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

[Hemidog]

Love the attention to details, this thread is a goldmine for reference pictures 

[Dino]

Love the attention to details, this thread is a goldmine for reference pictures 

Best thread ever!

[birdsandbees]

Thanks guys! I'll be glad when it's done... then I'm never downsizing a picture again!! 

[birdsandbees]

Figures that I'd find my window crank handle washers a day after Megaparts confirmed my order shipped!

Decided I'd hook up the dome light jam switches the easy way. Gave up long ago trying to get them connected installed.

Wire fed out, connected and threaded back in.

Drilling my front seat holes.. 44" across x just shy of 11" front to back. New floor pans got welded to the reinforce bracket holes instead of drilled out.

Rear carpet back into place and lining things up.

Burning the tunnel seat belt holes clean for an easy bolt install.

Rear carpet pegged in seat holes and all 4 seat belt holes.

New seat belt stowing brackets. My rear seat ones probably would have just cleaned up, but my front seat has had none since recover in '88.

[birdsandbees]

Probably one of the first correct in every detail reproduction parts!

New brackets installed to rear seat, ready to put it in.

Using my head today...

Rear seat locked down into place and all belts stowed.

Front seat, carefully looking for bracket screw holes...

New brackets into place on front seat.

Front seat outer retractable belts installed with C10 bolts.

Front belts sorted out for correct positioning and new bolt covers ready to install with C12 bolts.

[birdsandbees]

All seat belts now installed.

Front carpet thrown in to see how close old holes are for dimmer switch and throttle pedal... and to see how close my 4 speed hump got welded back into place.

Fortunate to have snagged this nearly new OE shifter boot back when I first tore the car down.

Part # 2950074 - correct rubber overmolded shifter boot to seal to floor, then carpet, then deco trim ring.

New reproduction gas pedal

Floor drilled to match carpet and pedal installed. I drilled about 5/16" forward of the correct measured position I had on the floor pan. Not bad considering the patched up mess the pedal was attached to when I installed this carpet in '88.

Similar deal with the dimmer switch that was also mounted in a patched up mess when the carpet was installed in '88. It should be on that formed boss about an inch to the right and up 3/4", but it'll live here!

Shifter boot installed with 4 # 10 stainless screws. Then the carpet put back and deco ring installed with 4 x # 10 oval head screws.

[birdsandbees]

New shifter ball, that is correct for assembly line. I've always had a hurst T handle and have a date correct new one that will probably find it's way back into the car in time.

Getting there!

New Ebrake, clutch and brake pedal covers.

Pedal covers all in place.

5 lb fire extinguisher back into it's home.

The list is getting shorter....

[CDN72SE]

Looking good Wayne!

[alfaitalia]

In the UK, extinguishers in the car, whilst legal, is frowned upon. This is the governments official advice over here;

Car fire extinguishers usually come with a mounting bracket so that they don't roll around in the car. This helps prevent them becoming damaged or being discharged accidentally. They should be carried in the boot (trunk)because:

1. It forces you to get out of the car to operate it – encouraging you to get out of the car rather than stay inside to fight the fire is safer for you.
2. It's unlikely to be damaged in most serious accidents (e.g. head-on) with the only risk being another vehicle hitting yours from behind at speed.

Others say it should be in the car in case if a roll over or entrapment in the car. But fighting the fire from inside the car is the worst thing to do as most (along with the fire) will deprive you of oxygen very quickly and all the plastics will give off toxic gases at they burn. You should be putting all your effort into escaping the fire not fighting it.

Also....it isnt exactly pretty either!!

[birdsandbees]

You're always such a ray of sunshine alfa !

I've had a 5lb extinguisher there for 40 years. It is in a metal bracket, right where I can grab it on my way out of the car. Not after fiddling around for keys to get one out of the trunk.

Extinguishers are mandatory IN the cabin of all aircraft, not stowed in the tail, something I deal with every day. I think I can handle one in a car that has over twice the interior space.

[birdsandbees]

Finally found a use for my 1985 cell phone antenna. One of my springs was crusty but still working, I put it in Evaporust and it fell apart. MIG'd on a piece of my phone antenna and Bob's your uncle!

Seat tracks lubed and springs reinstalled, ready for floor bolts and spacers.

I swear these quick nuts are fluted backwards!

Quick nuts going into place!

Now the carriage bolt and spacer can't fall out.

My kick panels were a mess, just like my windlace and A pillars. Used the paint remover on the edges.

Used Easy Off again on the main kick panels to pull the dirt up out of them.

Learned what worked on the ABS "A" pillar material DID NOT work the same on the Polypropylene kick panels. It did clean them, but lightened them considerably. Clean on left, dirty on right.

[birdsandbees]

Had to dig into my bag of tricks from 34 years in the plastics industry, from when trying to get initial run approvals while matching colour and gloss for about 65 colours for TRW and Bendix seat belt divisions. Tried numerous things on the panel and finished by finding Krown worked the best. Spray, short soak and wipe / buff clean.

Like new and not shiny.

New kick panel insulation and spray adhesive.

Insulation in place ready to install the panels. They slip over the door opening pinch weld and have one #10 oval head screw each.

Kick panels in.

I painted the seat latches with high heat BBQ paint, like I used on my brake assembly backing, to simulate a black phosphate coating.

