still gets like this before every cleaning! No lie I probably vacuum up at least a pound of metal dust when I clean!
 
Oh buddy, a lot has happened with my project since my last post. I had a bunch of stupid but important last minute welding I had to do...
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Brake hose brackets

I spent 50 hours (with help) final prepping the shell of the car for epoxy primer. A friend and I took a whole day (thursday) from 8am-8pm stripping the paint and surfacing the steel.
I spent all day friday doing final stripping and cleaning of the shell. I actually worked on it until 3am Friday into saturday morning just because I wanted to get it done and it was taking way longer than anticipated.
I was able to get it fully stripped, degreased, and rust treated/etched by 3am saturday morning. Of course I was tired the next day so I got up around 10am, ran a few errands, and got back on prepping the car. Here’s some pics after I had it down the bare metal:
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I used POR15 Metal Prep in the car after I had it a stripped and it’s funny because it kills the rust on the rusty metal and causes flash rust on the clean metal. Here’s some pics the next morning after treating it:
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I spent all day Saturday sanding off the flash rust that occurred overnight and man was that metal clean underneath! Too bad I forgot to take a picture!
Today I went into EXTREME NITPICKING MODE! I was planning on just cleaning and shooting with primer but I found some places that I felt needed some extra attention.
I ground some welds a bit more, fixed some dents a bit better, and put some POR15 paint on some of the heavier rusted areas. I made it so that I was ABSOLUTELY positive that I could apply the epoxy primer without and regrets or concerns and I would say, I did exactly that! I got some wax and grease remover and some rags and cleaned the crap out of the car. I cleaned until my rags weren’t dirty anymore! I am very happy with how it came out and now the body work should be a Breeze!

After epoxy primer:
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After filler primer/surfacer:
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And it’s done! I now have a 100% rust free shell after all I went through! Hours upon hours of cutting and dissecting, patching and repairing, welding, grinding, blending, and customizing has finally paid off! It is finally all sealed up and ready for some color and assembly!
 
Wow Chris, truly amazing!!! Where is Cocoa, FL? I suddenly feel like moving there with my Dart. Maybe some of your talent will rub off on me.
 
Did the filler work on the engine bay today!
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I did several applications of filler sanding in between and finally a glaze coat. Very happy with how it turned out!
I will do a few touch ups with glaze coat before I do final color.
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that's coming along great, although the small repair patch on the driver's side just in front of the suspension mount area (at the chassis rail) stands out like a sore thumb where the welds aren't smoothed off. it's the sort of thing that i usually miss myself until i look at pics i've taken. :thumbsup:
neil.
 
mygasser said:
that's coming along great, although the small repair patch on the driver's side just in front of the suspension mount area (at the chassis rail) stands out like a sore thumb where the welds aren't smoothed off. it's the sort of thing that i usually miss myself until i look at pics i've taken. :thumbsup:
neil.
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Lol, I was kinda wanting to let that slide!
 
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