overdrive Posted September 11, 2017 Author Posted September 11, 2017 Thanks guys. You're too kind. I finished the headliner and the trunk. Package tray speakers and defroster are done. Also temporarily braced the battery tray and installed enough wiring ahead of the firewall to start it from the column switch. I put the dash and wiring in, as well as the steering column, carpet, and one seat. Waiting on new sail panel boards and HVAC control face. I drove it far enough to check the transmission shifting. The torque converter works great. Hits hard when I mash the pedal. Dan Quote
overdrive Posted September 25, 2017 Author Posted September 25, 2017 Restored the stainless trim for the interior side panels and the door panels are now installed. I got the HVAC controls installed and tested. Since I don't have the underhood wiring harness ready to go in, I'm using a few temporary wires in front of the firewall to operate everything. I have all the gauges, power windows, power locks, rear defogger, and every light that is in place working. The dash is done, except for the radio. I haven't installed the fenders and hood. I want to complete the underhood wiring and a couple other things before I do. The windshield should be here Tuesday. I sent the amp gauge off to have it converted to a volt gauge and it works great. I just got the sail panels, so I can finish out the rear seat area soon. The list is getting shorter. Just in time for winter. Dan Quote
overdrive Posted October 2, 2017 Author Posted October 2, 2017 Installed the windshield and finished the carpet and door panels. A local car show always has an unfinished class, so I took off a day of working on the car and showed it. There were right at 300 entries. I got first in class! Dan Quote
overdrive Posted October 2, 2017 Author Posted October 2, 2017 Tried to delete duplicate post. Someone please get rid of this. I can't. Quote
Mo's70MCs Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Sweet! Well deserved I'd say. "The fruit of thy labor" Nothing like taking it out for a spin and coming home with 1st in class... I'm sure there's many more in the near future. Car is looking awesome. Quote
MCfan Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 Congratulations, Dan!! That is fantastic!! I've never encountered an "Unfinished" class but it sure sounds interesting. I suppose most of our rides are "unfinished" to one degree or another... Quote
Michael Boyte Posted October 2, 2017 Posted October 2, 2017 NICE!!!! Now that is original in my book, I love it ! Quote
overdrive Posted October 3, 2017 Author Posted October 3, 2017 Thanks, all. Many shows in the Midwest are too small for an unfinished class, but certain ones draw 300 or more and those have enough unfinished cars to warrant a class. They usually require a certain degree of "unfinished" for the class. Entering a car that's just missing a radio, or something like that isn't allowed. Many people like to see them in progress. I had a lot of people stopping at my car that would have probably not given it more than a glance if it was finished. It was a fun day talking with some guys I met a few years back when I was showing our red/white '57 hardtop quite a bit, and met some new friends that had their own Monte stories. Dan Quote
willie Posted October 7, 2017 Posted October 7, 2017 Dan,She looks great!!! You are getting closer to the finish line. Beautiful!!!! Quote
Aceinsp Posted December 21, 2017 Posted December 21, 2017 Ya come a long way. Makes me envious of the work you have done. Boy i missed the boat on this one as you said you found the car in Ottawa, KS has use to work that area and always had my out for cars. Later RJD Quote
overdrive Posted December 22, 2017 Author Posted December 22, 2017 Thank you, Willie and RJ. I took a break to bowhunt for a couple of months, but it's time to hit it again. I've recently been working on inspecting, restoring, and eliminating wires that aren't needed in the underhood harnesses, and rewrapping with the proper harness tape. My second new windshield should arrive tomorrow. The antenna wire on the first one didn't fit, so I had to remove it. Luckily, all it cost me was time. I have another list of parts to get after Christmas. Shouldn't be too much left to buy. RJ, this car happened to come up for sale in this forum in 2008, soon after my son and I had just finished restoring our black '71 Monte. It was the first car we did 100% of the body work on and the first car I painted. I gave it to him for his high school car when it was done. He turned 27 today and he still drives it on nice days. My SS is the second car I've painted. The previous owner had a lot of good pics of the car, and after making the drive to see it, I was very confident it was an SS, even though the block had been replaced, and the build sheet hadn't been found, yet. Dan Quote
Aceinsp Posted December 22, 2017 Posted December 22, 2017 Thanks Dan. You do nice work and the car looks awesome. Maybe I should bring mine over and let you do your magic Later RJD Quote
overdrive Posted January 2, 2018 Author Posted January 2, 2018 Thank you RJ. I could work on it, but I'm very slow. You wouldn't want me to have it for 10 years! I finished the underhood harnesses and installed them. I tested everything and then took the dash loose again. I replaced the printed circuit for the gauges and then tested those circuits and the gauges. I then decided to make the aftermarket, driver side, front speaker sit a little lower, since it held the dash pad up just a little. I made a couple of cuts in the top of the volt gauge housing, (I changed the amp gauge to volts a few months ago), bent the top down a little, and then sealed the joint with seam sealer. This allowed the magnet on the speaker to sit a little lower and for the dash pad to fit right. The pic below shows the housing before cutting it and the old printed circuit still in place. I forgot to get another pic after the change. Restoring or replacing the wiper motor and getting a windshield I can use is next. Dan Quote
Aceinsp Posted January 3, 2018 Posted January 3, 2018 Dan If I could make another 10 years on this planet I would sure give you a shot at it. Later RJD Quote
overdrive Posted January 14, 2018 Author Posted January 14, 2018 Thank you. I decided to replace my rear view mirror. The reproduction supports don't have a hole through them for the map light wire, so I restored my original support. It had some small bubbles in the factory plating, so I filed and sanded it smooth and painted to match the original color. Ordered the door VIN decal and put it on. Replaced the back up light lenses and sold the old ones. The pic shows one of each. Bought battery cables from American Autowire and they are nice. I'm pretty sure I have the positive routed right. The length seems to be right. I'll get a side post battery soon. The build sheet showed the car came out with an R79W side post. If anyone needs them for a big block, call American Autowire to make sure you get the right ones. It seems their catalog has the wrong number for the positive cable and we had to use the code from my build sheet to get the correct length made. Dan 1 Quote
overdrive Posted January 21, 2018 Author Posted January 21, 2018 Disassembled the wiper motor and replated the covers and hardware. While I was at it, I replated some other bolts and screws. A new washer pump is ordered. I'm glad to get this job done. Dan 1 Quote
MCfan Posted January 21, 2018 Posted January 21, 2018 Disassembled the wiper motor and replated the covers and hardware. While I was at it, I replated some other bolts and screws. A new washer pump is ordered. I'm glad to get this job done. Dan Dan, Do you have a plating tank and set up or do you send parts out to be plated? Also, what type of plating did you do/have done on these pieces? Thanks. Quote
overdrive Posted January 22, 2018 Author Posted January 22, 2018 I decided this time to do my own plating with this kit from The Eastwood Company. It's easy to do, quick, and works great. Dan Quote
overdrive Posted February 19, 2018 Author Posted February 19, 2018 Finished sanding and buffing out the fenders, and then installing them. Got the NOS grille and the bumper filler panel on. The last of the sanding and buffing was on the fender extensions and I finished them today. Dan Quote
overdrive Posted February 19, 2018 Author Posted February 19, 2018 Double posted. Please delete. 1 Quote
orbit Posted February 19, 2018 Posted February 19, 2018 That car looks Awesome Dan! Ton of work in that car but its stunning. Joe 1 Quote
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