|
Looks NICE! :excited: Speed Tech is on my list for suspension, so is RideTech ..... we'll see. Are those uppers the high clearance arms? What size front tires do you expect to run with stock fenders?
Looking good! |
It looks great in there. It will be a big difference.
|
Amazing garage build. Lots of good information & picture. One question about your garage how big is it?
|
Quote:
•High Clearance upper and lower control arms •Tubular, heat treated, powder coated, chrome moly sway bar •Billet aluminum upper shock mounts •Qa1 adjustable coil overs •Power rack and pinion with steering arms •Adjustable motor frame mounts •adjustable transmission cross member They have been an AWESOME company to deal with. A+ on both product and customer service! As for the size of the front tires... I am currently starting to plan out my wheels and tire purchase... (I have been back and forth a ton of times) I am thinking: 275/35-18 on the front to take advantage of the sub frame, and (here is the part I have been back and forth on) 325/30-19 on the back or 335/30-18. I am working on getting my quarters finalized so I can get the rear-end under it and take some measurements. |
Quote:
The size is 32' wide by 48' deep with 12' sidewalls... A few things I would do differently the 2nd time around. - I would have never put a slope in the floor toward the center drain... it makes leveling things out SUCK! There is an almost a 2" slope in it right now. - If you want to put a lift in... 12' is the very MINIMUM... I had to cut a pocket in-between my ceiling trusts to fit the lift. |
Thanks for the information. :thumbsup:
|
My original drivers door was in BAD shape, it had been previously re-skinned with a pop can (atleast it the same gauge of metal):headscratch: Then they took a torch to the inside structure to probably fit some KILLER speakers! :wacko:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-w...%2520Doors.jpg So I decided to just replace the entire shell. I accidentally received 2 drivers doors... which turned out to be a bit of a blessing, for it allowed me to pick the better of the 2... plus one of the doors had a pretty decent flaw. One of the doors was a Goodmark... not sure on the other brand. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...Large%2529.JPG |
Do you see a difference?
Goodmark door (FRONT), unknown door (behind attached to car) https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5...Large%2529.JPG It seems the geniuses skinned a 67 door frame (It has the correct hinge bolt pattern) with a 68 skin. For the mirror location is not correct due to the vent window location. (the Goodmark door is correct) Without both doors sitting side by side, I might not have noticed the difference until it was to late later... after paint. :hairpullout: Here are some other shots that show the slight differences in other areas: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-t...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b...Large%2529.JPG |
So onto the passenger door... This was the one panel I thought I might be able to save. And I know if at all possible keep the GM doors over aftermarkets. BUT, i swear this car wants nothing to do with its previous parts! :shakehead:
Enter... the "Red door".... https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...Large%2529.JPG P.S. This door jack that my work is letting me borrow is AWESOME for hanging doors by yourself! Anyway... I knew there was a decent amount of mud on the door, for the whole car at this point seemed to have had a heavy coat of it. But I ground down all the corners where I thought there may be rust... Nothing. I figured I had a clean door. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Q...Large%2529.JPG UNTIL I took the whole door down to metal... I think the car was a getaway car at one point, for it looks like the door went though a war zone and was shot with a shotgun. There was alteast a 1/2 gallon of mud or more on the door. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-p...Large%2529.JPG Look at the body line (wavy as hell)... it was completely built out of mud... it was over 1/4 inch thick at the body line. The photos don't show just how concaved in it was in many places either. :confused59: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-i...Large%2529.JPG |
Out comes the door jack... OFF comes the "red door"
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_...Large%2529.JPG I know I could have re-skinned the frame, but due to inner structure having a torch taken to it, and I don't think it was straight either, for it wanted to bow where it meets the quarters. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-U...Large%2529.JPG I already had a new aftermarket door, so I put it on to give it a try... https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n...Large%2529.JPG MUCH BETTER!! I know the aftermarket doors get a bad rap for not fitting as well as the GM panels. But I have to say this door is not bad at all. In fact I got my GM NOS front fender out and set it up against the door (I did not gap it) and the fitment was actually very good. It also seem just as heavy as my original. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-I...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...Large%2529.JPG |
I am currently working on fitting my quarter panels. This has been one of my biggest fears, for with the entire rear portion of my car being replaced other than the rails, reference points are not many!:_paranoid PLUS, these are the FIRST full quarters I have ever put onto a car.
