tsdorsey

Durango_boy:
OK, OK. I will go take some more pics. I got to the trailing arms, front suspension components, and U-Joints over the last week. Just bought a 12 ton press from Harbor Freight (chincy stuff, but it works).

71rdster:
Vette as a full time job? Nope. Lots of friends with mech skills? Nope. Huge pile of money? Not really. I'm sure I'm being way to optimistic with the July 1 deadline, but I'm gonna sure as hell try.

Like I said, more pics coming soon.

-Trevor

tsdorsey

Durango_Boy:
Thanks for the reminder. I needed to get some pics of this project. I have gone way too far without taking any :|

Here goes...
Got the frame out of the garage and added to the junk pile Just waiting for my buddy to get home from Kuwait. He should be here in time for the Super Bowl. He's a SeaBee in case any of you were wondering.

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Got all the U-Joints pressed out. They were all the hollow greased kind. After all I have read here I think I'll go with the solid ones. Just picked up a 450+ rwt engine. You think the stock half shafts and drive shaft are up for that?

A little info on the U-Joints. I started by using a large vise I picked up from harbor freight, but it was doing damage to the screw so I stopped until I could get the right tool for the job. You get what you pay for. Anyway, I went to HF today and picked up a 12 ton shop press and it was MUCH easier to press out the joints.


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Trailing arms half torn apart. Front spindles ready to slip apart. All this in prep for the blasting I hope to be doing in a couple weeks.

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Is these any reason to pull these apart any further? The rubber looks good and the don't leak right now. I was thinking about pulling them all the way apart but if I don't have to why waste the time? I'm thinking of just cleaning them up, painting and putting them back on as is.

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As you can see, the frame being gone made LOTS of room in the garage. One of the trailing arm spindles is on the press as I write this.

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Hope you enjoyed the read as must as I enjoy reading all of your posts. If you have any tips don't hesitate to post.



-Trevor

lucky76

Great pictures I can use to see what my 76 looks like under the body.
It would be interesting to see how much it cost you $ wise to do this
restore.
Are you going to keep up with what it cost from start to finish?

lucky76

I just noticed you have a gas water heater in the back of your
garage. Be extra careful using gasoline or paint in your garage.

tsdorsey

lucky76:
And a gas furnace as well Good lookin' out. I have the door up most of the time I'm workin', it is southern CA. Running tab? I should, I'm a little worried about doing it, don't know if I want to see that much money go out the door .

What I think I'll do is send all the items/tools/parts that I buy and the amount I spent to my gmail account. Then setup a filter so that they get moved to a separate place and archived right away. Then when it's all over I can add it all up, but not before

-Trevor

CJ 77

77/350- My hats off to you. Great pics. Good luck.
chuck

Durango_Boy

If the calipers don't leak you should try reusing them. Make sure you replace the flex lines though.

JungleCat

I enjoyed the pics. Good luck to you the rest of the way.

MorpheusGPR

I am working to get to that point myself....are you goingto have the frame powdercoated?

I may end up sitting my body down like that, is the rope needed for nose support? Maybe a 2x4 under it would work?

I am thinking about getting some rolling wood dollies and putting foam on top or something and then setting the body down on that until I can get it to the body shop for paint, weather stripping, etc etc.

Durango_Boy

You can support the nose however you want, but it must be easy to move with the rest of the body, so using a strap or a rope to hold the nose up to the rest of the car is the preferred method.

C3MEH

looks great thanks for the photo's I have a 76 - and trying to figure out what things look like is hard.....I thought por only worked if it was used on rusted parts not cleaned metal????

tsdorsey

C3MEH:
Yeah, everything I have heard says rusty metal works best. I'm thinking of sandblasting it, then letting it sit outside for a week and using the garden hose on it every day to rust it up a bit. Then use the metal ready and POR it. We'll see, I just know that I'm not leaving the 30 years of grease and oil on it.

If you have any questions about the 76, feel free to ask, I'll help where I can.


-Trevor

Mark_Milner

You really jumped in. Good luck on it, it is a lot of work and will only gt slower from here. As a friend once said, you can take them apart in 8 hours, but it takes 8 years to put them together.

A couple of things for you. Don't set the hood like you have it in the picture next to the fence. The corners chip and flatten far too easy that way and they are hard to fix right. Set it nose down.

The frame looks great. If you start with a scrub brush and hot soapy water, you may find all of the factory markings. You may or may not want to reproduce them, but at least you will know what they are if you do. Sandblasting first eliminates that choice.

Pictures, pictures, pictures. You cannot have too many, because when you put it back together, you will need them. Make sure you get detailed shots of the bolts and nuts and all small parts because when it goes back, you won't be able to tell one from another.

Bag and tag everything. It will increase the time taking it apart, but a bucket of bolts will take months to figure out, while 50 baggies with 3 or 4 bolts and a note in each will take an hour tops.

Enjoy. Treat your help right - food is good. Beer only after things are done, otherwise you will really be bubba-ized.

Durango_Boy

I like using zip lock bags to organize the bolts and nuts, and I use a white paint pen to write what they are on the bag. Pictures are also a great reference. Think how much easier it is for us with digital cameras and computers to load them onto.

oregonsharkman

Great pics... I have a 76 as well so keep 'em coming

Deron

Keep a good catalog to keep track of your boxed up parts. Re assembly sucks whe you misplace somthing. The cost of doing such an extensive body off is mind boggling expect to run 3 times you estimated cost. I must say you seem to have everything under control and I congradulate you for taking on such an huge task. Mine took almost 3 years and I did a body on. Though time, money, and time, kids and family were a large factor. enjoy the hobby

Roscoe

Durango_Boy

You gonna do all that to yours?

76stingracer

Did you happen to find the build sheet on top of the gas tank shield?

tsdorsey

76stingracer:
After reading all the posts on here about them I was hoping I would, but sadly no, I didn't find it. Just alot of dirt and dust.

oregonsharkman:
How much are you gonna do to your 76?


-Trevor