VIN 11596 Frame Swap - a rolling frame-off restoration

[82DMC12]

I got some good stuff done yesterday!

First of all I received a pair of Kicker KS 5.25" coaxial speakers which I was pleased to find fit perfectly into my Steger kick pods using the existing mounting backplate. I bought the optional grills for them so I put those on too. I got both pods swapped out in about an hour, only had to add a ring of adhesive foam insulation between the speaker and the grill ring for a totally secure fit.

Next, I received my windshield header and side trim pieces from the powder coat shop. The header turned out fantastic but I have decided to buy a set of NEW side trim pieces because my original ones were unfortunately a bit wavy/striped under the paint, but that was my fault from at least 20 years ago. I had my original trim pieces powder coated when I replaced the weather strip a long time ago and I stupidly used a wire wheel to remove the old paint. The wire wheel actually took away from aluminum so as I went up and down the trim piece it ran shallow stripes into it which were not that apparent with the old powder coat but now the new powder coat must have flowed differently or wasn't as thick and the stripes are visible if you are looking for them. I don't like it and I know it'll tick me off forever, so.... I bought a pair of NOS side trims and shipped them straight to the paint shop so they can strip them and paint them, hopefully looking perfect in the end.

All good though, I'm always working on something else and I'm still waiting on the dash which probably won't be done for another week anyway.

The header was a bit tough to install, there are five clips you have to get under the stainless windshield header strip in order to retain the header flat to the windshield. It took a couple hours to get this just right and only got it 100% after I removed the T panel AGAIN (man I'm getting good at this). While I had the T-panel off I had second thoughts about the butyl tape being the only thing holding the wiring access cover on, so I drilled two 1/8" holes and put a couple of rivets in. That should take care of that FOREVER.

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Extremely anal detail, I know, but you can feel the waves with your finger if you run it up and across the side trim pieces. I know I have to live with whatever I've got for a very long time after this because refinishing the trim pieces means removing and ruining the outer weatherstrip so now is the time for perfection. I'd rather wait an extra couple of weeks to finish everything instead of looking at it a year from now and kicking myself for being impatient.

[82DMC12]

OK I just realized I'm about a month behind on this blog!

In early April I took delivery of my refinished dash from David Hudgins (see my review in the vendor /product reviews section) which turned out, essentially, perfect. I couldn't be happier with the quality of the repair and how it looks inside my car again! No more crack and the material and color is a great match for the rest of my interior. I did some updating to the mount system for my dash speakers (including 3D printed spacers) and then installed the dash which was pretty straight forward. I had to do a few repairs to some of those M6 studs on the knee pads using 2-part plastic weld epoxy. Now everything is super solid with no loose parts or rattles.

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[82DMC12]

Next I received my windshield side trim pieces from the power coat company (Thanks Eric Woltkamp in FL!). These were a pair of NOS side trim pieces that I had shipped directly to Eric so his company could strip them and powder coat them. They turned out great and look better than new. When installing them, I had a couple of body screw holes that were stripped out so I simply drilled new holes in the side strips and ran the correct screw through that hole into a new fresh part of the body, then filled the old hole with urethane. I had to bend and manipulate the driver side slightly to get it to lay flat over the header but eventually it all worked out and looks better and fits better than it did when I started.

Installing the header and aligning it was a pain. I think the tangs and fingers on the underside are slightly bent from being removed and installed a few times, and perhaps the header has warped slightly from powder coat curing. I was able to run my scope up into it from the back side after it was aligned and confirm that all tabs have engaged the stainless strip below it, so I really can't make it any better. I replaced all the U-clips and locked it down after confirming door alignment multiple times.

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[82DMC12]

The next job was to install a new set of rear upper infill panels which is what the T-panel attaches to on the rear inside. I had to remove the first set of panels because I found the M6 screws that hold the gas strut lower reinforcement plate was interfering with the panel alignment. In short, the hardware was pushing on the infill panel near the strut mount which was making T-panel installation difficult.

I had to order some fairly exotic hardware from Belmetric which is an ultra-low profile torx screw, this was installed with an internal tooth washer and blue loctite. Finally I was able to set in the infill panels once and for all.