I have a FULL write-up of my quarter panel troubles on a thread in a different forum... So I will do a brief overview here.... First a little info: - Both quarters are Tri-plus (AMD) I do believe AMD is merely a reseller of this brand and it is not "their tooling". BUT, I am NO expert on this matter. It quickly became apparent that the drivers side quarter would be my biggest foe. For it started fighting me almost immediately during fitment. I was having a HECK of a time to get the quarter panel to sit far enough back (evenly). This was causing poor gap between drivers door and quarter panel. It also makes it hard to get the panel back far enough to meet the trunk fill panel and the tail panel. When I did PULL it hard enough to get it back, you will see that it pulled the top of the quarter panel back but not the bottom (this also causes the body line to be wrong.) https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-I...Large%2529.JPG This was the door gap I was getting... :censored: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-V...Large%2529.JPG Well... after a boat load of hours, and pulling the quarter on... off... on... off more times than I could count. God must have been looking over my shoulder, for I ended up with this: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n...Large%2529.JPG With my door gap becoming: :excited: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l...Large%2529.JPG |
My final tool I used to level everything out perfect was to use 2 bottle jacks in the trunk then loosen the outer wheelhouse from the inner and push the wheelhouses and convertible inner frame up to where they needed to be to line up perfectly.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Y...Large%2529.JPG I would then string my body lines again and look everything over 10 more times... then I clamped the SH!# out of the wheelhouses and braces to make sure NOTHING moves! :D https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-l...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y...Large%2529.JPG |
Your gaps are coming together beautifully. I think most of us at this stage have the same problem with re-pop sheet metal, but as you found it seems like the more you take the panels off and put them back on the more tweaking you do and can end up getting them fairly close.
Keep at it. :thumbsup: |
Any updates on the quarters? I'm right behind you .... wondering how the battle goes? Nice writeup, keep the pixs coming!:popcorn2:
|
Quote:
Stay tuned! Will have status results soon! I HOPE! |
So you want to come to Detroit and hang my quarters next? :gitrdun:
|
Quote:
I am hoping to make some progress this weekend, if I can make it out to the car. I will report my progress SOON! I hope! |
Thought I would post a status report from the front line (Battle of the quarter panels).:bigun2: :hairpullout:
After an absolutely absurd amount of hours... I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. :hapdance: I have managed to get the quarters/Tail panel/Wheelhouses/drop offs/braces to all play nice together. The quarters are not welded yet, but I have them 99% located in there correct location. I will then take them off and prime/seal and reinstall them back on before finally welding them up. My largest battle has been the inner structure... with so much of the car removed, I couldn't base ANYTHING on the fact of prior placement of panels. Every panel had to be slowly tightened up until the entire structure worked together. I moved my drop offs at-least 5-10 times. Wheelhouses 4-5 times... Trying to not let any one panel dictate where the quarters would sit. After HOURS and HOURS of working the panels, I did start to get a feel for what needed to be moved and how it would effect the surrounding panels. I have never questioned my build more than I have working on these panels. There were MANY moments of concern and frustration! :bang: But there were also moments when the panels would actually cooperate and line up where they are meant to be! :D This is FINAL MOCK-UP... before I take the panels back off to prime and seal the inner structure. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-p...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c...Large%2529.JPG |
To show my OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) in all of its glory... I never trusted my eyes, nor the panels to make sure alignment was true all the way around the car. Plus my floor has a slope in it due to a central drain in the shops floor (so a person can not take measurements from the floor up, due to its irregularity) :rolleyes:
SO... I constantly checked everything with stringers. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-b...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-j...Large%2529.JPG In-fact, I even would take pictures and use my computer to make sure everything was aligning properly. This would show me what needs to be tweaked, and what needs to stay put! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4...Large%2529.jpg |
LQ Install
Hey, did you ever get that LQ installed in your Firebird? How well does that work? Much work, etc?
|
Nice to hear you are winning the war with the quarters!!! My driver's side AMD quarter came in yesterday ..... so here goes, well I'm only doing one side at a time, for my reference THE OTHER SIDE!
