69 GTO Build

[ekmxryda]

Hey Brian,
Sorry I have been distracted with looking for work after being let go just before the holidays, 16 patents over 21 years at the start up I helped start, oh well time to start over. So the productivity on the GTO has suffered a bit.
Setting up a home office so I can try and do some freelance Industrial Design, Product Development for now. I can offer my services to forum members too with Solidworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, and concept sketches if anyone needs design help.

Back to the GTO, the frame rails from RS are 39.5" wide over the rear end, so I ended up widening each tub 3.25" for 40" between the inner tubs. With the 345 bottomed out in the tub there was 3/4" clearance per side. You would probably be fine with 3" if you already got around to welding, but I just wanted that extra room.



Did some initial fitting of the body today, rear of the body is still an inch and a half off the body mounts. I need to make room in the trunk for the Watts Link, and top arm of the three link. No big surprises though.

[67speedfreak]

Looking good man ! Thanks for the info!
I decided to go 3.25 a side. This sets my frame rails at 40 inches out side.

Thanks, Brian

[ekmxryda]

Looking good man ! Thanks for the info!
I decided to go 3.25 a side. This sets my frame rails at 40 inches out side.

Thanks, Brian

No problem, thanks for checking up on me, I need you guys to keep pushing me to get this thing on the road someday!
Looking forward to checking out the narrowed frame on yours, 40 inches sounds good. RS went a little bit narrower to fit the splined sway bar outside the rail I think.

[67speedfreak]

BTW, sorry to hear about the job ! Sounds like you got skills so hopefully things work out for you !

[Fastmonty]

Eric, and all... some more motivation for you. I just finished polishing the bumper. I can not wait to get it back together... BTW, Eric I sent you a PM concerning a possible job in your area.

Get back to building! Mike

[SShep71]

All these 68/9 GTO projects going on is awesome. Eric that chassis looks LEGIT. Is the center hoop going to interfere with a rear seat? What happened with work sucks, but with the skills and experience you should be able to find something.

Mike, the bumper looks good I wanna see this car assembled. We are going to have to link up when I get back to SD in March.

[ekmxryda]

Hey guys thanks for the inspiration and all the kind words, I will find a new job soon, I just look at it like I am on sabbatical.

Brian did you finish welding the frame today?
Paint is looking great Mike!
Shep the rear seat will be custom for sure. Looking forward to your new interior when you get back at it.

I need to order a Fuel Cell now, anyone have a preference or favorite company?
Looking to cut up the trunk next.

[67speedfreak]

Eric, and all... some more motivation for you. I just finished polishing the bumper. I can not wait to get it back together... BTW, Eric I sent you a PM concerning a possible job in your area.

Get back to building! Mike

That looks absolutely beautiful ! Nice work !

[67speedfreak]

Hey guys thanks for the inspiration and all the kind words, I will find a new job soon, I just look at it like I am on sabbatical.

Brian did you finish welding the frame today?
Paint is looking great Mike!
Shep the rear seat will be custom for sure. Looking forward to your new interior when you get back at it.

I need to order a Fuel Cell now, anyone have a preference or favorite company?
Looking to cut up the trunk next.

No ! Being my anal self I wanted to sand blast in the frame rails and epoxy before I weld.

Just didn't get to it yet.

Your car is looking awesome ! I had Scott at rock valley build me one for the Fairlane build I'm doing. It has a drop in A1000 fuel pump, baffles and is made of stainless.

Here is a pic. He will build it custom to your specs. Or hell it looks like you would have no problem building one yourself.

Brian

[ekmxryda]

Hi Brian,
Cool thanks, it looks like they do nice work, I will have to give him a call.
Will try and mock up something in cardboard today.

[Fastmonty]

Guys, thanks for the bumper paint comments... I did something exciting last night and installed the first emblem. Check it out... It wasn't easy because the latest batch of emblems from Ames/OPG/YearOne do not fit the stock holes and I had to shave the pins. Anyway, it motivates me to pick up the pace too... Enjoy.

[ekmxryda]

Mike that paint is making me jealous, how many hours of sanding and buffing do you think?
I don't have much of an update, feeling like a slacker.
But I did weld up a frame dolly over the weekend, does that count?

[Tony@Roadstershop]

What a teaser pic!

[ekmxryda]

Hi Tony, thanks for checking in, sorry for the tease!
I finally had some time to cut the trunk today.
Still need to take the shocks off and cycle the rear end to figure out how much more I need to clearance.

[Fastmonty]

Eric,

Great to see you back at it. To answer your color sanding question... How long does it take? Tooooo long. I've never done it before so I have areas of rework, which I'm getting good at. That said, after the learning curve, it's about 3 hours per panel.

1500 trizact
2000 by hand where needed (sometimes this is the first step)
3000 trizact
5000 trizact in large areas.
Step one two and three of the 3M perfect it cut/buff

I have to reclear the left rear, do the above steps again, and I'm freakin done.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Mike

[HeadInTheClouds]

This thread has been a good read. It amazes me what people get done at the house. Makes me jealous too. Wish I had the space and skill. Look forward to some updates. My lady wants a 69 gto. I wanted to buy an older Camaro or Trans Am to restore. Since I already have an 02 ws6. Well, Keep up the good work guys!

[ekmxryda]

Mike you are doing great, you could always paint cars on the side, but it is a lot of work that seems to take forever. Cant wait to see the finished product!
Hey thanks HeadInTheClouds, it took me forever to be able to afford to build a garage at my house. Luckily my GTO didn't all turn into rust, just some of it!
You have a very smart and cool lady there so keep her around and get her a GTO someday. Keep checking Craigslist you never know when a good deal might pop up.
That WS6 is a fun daily driver.

Little more cutting done today, moving slow.

[ekmxryda]

The 3 link hump is off the list, recycled the center section from the old floor and built around it. I need to invest in some sheet metal tools to speed me up.
Maybe I would miss the vise and bag of sand though...

[67speedfreak]

Looks great man ! Nice work !

[Fastmonty]

Eric,

Great progress! Soooo, some more motivation for everyone, including myself. I had to take a break from wet sanding... I'm not done with the rear quarters, yet. I decided to clean up the garage and bolt on the front end... with mirrors too.

Enjoy!