Tim972

Thanks for the info, I like the black roof look, just wasn’t sure if I wanted the vinyl. Since most of our cars don’t see much or any moisture anymore, going with vinyl probably isn’t as big of an issue as it once was.

I definitely agree. The trim does set it off nicely. I’m sure I’ll go that route. I’m really leaning towards a black painted top with the trim.

I was thinking the same. My car was originally a vinyl top car, the vinyl and the studs have long since been removed. I did buy some top trim, just trying to decide if I want to put it back on or not. I definitely like the two tone look on first gens.

Anyone have any pics of two tone paint as in a painted top instead of vinyl but with no trim? Like blue with a black roof

What’s everyone’s thoughts on the screw down clips for the top trim? Bad experiences?

I ran across this plug set doing some Q jet research. May be a better option than epoxy.

This past winter I rebuilt the 402 for my 72’. I was just looking to freshen it up with a mild flat tappet cam, trying to save some money. I’ve broken in many cams over the years, but this one went south in a hurry. I lost one lobe on break in, I did use proper break in oil and procedures. I didn’t want to spend the big money on a hydraulic roller, but I ended up having to and them some for a complete set of bearings and machine shop bill for cleaning it all back out. It’s a hard pill to swallow paying that extra, but I strongly suggest you consider a roller setup. I went with a complete Lunati kit, #20110548 cam, 535”/.545” lift, 220/230 duration @ .050”. Other than that it’s .030” over, 9.0:1 CR, stock 292 oval ports, Performer 2-O intake, Comp Cams roller tip rockers, Q jet for now. I’ve only had it on the run stand so far. I don’t know if this is true, but from what I’ve read and been told, the flat tappet cores are not up to the quality they use to be. Here’s a short video with the roller cam. IMG_0697.MOV

Thanks guys, with all this down time the wait is the worst. As soon as it’s back hopefully I’ll have some better updates. From what I’m hearing over and over, unfortunately it’s inferior quality flat tappet cam cores. I didn’t really believe it before, but I sure do now.

I originally dropped it off at a friends body shop in December and he was going to work it in between other jobs, with a tentative completion date of around April. It was getting front fender patches, both rear quarters and wheelhouses and some rust repair at the bottom of rear window and some Mulsanne Blue color. But, Covid-19 hit and he decided to shut his shop down in March when Michigan shut down. So unfortunately it’s been on hold, til who knows when. So I got the 402 back from the machine shop in January, all freshened up. Nothing crazy, .030” over, heads rebuilt, crank just needed a polish, mild cam and Performer intake, trying to keep the cost down. Set it up on my run stand to break it in and wiped one lobe on the cam. I’ve broken in dozens of cams in my life, this is the 2nd flat tappet cam that I’ve had that went bad. So back to the machine shop it goes to get inspected, cleaned out and going hydraulic roller now. So sadly, my hopes of having the car done late this summer are pretty much gone, it’s looking more like next spring.

Successfully removed the rear window trim with the flat tool. Worked great! Thanks for all your input. 👍 Started working on the rear window removal also. Slowly & carefully cutting into the sealer. Boy she’s stuck good. Work on that some more tomorrow.

I picked up one of those tools like you have in the pic this morning. We’ll give it a shot. Thanks

I have seen that one before. I’ll stop tomorrow and see if my local parts store has one. Will these trim pliers do the same job? Thanks

Great tips guys, appreciate all of them. Going to start working on pulling the trim this weekend. Is there a special trim removal tool for rear window ?

Appreciate the responses. 👍 I think chemical stripper is the route I will take, just to make sure all the layers are gone.

I’ve been working on cars, doing metal fab and welding since I was a teenager, but I’m definitely not an auto body guy. I am willing to learn and looking for tips or advice. And I’d like to save some money and do as much of the body work as possible, even if I don’t spray the final color when it’s done. My 72’ appears to be very solid, other than bottoms of front fenders & around the rear window is the only rust I’ve found. There is some minor bubbles In the paint over the rear quarters & the car was painted at some point in its life. It was a California car, so it’s pretty decent condition. So my main question is, panel by panel, do I chemical strip it ? Or start to sand it down ? Do I want to get rid of every trace of both layers of paint? This isn’t a full body off resto, just trying to make a nice driver out of it. Any help would be appreciated, thanks. Tim.