not much happening lately...

Well, due to the weather, vacation and holidays, I've not done much other than continue to gather needed parts and info for the swap. I found a T5 trans out of a 85 Camaro. It's a V6 trans, but I can swap the 5th gear for the more desirable .63 ratio later if I need to. I'm looking into a rear axle swap that may make that unnecessary though. Looking at using a Ford Ranger 7.5 or 8.8 rear end, narrowed, so I can have options in the rear ratio department. The diff in those rears is offset so I only have to narrow the longer side and can use the short side axle on both sides and come up with the width needed.


Got an aluminum 4 core radiator off ebay. Looks good and they were able to swap the inlet to the other side so it will mate up right with the thermostat housing. Also came up with an electric fan that I think should work. I'll have to get the radiator in with the engine fitted to see if it will clear the water pump pulley.




Now I need to start gathering the smaller pieces such as motor mounts, pulleys, brackets, alternator, starter and possibly a shorter water pump. Ive been looking at kits to make your own headers, but I'm not sure I'm up to that just yet.

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.