Aaron's 76 Type LT Project

9 minute(s) of a 383 minute read

This is where I am thinking I want to put the fuse box. It's mostly out of the way and I can make the wires less obvious. I don't care for mounting it on the wheel well. It looks a little too clunky there.

12-4-2016

Thanks, that's really kind of you to say. It's also one of the slowest builds, lol!

Side note - I ordered the ACC carpet so I could start assembling the interior when I need "quiet" work to do. I figure I am at the point that I can get most of the interior installed. I might even get the windshields installed just to get it done. No real point in delaying it now.

Once the fuse box housing comes in I should be able to finish routing the wiring. I went ahead and wrapped the other wires for the headlights, trn signals, etc with the Classic Braid so it would be ready to go.

I adjusted the passenger side fender so the center lines matched up better. I think this is as good as it's going to get.  

I need to tweek the lower bolts some to bring the fender out a hair, but that should be easy. I went ahead and put the Camaro emblem on while I had the chance. Hubba hubba.

12-11-2016

As I waited to my fuse box holder to arrive I decided to install some interior items. I got the rear sail panels installed, the headliner mostly installed and the carpet in place. I have to get different hardware for the rear headliner trim piece but that should be it. There are some creases in the headliner that I will have to work out. I think I can take my wife's steamer and work them out some. It's perforated material on a plexi-glass material, so I might have to live with SOME creases when it's all said and done.

I have to trim the carpet and cut holes for the various bolts, but it fits in place nicely. I ended up going with ACC black, "Essex" with mass backing.

Once the carpet is in place I can install most of the rest of the interior. The dash will be last since I need to do a little work to the NPD dash pad, but that should not be too bad.

12-16-2016

I have been working on running the electrical the engine bay. I got the fuse box holder and modified it a bit to meets my needs.

I had to remove a little bump on the backside



I cut off a tab on the top



And ended up with this



I used "elevator bolts" to secure the box to the firewall in order to achieve a cleaner look. The bolts are offset due to the space constraint inside the cabin. But it works fine.



Here's the fuse box installed with the wires mostly in place. I need to do some final securing to the firewall but that will be easy. The rest of the wires were run under the fender.



I secured the AC lines and heater hoses to the core support using some stainless clamps wrapped with rubber.



This helped keep the amount of visible heater hose to a minimum. It was overkill but I dig it.

Slowly getting the wiring all in order. I need some more hardware to finish things up.

I started getting the trinary switch wired up for the AC-cooling system integration. Looks like I will need to get a battery soon so I can start getting the other wires cut to length and install the terminal ends.

12-17-2016

For today I turned my attention to the carpet and interior. The ACC carpet fits very well. I did have to add a little extra padding under the area behind the front seats, but that is likely due to the floor pans and not the carpet. They provide plenty of material to trim off.

I got the rear side panels installed, which was a nice mental boost. You might notice I removed the headliner. I am not happy with the fit. The headliner I got is a flat piece of ABS (cut to the right shape), rather than having bends for the outer edges. So that led to poor appearance once installed. So I will be trying another headliner.





The rear deck cover installed



Here are some original seats I picked up years ago with the correct vinyl insert. I will need to have the seams re-sewn since the thread has aged, but the material is still in great shape. The interior on this car was always one of my favorite things about it.

12-21-2016

I got the radiator, fans and close-out panel installed, along with the hood latch since it has to go in with the close-out panel.

The radiator is an AFCO which has a built in steam vent port, which will come in handy. The fans and close-out panel are from Custom Works. The fans and close-out panel are integrated for a cleaner look.

1-3-2017

Not a ton of picture-worthy things to share, as I've been working on finishing the wiring, installing the radiator and fans, and other boring stuff. I'm actually at the point that I was able to install the battery but I have not hooked any of the wires up. I need to get the radiator hoses sorted out and install the driver side fender so I can fit the air intake. After that I think I can actually attempt to start the engine, mainly to make sure it actually starts and check for leaks, etc. So that will be exciting.  

I wanted to share at least one picture. I am cleanng some original back seats and wanted to show what 40 years of grime looks like. I cleaned the material with blue Dawn and a soft bristle brush. I had to go over it twice to clean it well.

1-22-2017

So the engine bay is 95% done. The main things left to do are double-check all hardware is tightened, replace the serpentine belt, get the air intake fitted and get the G-braces installed (already working on the pass side). So now I can move forward with installing the driver side fender, which will unlock some other things to do, like get the rest of the body installed!

For the heater hoses (second photo) I used an upper for a 98-2002 Camaro and a lower for a 2006 Toyota Tundra (no, really). I went to the parts store and found a heater hose that was basically two straight pieces with a 135* bend with the right hose diameter. I cut it to fit and it worked out really nicely.

For the battery terminals (third photo) I went with some "military" style pieces that did not cost much but allowed me to make all the connections in a neat manner. I used some copper washers in between the terminals so there was some spacing.

I also got the back seats installed which was pretty cool. I sat in them for a while just to enjoy the fact there were some seats finally installed again. I luckily had enough material from the front seats to re-do the upper back seats. The lower cushions are original. After I cleaned them they ended up looking really nice.