1969 mach-1 Restoration hours 9-25

[69machmike]

Well, Here are some more pictures. I decided to replace the whole floor pan. I removed the suspension for restoration etc.

It really took a bit longer than I anticipated. Wire wheeling the underbody was insanity. I got it really clean, but good lord was I dirty. I looked like a coal miner who worked a month straight without bathing.

I decided to POR 15 the under body.

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Funny thing happened.....I forgot to weld my emergency brake bracket back on...LOL

I will do this when I attach the suspension and rear end. I will sand, weld, prep, POR, and primer again while executing some touch ups...I had stickers, notes, reminders written all over the underside on the pan and STILL spaced it LOL. One of those ID10T errors......


Next step is primer and paint interior of the car, move on to primer/paint the engine compartment and outside of the inner fenders. Attach the restored suspension and rear end. Then on to the rear quarter / tail panel replacement.

Cheers.

Mike

 

[2+2GT]

The ebrake is easy. Drill hole, weld it from the top. Nice work, apart from that minor item, and I've seen full floors done before.

 

[69machmike]

Thanks for the encouraging words GT.

I am glad I asked your advice on the rear-torque boxes a few weeks back. I would up using the replacement metal (very thick) to repair some damage to the front torque boxes.

Words cannot describe the amounts of annoyances you run into when fixing these old cars. Apparently people cut transmission tunnels all of the time (and this is a fairly common repair), however some joker cut the floor brace completely out! I was lucky enough to have had a replacement area salavaged out of a car ten years ago becuase I knew I needed to move the shifter back to the proper location. I stripped the brace and welded it in.

I am glad I have decided to completed this restoration a project properly. My welding skills have improved 20x just after the floor replacement.

It was below 54 degrees and when I came back in the AM some of the primer pooled in a few locations (looks like accumulation before a drip). I will sand this and re-apply some primer as I button up the underside and suspension.

I am actually very happy with the job I have done so far. I would never ever win a concourse event because it will technically be a resto-mod. But this car will be a solid #2 that could win a local muscle car drive in. Better yet, this car will be driven to every event it attends.

 

[2+2GT]

Apparently people cut transmission tunnels all of the time (and this is a fairly common repair), however some joker cut the floor brace completely out! I was lucky enough to have had a replacement area salvaged out of a car ten years ago because I knew I needed to move the shifter back to the proper location. I stripped the brace and welded it in.

This is a common problem- The Hurst Super Shifter works extremely well, because the control rods are straight. However, this requires the shifter to be offset to the left, requiring cutting of the tunnel, and the straight rods require removal of the upper-left portion of the transmission crossmember.

This is a Muncie, but you get the idea:

 

[69machmike]

Exactly! it also requires the end user to pound the transmission tunnel up where the super-shifter linkage would normally have pressed against the tunnel (I properly dollied it back to shape, then used all metal as seen in the pictures to smooth out the pitting). All repaired.

I am sure I will miss the ease of the quick shift I used to have with the super shifter. I won't miss not having a proper center console. My racing days are over. The hurst competition shifter should work well enough for any of those Scion and Honda sport tuners who decide to challenge me. However the guy in the cube next to me won't stop heckling me about his 73 superbee..

I have a very mint Hurst super shifter for sale now

Mike