Good luck getting it back together ... test of patience fer sure. |
Quote:
I am about 98% there with final fitment, then I will remove 1 quarter at a time to prime/seal the inner structure and back of the quarters, then WELD away! :welder: Quote:
I have managed to get everything where it should be, and it is starting to come together nicely... but DAMN, it has been A LOT of work! And yes, patience is a MUST! There are so many variables, that a person really has to concentrate and make sure that fixing one area doesn't screw up 3 other areas! :_paranoid Is it the panel that has issues? The adjacent panels? the inner structure? The car itself?... :wacko: |
Well, thought I would check in with everyone... still working the quarter panels! :confused18:
If I was writing a book... the chapter for my quarter panels (especially the inner bracing) would be labeled: "The Black Hole" or "The Bermuda Triangle" for I can go into my shop for hours and hours... and yet very LITTLE work seems to actually be happening. Move this, measure... move that, measure.... BUT, I am SLOWLY moving forward. Most of the panels are starting to play nice... Clamps coming off, screws going into place... For me this is progress! :D I can not believe how many clamps I have had to use on this project...:confused59: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y...Large%2529.JPG Panels are starting to find their rightful home... Screws then get placed! https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h...Large%2529.JPG I have started to say a little prayer every time I go out to work on the car... IT WORKS! Things are starting to FINALLY line up and getting close to getting welded on! (still need to prep the panels first) :D https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S...Large%2529.JPG For a bit of a break, I got the welder out and welded the front of the wheelhouses and braces together. Feels great to see things actually becoming permanently attached! https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x...Large%2529.JPG |
Hey nice work, love following your progress :popcorn2:
|
Car is looking great ..... another reason I'm only doing one side at a time? I don't have that many clamps :)
I'm watching you :ohsnap: Nice welder too! |
Just checking in again, Still working on the quarters... BUT, progress has been FINALLY moving in the right direction... (FORWARD)! :clap:
I have had my quarters on and off WAY more times than I can count... BUT over the last few weeks they have been in a semi-solid state. For I have been dialing in their final position. WELL, I think I have finally found it! And what a wonderful feeling that is! I was a bit nervous about pulling them back off since they are where I need them, but with the tail panel screwed into location, and locator screws strategically placed, I should be able to line everything back up. Looked everything over another few hundred times before pulling the quarters for cleanup/prime/seal. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J...Large%2529.JPG I will fine tune the gaps during mockup, but I am pretty happy with the drivers side. :yes: Passenger side not this nice, but easily correctable. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h...Large%2529.JPG Off they come 1 last time! Will fix any imperfections I see while I have easy access to both sides of the quarter with a little hammer/dolly work. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2...Large%2529.JPG Welded my door jamb back in... I had removed it to take it out of the equation when I couldn't get the quarter to fit worth a damn. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v...Large%2529.JPG Inner structure being welded into place, AWESOME to see things becoming one structure again. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-q...Large%2529.JPG |
When I started working these quarters WAY back in the early summer (yes I have been working these panels that long) :lostmarbles: it would be a MAJOR achievement to just get this quarter to sit on the car half ways decent. Plus it required more clamps than I ever thought I would ever own. :wacko:
BUT, again thanks to God looking over my shoulder (I say a small prayer before every session out in the garage and IT WORKS! :yes: ) I was able to re-hang the quarter with 1 clamp and it was almost in perfect alignment! (This was only to see how they fit now that all the inner structure has been welded into place) Just to check fitment... look 1 clamp...:D https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-P...Large%2529.JPG |
With all of the internal braces and panels welded into place, I started to clean up the inner structure for primer and seam sealer. At first it was kind of nice to be out in the shop and working without having to measure something every 5 minutes, BUT, after a few hours of doing this it became a bit tedious taking the structure back down to bare metal in preparation for the epoxy primer. All those nooks and crannies!:wacko:
During the process of cleaning up the inner structure. I forgot to grab a photo of this area once I was finally done and it was all back to shinny metal. (after 6 hours of cleanup):goofy: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8...Large%2529.JPG Inner structure sprayed with epoxy primer. Something GM didn't even seem to bother priming at all from the factory. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-f...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-C...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-O...Large%2529.JPG |
Drilled out the Quarter Panels for final placement. NOTE: I located my plug weld holes further in on the wheelhouse lip. This is due to the fact that I plan on cutting the lip down so as to clear the larger rear wheels, plus clean up the area.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-H...Large%2529.JPG Quarter panels getting taken down in preparation for epoxy primer. Again forgot to get a final picture of this process... I was in a zone that day! :) https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-z...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...Large%2529.JPG |
I then applied 2k seam sealer to all areas where 2 panels joined together or where there was overlapping joints. Keep moisture out of the seams, and seal everything up.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...Large%2529.JPG https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F...Large%2529.JPG |
Just for fun... looked through my tear-down photos...
