Thank you for the pic.....much appreciated

Is it correct that the BE rears, the casting dates would be relative close to the stamp date.

I looked at one recently and the casting was B28 and the stamp was BE 0608 -

I'll let others with more knowledge speak to what is "normal" relative to cast date vs stamp date. My housing was cast the last couple of days of April so about 9 weeks apart.

Introducing......RAT'S NEST
 

R68GTO: You are correct that the u-joints were held by straps & bolts for the '69 model year rears. The rear of the axle housing painted orange and the orange dots on the axle flange were done later by an owner as the dots are holes in the rear brake drums, (rear drums were probably painted orange also). Don.

Started working on the wiper motor today among other things. Anyone tell me how to decode this tag? Seems to be an original foil tag that is on the wiper motor housing. Covered in black paint...used some acetone to get to the printing.

It's Rat's Nest's Birthday today!
 

According to NCRS, 9/26/69 is the day my car was built. It was a Friday back then.....probably why they missed the window track mounting nut on the rear drivers side qtr window:smirk:
Here's a shot in her birthday suit along with a couple of shots just playing around with the engine mockup. Whatcha think.....Stock or Super Stock?:smile:

Wow, body and engine look great.

Nice to see some new progress pictures. Those white headers look great. I wish I had the nerve to do that with mine.

More progress....
 

My brother and I worked on my 4 speed pedal setup today and got it re-assembled for the most part. I think it turned out pretty nice - all original pcs. except the pedal pads - those are repro. Question for the experts....would my X44 car have originally had any pedal trim on the parking brake, clutch, or brake pads?

Awesome progress Buddy!! Loving the updates.

X44 did not affect interior trim level or badging. Bright pedal trim was included with Z23 Special Interior Group along with the assist handle and panel plus additional woodgrain trim. Z87 Custom Interior included Z23.

The car does not have the handle on the passenger side of the dash so it should not have the bright pedal trim.

Thanks William....another day, another learning moment!

True!

Went to visit the car today....more progress. Panels back on to work on gaps.

So are you doing a zebra theme on this one? :grin:

Nice to see it moving forward.

Panel gaps and alignment look very nice, particularly at the cowl area..... great progress

Thanks Tim. Starting with a low mile, unhit, GM sheetmetal car makes the process much easier.

Great progress. Thanks for the update. :biggthumpup: Original Sheetmetal makes a world of difference.

Ditto on the panel gaps, someone knows what there doing :biggthumpup:


Mike

'

Awesome updates, looking forward to more!
I like the primer paint too, very Messerschmitt 262'ish.
:beers:
~ Pete

.

Another update....
 

Blocking is mostly complete, just a few minor tweaks needed on the gaps yet, but they look very nice. Won't be long and I'll have the subframe in my garage to work on restoring it back to the factory fresh condition.
Keeping my full transparency theme I've had from the beginning on this adventure...car is an original no spoiler car so I'm having them paint both the spoiler equipped deckled that was on the car when I bought it (NOS GM unit from the late '70's) and an original no weld tab deckled I sourced this year. I also sourced a second wiper panel (orig. GM) in addition to the original one so I could mount some Day 2 gauges like were on it in the early '70's when it ran as an SS/D car.
Also added a closeup pic of the trim tag that I took today. I've been overly obsessive in my communication to the shop doing the bodywork that they cannot "f" up the trim tag because everyone "freaks out" if they see something weird. So heres a pic before they touch it just in case they "f" it up.

Looks great, won't be long before the LB starts going on! And good planning with the deck lid and cowl panel.

Nice, great following up on updates on this car.
/R

Received my parts back from Steve Gregori @ BrakeBooster.com - they turned out awesome! Booster (before/after pics) and related components are original to the car. Booster is a 9204 dated the 199th day. The ZL2 / horn relay covers and turn signal housings are also original to the car. ZL2 coil bracket is an original piece from Bentley B. Steve also did my hood hinges and latch components - also turned out great.

