Thanks man. I pulled the rear end out of it last night so I can drop it off this weekend to have the 4.11s and posi unit installed.

 

Subscribing in, awesome build! Getting ready to find a LS for our 76 T/A and the wealth of information in your thread is amazing!

 

Thanks man, I really hope my thread helps you out with your TA. I see you're new here. Be sure to start a thread once you get started on yours. I'm sure everyone would like to see it and you'll be glad you documented your work.....at least I know I'm glad I have. Keeping up with these threads kinda force you to remember to take pics along the way.

 

Well, another weekend has come and gone. I had a lot going on Saturday so I only got a few hours in the garage that evening. But luckily I had all day Sunday to work and I also had gotten a few things done earlier in the week. I pulled the rear end out Thursday evening after work and Friday evening I was able to load it up on the trailer and drop it off to have the gears and posi unit installed. I had to remove the tailpipes to get to the leaf spring shackle bolts easier, so the exhaust is just hanging free in the pic. I’ve already put the old leaf springs on the scrap pile as my new one inch drop Calvert split mono’s will be going in when the rear goes back in.



Since I’ve been doing a lot of wiring and mechanical work lately, I figured I’d change things up this weekend and work on some other stuff. So Saturday while I was out and about with the family, I picked up some interior carpet at Walmart to cover my rear package tray. I could’ve done a little better job trimming around the bars, but overall I think it turned out OK.





Then, in anticipation of wanting to spray some epoxy on Sunday, I applied some POR-15 to the back side of my upper valance that I had stripped and blasted a few months ago. When I was done I sanded my fiberglass nose piece and rear spoiler so they could be primed as well.





Since its starting to get a lot hotter here in the afternoons and it was also supposed to get windy later in the day, I got outside early to wipe everything down and spray some epoxy primer. Here’s everything prepped and ready to go.





…….and epoxy primed.





While the paint was drying on those parts, I pulled what little interior was in the car back out and started prepping to paint the roll cage, dash panel and floor boards. I had epoxied the dash panel when I primed the rest of the shell, but for some reason that I still can’t explain (laziness I guess), I had only scuffed the dash instead of completely stripping it like the rest of the car. Well, even though I wiped it down several times, the dash paint was still holding on to 38 years worth of soaked in Armor All and made the paint fish eye really badly. I didn’t have time to do it right the first time so now I’m doing it again. So now the dash is now stripped all the way down, the unpainted parts of the cage are sanded, and all the floor boards are cleaned up good enough to accept a coating of paint. Now maybe some day I’ll find the time wipe all this down, do some masking and actually paint all of this.

 

I started out yesterday by wiping down and painting my roll cage and dash panel (again). The dash looks pretty glossy but it wasn’t completely dry when I took these pics and this appliance epoxy tends to dull a little when fully dried. I don’t think it’ll be too bad for reflecting the sun.









Next I moved on to the rear end. I picked it up earlier this week from having the gears and posi unit installed. But, there were some things that needed attention before I reinstall it. First I had to drill out the U-bolt holes to accommodate the larger ½ inch AFCO U-bolts I picked up from Summit. Then I had to weld in the steel upper spacers for my Calvert split mono springs I’ll be installing when the rear goes back in.





Then I pulled the axels and installed my new ARP 3-inch wheel studs (pn 7701). The knurl diameter on the stock studs measures about .461 and my ARPs are .486. So I had drill out the axel flanges to around .469 (15/32) to still allow a good interference fit. I probably could have gone a little looser but my next largest drill bit (31/64 or .484) was just too close to the knurl diameter. I had also frozen the studs over night to shrink the diameter on them further for installation. Once all this was done, they went in just fine with a 3lb persuader.



The paint I put on it the rear last year last year when I first cleaned it up was pretty cheap stuff and I had done a real quick job because I really hadn’t planned on using this rear for much more than holding up the car. So, it’s looking pretty rough now after having some break fluid leaked on it and having the gear installer clamp the tubes in his stand. So, I real quickly stripped it down again and shot it with a little better paint.





