'71 R/T, fixing a parts car

[Flatdad]

It was a semi-productive holiday. The middle brother and I re-set the roof on the car along with the dutchman panel. Then we added the quarters, firewall, upper cowl and a fender. Then we set the rear glass in to verify the roof positioning. Everything is looking ship shape and square, thank goodness!

Since then, I haven't done much except tune up older weld repairs, patch some cosmetic areas, hunt for pinholes, and some basic rust prevention. Busy, tedious work that takes time.

[Flatdad]

1/4 year update I guess. The roof is welded to the car. 

A couple hiccups along the way, I found an 1/8" discrepancy on the distance between door to quarter pillars, with the passenger side being longer on my chassis. The new roof measured perfectly square, so I had to find a way around that.

Then, when I first welded the roof on, I did one rear pillar first and rechecked quarter fitment. The quarters were nearly impossible to install. Confused, I measured over and over, and determined I'd managed to weld the rear pillar too low. With a heavy heart, I cut it apart again. I added some material to correct the issue, and pushed forward from there.

I hope to weld in the new firewall and cowl next. Posting on here reminds me to get moving quicker on this project as it is just supposed to be a rebuild, not a restoration. In a couple days it will be 7 years and counting on this "just get it done quick and safe enough to drive" project. 

[Flatdad]

I just read my own post on 'reply #5' from 2018... 

In retrospect, I think my fate was sealed on getting too deep into this car when I bought the roof graft. That being said, no regrets. I'm still passionate about getting this thing rolling someday, and hoping to get a big chunk done this weekend.

Over the last couple weeks I've been goofing around with my old Scrambler, time to get back to the car.

obligatory picture tax:

[Flatdad]

Quarters weren't playing nice with the rear valance, discovered interference with Goodmark trunk extension flanges. I ended up cutting the flanges off the the back edges of the extensions which allowed the valance to fit properly with the quarters.

I took my old road runner to Muncie Dragway last night for test and tune. I've struggled with fuel delivery issues and awful vibrations for YEARS on this car. A new set of 235/60-15 radials and an electric fuel pump+regulator+return line seem to have solved those problems, FINALLY. It ran a new best of 12.69 at 111mph, fighting for traction on those scrawny radials.

[Flatdad]

The firewall is fully welded. It took every clamp to close the gap between the floor flange and firewall flange, but it's tight now. I'm in the middle of grinding all the spot welds, then it's on  to the upper cowl. The cowl seems to be fitting much nicer now that the firewall is in tight, thank goodness.

[daaboots]

I had an awful time connecting the firewall to the floor pan as well. Seems to be a common issue from other folks I've talked with. I just finished the cowl installation on mine and it went pretty good.

[Flatdad]

Found some pictures from a couple weeks ago, I am not a skilled photographer, lol

This weekend, I finished grinding all the firewall welds and got the upper cowl all drilled. I hit a stopping point when I realized the inner cowl needs painted body color before welding the cowl on. I'm sure nobody would give a darn if it was black, but I kind of want to try out my local paint supplier to see how good they are at matching 1971 B5. The inner cowl would be a good test area.

[Flatdad]

The car was on the back burner for a couple weeks. I was doing an oil change on the daily and discovered the front crossmember was dangerously rotten. So, I pressed the winter beater truck into service and promptly sprung a coolant leak from a bellhousing freeze plug. 

Now that the daily drivers are sorta' sorted out, I'm getting back to work on the '71. The right front rocker panel is the last area of major rust. The lower pinchweld had a random rusted out area mid-way back that was easy enough to patch and then I moved on to the fender mounting area and front cap. Investigation with the wire wheel confirmed, Swiss cheese. After getting the old rocker end cap off, I flattened out the rusted piece and worked on fabbing up a replacement. The rocker front itself is going to take quite a bit of rebuilding, then the torque box will be next.

[Brads70]

to post pictures , click on at the bottom of the window where it says
  " click or drag files here to attach them"

[Flatdad]

to post pictures , click on at the bottom of the window where it says
  " click or drag files here to attach them"

I figured out that the panel for adding files and pictures isn't available in "quick reply" mode, only in "reply" mode, which is why I wasn't seeing it. Then I had to learn how to jump through the hoops of resizing images 
Got 'em posted finally!

Anyhoo, I didn't get anything done on the car Saturday, as a buddy invited me to go watch Notre Dame stomp Wake. Sunday I got all the rocker patch pieces cut, formed, and mostly fitted (except the torque box). Pretty much just have to prep 'em and weld them in.

[Flatdad]

Since the last post, I patched up all the holes and welded on all the fabbed pieces for the rocker, rocker pinch weld, and torque box. Felt like it took about 100 years to grind everything. I also cleaned up the donor braces from the 70 roof and welded them on the A-pillar/firewall/door post. After cleaning up those welds, I hosed everything down with brown primer.

I can't wait to get the cowl and quarters welded on, so I can take out all that intrusive bracing.