Now Complete Restoration / Pulling my 1969 'Bee down for strip and paint

[Troy]

You need to rinse the Evaporust unless you want it black. It's real easy to take off when wet. I had been doing that forever until I was told the black protects the part and I could leave them that way. Soooo, if it's something I'm going to paint, I rinse then epoxy prime (or sometimes leave bare or coat with Picklex). Otherwise I leave it alone.

Troy

[Dino]

You can reuse the stuff for a long time as well. Just filter it with some paint filters.

[birdsandbees]

You need to rinse the Evaporust unless you want it black. It's real easy to take off when wet. I had been doing that forever until I was told the black protects the part and I could leave them that way. Soooo, if it's something I'm going to paint, I rinse then epoxy prime (or sometimes leave bare or coat with Picklex). Otherwise I leave it alone.

Troy

This was way beyond rinsing.. something about the metal of the LCA's really took the black, like they'd been painted... yet my pedal assembly metal cleaned up nice.

I need my LCA's clean metal as I have a $400 bucket of Rust Vito here to dip them in and want proper colour or the effort is wasted. Should have just painted them black! LOL

Think I'll get a new clean bucket for some parts and will coat some bolts black for other spots with the dirty bucket. I've tried filtering it, but I guess I shouldn't have done my rear brake drums as one of the first "tests". They look like new!

[birdsandbees]

Pedal assembly bushings, etc all nice and tight... so just some rust removal and repaint. If you look you can see a solid line on the frame where it had soaked in the bucket longer one way than they other. Even with scrubbing still there. After paint I hung this and the Ebrake assembly upside down and coated the bare metal with gun oil.

[68CoronetRT]

Random Question. Does the clutch pedal unbolt separately? Like if you ditched the manual and went auto, could u just unbolt that clutch pedal and linkage?

[birdsandbees]

A Yes and No situation. The clutch housing bolts to the side of the main brake housing and the firewall...it can be removed BUT the clutch and brake share a common long pivot bolt.

You could just remove the bolt.. drop the clutch pedal and install a spacer sleeve in it's place, then reinstall the bolt.

You can also buy a body plug for a few bucks for the clutch rod hole and remove the boot.

[birdsandbees]

Just when I thought I was done buying parts!! 

Near mint headlight bezels and a perfectly straight grill in need of a bit of touch up. Bezels from MN and amazingly the grill out of Belleville, Ontario!

And NOS tail lights lenses and bezels from Nacho in Venezuela, shipped FedEx this morning. Now of course I'm searching for a mint tail light cover panel..   

[crj1968]

Hey those are nacho tailights ! 


Looking forward to seeing this car done. I love me some Super-bee

[birdsandbees]

LOL...

On the grill, any R/T or Bee experts care to chime in. I always had my horizontal "webs" showing as chrome and the verticals black to give it some "pop". Looking at a lot of resto pics and dealer brochures am I only supposed to have the larger, outer, horizontal webs chrome and everything else blacked out. Argent between there and the obviously chrome outermost ring/rib of the grill?

Thanks!

[lukedukem]

i can look at my grille and see.

Luke

[moparnation74]

I notice you use gun oil as a rust inhibitor.  Have you ever tried Boeshield T9?

I too keep the natural finishes and I have tried almost everything available.  Gun oil is a great choice but I have found Boeshield to be the best.  The Corvette guys swear by it....so naturally I tried it and haven't changed since.

[birdsandbees]

Just what I happened to have on hand and figured if it protects a gun in the rain it should do the trick. Figured the pedal frames had barely rusted in 47 years so it was probably enough. Will see if I can find Boeshield locally. Thanks!

[birdsandbees]

i can look at my grille and see.

Luke

THANKS!

[lukedukem]

i can look at my grille and see.

Luke

THANKS!

Ok, so my grille is worse shape than I remember. But it looks like the one in your pic.

Luke

[birdsandbees]

Ok, so my grille is worse shape than I remember. But it looks like the one in your pic.

Luke

I have two things going on in that pic. The center section is totally blacked out except for the upper and lower horizontal web and what I think from looking at pictures is correct. The headlight bezels are showing chrome on the smaller "webs". Presume I am to black those out as well???

[birdsandbees]

Finally got around to pulling out the TIG and installing my PST reinforcing plates on my LCA's this afternoon.

Glad I threw the torsion bar adjuster in to center the plate hole... as if you clamp the two halves of the LCA too hard the adjuster block won't slip into place on it's groves! Just an FYI !

Generally in my line of work, aircraft, you don't grind the welds... but thought I'd smooth these all out before I media blast again and then dip in my jug of Rust Veto 342.

[birdsandbees]

While I do want to do stuff correctly.. I'm still somewhere between premium driver and concurs on this build.  So, for now, I media blasted and painted my wiper motor today. Found some Duplicolor that is darn near close to the zinc plating and did my brake res cover the same so they match. Also remembered why I may have possibly stopped buying stuff from Year one 25+ years ago... spot rusted tail pipe clamps on receipt of them. Shouldn't have to media blast before installation.

[birdsandbees]

Media blasted my LCA's again today (after welding the reinforcing plates on earlier this week) and dipped them in Cosmoline (Rust Veto 342). Took 8 dips to get them the colour I wanted... and I dipped them to duplicate the fact that my original arms went down the conveyor dip line when the cosmoline tank was FULL !  This way I only have to RPM the ball joint attachment.

[birdsandbees]

How it dried overnight. Think I'll press the bushings and pivot shafts in (after coating in RPM) and if I scuff anything I'll dip one more time. Happy with the colour and coverage at this point.

[birdsandbees]

Finished up my 3 speed wiper motor this afternoon. I had broken one wire off the park switch from handling it too much and one wire covering was in rotted tatters. I cut a piece of ground wire off a cord, stole the insulation and rolled one end over itself (over a precision screw driver shaft) and then slide down the wire and unrolled the end over on top of the old insulation just before the motor housing. When all done gave it another test run on a charger pack.. runs and parks properly  .

[moparnation74]

Coming along nicely...love the updates...

5 gallon bucket of Cosmoline gotta love that!

[Mopar Nut]

  

[hemi-hampton]

If I remember right the cosmoline dip line is suppose to end just under the strut rod hole opening. LEON.

[birdsandbees]

If I remember right the cosmoline dip line is suppose to end just under the strut rod hole opening. LEON.

Depends on whether they had just filled the dip line tank or it was late on Friday and low!   I'm pretending it was Full as noted..

Was pretty stupid when you think about it that they only half dipped some of them. Chryslers only concern was no comsoline in the ball joint hole, so the stem didn't spin on the assembly line.

Any of you Ontario guys that want to drop by for an afternoon and dip yours let me know... so I can "water down" the cost of this $400 can!! Not sure what a fair price would be, but I'm open to the idea...

[green69rt]

How it dried overnight. Think I'll press the bushings and pivot shafts in (after coating in RPM) and if I scuff anything I'll dip one more time. Happy with the colour and coverage at this point.

So did the cosmoline coating come out soft?  I tried Resto Ricks cosmoline and it was really soft and a little tacky even after a couple of weeks.  I sprayed it with some clear enamel to reduce the tackyness.
What's RPM?