Nice work..Looks awesome!

Steve is really a great asset to our hobby.

Steve's work on those parts looks outstanding, as always.

Another update....
 

Picked up my subframe and rear end today. Another step in the process! Took a pic of the rear mounting hole for the subframe showing original floor pan color and remnants of the sealing tape Fisher Body used for their water test. The shop will get the body on a rotisserie and get to work on the floor pans. Dents from a driveshaft explosion and the Hurst Super Shifter mods need fixed. I'll start stripping the subframe and documenting all the various paint daubs as I find them.

Subframe teardown...
 

Started tearing down the subframe over the last few days. Brake lines and stands are original pcs. The flex lines from the stands to the calipers were replaced in '97 if you go by the date on the hoses. Calipers, springs, ball joints, and sway bar links were also changed. Everything else on the subframe is original stuff including 2 pc. rotors brake shields, caliper mtg brackets and steering components. I do not have a picture of the car that shows it without traction bars. Took one snubber off (other one is still stuck) and it shows a date code of 1971 so I'm guessing they've been with the car since then.

More stripping/cleaning of the suspension today. Found some "ice blue" overspray from the 1970 paint job on several of the steering linkage/brake components so that confirms to me these items are likely original to the car. Also was able to find a few inspection paint dabs that I can replicate later. Found orange, blue, white, yellow, and pink in various places. Anyone else find something similar on their cars?
Glass beaded one of my disc brake dust shields. You can see where the original AD sticker was applied. It cleaned up nice......any opinions on if I should just reinstall or get them re-plated?

Your getting this deep into it,,I'd have them redone.
Steve G did mine. Look real purty ��

Just got my hood hinges/springs, release back from him a week or so ago. Nice guy who does great work.But better call quick...

Love these build threads, know that excitement.

Got the manual steering box mostly cleaned up today - dated June 12. Also found what I believe to be an interesting assembly line thing. The bolts that hold the two-piece rotor together were different from one side of the car to the other.

Ref#189
Found my pic of the finished dustshields,,disreguard my steering box bolt markings,,old habit.

This one took a while.......
 

Finally wrapped up my radiator fin project. I think my needle nose hit every one of the 18,000+ fins on this critter:headbang: Original core just had a few pin holes that needed repaired. It was a good project to pick away at while I waited for the compressor to cool down or some paint to dry. Here's some before/after pics....

Looks great.

Wow! Nice job��
Straightened mine using toothpicks, was a little leary of the needle nose. Only leaks,after pressure testing were a few pinholes around the solder joint, top hose.

Looking good.

Great job��

Used toothpicks for mine, was a little leary of needle nose. Gotta laugh, cause yea...tedious. Then you flip it over for the otherside. I lucked out and only found a few pinhole leaks around the solder, top hose.

Never leaked all the years it was in the car, but worth the time pressure checking prior to reassembly . If not,,guess how that turns out.

Looks awesome, nice job!

Front subframe update...
 

Got my front subframe back from a "bake" and bead blast session today. Turned out really nice and clean. Frame is in great shape with only minor pitting in a few places. Car should be getting some color on it in a few weeks. Won't be long and I can turn the ratchet the other direction and start putting this thing back together!:biggthumpup:

It's looking really good. I always love the look of a freshly restored subframe when it's all going back together. Painting or powder coating the subframe? Body is looking close to having color.

I have been enjoying reading up on this find and built, very interesting! While I cannot offer any COPO specific I do have some knowledge on wiper motors :)

So the foil labels started coming out sometime in early 69. Prior to that part numbers were stamped on the motor end plate.

The top line is the part number 20043206 looks like a Buick Apollo or similar.
bottom line is Julian date 309 (beginning of Nov), single digit is the year (I guess 1976)
Last item 5A is a line or plant code.

For a non-RS car you want to find a 5045572 labeled motor. Luck!