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

[birdsandbees]

While the body shop works on my shell, I'm working away at restoring the driveline, suspension etc so it's ready when I get the body back.

Think I caught the LCA's just in time... 

[rt green]

your doing a great job. wish I was there to help.

[birdsandbees]

I could send you an airline ticket! ! LOL

Thankful today that an understanding wife of almost 34 years has had no issue with me moving my spare parts collection, that I've had since I was 17, from house to house to house over the years. Went through it today to find my original VIN match 833. Way back in the day I'd put it in our '69 Fury II behind a 440 and before Dad had noticed I found another in a junk yard Road Runner to put back in the 'Bee. That trans has been in there to date since 1979, but when I reassemble the car it will be back to all numbers matching. Brought back a lot of memories going through my crates. Spare 383 magnum, a 383 and 440 crankshaft. Nice pair of 906 magnum heads, two 383 x 4bl intakes, spare 8 3/4" pumpkins, axles, pedal assemblies and lots of other "trinkets"!

[rt green]

I guess I could pack my bags. could use a vacation. working on mopars would be just the thing. sunny and warm there right? have beer?

[tan top]

  going good !    great stuff ! 

  love looking at this kind of thread 

[BLK 68 R/T]

Coming along nicely 

[birdsandbees]

Thanks guys... at this point I probably should change the title, as it's no longer just a strip and paint but like all things good has turned into a total restoration.  Spent part of the morning heating and massaging some dings out of the bottom of the K frame, probably from an old chain tow back when. Have the sway bar mounts off, K frame done, LCA struts, trans (x2), Lakewood scatter shield and a few other parts all ready to load and take for media blast, zinc epoxy and paint where required. Trans of course stays bare, scatter shield I'll have primed and then paint to match the engine when I get to that.

Have my LCA's in solvent, soaking the grease off and then I'll put in my blaster to clean and then weld the PST lower reinforcing plates in place before adding to the pile for the restoration shop to blast properly, epoxy and paint. Pretty certain mine were always black...

Heading back out to the shop shortly to finish pulling the rear axle assembly down, so it can get blasted and painted. Still waiting for someone to answer my spring colour thread... I've read they stay bare, but see everyone painting black?

[birdsandbees]

Why you never give up your spare parts stash until it's your kid's problem!! 

Casting dates even work for my car and the passenger side has a working heat riser valve. Broke an ear on the drivers side, when I removed the exhaust last month. I'll have both pairs media blasted and get the broken one welded later for a set of spares again...

[Highbanked Hauler]

   Looking great there man

[birdsandbees]

Thanks HH.. snow plowing has been getting in my way of progress, but today I got the LCA pivot shafts pressed out and both arms blasted so I can weld the PST reinforcing plates onto them.

Starting with a nice tight set of LCA's, compared to a lot of others I've seen. Almost zero slop in the TB adjuster assembly.

[kidsixpack]

Really looks like a great project.  Looks like you are doing it right!
KID

[birdsandbees]

Thanks KID! Been one of our family cars since '69. I started as just wanting to get it back on the road as a mental diversion after loosing a daughter and then found the '89 paint job was bubbled and of course once you start something it just steamrolls!  OH well... no turning back now!

Realized it was dumb to pay the restoration shop to blast a few of the smaller items. Figured I could at least do the cleaning blast and then let them touch up, zinc epoxy prime and paint as needed. Then I realized I could get my exhaust manifolds in my little blasting unit, so pointless to pay someone else considering they won't be painted and man what a difference!!! They certainly don't make exhaust parts to this quality anymore!! Amazing for 47+ years old.

[birdsandbees]

Drivers exhaust cleaned up as good as new. Ran out of energy but got the passenger side started. Looks like it will clean up as well.

[birdsandbees]

Went to pull the rear axle assembly down today and realized it would be easier to change the pinion seal now, so I did. I media blasted the yoke before reassembly and polished the seal mating surface. Tomorrow I will pull the axles and the pumpkin, then cover the pumpkin innards and blast it clean as well. The axle housing will go to the resto shop for media blast, prime and paint in semigloss black.

I also rubbed down one of the blasted LCA strut rods (the lower one in picture) with 80W90 gear oil to see what it looks like. Think it came out pretty nice and should deter rust since they went in bare.

Also loving this Evaporust. I've cleaned up a lot of bolts... my torsion bar adjusters that took a lot of muscle to disassemble now turn easily together by hand. Today I tried it on a rusty rear drum and it's amazing stuff.

[birdsandbees]

Still can't get over how well this Evapo-rust works!

Axles out, pumpkin pulled and thankfully I found no metal, a wonderful wear pattern on the gears etc. So the housing will be blasted, epoxy primed and painted semi gloss black for reassembly.

Found a perfect sized bucket for the pumpkin so I can media blast it without worry of anything getting in the gear set.

[6spd68]

Then I realized I could get my exhaust manifolds in my little blasting unit, so pointless to pay someone else considering they won't be painted and man what a difference!!! They certainly don't make exhaust parts to this quality anymore!! Amazing for 47+ years old.

Possible to spray them with some high-temp rust paint?  Or not worth it? 

[birdsandbees]

I figure if that's all the "patina" they have after 47 years, I'll start with them clean again and they'll look fine for the rest of my lifetime!  

[birdsandbees]

Well 3 weeks later and our metal finally came in almost a month after it was promised and my over the axle pan is back ordered "maybe sometime this month" from AMD is all we can get. Looks like my Bee might go on the trammel rack by next Friday and they'll start with the front floor pan, inner wheel wells and right frame rail.

In the mean time I made up a make shift blast cabinet a few weeks ago and glass media'd my pumpkin. Came out nice and I rubbed it down with 80W90 to keep it from rusting again.

[birdsandbees]

Keep forgetting to update this, if anyone wants me to continue.

Last week or so I rebuilt the entire heat box, all new flapper seals etc and a complete clean up. Pictures of the old and the refurbished. I left it bare metal as per original, but wiped it down with gun oil.

Still hoping someone can tell me what the two decals may have been beside the speed resistor.

[birdsandbees]

6 weeks late coming in, but we finally got our AMD metal.. other than the over the axle pan is back ordered. This was my body getting set up for the jigging rack on Tuesday morning. Going to start with the front inner fenders, upper cowl and right front frame rail in hopes by then the missing pan is in to complete the full floor pan front to back and both inner and outer wheel wells.

Car was completely hand stripped of 3 paint jobs and then glass media blasted, before being zinc epoxy primed within 2 hours of the blasting being done.

[Mopar Nut]

   definitely continue, really enjoying this.

[birdsandbees]

Thanks, started on the dash yesterday and at first was just going to give it a good scrub and clean.. but that quickly escalated !  

Going to pull my "modern" cassette deck and reinstall the original AM radio. Being the pack rat I am I still had the original.

My ash tray was well used and abused, was able to get a nice fresh one from a member here. (thanks "White and Red 69"!)

[birdsandbees]

Also found out why the girlfriend / wife had to sit so close when touring, found the heat control cable bent and only getting about 1/2 cable travel.

I noticed in a thread about restoring the dash someone asked if the builder had used primer... and I can definitely tell you based on spray pattern that Dodge certainly didn't on mine. One quick shot of black and bare metal still showing in the heat control area.

[polywideblock]

coming along       

[Mopar Nut]

What gauges did you use in your cluster?