'71 R/T, fixing a parts car

[Flatdad]

Credit to my dad for this update, he came over and helped get all set up to spray while keeping me on task. Over the past two afternoons we epoxy primed the firewall, floors, trunk, upper cowl (underside), inner quarters, and outer wheelhouses.

Yesternoon, we set up and sprayed GB5 on the upper firewall, inner quarters, trunk extensions, and a bit on the outer wheelhouses. Now I can FINALLY weld the upper cowl and quarter panels to the car. I really wasn't ready for this big of a step, prep and bodywork-wise, but it was probably the last couple of warm days left to get it done before winter.

[mtull]

Credit to my dad for this update, he came over and helped get all set up to spray while keeping me on task

Great memory for you both. 
It'll start looking like a car again in short order!
 

[Flatdad]

Measurement Request 

I've got the upper cowl about 90% welded on except for where the aprons attach. I've noticed there is some wiggle room left to right, so I'd like to know the distance between the vertical surfaces on the aprons where they attach to the cowl. Another way to word it would be the distance between the hood hinge mounting surfaces.

My chassis bracing goes through the windshield and attaches to the shock towers so I can't put the hood and fenders on to the get the positioning unfortunately.

[Flatdad]

Upper cowl fully welded and mostly ground.

I elected to add a couple L-brackets where the angled braces extend from the shock towers to the cowl. I didn't like how they attached and decided to beef up the area.

[Brads70]

Looking good! Nice time to add these if your so inclined.
https://store.uscartool.com/E-Body-70-74-inner-fender-brace-kit.html

[Flatdad]

Long story short, last year I raced in our state MX series and also built a custom tube frame bed for my winter beater W100. So, the car didnt get touched. Then, I quit my job in early Nov.
Now that I've got all kinds of time, I've been working on this thing almost every day for the past 2.5 months. I'll try to get this thread back up to speed with some progress pics, most of the work has involved re-doing shabby work i did in the past while in a hurry.

[Flatdad]

Think ill divide this into three posts.

Repaired rusted out windshield channel, passenger side roof.
Fixed rust hole in sail panel, passenger side.
Fixed holes in driver's fnt frame bottom and passenger side torsion xmember.
Dad helped me remove the front tubing bracing. He also stripped the fender aprons while i worked under the car.
Repaired stress cracks above drvr shock tower.
Fixed about 3 fender clip slots that were torn or rusted.
After dad stripped away most of the fender apron undercoat, i hit the battery area with a wire wheel and pick. Several new holes were revealed and fixed.
Straightened old crash damage, passgr apron and upper core.
Mounted doors, fenders, hood, deck to verify quarter fit.

[Flatdad]

All the floor and trunk welds were iffy on penetration, so i touched or redid most of them. Top and bottom side
The new floor was lapped over the console bracket and looked terrible so I redid the area to fit together much tighter.
Repaired the auto trans linkage hole.
One seat mount bracket was still bad shape, patched it up.
Repaired rust holes in the gas tank braces.
Added better welds on the shock xmember.
Repaired several pinholes in the tailpanel.
Repaired thin areas in the passgr inner wheelhouse.

[Flatdad]

My Dad is retired and bored during winter and wanted to help which is great for me. Stuff he did: stripped both fenders, both valances, knocked out dents and straightened the rear valance a bunch. Removed most of the front frame undercoat, smoothed out the trunk lid, and helped with heavy assembly/disassembly.

[Flatdad]

It has been too cold to spend too much time in the shop, been doing lots of small odd jobs. Since last update:
Sorted all my loose factory fasteners
Re-repaired the t-bar xmember
Fixed about dozen holes in the passgr torque box
Repaired the old jack bracket
Cleaned and repaired a quarter window bracket
Fixed a dual exhaust bracket
Made all new trunk wire tabs with plasti-dip
Soaked all the slap-stik components in evaporust
Dad came over and wire-wheeled my front bumper brackets and hood hinges.

[Katfish]

Good progress, keep dad happy and working