71 fastback project

[rigotti76]

Took it on its maiden voyage Saturday afternoon it was pretty sketchy but it made it to the gas station and back (about 10 miles) without any issues really. Needs an alignment and the brakes are poor at best but it was a pretty successful weekend

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[kcmash]

I bet you got some cool thumbs up on the journey!

Drive em!!

kcmash

 

[rigotti76]

I decided to clean up the engine bay and fix rust on the aprons and the cowl aswell as do some work to the engine it came out easy peasy surprisingly considering I pulled it with the trans and headers still bolted up

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[Don C]

I've always found it easier to pull the engine and transmission at once. Whether I pull the exhaust manifolds/headers at the same time depends on how rusted the bolts are, and which ones are not coming loose.

Looks like you had plenty of help, at least someone was helping holding the fender on

 

[mach71351c]

Your all in now! Good luck it will be worth the effort.

 

[Pegleg]

No turning back now

 

[NOT A T5]

Piece of cake from here on out!  :whistling:

 

[rigotti76]

So I have torn in to my rust issues I'm replacing both front aprons along with the core support and portions on the rear aprons and outer frame rails in the very front I also cut open the cowl to check out the rust inside the cowl and as you can see by the pictures it is pretty bad not really sure what I'm gonna do there but I ordered everything else so I'll be able to start welding in new metal shortly looks like I got my work cut out for me haha

Thanks for all the kind words and support! -joe

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[rigotti76]

I also found out my engie Is basically scap iron after removing the heads i discovered cylinder 4 had some pretty bad scoring so i stripped it down to a bear block with intentions of rebuilding it but after further inspection I found the the pistons are stamped ".060" and from what i understand that is the most you can go some say they wouldnt even go that big so I'm exploring different avenues but i am pretty much married to a small block due to my tranny and some other parts that I have sunk some money in. I'm thinking about buying a blue print 347 long block but we will see

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[rigotti76]

New aprons fit pretty good but will need a little massaging shouldn't be bad though kinda disappointed they dont already have the square holes for the fenders already but oh well

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[NOT A T5]

New aprons fit pretty good but will need a little massaging shouldn't be bad though kinda disappointed they dont already have the square holes for the fenders already but oh well

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Yeah, those aprons come without holes for the fenders. Looks like your right strut rod is a little bent. What are you going to do about all that surface rust?

 

[rigotti76]

New aprons fit pretty good but will need a little massaging shouldn't be bad though kinda disappointed they dont already have the square holes for the fenders already but oh well

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Yeah, those aprons come without holes for the fenders. Looks like your right strut rod is a little bent. What are you going to do about all that surface rust?

One of my buddies has a sand blaster so I had thought about going that route but it's really not bad the flash on my camera makes it look worse I think but i think a white wheel and some sanding would get me where I need to be of kinda like to avoid sandblasting as it a bit of a mess but as for the strut rod it has new bushings I guess I hadn't really thought much of it being bent is that an issue as far as aligning it goes?
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[rigotti76]

Core support came yesterday ordered outer front frame rails today and a passenger rear apron still need to get apron extensions but I may just fix the ones I have

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[Don C]

Regarding the bent strut rod, because it is bolted to the lower control arm, the lower control arm also has to be bent or twisted. I would also wonder why it got bent, and what else may have received damage. The strut rod can be straightened on a press.

 

[NOT A T5]

rigotti76, I have a passenger side fender apron extension that you can have if you want, just pay shipping! I bought this piece from OMS, drilled some holes in it for welding it on but never used it! Let me know, thanks!

 

[rigotti76]

Regarding the bent strut rod, because it is bolted to the lower control arm, the lower control arm also has to be bent or twisted. I would also wonder why it got bent, and what else may have received damage. The strut rod can be straightened on a press.

The front cross member look like a farmer welded it in the bent strut rod may have something to do with that
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[rigotti76]

rigotti76, I have a passenger side fender apron extension that you can have if you want, just pay shipping! I bought this piece from OMS, drilled some holes in it for welding it on but never used it! Let me know, thanks!

Well I'd really appreciate that if it wouldn't be too much trouble! Thanks
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[NOT A T5]

rigotti76, I have a passenger side fender apron extension that you can have if you want, just pay shipping! I bought this piece from OMS, drilled some holes in it for welding it on but never used it! Let me know, thanks!

Well I'd really appreciate that if it wouldn't be too much trouble! Thanks

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Well, no trouble at all! Ahem, I have the extension piece for the driver side, not passenger as I posted earlier. PM me if you need the part!

 

[kcmash]

I agree with the Crossmember being bent.  Looks like aftermarket welds in the shot that shown the top side weld of the crossmamber to the drivers side frame rail.  My car had the same problem.

When I bought my car in 1982, the previous owners had run it over a parking curb or something that hit the front drivers corner of that cross member so hard that it broke the welds loose.  Funny thing about mine is I couldn't identify the problem for years.  I would have the car aligned, and it would always pull to the drivers side.  It made no sense until one time when I was replacing strut bushings.  As I braced myself to crank on the bug strut bolt I noticed the main crossmember rocking back when there was rearward push on the drivers wheel.

I found all the forward and one of the lower welds were broken.  I replaced the Strut Crossmember and bought a straight strut.

There is enough adjustment in the strut length that you can still align the front end when they are bent.

Just a little old school story for you......

good luck!   I love the fender apron progress!

One question, did you manage to locate the battery apron support bracket prior to welding that apron to the frame rail?  Is is supposed to be pinched between the apron and the frame rail.

kcmash

 

[rigotti76]

I agree with the Crossmember being bent.  Looks like aftermarket welds in the shot that shown the top side weld of the crossmamber to the drivers side frame rail.  My car had the same problem.

When I bought my car in 1982, the previous owners had run it over a parking curb or something that hit the front drivers corner of that cross member so hard that it broke the welds loose.  Funny thing about mine is I couldn't identify the problem for years.  I would have the car aligned, and it would always pull to the drivers side.  It made no sense until one time when I was replacing strut bushings.  As I braced myself to crank on the bug strut bolt I noticed the main crossmember rocking back when there was rearward push on the drivers wheel.

I found all the forward and one of the lower welds were broken.  I replaced the Strut Crossmember and bought a straight strut.

There is enough adjustment in the strut length that you can still align the front end when they are bent.

Just a little old school story for you......

good luck!   I love the fender apron progress!

One question, did you manage to locate the battery apron support bracket prior to welding that apron to the frame rail?  Is is supposed to be pinched between the apron and the frame rail.

kcmash

I didnt know that but the apron is not welded In yet. If you hot a chance do you think you could get me a picture of how the battery tray mount as mine was completely rusted away and I have no idea how the mount
thanks

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