Hi All,

So after 5 years of virtually not touching my 1960 classic restoration (family, house, space, work, redundancy, life etc) I'm just about ready to start again. I left it with all of the mechanicals and chassis restored and the primed body back on the chassis with the trunk, decklid, empty doors and hood fitted; all/most parts that are not fitted have been restored or a new replacements and are in boxes. My BIG QUSETION is WHERE DO I START (and generally what order should I follow) so that I don't need to pull things out again to fit other things (because the first thing I fitted is in the way). The body is a completely empty shell fitted to the chassis. If some one could suggest a comprehensive ordered list on how to 'throw' it back together (not with instructional detail) for pre-paint and post paint would be most helpful and appreciated? Also, the firewall is completely bare and the decklid center console hasn't been refitted yet; the engine was running on the chassis before the body was refitted but carbs were removed to prevent damage when the body was refitted; it is not a restomod. Carbs will be the first thing to go back.

I'm thinking the wiring loom and gas tank need to be part of the first things that go back in but rather than scratch around haphazardly, expert advice will save me a good bit of time. The wiring harness is a new aftermarket; should I consider hiding the harness in the engine bay or just leave it visible as stock. To note is when finished it will hopefully be in show condition but not concours as too many none original parts will be used (was a basket case when I got it).

Your advise and comments are appreciated in advance.

Ta
Mick

 

bump

 

Engine/carbs
Engine bay completed
Hood, Trunk lid, Doors
Wiring harness
Suspension
Brakes
Paint
Interior
Wheels, tires
The list will never end 😂

 

Start with paint. You really can't do much until body is painted. Then you can start assembly.

 

DO ALL your body work first
Do all the body repairs
Body work and paint take the most time and cost the most and need to be done right the first time
Leave the body on a dolly or cart - you will get the best paint outcome
Fit all your panels
Make all your gaps
WHILE your doing body work - after you fit all your chrome and anything that bolts to the body - send them out for rebuild
Its project management
Get all your gauges done while your doing body work
Get the radio done
Get the chrome done
Get the heater box done
Get all the cables done
Order and have ready all the parts to reassemble - wiring harness - lights -
Send the carb out
Send the dist out
Send the motor for rebuild
Send the trans for rebuild
The chassis and mechanicals are the easiest to do and go quickly
Once back from paint - put it together
get all the wiring in it
get the fire wall put together - heater, wipers, wiper transmission, wire wall insulation
Get the engine compartment put together before you drop the body - you can work in the engine bay
my .02

 

- Done, apart from brake related and I have some concerns about clearance between firewall and distributor and lead cover clear to firewall ........ less than 1/4 inch

Thanks CSH, very much what I was after, I guess my main concern is to ensure I get everything done now that the body and chassis have been mated together that I need to before the body goes out to paint. The body has had some major work done ... new front end and replacement rear end (subsequently the entire rear center console with rear glovebox and soft top cover latch etc is still out - technical name for this part eludes me at the moment). I have the hardtop but think I need to make sure the hardtop fits properly with a test fit ... so will need to fit all of those parts? Old front and rear were removed after the body was set up in a jig so am 95% confident everything is where it is supposed to be
Further to this, All of the running gear is together and the engine has been run on the Chassis before being fitted back to the body, some minor exterior body work to do. I'll test fit all trim prior to paint and fit the main wiring harness.
Any more advise on what I need to consider order wise, especially fine detail stuff would be much appreciated.

Thanks again in advance for any comment.

 

This is the current status of the resto

chassis before #1

before #2 basically two original rails and everything else cut out of the middle .... from front X to rear support

Before the body went back on - with the engine run panel fitted


At some point with the replacement back end and no front end yet

front end resting in place

on the rotisserie / jig

rotisserie #2 with paint - underside was too much of a mess to leave raw

together again ... or just about . Engine bay was painted before they were mated together ... don't remember exactly what was happening here .......

very proud of just how much I had achieved to get it to this stage from the mess I had to start with.

this was pretty well much the only part of the body shell I was able to save

addressing the structural issues ... just in case you were think Bubba had come to play.

 

As you can see the big bits of the jigsaw have been completed that didn't really need a lot of sequencing issues ... not like now. BEFORE PAINT and AFTER PAINT are the things I want to get 100% correct.

 

Mick, the things I wish I would have known are;
: winshield, doors, door post and roof need to be mated. Shimed and adjusted so they match each other.
: gas tank position. Make sure cover sits flat.
: Its highly recomended to drop trans crossmember 1" for better drive shaft angle.
Chip

 

Thanks Chip,
Would you suggest doing a test fit of the parts that needed to be shimmed prior to paint?
I was thinking about dropping the trans x-member a bit but the ignition shielding is so close to the firewall that I think it will hit if I lower the trans x-member especially because the engine pivots from the front so any small move down below will be multiplied at the top of the engine. I do have new steel engine mounts for the front which I'm yet to fit as the ones in there now were butchered and I had to repair them.