Completed the same process again today on the front windshield; first cleaning the inside and the outside of the glass removing all glue, then cleaning it with the acid, and finally buffing it. The compound I used on the back glass worked fairly well but there were some small scratches in the glass so I used 1000 grit compound with the buffer and was able to alleviate most of the scratches.
The front glass is more of a three man job and luckily one of my son’s friends was over to give us an additional hand. Interestingly enough while we were talking about the car I found out that he has a 93 Ford Lightning that belonged to his grandfather with 28,000 miles. Pretty cool guy and was a great help.
The interior trim code specifies parchment with dark ivy gold accents so the dash pad carpeting and rear package tray are dark ivy gold/green. The original package tray and padding were in pretty good condition. I tried a couple of the Ivy gold dyes and paint however none of them matched the trim or the small color sample I could still see on the package tray. I thought I would check out the color selections at the local parts house and stumbled across deep forest green camouflage paint. It has a flat finish and the color match was almost exact.
Started the dash pad installation yesterday afternoon. Prior to the windshield installation I fitted the pad and notched it for the vin plate. The pad also needs to be trimmed on the right and left side where it wraps down beside the heater control and passenger side filler panel.
Spent an hour with no success looking for the special installation nuts it comes with since they are a different thread than factory. Since the factory studs are smaller than those in the new dash I thought I would try rethreading the factory nuts with a tap…success. They tapped with nice clean threads remaining.
Once the pad was in everything looked great except the right side where it wraps down. The pad is molded bowing outward so far it cover the pinch weld. You can force it in place but I was concerned it would eventually pull the stud out.
I started the nut on the back then used a wood clamp to pull it into position. Using my heat gun on low heat I heated the padding from the top arch to the bottom on the outer and inner facing then let it sit overnight with the clamp on.
This morning I released the clamp and let it sit for about 30 minutes to see if it sprung back but it didn’t. I tightened the remaining nut on the back and the pad is complete.
The windshield to dash pad molding was a bit of a bear. The reproduction pad seems to be thicker on top than the originals.
Using a scratch awl to align the holes and apply downward pressure on the pad I started with the awl in the second hole from the left and the screw in the far left hole. Working my way across. I believe I spent as much time on those seven screws as I did the right side exhaust manifold.
My license plate came back restored today for the car. A good friend of mine found a 1968 North Carolina dealer plate which I had restored however I did the color combination to match what’s on the car.
Haven’t gotten a lot accomplished on the car this week. I did get up early this morning and get the seat belt clips, coat hooks a pillar trim and window opening trim installed.
Thought I would set the rear seat back in just to see how the parchment interior is going to look. I’m really loving the Augusta green and parchment combo.
Decided to tackle the radiator to hood seal that the big black cars use. The seals were originally stapled to the top of the radiator core support using staples similar to the inner fender splash shield rubber. I’ve got to say that had to have been a pretty bad staple gun that they had at the factory to hammer staples through sheet metal.
The reproduction staples are slightly larger than the factory ones so it requires drilling out each hole with a 1/16 inch drill bit. Once the holes are drilled I clamped the seal in place. Then starting at one end I used a dental pic to create the holes through the rubber seal for the staples. In order to bend the bottom side of the staples I found a pair of needle nose pliers used in a twisting motion to flatten the staple lands. Then used a pair of channel locks to do the final pinch.
I recognize that this job would’ve been much easier without the battery in radiator in so if you’re building one of these cars consider putting the seal on prior to those items as it would be much easier to access the bottoms of the staples.
The radiator core support was disassembled blasted and then powdercoated. I got it all put back together this weekend and installed this evening as well.
I did the oil and phosphate process on the hood hinges and the front upper shock mounts as well. I saved them for last since it’s easier to fix a mistake on small parts while you’re learning.
Your car will br amazing when completed. The photos you are sharing look fantastic. Augusta with Parchment will be beautiful when all of the components are all back in place.
Certainly an article for ATSOTC magazine would be a great way to share the images and your journey to bringing your project to the finish line.
Gavin I appreciate your compliments. Not sure if my work is magazine quality but thank you. I’ve seen some fantastic builds on this forum that have been my guide for trying to do the best I can on this one. That’s quite a beauty that you have posted there.
I realize today I made a small mess up. I forgot to install the front and rear window trim clips prior to putting the glass in. This is a little bit tricky because the rubber from the window weatherstrip holds the clips in along with their spring tension.
After a couple of failed attempts in trying to push the clips in decided to use a little bit of silicone spray on the windshield weatherstrip to allow the clip to pass. I used a pair of flat tip snap ring pliers to push the clip in sometimes having to use a small tap from a rubber hammer. Success!
The latest goodies from WCCC arrived yesterday. New sunvisors retaining rods and rod ends. The pivoting rod end is a little bit tricky to get started in the sunvisor once you get it going just takes a little bit of effort to get it pushed into position.
Prior to installing the headliner are used Royce his advice in putting screws in the holes that I would later years including the sunvisor mounting brackets. A small cross cut over the heads of the attaching screws so that I could remove the old screws how long with a cross cut for the pivot end of the visor mount.
Decided to do the final fitting on the carpet today. Started out by properly fitting the carpet against the tunnel then using a scratch all from the bottom to put the initial puncture in the carpet. I then rolled the carpet back exposing the bottom side and made a cross cut to allow for the seat track bolt entry. Then taking a spare 5/16 bolt I pushed it through the carpet from top to bottom and used a sharp razor blade to trim the excess carpet material away from the bolt.
Do not attempt to run a screw for a drillbit through carpeting. Due to the manner in which the carpet is manufactured you will unravel the carpet if it grabs onto a thread.
Once all four seat track holes were cut I attached the bare seat tracks to the flooring to hold the carpet in position. I located a pilot for both seatbelt holes and in the same manner as the seat track bolts are a cross cut then trim the excess material away with a sharp razor.
To avoid drilling another hole in the car for the carpet attaching the screw. I used Royce‘s trick of taking a long screw and cutting the head off then sharpening one and two appoint. I then threaded the screw into the existing hole in the seat riser and pushed the carpeting down over the sharp end of the screw. Then removed the pilot and installed the carpet attaching screw.
The sill plates are now ready to install. I find that it’s easier to install the sill plates prior to the seats going in so that you can get the one center side screw in which is practically inaccessible wants to seat is in the car.
