Aaron's 76 Type LT Project

9 minute(s) of a 383 minute read

Thanks Dave

I got some more of the 1/4 panel removed and began removing the area welded to the outer wheel well.



Here's the area that I am going to have to repair. It shouldn't be too difficult.



I came up with these primarily for my own benefit but wanted to share in case anyone could use the info. The first one shows the location of the emblem holes. The second one shows the location of the window trim retainer pins.

2-4-2011

No prob Paul, glad you are enjoying the thread. Thanks for the kind words. There is still LOTS more to come, so stay tuned.

BTW, I made a write up a few months ago for my wooden rotisserie to give others some ideas. As with anything, it can be modified to meet your needs.

One thing I would advise (that I should have done myself) is to use METAL casters. They will hold up better. I also should have made mine 12-18" taller, but that is ancient history now.

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=178058

2-5-2011

I was able to get most of the remaining 1/4 panel removed. The pass side is going considerably faster than the driver side. What a difference doing the driver side 1/4 panel makes.

Here are a few pics, most of them are reference pics for anyone else looking to do this type of job on their 2nd gen

I cut most of the old 1/4 away and left some along the welded seams. I like to take my die grinder with a cutting wheel and lightly remove the old paint to reveal the spot welds



You can see the spot welds in the trunk weatherseal channel. I used a spot weld cutter on these. Make sure you are gentle since the metal is not all that thick in this area.



The trunk area after removing the 1/4 panel metal



For the door jamb area I used an 80 grit flap disc on my angle grinder to tell me where the spot welds were



This is to give you an idea of how many spot welds are on the lower area by the rocker panel. This was after I removed the old 1/4 panel metal.



I will need to fix this piece that cracked. Nothing a little welding can't handle.



Here's my contraption to catch the lead filler as I heated it up with a propane torch and scraped the lead away.



Almost done - I still need to remove the old 1/4 panel that is between the door brace and the rocker panel. Then I can start preparing to sand blast the underlying metal and re-coat it.

2-6-2011

Well, I think my compressor's electric motor is going bad. Late yday the compressor was working like normal and then all of a sudden it made a very weird noise. I turned it off and let it cool and turned it back on and smelled that unmistakable "electric motor is going bad" burning smell. Today I turned it on and it was pretty much the same thing except today it blew the 40 amp breaker. So looks like I get to take it in for repairs. It's under warranty, but I can't run air tools with a warranty. Hopefully it won't take too long to fix.

2-13-2011

No compressor means I spent time working on the steering column. swerven has been kind enough to send me a little spring I need to re-assemble the column. I stripped down the upper column housing pieces and repainted them with some SEM Landau Black and SEM low luster clear coat. Hoping the compressor comes back soon and I can get back to the 1/4 panel, although it will be nice to have the steering column rebuilt and out of the way.  

The upper bearing housing cover







The bearing housing that contains all the "guts"

2-16-2011

Progress (for the most part) is going to come to a halt for the next 6-7 weeks. I have to get arthroscopic surgery done on my right knee. The surgery itself is very non-invasive, but I have to be on crutches for 6 weeks to take all weight off my right knee in order to allow the scar tissue to heal properly. I am missing cartilage in a 11mm x 11mm spot on a bone in my knee and need to go ahead and address it now.

I am obviously bummed since this will set the project back but that's life. I can try to do small things here and there to keep things going. But looks like I won't be painting until the fall (was shooting for this spring). Oh well...

2-27-2011

I got a little work done on the steering column. I took this apart a long time ago, so I might as well get it re-assembled while it's still sort of in my head. Let me know if you ever have any steering column questions. I messed with this thing a lot so have pretty good knowledge about how to dis-assemble and re-assemble it (mine is a tile column BTW)

These are a few reference pics for anyone who decides to re-assemble their steering column. The shop manual is helpful but does not always tell you where or how certain parts go back together.

To get the rack (silver part) to engage the sector (the rotating gear), assemble the sector, sector shaft, steering locking pin and spring as seen in the first pic. Then rotate the sector clockwise until the large tooth is at about 8:00 position and move the rack into position so the large tooth engages properly (seen in the 2nd pic)





While not too complicated to figure out, here are a few pics showing how the tilt lever opening cover sits. The shop manual does not have a picture so it took me a few minutes to figure it out.





These little pieces are for the ignition switch warning. The solid metal piece acts as a tension spring and sits below the other piece. That assembly then rests in the opening as shown in the 2nd pic





A few pics of the (almost) finished product. I replaced the turn signal switch and the ignition lock cylinder.