[PontiacJim]

Hey Jim,
How long did it take for your stuff to come from Legendary? I ordered a complete interior for my 65 in black on 2/12. Received the kits for the front and rear seats already, but no seat covers, door panels, or carpet.

I had ordered them before all the Covid car show cancellations last year. Legendary was going to be at the Charlotte AutoFair and they were going to deliver all my items to the show which would have saved me shipping costs. It was about 3 months out, and they put a priority on getting the seat covers made as they don't stock them, they make them on an "as ordered" basis and then have to schedule their making. This is why it takes so long. If any of the other suppliers have them in stock and on the shelf, they that would be why you get them fast, not because Legendary made them faster for that person/order. With the Charlotte show cancelled, I then had to pay for UPS shipping to my house, so I did not save on the shipping, but got my covers and other items a little faster than others.

 

[SLSTEVE]

I had ordered them before all the Covid car show cancellations last year. Legendary was going to be at the Charlotte AutoFair and they were going to deliver all my items to the show which would have saved me shipping costs. It was about 3 months out, and they put a priority on getting the seat covers made as they don't stock them, they make them on an "as ordered" basis and then have to schedule their making. This is why it takes so long. If any of the other suppliers have them in stock and on the shelf, they that would be why you get them fast, not because Legendary made them faster for that person/order. With the Charlotte show cancelled, I then had to pay for UPS shipping to my house, so I did not save on the shipping, but got my covers and other items a little faster than others.

OK so that is my plight then. Hopefully it won’t be 5 months like Ames said. I still have a while to go before I need that stuff but I will be looking at suitable substitutions for bucket seats in the meantime. Small lawn chair, cut down 5 gallon bucket?

 

[roger1]

Updates:
Today, I spent all afternoon under the car blasting the floor. I got it about 95% done.

Got a couple of things accomplished yesterday too. I took the rear end and a load parts down to my engine builder yesterday.

I also called Art Carr at California Performance Transmission and ordered a 200-4R tranny.
I went with a non-lockup 2000 to 2200 stall torque converter. Art does not recommend going with a lockup. He would sell me what I needed to if I insisted but was trying hard to talk me out of it. With the controller he recommends along with a more expensive lockup torque converter it would have added about $500 to the cost. When I told him to go non-lockup, he said "good decision".
I also bought a conversion yoke, Lokar TV cable, Setrab cooler, inspection cover, dip-stick and tube. That should be about everything I will need.
It will ship in about 4 weeks.

 

[PontiacJim]

Updates:
Today, I spent all afternoon under the car blasting the floor. I got it about 95% done.

Got a couple of things accomplished yesterday too. I took the rear end and a load parts down to my engine builder yesterday.

I also called Art Carr at California Performance Transmission and ordered a 200-4R tranny.
I went with a non-lockup 2000 to 2200 stall torque converter. Art does not recommend going with a lockup. He would sell me what I needed to if I insisted but was trying hard to talk me out of it. With the controller he recommends along with a more expensive lockup torque converter it would have added about $500 to the cost. When I told him to go non-lockup, he said "good decision".
I also bought a conversion yoke, Lokar TV cable, Setrab cooler, inspection cover, dip-stick and tube. That should be about everything I will need.
It will ship in about 4 weeks.

Looks good on the underside. I blasted the underside on my Lemans, but on my back - the blast media goes everywhere. I did not go crazy and get it as clean as yours, but got it fairly good knocking off all the loose rust/dirt/factory undercoating which left a solid base for an application of POR-15 and a cover of black spray paint - also laying on my back. POR-15 can really ruin a set of work clothes. LOL Came out good.

The non-lock up converter was the better choice. I think less problems as well. It'll make for a nice cruiser and have plenty of pep when you hit the gas - as needed of course.

 

[roger1]

Thanks Jim!
I'm going to paint mine with SPI black epoxy primer. I'm really sold on that stuff and have been using it for years.
Glad to hear you say I made the right decision on the torque converter. I also figured since Art Carr has such a great reputation, I should listen to his advice.

Today's update:
I saw this yesterday during the blasting and dug into it a little more today. Did a little poking and it punched through.