I still have to seal the cover with ultra black, fill it with gear lube, and reinstall the brake lines before it goes back under the car.

 

The other things I needed to get ready before putting the rear back in was my Caltrac bars. I had bought these used in they were looking pretty rough. They needed cleaned up and the powder coat was chipping off all over them. I know it probably won’t last, but I just had to take these apart and clean and paint them before installing them. So they came apart and got sanded and cleaned with brake parts cleaner before I blew some fresh black paint on them. I obviously left the powder coat intact where it was still holding well and the black paint is just an extra layer of protection.









I’m not sure if I’ll get it done, but later today I want to try and recover my headliner board and get it slid back in the car. This will get me one step closer to being able to put some glass back in the car.

 

I love seeing you updated your thread. Its a lil like Xmas. LOL

 

Thanks for checking in Jim. Glad you're enjoying the updates. Hows yours coming along? Have you been working on it at all or are you still on temporary hiatus?

So yesterday most of the day was spent celebrating Easter with my family and playing with the kids. But, I couldn’t help but sneak out into the garage for a few quick Sunday afternoon projects. I’ve been really anxious to get this headliner re-covered and installed because I wanted to be sure it would still slide in over top of the main hoop of my roll cage. I asked for it to be built as tight as possible to the roofline while still giving me just enough room to slide the headliner in. And boy, was it ever tight!

I started out with my factory headliner cardboard that I had pealed the old sagging factory vinyl material off of long ago.

And here is my new roll of perforated and foam-backed replacement vinyl I ordered from NPD.

And finally what I’m using to attach it. I didn’t want to take any chances of the glue letting loose in the AZ heat, so I got the strongest 3M adhesive I could find locally.

Here you can see the foam padding on the back side of the vinyl.

As soon as I started this project I could see that my worst fears were coming true. I wasn’t quite sure about the best way to take a flat piece of vinyl and make it contour to a curved headliner board without introducing any wrinkles in the corners. And let me tell you…..just jumping in and just trying your best doesn’t always give the best results. This thing turned out like 10 tons of A$$. It’s so bad that I’m not even gonna post the pic of it outside of the car out of pure embarrassment. The center portions are mostly flat. I did a little bit at a time and worked the material towards the edges, but there was just no way to keep it from bunching up in the contoured portions of the corners. Man was I mad!

So, I said screw it and decided to go ahead and slide it in anyways, just to see how bad it looked. Fortunately most of the wrinkles in the front corners are hidden from view by the halo of the cage and the front molding pieces. But the back two corners don’t have much to hide them. Here are some pics of how it looks installed. The funny thing is, the wrinkles I can see in these pics really aren’t that bad in person, and the ones that are bad in person don’t show up well in the pics? Must be something with the flash. Anyway, the driver’s side rear is the worst part. I just keep repeating…..”it’s not a show car….it’s not a show car…….”



When I was done with the headliner, I decided to bolt the rear spoiler back down since it had just been resting on the deck lid since I painted it last week. I had been waiting to pick up some neoprene washers to go around the studs to hopefully keep some water out of the trunk. I’m not sure what the factory did here, but my aftermarket spoiler looks like it was designed to let the water flow underneath it and run off the back of the deck lid. So, I put a little dab of Ultra Black on each washer to hold it in place while I lowered the spoiler into place. I’m kinda tempted to also add some sealer to the underside of the deck lid as well, but I’m not sure if it’s necessary?

Home Depot only had 9 of these washers, so I’ll need to pick up 3 more to finish the two end pieces

 

I think they used dum-dum or similar around the bolt and it would squish into the hole to keep the water out. I was going to do this once I complete paint.

