Well, I was finally able to finish removing that #$!&@ passenger side floorboard! THAT is something I never want to have to go through again! Maybe tomorrow I'll get an hour or so to grind the flanges down smooth to get it ready for the new floorboard. Also got the pedals / pedal box / master cylinders out along with the steering column.

still stripping paint

All I've been able to do lately is strip more paint off a little at a time. I've almost got it off the outside, just a little more on the rear quarters and around the back hatch. Then I can start on the jambs and interior. I really don't think I'll need to strip the inside, just sand and prep for new paint. The inside has never been painted like the outside has so it's still the factory paint there. Progress is slow but fairly steady, Summertime is full of other activities, so I never know what kind of free time I'll have to work on the car. You never know when a fishing trip or something else will pop up!

more stripping of the shell

Today I got a little more done towards getting the shell ready for paint. I got the cowl panel stripped, some of the roof, the pass side a and c pillars. I also stripped the drivers door and some of the drivers side quarter. I tried a aerosol stripper called "peeler". It worked really good, stripped the paint but left the factory primer. Considering the expense, I think I'll just use it on areas such as pillars and places where the heat gun and scraper would be too difficult.





I also removed the windshield and back hatch glass. I can see where the finishers that go in the rubber weatherstrips would be difficult to install. I actually had to cut the old dried, hardened rubber away from the finishers or risk damaging them just to get them out.

floorboard replacement

This is one project that I was dreading and after getting started on it, now I really know that it is as bad as some have said. Hard, dirty, nasty work. I do know that whoever spotwelded the floorpan in this car in Abington back in 1974 really knew what he was doing. It too me two hours or better just to get this far. I'm really glad the drivers side floor is in great shape and I've just got the one to do. I'm looking at getting a spot weld cutting bit. The grinder, hammer and chisel are way too much work, but the job IS getting done.... however slow it may be.

stripping paint..

I started stripping paint from the car this past weekend. No real surprises found, very minimal filler under the paint. The most I found so far was in the very front of the pass side wing. It's mostly good straight sheet metal. After stripping both fenders and the hood, I sprayed it all with self-etching primer.





The next step will be to fill in any small dents or low spots before going over it with high fill primer and then the block sanding will commence! The larger dents will get hammered out, hopefully. This body work is fairly new to me. I did all the body work and painting on the roadster, and it shows now just how much I still have to learn. This one WILL be better, maybe not perfect, but better.

more stripping down...

Well, it's been awhile since I've been able to lay hands on the GT. Got out for a few hours today and finished stripping the interior, removed all exterior chrome and glass except for the windshield and hatch glass.






Removed all the door hardware, regulators, handles, latches, etc... The dash came out easier than I thought it would. Now to start getting that rusted passenger floorboard out.

Gathering parts / pieces...

Got several important pieces to the rebuild this week. Finally found a Rover flywheel for a manual trans on eBay. I never thought a flywheel would be so hard to source. Found plenty for sale for big $$, just wasn't part of the budget.




Received the pass side Heritage floorpan and radiator support pieces today. Looks to be some welding in my near future. Also have a Heritage hood latch panel I found on eBay a couple of weeks ago. I just need to find a rubber bumper donor car that I can cut the front half of the pass side inner fender from to repair the damaged piece on the GT. Once that is done, the real work will begin to get the tub ready for paint prep.




Also got a heat gun to see if that will be a viable means of paint removal. I remember removing paint from the roadster years ago. It was a long, dirty process with a razor blade and sandpaper. There has got to be an easier way.

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to test the O/D to see if it is operational or not. It may prove to be easier to bench test it instead of trying to get the car drivable. I'll be looking into the procedure before going too far with the disassembly of the car. With luck, I'll have more to post after the weekend.