I missed this little rust issue. Hard to see before when everything was black. This is where the toe board and floor overlap and attach. The good news is this is the only thing I missed. The rest of the floor looks fantastic.

I decided to finish the blasting up after I fix this. Already have cut out the compromised area. I cut back the part of the flange further back so I can weld in the toe board part from the top. So I need to do 2 patches here. Pretty simple.

Also, I got a call from my engine builder today that my rear end was done and ready to pick up. That was sure fast.
I set it in place:

 

[dadspackard31]

Roger,

You and your engine builder are on warp speed.

Great work as always.

 

[PontiacJim]

I can't tell on the rear axle, but don't forget/make sure you have the small axle vent/breather that allows the pressure in the axle to vent. Otherwise you can develop leaks.

The pic come from Inline Tube, GM 10-bolt axle/breather.

 

[roger1]

Roger,
You and your engine builder are on warp speed.
Great work as always.

Thanks!!
Funny, from my prospective I think I work slow but when I look at my progress since I got the car last October, it does seem like I've gotten a lot done in a short period of time.

I can't tell on the rear axle, but don't forget/make sure you have the small axle vent/breather that allows the pressure in the axle to vent. Otherwise you can develop leaks.

The original is there and in fine shape. I think if you expand that photo, you will be able to see it.

Got a couple of things done today.
Finished floor rust issue I found and showed yesterday.

First patch:

Second patch:

And all done:

Then a little suspension work.
I drilled my lower rear control arms to accept a sway bar. I was able to find where the hole locations were on a Chevelle forum. I weld the boxing plates on tomorrow.

 

[roger1]

Finished up boxing the lower rear control arms and installed the bushings.
I sprayed the Eastwood internal frame coating inside the arms after finishing the welding. I also installed the bushings in the uppers and into the rear end housing.

I received the Gforce transmission crossmember I ordered and got it installed. It fits perfectly. This thing is very stout.

 

[roger1]

I snapped another photo of the GForce crossmember that shows how thick the steel is on it. The ends are 3/8" and the exhaust humps are 5/8".

Today I removed the u-joints from the driveshaft. The were originals and the type that are held in with plastic inserts. Heated them with a torch to melt the plastic out. It's kind of fun when they pop as long as you back so you don't get hit with the hot grease that shoots out. I also used a stripping disc on the driveshaft to clean it up some before blasting it.
I am going to shoot 3 coats of epoxy on it then sand smooth and paint with cast iron gray.

I wont be using the original transmission yoke since it wont work with a 200-R4. Got a new one coming with the Art Carr transmission.

 

[SLSTEVE]

I snapped another photo of the GForce crossmember that shows how thick the steel is on it. The ends are 3/8" and the exhaust humps are 5/8".

Today I removed the u-joints from the driveshaft. The were originals and the type that are held in with plastic inserts. Heated them with a torch to melt the plastic out. It's kind of fun when they pop as long as you back so you don't get hit with the hot grease that shoots out. I also used a stripping disc on the driveshaft to clean it up some before blasting it.
I am going to shoot 3 coats of epoxy on it then sand smooth and paint with cast iron gray.

I wont be using the original transmission yoke since it wont work with a 200-R4. Got a new one coming with the Art Carr transmission.

Geez, how much does that behemoth weigh? It is STOUT! Love what you are doing to the car!

 

[roger1]

Thanks Steve.
Shipping weight said 30 pounds. I'd say that's what it felt like. I added some weight to the car with that but the 200-4R I'm going to use is about 20 lbs lighter than the TH400. And will lose some weight up front using an aluminum intake instead of the original cast iron one. I couldn't believe how heavy that was. I may lose a little weight on a radiator too. I'm thinking about going with an aluminum one.

 

[roger1]

I got a bunch of suspension parts all cleaned up and ready for paint. I used a wire wheel to get all the grease off of them before putting them in my blasting cabinet. This takes more time than you think it would.