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[82DMC12]

At this point, all that was left was to install the T panel and weather stripping. Even after all of this work, I still had a tough time getting the T panel aligned and set exactly where it needs to be so that it's not trying to tuck under the header but also not catch on the door corners. I ended up having to really pry the header forward with plastic pry tools and a rubber mallet between the door hinges and the header. That was needed to push it forward and give me more room to keep the T panel level with the header.

In the rear, I found the main problem is the two inner screws for the T panel which screw into the body were getting loose and somewhat stripped. I bought some larger stainless screws which helped but still didn't give me confidence the panel would lift up at some time in the future. I ended up drilling a small hole in the flange on the T-panel next to this inner screw, where I then ran a back up screw into the infill panel while holding the T panel in just the right position. This way the panel is locked down and can't shift up because the backup screw hole is not slotted.

FINALLY I was able to install the weatherstrip.

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Here you can see how the T-panel wanted to dive under the header because there just wasn't enough room for the panel between the header and infill panels. I had to pry this header forward and lock it down again in order to get it to sit better. I am using industrial velcro to hold the center of the T panel flat so it won't bow upwards which is a common problem. In this picture I have a folded up blue towel under the panel between the pieces of velcro so I can easily move the panel to align it.







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Weatherstrip installation time!

[82DMC12]

I had to do a couple of minor adjustments to the passenger door striker but otherwise at this point the car was done. It was filthy from all this work all winter so I drove it out the driveway to hose it off before driving back inside to give it my usual hand wash. I didn't bother with a full detail because I'm trying to drive it as much as possible to really wring it out before spring cruises and a road trip coming up in May. So far it's been very good with no issues. I did an oil change on Sunday and everything looked normal there too.

Of course I feel like I'm "mostly done" but is the car ever really done? I think I'm now at the point where there is no part of the car I have not yet worked on (except for the HVAC box which, knock on wood, seems solid) and I can't think of any major campaigns to wage anymore. I may get some adjustable front upper control arms so I can dial in the alignment even better and I do want to refinish the facias again - but that will wait until next year. I just want to relax and enjoy the car now.

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[SupercoolBill]

The next job was to install a new set of rear upper infill panels which is what the T-panel attaches to on the rear inside. I had to remove the first set of panels because I found the M6 screws that hold the gas strut lower reinforcement plate was interfering with the panel alignment. In short, the hardware was pushing on the infill panel near the strut mount which was making T-panel installation difficult.

I had to order some fairly exotic hardware from Belmetric which is an ultra-low profile torx screw, this was installed with an internal tooth washer and blue loctite. Finally I was able to set in the infill panels once and for all.


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If my mounts are solid should I just leave them alone. Seems like quite a pain to do the reinforcement set up.

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[SupercoolBill]

Do you worry that something is going to happen to your car now that it is 100% perfect. Runaway shopping carts, distracted drivers, trailer truck drivers that have no clue what they are doing, etc.
If you don't mind me asking, how much insurance do you have on it? Asking for a friend.

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[SupercoolBill]

I had to do a couple of minor adjustments to the passenger door striker but otherwise at this point the car was done. It was filthy from all this work all winter so I drove it out the driveway to hose it off before driving back inside to give it my usual hand wash. I didn't bother with a full detail because I'm trying to drive it as much as possible to really wring it out before spring cruises and a road trip coming up in May. So far it's been very good with no issues. I did an oil change on Sunday and everything looked normal there too.

Of course I feel like I'm "mostly done" but is the car ever really done? I think I'm now at the point where there is no part of the car I have not yet worked on (except for the HVAC box which, knock on wood, seems solid) and I can't think of any major campaigns to wage anymore. I may get some adjustable front upper control arms so I can dial in the alignment even better and I do want to refinish the facias again - but that will wait until next year. I just want to relax and enjoy the car now.

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Looks

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[82DMC12]

If my mounts are solid should I just leave them alone. Seems like quite a pain to do the reinforcement set up.

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Good question! I guess everything I do to this car is a labor of love so to me I'm glad it's the best it can be. My old mounts were not bent from the outside looking at them but once I had them out I could see both of them were slightly bent roof-ward. Certainly this is not a common failure area and you can mitigate it by running with torsion bars properly tensioned (weak), using struts that have an internal brake, and not driving with the doors open. The installation was tough when dealing with the riveted infill panels and I made it even more tedious by messing with the windshield trim which didn't NEED to be refinished but in the end, I guess it's all worth it to me.