The Chevelle: tear down and clean up begins

[VintageMusclecar]

Don't know if anyone will even be interested in this, but I thought I'd share a few pics of the car as progress is made.

Today I began removing the interior...or what was left of it. Here's what I started with (1st 2 pics are from the website ad)







Something to preface the next pics;

When I first asked about the car, the VERY first thing I asked was "where's the rust, and how bad is it?"

I was told the car was 100% rust-free (aside from obvious surface rust areas, that's to be expected).

I asked "Are you sure? I haven't seen too many A-bodies that don't at least have a little rust in them somewhere."

"No rust on this car at all, never has been."

That was one of the reasons I agreed to buy the car. Anyone who's ever dealt with midwest cars can surely relate to my extreme disdain for rust. Dents I don't mind, but I hate fixing rust.

Anyhow, back to the story.

After removing the bucket seats and the carpet, I was suprised at what I saw...what appeared to be multiple sheets of black tar paper covering the entire floor from front to rear footwells.

Oh joy.

I started to pull them up one piece at a time, only to see that they were thoroughly stuck to the floor. Upon closer inspection, I realized every single sheet had been stuck down to the floorpan with what appears to be heavy roofing tar!

Out come the heavy-duty scrapers, a few cans of carb cleaner to help loosen things up, and a hammer to help persuade things along.

(I should've snapped pics of what I started with, but I didn't want to gunk up my camera and the GF was busy in the house)

So I dug in.

2 hours later, I cautiously asked the GF if she'd mind lending a hand. She reluctantly agreed.

Here's the results of roughly 4 hours of scraping, peeling, hammering and wire-brushing the floorpan:











Notice the nice rust hole in the drivers footwell. It was covered with a thick layer of fiberglass matting and tar paper.

So far I've removed an easy 40 lbs of tar paper and roofing tar from the interior floorpans. There's probably another 5-10 lbs to go, but I'd had enough for one day.

Thank God for a GF who doesn't mind pitching in and getting her hands dirty.

I'll try to finish removing the goo tomorrow and assess how much metal it's going to take to patch both footwells and the mangled shifter hole opening.

I'll try to post some more updates tomorrow.

[camarojoe]

Moral of the story... Don't buy a car off the internet (project car OR show car) from a few pics without physically going to look at it in person. Hopefully the floorpans will be the only "surprise" you find that you couldn't see from pics but can easily see in person. Keep us updated, looks like a major project you are about to undertake. Good luck!

PS... did you get the "lightning rods" in the back seat? Might be able to hock them for a few bucks.

[Schonyenko2]

Nice, lightning rods. Pro stocker. They removed the shifter hump, and hogged the hole for the rods installation. I believe you'll need to replace the hump. The outline is still visible at the front edge of the tunnel. Usually the worst areas on that year chevelle is behind the front, and rear tires. The frame takes a beating in those areas, and the body mts are right there. The rears collect dirt, and moisture and tend to be a trouble area. If the floor pans are seedy,ie; lots of small pin holes, I'd seriously consider replacing them.

[VintageMusclecar]

Wilma;

You got that right! I was a gunk-scrapin' fool today! More of the same tomorrow.

As far as my plans for the car...

Mainly a long-term project/investment.

For the time being, it will get a rolling resto...i.e. interior, drivetrain, suspension rebuild, paint & cosmetics. Perhaps over next winter I *might* pull the body off and do the frame & floors the way they should be.

Still kicking around paint choices...the car was originally Marina blue, but I've just seen WAY too many Marina blue `67's. Don't have anything against the color, just want something a LOT less mainstream. Strong possibilities are Butternut Yellow, Capri Cream, Black (doubtful, P.I.T.A. to keep clean), or perhaps...Grape.

Underhood items will most likely "look" stock (including exhaust manifolds), but it certainly isn't gonna run like stock.

Schon;

Amazingly enough, the frame & body mounts on this thing are nice. The only rust issues I've found so far have been the footwells and some minor scaling in the trunk...no big deal. It's even solid at the base of the windshield & rear window.

I did find the remnants of 2 mice nests in the kick panel vent wells though.

[Schonyenko2]

You are lucky on that lower rear window area. Water tends to run towards the inner corners rather than away leading to rust problems. Good deal.

[370454s]

Caveat Emptor. Seriously I would be looking too kick some serious butt on those Fellows.
Mike

[VintageMusclecar]

Believe me...lesson learned.

I keep forgetting that not everyone else does business the way I do. Sometimes I'm too trusting for my own good. Hopefully my story will prevent someone else from getting burnt.

Yes, the Lightning Rods were still in the car. They, along with a few other odds & ends are going to be up for sale soon to try to help offset my losses on this car.

FWIW, a fairly thorough examination of the car reveals the exterior sheetmetal to be in great condition, with the only rust (at least that I've found so far) being in the footwells and minor scaling in the trunk floor.

[Pantera]

I don't think I would gripe too much about the rust. When you can look in and see the shoelaces of you own shoe then you have something to gripe about... LOL....


Seriously that is not near as bad as some on here can attest to finding once they got as far as you have. Be thankful it was not worse.

Good luck with the rest of it. PS: I would post the vin # just in case someone might have your original block or tranny.

Pantera

[VintageMusclecar]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think I would gripe too much about the rust. When you can look in and see the shoelaces of you own shoe then you have something to gripe about... LOL....


Seriously that is not near as bad as some on here can attest to finding once they got as far as you have. Be thankful it was not worse.

Good luck with the rest of it. PS: I would post the vin # just in case someone might have your original block or tranny.

Pantera

[/ QUOTE ]

Not griping so much about the rust...truthfully I expected some, and I wasn't disappointed lol. I've fixed a heckuvalot worse.

However, scraping that roofing tar & tar paper out is another story. This stuff is harder to remove than undercoating! At least you can use a propane torch to heat undercoating so it'll scrape off easily. Not a good idea with tar paper.

I might post up the VIN at a later date, but I seriously doubt the original engine is likely to surface.

[WILMASBOYL78]

Praise the lord and pass the putty knife!! Good luck Eric, let us know what you have in mind for this project.


wilma