My '83 GLX T-Top Coupe Junk Yard Find

[82GTforME]

Just watching along as you continue to dazzle us with your skills and motivation.

[2nd chance cobra]

Obligatory reference of you and Americas got talent. It's really too bad more people don't appreciate what we do and the skill and hours that go into it

[Davedacarpainter]

I had thirty minutes to work on the car tonight before AGT. Ok, truthfully I had a full hour, I may have sat down after work and sucked down a beer.

So I rushed out to the garage and cleaned up the rocker area, sprayed some rattle can primer, scuffed that when dry and seam sealed the driver's side with heavy body seam sealer.

It's not overly beautiful, I was in a hurry.......

Plus I have to clean off the extra goobers before I weld.

Anyhow, not very exciting, here it is.

Tomorrow I want to dress the welds on the cs and get it coated with POR15. I may get the driver's side of the floor coated too.

[Davedacarpainter]

So for tonight......

I took the cs to work so I could dress the welds there, everyone at home seems to be tired of the sound of a grinder! Who knew? lol

I got my right side cs, just needs some assembly.....

I dressed all the welds and thought I would try spraying POR15 to see if it made much of a difference. It didn't really, this stuff really flows when you apply it. Maybe less dirt this way, I don't want anyone to pick dirt nibs on my chassis support you know.

So I hung it in the booth.

Then I sprayed it. POR15 is a little thick, but really sprayed just fine.

For kicks I ran it through a bake cycle at 160* for thirty minutes, I think it may have speed up the drying time by five minutes, lol. The bake cycle seemingly did nothing to help dry it.

While it was baking I cleaned up one of the tubes mostly. I'll get the other one tomorrow night, though possibly not. I need to get the underside of the floor coated with POR15. That'll probably taken precedence.

[qikgts]

Curious, not being critical, how much do you think that weighs?

[Davedacarpainter]

Curious, not being critical, how much do you think that weighs?

I weighed a small chunk and multiplied it times what I used and came up with around 26 lbs. I think it may be a little more though. Not too much, maybe thirty.

My wife won’t allow a bathroom scale in the house, or I would weigh it completed.

[flyin5-o]

My wife won’t allow a bathroom scale in the house, or I would weigh it completed.

That's funny! I stole the scale out of the bathroom when I was working on my car and my wife surprisingly hasn't asked for it back yet!

Looks good!

[qikgts]

I weighed a small chunk and multiplied it times what I used and came up with around 26 lbs. I think it may be a little more though. Not too much, maybe thirty.

My wife won’t allow a bathroom scale in the house, or I would weigh it completed.

Great work, Sir!

[Davedacarpainter]

Okie dokie, for tonight.

I coated the driver's undercarriage in POR15 from the torque box

to the firewall

I needed to get this done prior to welding in the cs.

Heres the cs, speaking of it. I've ground the areas to be welded.

Tomorrow, before football, I will scuff all of that POR15 and coat it with two coats of undercoating. To include the cs.

That will set me up for Sunday! I'll weld the cs in for good. Then coat the welded areas with POR15 and later, undercoating.

Then it's on to the passenger side! Yay!

[erratic50]

Looking good so far!

[wraithracing]

Making some great progress!

[82GTforME]

All of the effort and labour sure shows Dave. Plus the details; like leaving the 1" or so clear for welding in place. Someone has been there a time or two! This is going to be the best Booger ever!

Plus I love your enthusiastic attitude!

Then it's on to the passenger side! Yay!

[Davedacarpainter]

Thanks guys, this is a lot of fun for me.

[erratic50]

Just remember ....... it’s not as much fun as driving a four eyed foxbody!

[Davedacarpainter]

Just remember ....... it’s not as much fun as driving a four eyed foxbody!

Lol, it’s been so long! It’ll still be a couple years before this sees the road under it’s own power though.

My kids have taught me patience at least.

[Davedacarpainter]

Today I did something.

I went to work this morning, after I finished with what I needed to get done there I ground down the two 1x1 tubes for the passenger's side cs.

If you remember, they looked like this.

Here they are mostly done, I used an etch paint just to protect the metal again.

I also found these on the local craigslist, they'll make Booger a five lug roller

https://tulsa.craigslist.org/wto/d/1...690500653.html
Truthfully, they'll go on my son's '09 mustang and I'll get his 16" versions. He could use some new tires.

Ill get out to the garage to spray the undercoating closer to dinner time. I'm watching the Sooners right now, then I have to watch my son's OSU Cowboys.

I have to get the undercoating on today if I want to weld the driver's cs in tomorrow.

[Davedacarpainter]

I got an iPhone X today.....I need to stop playing and put it down and get my butt out in the garage. I have undercoating to do!

[Davedacarpainter]

I got out to the garage between games on Saturday and sanded the POR15 and sprayed the undercoating (really, it’s rocker chip guard).

I let that dry overnight and scuffed it all with a red scotchbrite. Then I got my Sata mini-jet paint gun out and sprayed a coat of sealer, then color over the chip guard.

Then I sprayed a couple coats of Sikkens HS clear over it.

More pictures next post.

[Davedacarpainter]

Once that hardened up I got after fitting the cs back in. I dressed the areas to be welded and drilled the spot weld holes in the pinch weld.

I marked where the spot welds go on the jr, sprayed some weld thru primer there and cleaned the immediate spots where the welds will go.

Then I partially got it welded back in.

By then I was tired enough my hands were getting shaky. My welds look ugly enough without that issue, so I’ll finish welding it tonight.

[erratic50]

Awesome!

i haven’t looked at how much strength the outer rails add, but I suspect it’s a ton.

I have full length subframe connectors in my 86 from years ago that are HPM. MM in my 85 build (thanks to Trey’s hard work). One or both will receive a Kenny Brown street cage before everything is all ‘done’. Those look way less annoying than most cages and if I’m ever going to open mine up on a track (which is almost inevitable) then a cage is the right decision for sure. i will most likely tie the footwell bars back into the front subframe for added strength there.

[85MUSTANGTGT]

Wow, Dave. That's looking great.

How are you going to seal the top edge of the perpendicular and diagonal tubes where they meet the subframe tube? Or was there enough room to weld all around?

[Davedacarpainter]

Wow, Dave. That's looking great.

How are you going to seal the top edge of the perpendicular and diagonal tubes where they meet the subframe tube? Or was there enough room to weld all around?

I’ll be able to weld a couple of them. The others will just get a glob of seam sealer smooged on with my finger.

[Mustang5L5]

C'mon Dave...you done yet?

[Davedacarpainter]

C'mon Dave...you done yet?

If you would just let me into your warehouse of stored oem parts I’d be a lot closer Mike!

[Davedacarpainter]

I came home from work wanting to be really frustrated, so I decided to weld the rosette welds along the rocker.

The frustration was that no matter how clean the metal was on the front or backside, welding the pinch weld was a stuttering pop fest.

There must be some fungoo between the inner and outer rocker.

Oh well, the welds seem solid. I was planning on smoothing the pinch weld area anyhow. Now I just have bonus inspiration!

I stopped after those welds, I’m tired.