Paint looks fantastic, you must be very happy with that.

Looking GREAT! You must be stoked!! :laugh:

Had to "quote this post" just because I chuckle every time I see it. Thanks Darrell:biggthumpup::biggthumpup:

Looks awesome, Jim. What date wheels did you end up with?

Sure glad this car found you. What a worthy care giver. Outstanding!

Wow!!! :drool:

Just catching up on your thread Jim. This car is looking absolutely amazing. The quality and execution is shining through wherever one looks, and that to me is very, very impressive.

It's going to be a fun car. I'm hoping to maybe see it at SCR, or better yet...run against you if everything falls into place.

Still looking for another pair of July 69 to go with the ones you sold me. I went ahead and painted up the Aug. of 68 pair that I had planned on selling to AnthonyS. So, (2) Aug. 68 and (2) July 69 is what it is right now.

Since I've never taken a car down a drag strip in my life, there will probably be a long line of guys lining up to run me:wink:
Thanks for the compliments, I'm trying my best!

More details for the guys that care.....
 

Took apart my heater box today to see what the date code is on the core - March of 69. That makes this the earliest daed component I've found thus far. Fuel tank and Blower motor are both May of 69. I was also stoked to find another "3" written on the box. This matches up with the "3" I found on top of my fuel tank (last photo). Also found two inspection stickers both within 12" of each other....any significance to the numbers on these?

Wow...so much original stuff being found throughout this car which is awesome. I've gone looking for the build number on heater boxes twice as this was commonplace for those handwritten numbers but in my case, nothing was found either time.

Looking good Jim.

I'm looking for your opinions.....
 

Working on my heater box this morning, it cleaned up pretty good with just mild soap/water. My question is should I just re-install as is with the original paint or should I re-spray it to cover up some of the scuffs and minor chips present? I have this same decision to make on my steering column. What would you guys do if it was your car/resto?

Wow, that cleaned up VERY nicely. I would leave it. It's not easily seen anyway and will give the interior an authentic appearance, rather than new and sanitary.

I'd leave it alone too.

very nice - the heater box is pretty much hidden under the dash, however my theory is that if your restoring the car in its entirety then paint and refinish the box, as everything else visible is redone on the car. The numbers, i can't recall the purpose, but when i took my 69Z apart, i had a similar matching number on the heater box and gas tank as well.

I can confirm they were painted the flat black as your example shows.

If mine were that nice, I’d reinstall it as it is - especially as it has the crayon mark on it.

More details......
 

Getting into the dash and wiring harnesses. All the original harnesses are in place, there were few places where things were "hacked into" over the years when various gauges were installed. Original AM radio - which was the only option this car was originally equipped with from the factory.

Getting some of the bits installed this weekend. Ignore the "bundle of snakes" on the MC, I have some incorrect lines I'm trying to sort out.

My "Better Half's" contribution to the build....
 

So I enlisted my wife's talents to create a stencil for my gas tank to replicate the one I found when stripping the original tank. Long story/short, there was numerous back and forths between us about fonts, size, spacing. At one point she went looking on the internet for info and discovered that for $24.95 you could buy a Wheeling Pittsburgh gas tank stencil. When I told her that I knew that, but it had different numbers and format than what was on my car, well, if looks could kill......:mad: She continued on and my bruising should fade in several days, soooo, all good!:grin: All in all turned out pretty good - restore them like you found them right?

Your wife makes silk screens ?? !!
Tank looks good too.

Nice attention to detail with your husband / wife resto team!! :3gears::3gears::3gears:

Yep, that's the one that created a bruise on my shoulder. I found no signs of the vertical lines that create the "box" on mine, nor anything other than the 4 digit metal grade number above the 1969.

I've been slowed by some incorrect parts and other issues but have made a little progress. Heater box and cover, kick panels, ZL2 relay, & wire gutter mounted up - all original parts from the car. Included a shot of the underside of the VIN plate just for documentation sake.

Shout out to Mike Gibbons @ Brake Restoration for re-plating my original caliper brackets and dust shields. I had these parts plated by a local plater and they just didn't turn out very good. Local plater said it was "the best he could do". I went ahead and purchased reproductions so I could continue with my assembly process.
Sent my original parts out to Mike to re-plate my re-plated parts.:smirk: I just got them back and am very pleased with how they turned out! I'm excited to get these original parts back on the car!

Made some good progress with my brother's help in the last couple of weeks. Installed my original disc brake parts and buttoned that back up. Engine/trans are in now so it's starting to look like it could be a car again some day:smile:

Looking real special Jim. Lovin’ it!!:headbang:

Well done Jim. Looking great !!!

Loving the look of those headers in there. What do you have planned for exhaust and muffler style? This car is gonna be wicked!

Impressive - great detail !

Looks great! Where did you have the headers coated?

New Image Powder Coating in Youngstown, Ohio. Same place Grady B. had his done. Happy so far but nothing but room temperature air in them so far:smirk:

Exhaust, muffler style? I was thinking I was done?:dunno:

I'll try to stick with open headers, if I need to tone it down (but why would I?), I got a set of these off another member.

More details......factory assembly error?
 

When Graeme over on the Air Force Brat thread mentioned he forgot to install the Y-duct before the heater box, I realized I had made the same mistake. So here's some pics of that component installed. The foam seals are the originals, they were still flexible, I just had to apply some adhesive to keep them in place. I think my car was assembled on a Friday, so that might help explain this:dunno: The front defroster "Y-duct" had the fastener on the passenger side miss it's mark. Screwed adjacent to the correct hole creating a corresponding extra hole in the dash structure. This car also had the driver rear quarter window adjustments assembled without the adjustment nut. Guess the guys were ready for Beer-thirty:hmmm:

I worked at the Ford plant in St Paul for the '73 model year. On Friday, we got handed our pay checks in the morning. There were 4 bars across the street from the plant that cashed our checks and had our preferred beverages arranged at seats along the bar and at tables. 2 for 1 of course, many had 4 bottles/glasses. The line stopped for exactly 30 minutes, so with the time it took to run over, get your cash and run back, that left about 10 minutes to "quench" your thirst... The afternoon production was much worse than the morning's...:tongue:

Rat's Nest lives again!
 

Little milestone in the project reached today. Hopefully the link works...

https://www.facebook.com/10002447067...9660461526302/

Sounds good, Congratulations!

So that's where my rear seat batting went........
 

Original headliner had a 50 cent piece sized hole above the salt panel. Such a shame as the rest was in excellent condition and still tight. Started to take it down and found another rats nest in Rats Nest:haha:
Also got the restored XT's on the car with new rubber. Cleaned up the front and back bumper today. Here's some pics of the front - original 52 year old chrome. Not perfect, there are a few light scratches but just couldn't bring myself to re-chrome them. Should head back to the body shop to have the front end installed, then home for good:biggthumpup:

Looks great !!
Fifty cent size hole is dead give away of a mouse house. I've got 2 in the headliner of my '67 and I can't get the stink out of the material. Again, nice headliner, but it's gotta go.

Great progress. I love the wheels and headers.

A few more details.....
 

Cleaned up my original mirror and visors today. Everything turned out great. If anyone has an original visor end cap, I would be interested as I'm missing one.