Our 69 Yenko Chevelle restoration

[Astock]

Nice low mileage steering wheel.

[SS427]

Originally Posted by Astock

Nice low mileage steering wheel.

Even though it was low mileage it was not in perfect shape and I still sent it off for restoration to make it perfect. Expensive but worth it.

[big gear head]

Thanks so much for all of the pictures. There is so much detail going into this that no body would ever get to see if you had not posted pictures.

[SS427]

Originally Posted by big gear head

Thanks so much for all of the pictures. There is so much detail going into this that no body would ever get to see if you had not posted pictures.

That was one of my main reasons in doing so, to help others with their projects. I love the behind the scenes stuff on these cars and love detailing them to the 9's especially in areas that are somewhat hidden. I am weird like that.

[SS427]

Before some hammer on me, there is a reason why my wheels were painted black. I purchased a set of day 2 take off wheels and tires from a collector who bought them from Vince Emmy. These came off an original COPO early in life from what I was told. I cannot confirm that however. Usually I always see Dove grey on the backs of these while NOS wheels are commonly black. The fact that these were very low mileage take offs from a COPO was the reason why we restored them in black. In addition, the YH's I had off the Maroon 69 Z28 which was totally original and had survivor wheels were also back on the back so that is what I did. Pictured in the stack of tires/wheels off that Z28.

[SS427]

My plastic inner fender (only one that survived) was cracked and not reusable. As many of you know, original (not NOS as they are slightly different) plastic inner fenders are unobtainable for the most part and even if you do find a set they will crack instantly. Also, the repops are not even close Soooooo, for that reason I chose to use a set of metal inner fenders. It will haunt me till the day I die but not much I can do about it unless I find a set of original assembly line plastic inners.

We then lightly glue the flaps to the inner fenders. This will hold them in place while you drill the staple holes. Which side of the fender depends on plant and timing or if the guy that normally applied them that day called in sick so in my opinion there is really not a right or wrong way to do them and I usually do them based on what other cars in the time span were done. However, since 69's for the most part used plastic inner fenders it is really a moot point.

After the glue sets up we decide where to put the staples. Usually around 6-8 and we use a staple as a template marking the flap as to where to drill the holes.
Once the holes are all drilled we use a special hardened pointed pliers I found at Hobby Lobby to bend the staples over. It really helps if you put a block of wood on the backside and clamp the staple head so it cannot move while you roll the staples. Using this method gives you a rolled staple instead of a flattened over look which would not be correct.

There you have it. The blue plastic is there to protect the inner fender during this process.

[Ryan1969Chevelle]

Hi Rick

You are killing this resto, dead nuts accurate.

I have to say I am pretty proud of Nick Morocco and I as we did my inner fenders in a similar fashion. Usually my methods were a little goofy but we got that one right.

I think we can find a beautiful grandma Malibu with perfect inner fenders, steal the IF’s and throw the car away. I know how much you spent on shocks so this would not be out of line. I will buy the grandma Malibu with those steel IF’s for scrap weight.

I bet you a Tim Hortons coffee the good 1969 Chevelle guys on here will come up with a plastic set by sun up!!!

PS: Did your original inner fender have made in a Canada on it?

Ryan W31

[SS427]

If I can come up with a mint set, I will buy them depending on where they are at as shipping is another huge issue. Not price wise but damage wise.

I do not believe my inner fender (only one) had Made In Canada on them.

[SS427]

Last night was carpet installation night. We started by laying in the sound deadener which is nowhere near correct but the best that is available. I have never come across anything better than this and cannot bring myself to use Dynamat in a restoration. Perfect for a resto mod but just not correct here.

Carpeting is cut in differently depending on what type of seats, console or non console and type of transmission. Each is unique to the other. Over the years I have photo documented and/or saved carpeting out of survivors to insure that we cut the carpet exactly how it was installed. This requires having some of the carpet seamed in some cases as well as edging sewn on the carpet between the seats. The seats were NEVER bolted to the top of the carpet and instead flaps were cut to hide the track and feet which mounted directly to the floor. I laid pieces of paper under the flap so you can see how they were cut for the seat track corners.

Tomorrow I remove the carpet and bring it in to carpet store and have the edging applied to the portion that goes over the transmission tunnel between the seats. Since this is a non console car that area is exposed and can be seen and therefore will be edged just like the factory. I will also apply the original Magee carpet manufacturers tag back to the bottom of the carpet on both sides. Once completed we will install it back into the car and cut the hole for the shifter boot and plate and finish off that part of the interior. Then it is onto the glass and door hardware.

[SS427]

Unlike the 70 Chevelles, the 69's (as well as I believe all previous years) use lots of rivets to hold the grille and brackets onto the nose of the car. Our 69 used a total of 9 rivets. Fortunately the rivets can be found at most hardware stores. Ours came from Ace hardware. Unfortunately they require a special tool to roll the edges of the rivet. In some cases like the upper brackets you cannot even get a tool in that area. I believe GM likely used a hand held crimping type rivet tool as opposed to one that required impacting it. We customized a tool to use on the upper rivets and I will show that later. For the bottom and center rivets we used a conventional peening tool. The one pictured is mounting the center of the bumper filler to the vertical hood latch support. Notice the small photo of the rivet tool in the last photo.