Update. I finished installing the rebuilt rearend- it's a 10 bolt, 8.5 " Posi w/ 3.42 gears rebuilt by Jim @ JD Race here in Richfield, OH (he does great work, is very knowledgable and fair on his prices- great guy if you need rear end work or parts). The new brakes and rear drums were installed on the axle so I bolted on the wheels and placed the axle assy. in the car dollys. I lifted the rear of the frame with my engine hoist and rolled the axle in position. I had already installed the upper and lower control arms on the frame- I blasted, primed and painted and installed all new Moog bushings in all control arms. I lowered the frame with the hoist and attached the control arms with a little convincing here and there. Took some time, but it was pretty easy doing it by myself this way. I installed new coil springs and Gabriel shocks, along with the rear stabilzer bar. It's great to be assembling the car now- my favorite part. On to the front end now. I have the front upper and lower control arms installed (complete with new Moog ball joints and bushings) and I'm ready to compress the springs (oh boy) and attach the ball joint nuts. Wish me luck. I will try to not have the springs fly through the ceiling- or me.
Randy Thats the cleanist job I ever saw:TU: and looking forward to seeing the rest of the job here.:blast: Don
Hey Randy since Im down the street if you need a extra set of hands on something let me know. Email me and I will give you my phone numbers.
Those pics are photo shopped nobodys garage is that clean.........is it? All kiddin aside thats looking nice .Cant wait to see it in person keep up the great work!!!!!!!
UPDATE. I installed the front coil springs (new Moog 5398's) on 1-15-10. After reading all the posts and other articles about installation tips and dangers of coil springs, I decided to curl up in a fetal position in the corner of the garage and pray that I would wake up the next morning and they would be installed by the spring fairy. Well, that didn't work too well, so I pressed on. I used a Snap-On internal spring compressor- very sturdy, heat-treated and rolled-thread rod-but I still treated them like a loaded gun after compressing them. Fortunately, they went in relatively easily- no springs shooting thru me or bouncing off the ceiling. Happiness is tightening down those 2 nuts on the ball joints- if you've been there, you know of what I speak. I pressed on and built up the front brakes- I'm going with drums since that's what the car was born with. I installed the front shocks- Gabriel's- and the flex brake line. I'm in the process of bead blasting the front drums and getting them ready to install- I've already had them turned and new races installed. More to come. Randy
Really lookin good Randy,when your done you won't want to drive it lest dirt finds its way onto the parts.:laugh: gary
UPDATE. I installed the right front brakes, the steering linkage (all Moog components), the front stabilizer bar and the rebuilt steering box today. I had the steering box converted to the fast ratio steering when it was rebuilt. I still need to get the front wheels close to straight and torque all the ball joints. I haven't fully tightened or torqued any of the suspension bushings yet- I'll wait until the drive train and body is back on and there's weight on the wheels (upon the sage advise of many here on this board). Next step is to install all the new brake lines, fuel lines and parking brake cables. Then I'll drop the engine and tranny in- they are both rebuilt and waiting patiently to be installed. When I get the engine/tranny in, then I'll be able to measure accurately for the driveshaft as it needs to be shortened for the 8.5, 10 bolt rear end. More to come. Randy
Randy, Great work. Your post is great inspiration. So I,m ready to start on my frame and under body. TA preformance is currently building my 455 and I have my hydromatic 400 ready to go in with one of JWs VP Converters. The boby and Interrior have already been done in the past. As well the front end, gas tank, rear end, blasted painted and rebuilt. I am sure I can figure what to remove besides the boby mounts to lift the body. I would like to build a set of the wooden body stands which hold your body up to roll out the frame. I would like mine high enough to roll it out with the tires on it. Just looking at your pics it looked like yours was about high enough to do so. would you list the materials such as wood, screws or hails needed to build a set of body stands like yours. As soon as I have a set built we will be lifting the body without removing the interrior. By the way Its a hard top so I would think it would be ok without any interrior supports ? As for the new body mounts I will be ordering them from OPG next week. The body underside is heavely covered with undercoat. So with a few extra larg jack stands we will be working under the body to clean and repaint it. It will be a mess but it can be done. There is very little rust. Any info would help.
Richard- here's pics of the stands. They are made of made 2x8's that I nailed together wtih ring shank nails from a pneumatic nail gun. Good quality deck screws would work too. The bases are 24" long. The height of the tallest board is 31" and the shorter upright board that the 4x4 rests on is 27". That should give you enough clearance to roll the chassis out from under. I posted pics earlier in the thread that shows how I lifted the body off- you might have to modify the forward lift point obviously. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
Re: 68 GS 400 Vert Off-frame Restoration Randy - why did you go with the PPG instead of the POR 15 on the frame? - Bill
Randy - Looks Great! Continued success with your resto! I just landed a position with a Cleveland based firm, if I ever get a little time I'll look you up!!
Hey, I just had a real feel-good moment. Your wheel cylinders are made in the USA. :Smarty: :beers2: Beautiful job. :TU:
Jeff- just shoot me a PM when you get in the area- I'm about 25 miles south of Cleveland. I'd be glad to show you the car. Randy
Re: 68 GS 400 Vert Off-frame Restoration Bill- I used PPG because that's what GSJoe at JC Autobody uses and he's doing the body work on the car. He's had good luck with it over the years, so I followed his expert advise. Randy
Thanks Randy, I already started taking Pics and the only thing left to remove before lift off is the Radiator support and front fenders. I will not be removing the interrior or repainting the car. Its already done. How about OPG's Body Bushing Kit ?
Update. I completed the install of all the brake lines and fuel lines- all from Inline Tube (a great company- preformed lines with all fittings- great fit). The parking brake cable system is also from Inline- stainless steel. I installed the new Timken wheel bearings and the original, refurbed alum brake drums. I'll paint the drum brake face black after I refurb the wheels. It's on the wheels again for the first time in 7 months. Next will be installing the rebuilt, original numbers-matching 400 engine and T400 trans.
Looks Great Randy, Very inspirational to me. I check this tread often, It modivates me to work on mine, I'm Ready for lift off myself. We removed the front clip Sunday and the 4 front remaining body bolts. All I have left is the Brake lines from the master cylinder and the steering shaft. Keep up the great work and posting those awsome pics.