The rear springs are original to the car but I'm sure the front had been replaced at some point. They have the number 5386 stamped on them which correspond to the Moog part number for 1968 convertible w/AC front springs. But '68 and '69 springs aren't the same. And, I'm going to have some weight reduction up front compared to stock. I'll be using an aluminum intake manifold, an aluminum radiator and possibly an aluminum AC compressor. Added up, I figure that's going to be about a 75 lb reduction. I'm a little concerned my car might sit too high in the front with these springs.

I'm not concerned if the original rear springs have a little sag since I'm going to be using Air Lift bags inside them.

 

[roger1]

Got a lot of blasting done today.
Finished the rest of the underneath blasting first then lowered the car down and did the firewall, cowls, rockers, door jambs, tail panel, trunk seal channel and a little part of the trunk floor.

Swept up. I'll get this sifted and reclaimed back in the buckets tomorrow:

There was a little rust in the rear part of the trunk seal channel. Only one little spot was comprimized:

I'll get this welded up tomorrow. Easy since I can get a copper bar behind it.

 

[roger1]

Kind of a milestone today. I've finished blasting the body shell.

I didn't see a need to blast 100% off of the floor. Only the low spots had any surface rust at all and I blasted those clean.

I also blasted the driveshaft:

After I get all the blasting media out of the body and get the room cleaned up real well, I'll put some urethane seam sealer on the body in places and then get it in epoxy primer.

 

[roger1]

In preparation for painting the underbody, I added some seam sealer and installed the floor plugs.
Before applying any seam sealer, I brushed SPI epoxy primer onto the places first. I used some 3M urethane seam sealer and also some Evercoat brush-on seam sealer which is gray. I installed the floor plugs using the seam sealer as an adhesive and covered the edges with the brush-on.
Underneath, I only used the seam sealer on the toe-board to floor pan seam and in the wheel wells were the outer and inner wheelhouses join.

I sprayed the SPI epoxy primer on today using an Iwata LPH-400 gun with the Devillbiss DeKups spray cup system which allows the gun to spray completely up-side-down. As I did with the frame, I sprayed 2 coats of epoxy with the first coat in gray and second in black as it helps get a more even coat on the 2nd coat that way.

Gray coat:

And the black coat:

 

[roger1]

I got some suspension parts painted with epoxy primer:

I got the brake backing plates painted, pressed new lugs into the new axles and got them installed:

I dropped by the interior shop last week and he had gotten the seats all broken down and the frames were already back from getting powder coated. They look really nice:

He did not send the rear panels out for powder coating so I took them back home with me and will clean them up and paint with epoxy primer. I also brought back many of the small parts to clean up or replace with new.

I also dropped by the machine shop last week to drop off the new water pump that had been back-ordered and he said he planned on starting on my engine this week. I ordered a new set of spark plugs, spark plug wires and a loom set and I'll take those over when I receive them.

Since my goal is to have my suspension all installed and have my chassis able to roll soon, I needed to decide what I wanted to do for a steering box. After a lot of research, I decided to get a new Borgeson 800 box and got that ordered from Ames.

 

[SLSTEVE]

I got some suspension parts painted with epoxy primer:

I got the brake backing plates painted, pressed new lugs into the new axles and installed got them installed:

I dropped by the interior shop last week and he had gotten the seats all broken down and the frames were already back from getting powder coated. They look really nice:

He did not send the rear panels out for powder coating so I took them back home with me and will clean them up and paint with epoxy primer. I also brought back many of the small parts to clean up or replace with new.

I also dropped by the machine shop last week to drop off the new water pump that had been back-ordered and he said he planned on starting on my engine this week. I ordered a new set of spark plugs, spark plug wires and a loom set and I'll take those over when I receive them.

Since my goal is to have my suspension all installed and have my chassis able to roll soon, I needed to decide what I wanted to do for a steering box. After a lot of research, I decided to get a new Borgeson 800 box and got that ordered from Ames.

Great progress! Everything looks better than it did when it was new!

 

[Drewsgto69]

Great job and progress. I have a 69 convert, and wish I had the time to do my car. Work gets in the way. About how many hours do you have into the car so far?

 

[roger1]

Thanks!
I don't try to track my hours. It's not important to me since I'm retired and I do it for the fun and satisfaction. Plus, I get distracted and pulled away so much that it would be very difficult for me to do.