Beginnings 72 Coupe Resto

[OzCoupe72]

Finally got around to getting some photos of my midlife crisis part 2 project sorted.

After buying the vehicle a few months ago on a whim and getting it past the wife who seems to like it so far my initial excitement is somewhat subdued by the enormity(including cost!) of what is ahead although I'm sure many have been there before. Hopefully the missus doesn't get wind of the cost!

Being a garden variety coupe this will not be a concours restoration or a show car but a restoration of sorts with a few modifications.

At the moment will be replacing the cowl panels and both side floor pans - see pics below

My main problem is going to be sorting out the rough incomplete RHD conversion and getting it through the engineering/registration process

At this stage I will have to ditch the Falcon steering set up and install a RHD RRS power rack & pinion

Main reason is PO hasn't installed it correctly and I don't have the skills to modify the chassis or get the geometry right

Much easier albeit costly to go with the rack set up

Okay here are some pics below



Front view with panels removed



Rear view



RH firewall mess from PO



Left side of cowl rust



Underside of left cowl



upper cowl removed showing lower cowl



upper cowl - many spot welds!



Underside of left lower cowl showing new non air con cowl



lower cowl - note 2 air con brackets



view of the rusty floor



this is why you should remove seat platforms - yuck!

Will update with more pics but better get back to work

 

[red351]

I thought they changed the law in oz so that you could drive a left hand car if 25 years or older?

 

[Hux]

I thought they changed the law in oz so that you could drive a left hand car if 25 years or older?

Yes they did but if you want a daily driver the LHD car is just a bit harder to live with so there is still some reasons to have a RHD conversion.

I think Ozcoupe has bought the car with a partial RHD conversion commenced and no doubt got it pretty cheap as a result ::thumb::

 

[OzCoupe72]

I thought they changed the law in oz so that you could drive a left hand car if 25 years or older?

Yes they did but if you want a daily driver the LHD car is just a bit harder to live with so there is still some reasons to have a RHD conversion.

I think Ozcoupe has bought the car with a partial RHD conversion commenced and no doubt got it pretty cheap as a result ::thumb::

You're spot on I bought it RHD partly completed but badly done. Too late to put back to LHD now and too much work.

Seems it was several owners previous that started the conversion but gave up so hopefully I can get this done but will be a massive challenge!

I have a big job ahead of me trying to sort out the steering and brakes set up so it all works.

 

[OzCoupe72]

Been busy last couple of months replacing floors, redoing firewall sections and replacing cowl panel among other things.

Finally got all the RHD stuff to line up including having to modify the original Mustang pedal box with a section of Aussie falcon box plus it was better to use the falcon pedal which matched the falcon booster for travel. Went for the RRS RHD power rack & pinion which is a bolt in fit (only had to drill some holes) which although expensive was far better than the unknown steering setup that came with the car and I'm no expert at steering geometry anyways.

Anyway back to work and a few pics below. Mick









images of high quality

 

[eddyw]

Hi Mick,

::thumb::   Good work  ::thumb::

 

[computercarguy]

You are going to have a clearance problems with the wiper linkage on the driver's side. It needs room in the vent bowl. I made that mistake and spent a frustrating time trying to 'clearance' with a long punch and hammer after the cowl was all back together. I would cut out the bowl and cover it flush.

 

[OzCoupe72]

You are going to have a clearance problems with the wiper linkage on the driver's side.  It needs room in the vent bowl. I made that mistake and spent a frustrating time trying to 'clearance' with a long punch and hammer after the cowl was all back together. I would cut out the bowl and cover it flush.

Thanks for the tip. I'm not sure if I will have problems yet but will check the wiper linkages before welding in the top cowl. The covers I made for the vents are the same size as the vents so don't see how they would get in the way? Perhaps you mean the pivot partially sits in the bowl? If this is the case then you are right and I will just remove the riveted cover I made and make a cover for the lower part of the bowl. Some people doing RHD conversions have radically altered the cowl by moving the wiper motor across to the right but from what I gather from others is they just modify or extend the right side wiper arm. I'll stick with the modified wiper arm. Regardless it won't be easy! Cheers Mick

 

[computercarguy]

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to assemmble the linkage and just set the upper cowl in place. Don't forget to work it back and forth. I think it needs almost 1/2 inch into the bowl. Just the drivers side.

