April 2009: With the body back on the frame I now have begun to rebuild this pile of parts into something resembling a car. My plan is to get it started for the first time this Summer.
Thus far I've installed the electrical system, a new Alumitech radiator, connected the plumbing, installed the dash pad, the instrument cluster and the glovebox. I reassembled the folding rear seat mechanism to make sure I had everything and to make sure everything works and fits. This was a good idea since the first time I folded the seat down the passenger side hinge mechanism broke. Luckily I had a spare set. I cleaned up the replacement hinge, painted it and installed it and the seat now works great. It's pretty cool how the folding floor sections lock the seat back in the down posistion.
Here you can see the seat mechanism in place with the seat folded down. I have managed to find a restorable pair of wagon rear wheel opening moldings which you can see on the cargo floor. I've been looking for these for almost 5 years! You can also see the front bucket seat and console I've installed temporarily to make sure things fit correctly.
Here's another shot of the rear seat area.
The front fenders still need a visit to the sandblaster and body shop, but they are temporarily in place to help hold the radiator support in place for when I try to get it started. With the fenders on it's pretty clear again that it's sitting too low in the front. I plan to replace the front springs to help bring the nose back up an inch or two. If it sits this low with many components yet to be installed, it will be way too low when completely rebuilt.
The engine looks good with fenders around it. The starter and ignition systems have all been wired. I still need to install the brake master cylinder and proportioning valve. The power steering system isn't hooked up yet either, but I don't need that to get the thing running. The parking brake system is in and working at least. The brake and clutch pedal assemblies are also in place. The wiper mechanism is in though the motor will need to be sent out to be refurbished since it's kind of scruffy looking. I might pull the motor off the coupe and install it here and install the freshly restored one back on the coupe. You can also see the nice Alumitech radiator and '66 fan shroud. I need to find a better thermostat housing. I also need to make a short S-pipe for properly routing the lower heater hose around the corner of the valve cover better.
The interior is shaping up. I haven't decided whether I want to install the optional wood wheel or not. I have everything needed to install a complete Malibu/Malibu SS standard wheel though I'd need to paint it black of course. I still need to find a nicer driver's side kick panel. The vents are in and work fine. The dash top clock will go in next. I had a heck of a time installing the dash pad. The car originally had a dash pad but it was beyond saving. The studs on this dash pad didn't line up well with the dash pad I acquired a few years ago so I had to enlarge some of the mounting holes to make things fit. It was kind of hard to bring myself to drill new holes in my freshly painted dash even if those holes are hidden by the pad! Drilling the holes for the clock mounting was kind of painful, but it will look great with a dash top clock.
Another shot from the other side. Kind of beginning to look like a car again.
October 2009: The doors and fenders have all be completed and are loosely hung on the car. Only the hood and tailgate are left and are in the shop now. When they are done it goes in for paint.
I have a special little "factory" tach to go into the car that should fit right in with both the retro/stock theme and the potenet modern performance theme.