 

Thanks, that makes sense. I think I've read where others had talked about them using something similar to butyl tape/ribbon around the bolts, so that sounds like a similar method. Like you, I also don't want to use something that permanent (messy) until after paint so hopefully I can just keep the car mostly dry until then. I have no "plans" of getting caught in the rain with this car......but nobody ever really plans to get caught at much of anything....LOL.

 

The headliner looks good. Be glad you didnt have the type like in my 69 Camaro. That was the worse part of the entire interior redo. I had around 100 of the bulldog clips pulling my headliner tight while I used a steam iron and a heat gun to remove most of the wrinkles. Then I had to unclip one section at a time to glue it into place with Weldwood contact cement. the sides werent too bad but the front and back were a royal pain! I learned a trick to the old style like mine, you install all of the screws that hold in the visors, mirror, seat belts etc prior to putting the headliner in so you can find the holes once complete. It would be almost impossible to do with a cage in the way. I say you did a fine job on it. The only suggestion I would have made would have been to use a heat gun on the contoured areas prior to glueing. It would have made it more pliable but still a pain. Are you going to dye the sail panels or paint them? Dupont makes a great vinyl dye. You can buy a pint from the local automotive paint stores.

 

Thanks man.....I'll learn to live with it I guess. I just feel like I could have done a lot better job if I would have thought it through a little more first. Fortunately for me the one piece cardboard headliner was a mid-73 model year change from the old bow style like in your 69, so I'm very thankful that my car was built later in the year and got that "upgrade". I've never had to deal with the bow style myself buy I've got buddies who have and it does sound like a real pain in the ***. I hear ya on the heat gun idea. Ideally, I think if I would have had two helpers I would have done it like this: I would have sprayed the entire board with adhesive first, and then had my two helpers each take a corner of the material and pull it super tight just over top of the cardboard. Then I would have pressed the material down in the center and started working it towards the edges with my hand. Then the heat gun would have worked great once I got to the corners as you suggested, to stretch the material into the contours. But oh well.......maybe on the next build....LOL.

Believe it or not, those are brand new (repop) sail panels from NPD. My originals were sun rotted and fell to pieces. I think it's the camera flash that makes them look kinda washed out like that compared to the vinyl on the headliner. In real life they're pretty black. But, I do have to dye or paint a lot of the other interior pieces from neutral to black, so I was going to wait and see how they turned out (shade) before deciding whether or not I need to also do the new sail panels to better match the color/tone. I was looking at the SEM products for this, but I'll also check into the Dupont stuff as well. Thanks for the tip.

 

If it makes you feel any better when I put in my headliner, (the bow type), I tried to do it myself and figured that that was one thing I better pay someonbe to do, as it wasn't working out very well for me. So I took it to a muscle car interior "specialist", this was pre-roll bar, and got him to do it. The car didn't even have any windows in it and I explained exactly what holes were needed. (sunvisors and dome light) I go to pick up the car and the guy had put a screw in the middle at the front for where my rear view mirror went. ?!?!?!?!?!?!?! As you know, our mirrors mount on the windshield. Anyway, seems that even when we pay the "pro's" they mess up. Since then I have had to go back as the glue came loose near the back glass too.
Come to think of it, the only other thing I paid someone to do was install my windshield and back glass and they sank the windshield too deep so there is a gap under my windshield trim... I think I see a pattern forming...

 

Thanks Mark......and yeah, I guess that does make me feel a little better about it. Sounds like you had a pretty bad experience with yours too! The fussy side of me says to pull it out and redo it, but the cheapskate part of me says it's good enough for a street strip car......and that's the side that usually wins. I'm acutally not too far from putting the glass back in the car too, and I'm doing that myself as well (first time). So hopefully that doesn't give me one more thing to be angry about. The main reason I'm doing it myself is because you can't easily find a "professional" glass installer who will install it with butyl ribbon. They all want to use urathane which I hear makes it much harder to set the glass at the proper height to avoid a gap in the moulding. Sounds like maybe that's what your "pro" did to yours, or maybe he used a ribbon that was too thin? Anyway......I hope I'm not forming a pattern of my own. Thanks for the encouragement.

