The Beginning The Donor Floorpans Wiring and Interior
Cutting out the rust Heater channels and support rails Brakes Reassembly
The motor runs! Paint Prep Paint Top
October 13, 2004 Unfortunately, I don't seem to have all the right parts at the same time, so while waiting for more stuff to complete the wiring and interior, I worked on putting the other stuff back together, like the fenders and other exterior stuff.

Getting the fenders back on took 4 hands. I ran a tap through the captive nuts to clean out the paint and clean up the threads, then bolted them back to the body with new fender beading, bolts, and warpy washers.
The angles on the inside of the fender wells are tight so I used the air ratchet and combinations of extensions, u-joints and the 13mm socket to get them tightened.

It's a four handed operation in keeping the beading at the right altitude relative to the fender and the body. With some cooperation from GHB and adjusting the bolts several times, the beading achieves the right altitude.
After giving the decklid a final buffing, I reattached the license plate light housing and reinstalled the decklid. The handle and the badge also were added.

Next are the license plate bracket and the lights. New gaskets really set it off nicely. I need a vintage plate, huh? And that stupid single pea shooter looks dumb too. That will soon change.
April 10, 2005
A pretty spring day so after cutting the grass I figured I'd putter around installing the headlights. Seven hours later I accomplished my puttering.

Here are a bunch of headlight assemblies, my seat and chrome polish on the garage floor. I had a bunch of these assemblies laying around, so after finding two that generally matched, I sanded, painted and reassembled the two matching headlight assemblies. They are a complicated matter, complete with the chrome headlight bezel, the cover glass, the sealed beam light, the parking light fixture which is in the headlight housing and the sealed beam housing. All this is held together with these clips that fly around the garage when attempting to be put into place. The screws on the outside of the light actually adjust the headlight. I quickly came to appreciate the reasons why the redesign of the later cars came into being.
The finished headlights, a work of beauty! All day working on lights that once energized with 6 volts might be visible at night in the bottom of a coal mine if you squint!
May 15, 2005
Next on the list was getting the gas tank installed. I rattled a piece of chain in the tank to loosen any big rust from the tank and rinsed it out. Next came tank sealer which cured while I worked on the sender. This baby was all gunked up with varnish having sat in the tank for years. After hours in WD-40 and some convincing by careful screwdriver therapy, I got the sender working.

I painted the outside of the tank, here it dries next to the now compliant gas gauge sender.
After the wire brush and some chrome polish, the gas cap was ready. I had to rebuilt the gasket inside the cap to keep it tight and rattle-free..

Once everything was cleaned up, I installed the tank, hooked up the gas gauge linkage, and started the car. It struggles to start as if there is a fuel delivery issue, so I suppose a carb kit is next on the list.
June 12. 2005
Here's the oldest boy (14) showing off the installed windshield. I'd wrestled with this with several friends, the wife, my brother, anyone else who would come by, but had been unsuccessful getting this accomplished. Ultimately, with the help of silicone spray, a cord from venetian blinds, and a warm day we got the windshield into place.

I think the secret is the warm day and a patient son. After letting the gasket cook in the sun on the pavement for a couple of hours, and using the right cord, getting the windshield in was a snap!
August 20, 2005
I spent today getting this rear bumper right. I'd waited to get the motor out and back in before getting to the bumper. I figured I'd throw it on then get cracking on the seats. (Check these out on the wiring and interior page.) Anyway, these were a pain! I didn't have the right bolts for the bumper guards, so off to the store for them. Then I made three brackets for the back up light before I did that right. By the way, the light isn't stock for the year, but I had one and thought it would be helpful if I ever backed up. I had to wire a switch to the dash for that as well.

I also switched the original exhaust system with this Monza unit. Quite a heady roar from these compared to the pingy pea shooters, that had seen better days.

While looking for vintage license plates for the car, I found these 1966 South Dakota tags on Ebay. My wife was born in SD so I bought them. They look cool, huh? Reckon the VA DMV or VA's finest will indulge my creative interpretation of governmental automotive regulation? I'll let you know... In the meantime practice up on baking file cake!