BEFORE: (Notice all the bare where GM didn't coat anything) https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m...Large%2529.JPG https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-A...Large%2529.JPG https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-e...Large%2529.JPG AFTER: MUCH BETTER! (atleast I think so!):yes: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...Large%2529.JPG https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C...Large%2529.JPG |
Looks great and should never rust!
|
Quote:
|
Excellent work! That is a text book example of 'well put together.'
Don't have to worry about any rot there for a long...long time |
Looks really good .... it is kinda cool to go back and look at the mess you started with and the car today!!!!
Keep up the good work .... I'm right behind you! |
Quote:
Yours is looking great! :yes: You will probably pass me up! Which is great, because then I can follow your lead! I am a visual learner! :popcorn2: |
With all of the inner structure primed and seam sealed, I am ready to do final fitment of the QUARTER PANELS! I have gotten so use to pulling them off and putting then on, that it has almost become second nature. Anyone starting this journey, the more you work with these panels, the more you will understand their placement, faults and just how they want to sit on the car. With that being said, I will NOT miss fitting these panels! :hairpullout:
The beautiful thing is that with the inner structure FINALLY in its correct location in relationship with where the quarter panels need to be, re-fitting the quarters back on the car was MUCH different than when I started on these panels in the early summer. Started to hang the quarters for FINAL FITMENT!:clap: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-w...Large%2529.JPG A HUGE sense of relief seeing that after moving this much metal around on the car, things actually were lining up and the structure is LEVEL! Thank You GOD! (See those prayers DO work!) :) https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7...Large%2529.JPG |
Unlike mock-up stage, this fitment was more of a fine tuning session.
I first started by getting the quarter to return to where they needed to be. In the past this was a HUGE nightmare, but now with the inner structure in place, it was much easier. The porta-power in the rear was there just to fine tune the body line and tail panel location. It isn't doing much, other than acting like a second set of hands. The ratchet strap is putting a bit of pressure on the quarters in order to pull them in along the trunk fill panel and trail panel. Again, not much pressure, but another helping hand. Again, not wanting to go by any guessing or inner structure locations, I used my string lines to make sure everything was lining up where it needed to be! I also used a 6ft level to sit along the top of the quarters in various locations to make sure they are also level with the rest of the car. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N...Large%2529.JPG This shot makes me the HAPPIEST! For I have stressed, anylized and dumped TONS of HOURS into this quarter panel in order to get it to sit level with the car. (Never cut the quarter, all done through HOURS of fitment) FINALLY laser straight! :hapdance: :woot: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-z...Large%2529.JPG |
|
Looks great. You had a lot of work in there. When I did mine, I asked a couple of old school body guys about body lines/panel gaps not lining up, and they said if I were to restore it to when GM had it, then leave it alone. Which I did.
|
| All times are GMT -7. The time now is 09:26 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2026, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright Lateral-g.net