 

You will need a friend to help with the glass. I know from experience! Its the side to side that was a pain in the ***. You cant rest the glass on the rubber bumpers and then move it side to side. You will have to lay the glass in at the angle it will rest. While doing so you have to make sure the glass is centered side to side and hope the rubber spacers (bumpers) are the right height to center it top to bottom. I bought new PPG glass for the front and back for $225 and the butyl ribbon for another $50. I called and got the OEM size so my moulding would fit right. Once the glass touches the butyl tape its game on. You cant pull it back off and try again, well you can but the diameter of the ribbon will change because it will be stuck to the windshield. Just my thoughts and maybe you know a trick that I dont. Get some help and save the back.

 

Thanks man. That's all good advice and consistent with what I've read/heard before. I'm going to reuse my stock glass (assuming I don't break it between now and then) because I've heard aftermarket glass (at least for 2nd gens) is thinner than stock and can cause molding depth issues as well.

My plan of attack is to definately use a friend to help from inside the car while I work outside the car, lowering the glass into place with two large suction cups. I'll first set the glass in place with the rubber blocks for spacing but no butyl ribbon. I'll use this first time around to align the glass where I want it (left to right and top to bottom) and then lay a strip of masking tape from the glass to the body of the car on the top, bottom and sides. I'll then cut the tape and remove the glass, leaving the tape in place on the body and glass. Next I'll add the butyl to the glass and reinstall it using the tape as reference marks. The tape lines will also exist inside the car as well so my helper has a frame of reference for alignment as well. How does all that sound? That's how I see it playing out in my head, but a lot of things never quite come out the way I picture. Thanks for the advice and cross your fingers for me.

 

I never thought about putting the butyl tape on the glass. I put mine on the perimeter of the body first but the glass would prolly be better. You must have long arms if you are going solo from the outside. I on the other hand am a short bastard with short arms. I barely can wipe my own ***. I had to have help from the outside. I had my son help which was good but the communication about direction to move the glass and measurements was a chore in itself. I had to keep repeating " he is only 13, he is only 13, patience my friend. Good luck either way you decide to go. I say go with the thicker butyl tape as it will compress somewhat in the heat. If it is out too far the moulding will still fit perfect if it sits in too far gaps appear. I did mine in the winter so I waited till warm weather to start mashing on it too hard. The back glass was the easiest I wish I would have started there first. I tend to do **** the hard way.

 

Yeah, I just figured that putting the butyl tape on the glass would ensure that it was aligned with the edges of the glass and not too far in or out. Hopefully it works OK.

That's freakin hilarious dude! I think you just made my night. My boy does say I have monkey arms, but that's a story for a different time. I'm 6 foot and I think my arms are very proportional.....LOL. Anyway, you make a very good point that I hadn't thought of. I guess my plan briefed well, but it likely would not have played out the way I had planned. See, when I pulled the glass out I had my buddy lifting from the inside and I was on the outside solo with the suction cups. But, lifting glass out isn't nearly as precise a manuever as setting it in.....so that would have probably gone badly. I think I'll go double on the outside for sure. Thank! See, I told you things don't always go the way I play them out in my head.


I feel ya on the patience thing. My son is only five, so things are still down right maddening with him. I know you've already done yours, but this link I came across at one point may come in handy for someone else installing their glass. I don't know this poster's actual qualifications, but he seems to know what he's talking about: http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/basi...its-55375.html

Thanks again for your advice on this. I've definately seen the light on trying to do this on my own from the outside. Can you just see me laying across the cowl trying to set this windshield in place?....LOL. Oh, and I'm planning on doing the rear window first.

 

Very informative. Seems I could have made this job a lot easier. I liked the idea of the tape for alignment like you mentioned. I say forget the glass and get some Lexan. Save some weight!!!

 

Is this you? Are you a T-Rex? J/K....