There is a left and right spring. This is the passenger (right) side,

Spring, then latch, then nylon washer and snap ring.

[birdsandbees]

Seat tracks installed to front seat bottom and latch connector cable/wire installed. Pictures shows passenger side hooked through the lever hole and then retainer (that looks like a spring) slid over the connection to lock it.

Wire goes across an eyebolt (attached to the inner frame front) that is adjustable to snug up the wire for even latch movement on both rails.

Wire to drivers side latch assembly lever, retained identical to the passenger side.

Front seat bottom set into floor pan holes.

[Lennard]

You're always such a ray of sunshine alfa !

You're giving him too much credit!

[alfaitalia]

LOL....fair enough to you both both....I wont be having one inside my car though! Did make me laugh the thought of have to get outside the plane to get an extinguisher though....not quite a like for like comparison. Ill stick on topic....promise!!!!

[birdsandbees]

So tired of the reproduction follies. After sending the first, salt crusted and corroded, set back two years ago and getting a clean set in exchange I thought things were good.

Both belts should reach the dual stowing clip on the seats bottom edge. These two belts are sewn together at the attachment end so I guess I'm chasing PG Classics for a new pair that are both the same length.

You'd do good to get a 3 year old in the belt. It goes half way around me.

Not sure what the real OE hardware looks like, but this is what I'm using that gets hidden behind the cover. Certainly better than my nail that had been there for 30 years!

Seat backs in place. Cotter to be bent around when I'm certain they're staying on.

Polished up the seat release latch knobs.

Knob in place. Both sides are the same casting, one with set screw down.. the other up.

Passenger entrance view.

[birdsandbees]

Driver entrance view.

Cross walk pedestrian view! 

Did a lot of searching, only to end up back in Canada getting new sill plates from National Moparts after being guaranteed in writing they were the correct dullish finish of OE's.

New correct finish reproductions vs the overly shiny set I had from '88. Many still selling the shiny ones.

The sills need a quick file to take some burrs off. A couple spots were like a serrated knife.

They also have the correct straight down edge to hold the carpet vs the other reproduction on the right without it.

Refurbished 1969 bumper jack and lug wrench. New reproduction hook from Tony's via Megaparts ($100US). My trunk mat all cleaned up ready to install. Jack not perfect date wise, but close to my build. It's a 9D so mfg in April.

Door plugs into vent frame mounting holes.

[birdsandbees]

Big plug in the door bottom.

Plug in the end of door below latch.

Refurbished 15B wiper arms and new reproduction blades from Megaparts.

Ready to install to car.

Wiper assemblies in place.

Reproduction sills don't quite sit correctly. Needs a bit of trimming on the "triangle".

Repro to OE comparison. Also note the interior sides screw hole. The reproductions are a depression for the screw and the OE's are a formed raised area.

Trimming, then filing, about an 1/8" off the triangles for proper fit.

[birdsandbees]

Make sure you get the front interior screw located before putting the outer sill screws in place, or you'll do some swearing!

Drivers side installed

Passenger side installed. Lost my extensions that hold the carpet from sill plate to rear seat on each side. Have a nice used OE pair on their way from the USA from Sal @Moparsal .

[birdsandbees]

More reproduction part follies! Repro on the left, OE on the right.

Save a 1/4" of metal on each one and it adds up!

A tad different on the profile, but most wouldn 't notice.

Labels and part number both the same, different pack dates. Hmmm... what happens when you have no idea what you're actually packaging!

OE hinge cover left, repop right. Don't suspect that "cut out" is going to clear the lock latch stub, especially since my passenger side OE was broken in this location from hitting same.

OE attach screw left, generic that came with the repop right. Too long and bottoms in blind hole on the seat arm.

As suspected... cover hits the latch stub.

What dremels were made for, fixing repop shit.

[birdsandbees]

If some poor bugger didn't have an OE seat adjuster knob he'd really wonder WTF he was supposed to do with this reproduction. Moulding sprue still attached.

OE left showing set screw that holds the knob on. Repop right that came with no set screw and a hole so big the OE set screw just drops in. I ended up just sanding and polishing my OE and throwing the repop in the junk pile!

Polishing up the stainless trim strips that hold the top of the door panels.

One done, one to go.

Cord seal on the door and ready to put the plastic vapour barrier in place.

Time to say goodbye to inspector # 47.

Vapour barrier on the passenger door.

Vapour barrier on the drivers door. I sign inside every aircraft structure that I build, before I close it, so figured I should sign this art as well.

[birdsandbees]

On the drivers door I tried the repop retainers.

After seeing how the drivers door went I used the OE clips on the passenger door panel.

Repop clips hold the panel out too far, so I swapped out this end to clean things up.

Passenger side sitting nice on OE clips.

Window crank plastic washer, crank handle, allen head screw.

New bezel, cleaned up OE arm rest and the two large phillips screws that hold it all to the door.

Repop door release handles (OE's bottom) and the large phillips head screws that hold them on.

Passenger side door all done.

[birdsandbees]

Drivers side all done, concluding the interior installation....other than I'm working with PG Classic to replace my incorrect center seat belt.

Guess it's time to tackle that White stripe!

[kent]

Congratulations!

[birdsandbees]

Thanks.. but certainly not done yet. Stripe, misc decals, alignment, carb to rebuild, LCA strut split pins to source and install, radiator to swap out for the triple core I picked up.... but I'm close!