 

[OzCoupe72]

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to assemmble the linkage and just set the upper cowl in place. Don't forget to work it back and forth. I think it needs almost 1/2 inch into the bowl. Just the drivers side.

No worries i will do this. Not sure if I would have checked all this and probably would have just got excited to get the upper cowl welded in.

Luckily for me this forum has vigilant members who have been down this road and this is one less mistake i will make on this journey.

Thanks again!

By the way did you put in a new cowl non a/c into a/c vehicle? I think Dynacorn is releasing an a/c cowl soon but only differences I can see is one vent blocked on a/c type and if using factory air you will need to use brackets from your old cowl.

I'll be using an Old Air air con kit hence blocking both vents.

 

[computercarguy]

I have an a/c car running the original a/c-heater box so I only blocked off the driver side. If I would have known, I would have taken that bowl right off. One less place for debris or mice to make a home.

 

[Len van Rossum]

Hi Mick

Congratulations on the progress and excellent workmanship on the project so far. I too found clearance problems with the LH (passenger side for some) wiper arms and the plenum air intake. Best to sort that prior to welding the top on. I fitted XB Falcon fresh air ducts and heater to EL Grande but we do not need air cond all year round down here. I don't have air cond at all so the fresh air vents really help. I would love to see to see photos of the RRS rack fitment when completed. Do you have know which exhaust extractor/header will fit with the rack?

 

[OzCoupe72]

Hi Mick

Congratulations on the progress and excellent workmanship on the project so far.  I too found clearance problems with the LH (passenger side for some) wiper arms and the plenum air intake.  Best to sort that prior to welding the top on.  I fitted XB Falcon fresh air ducts and heater to EL Grandé but we do not need air cond all year round down here.  I don't have air cond at all so the fresh air vents really help.  I would love to see to see photos of the RRS rack fitment when completed. Do you have know which exhaust extractor/header will fit with the rack?

Hi Len

Haven't checked this thread for a while been busy

Yes I found out thanks to computercarguy and moved the bowl cover underneath

I will post some photos of the rack hopefully in a few weeks as I have removed it getting ready to work on the engine bay

Easy fit and just need to drill a few holes

From what RRS tell me so far headers shouldn't be an issue but I'm a long way off from that

Perhaps large diameter 4 into 1 headers might have an issue but nothing a hammer/welder couldn't fix!

 

[OzCoupe72]

Starting to make some progress now. Finally got the floors done and primed with Interguard 269 red plus the firewall/cowl area.

I replaced the rear floor extensions with repro early 66-70 ones and only needed to tweak a couple of ribs.

Next will be getting the engine bay blasted/painted then I can put the dash, steering column, rack and wiring in.

New Old Air RHD air con kit is on its way so will also fit this.

Tomorrow I'm getting a disc brake rear end from a 1998 Falcon and will adapt this to the 9 inch rear including using the floor mounted hand brake.

 

[OzCoupe72]

Some more progress on the coupe

Looked at dustless blasting as an alternative but once I spoke to our local dustless blaster he strongly suggested to dry blast it using glass beads. Reason being with the dustless wet blasting it would leave a wet residue which would get into various nooks and crannies and would be difficult to remove and perhaps cause rust issues further down the track.

As I only wanted engine bay, door jambs and luggage compartment done I took his advice.

Basically for anyone considering dustless blasting it is best for outer panels but not as good for areas where residue will be hard to remove in other words with the dry blasting it is easy to blow the residue away.

Another tip he gave is not to blast all areas underneath the hood or trunk lid i.e. don't blast any of the skin part only the ribs etc as the pressure can lift the skin above the ribs.

Anyway some pics below and hopefully get some bright red color on it next weekend

Oh and you might notice the trunk floor looks odd, PO has patched over the rusty floor which is a bit slack however for now I will tidy it up and replace the drop offs - new floor pan approx $100 USD but a whopping $380 USD shipping ouch!

 

[OzCoupe72]

The weather held out today so I got some color on the engine bay. Color is original Bright Red using Baslac single stage urethane.

Will do the rad support and chassis area in black hopefully tomorrow. Good to finally see some color going on but still a long way to go.

 

[mach71351c]

looking good!!

 

[OzCoupe72]

Engine bay painting finished, now I can work on the steering, brakes and wiring etc.

 

[protouringstang73]

Looks great! I really like where you have painted it black, nice detail!