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(Picture) Diary of an ECI (East Coast Idiot)

506K views 2K replies 150 participants last post by  epicVIN 
#1 · (Edited)
Flintstones, meet the Flintstones!!!

It's going good! Drivers side will be better than new in a short time...

Juls, At least your rust hasn't required measures THIS drastic!!

Safety Bar?!! We don't need no Stinkin' Safety Bar!!!

:smoke:

Bob









 
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#2 ·
Wow. Your're an idiot. I luv you, man.
 
#6 ·
My 67 looks similar except the pans are in better shape but the firewall panels on both side are gone. Behind the rear seat where it slopes up to the trunk and wheel wells is munched and I haven't seen where you can get a repro piece to fix it. Anyone know of any? Surprisingly the fenders are all solid.I guess someone washed them out regularly.
 
#8 ·
DANNY CLEMENS said:
Hey, a little Bondo and POR-15 and you're ready to go.
A LOT of welding, then the other side, a LOT MORE welding, a full-floor transplant from a Cali HT car, a LOT MORE WELDING, a cowl transplant from a Cali HT car, EVEN MORE WELDING, not to mention drilling out a GAZILLION (that's a lot!) spot welds along the way.

THEN the POR-15 and I am ready to go!!

Regards,

Bob
 
#9 · (Edited)
Update: Donor metal "harvesting"

Now, here is the REAL "Flintstones, meet the Flintstones" car!! Harvest of donor hardtop floorpan in excellent (for an ECI) condition. Few easy repairs in flat areas and slap this sucker in wholesale to the 'vert.

Got the floorpan loose (drilling a bunch of spot welds and popping the metal loose, cutting of side seams, not needed for 'vert), exhaust from Y-pipe back off, E brake cable disconnected, rear brake line disconnected, driveshaft out, push the rear of the pan up and back close to the rear windshield, front clears the front frame horns, wrestle it around the Y pipe end, BAM!! It's out in one, nice piece!

Not for everyone (or more likely most), but sure beats a bunch of seamed in and incorrect patch panels. Not to mention that I can clean and prep an estimated full 1/2 of the undercarriage off of the car.

I love it when a plan comes together.

Stay tuned...

Later,

An ECI







 
#10 · (Edited)
Gee, I forgot the 1st Inner Rocker "after"

Here's a few more shots after the drivers inner rocker and torques boxes were installed.





 
#12 · (Edited)
Sunroof69 said:
Wow. Brave or idiotic. Not sure which:D
Neither when you have spent as much time as I have studying, planning and plotting my strategy. This is the hardtop, not the vert. Actually, it would not matter for either as the roof, inner/outer rocker and torque boxes are the real supporting structure (on a HT) and everything but the roof (on a 'vert).
Sunroof69 said:
I would be afraid it would just fold in half when put on a lift.
As you can see, the whole job was done on my lift (and what a civilized way to go about doing this!). Floor? You don't need no stinkin' floor! Either way "brave" and "idiotic" are complementary to an ECI, so thanks man!!
:smoke: :icon16:
 
#13 ·
Bob, you are on your way to a real nice convert! Keep up the good work!

...The little things I could get in my big lunchbox
Like nuts, an' bolts, and all four shocks
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home.
Now, up to now my plan went all right
'Til we tried to put it all together one night
And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong....

I got it one piece at a time
And it didn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around.
 
#14 ·
1969XR7Vert said:
Either way "brave" and "idiotic" are complementary to an ECI, so thanks man!!
:smoke: :icon16:
Your Velcome. I too am a proud E.C.I. I had my right rear floor plan replaced, and now, I'm waiting to hear from the body man when he can get started on the driverside front torquebox.

Hey man, I think you should keep the body as a shell, and then drop it on the desired chassis/interior combination as your mood suits you.:bong:
 
#15 · (Edited)
Sunroof69 said:
Hey man, I think you should keep the body as a shell, and then drop it on the desired chassis/interior combination as your mood suits you.:bong:
Inspiration has struck!! I will sell the remains as an East Coast No-Floor, No-Cowl, Rusty Roof Shell (ECNFNCRRS)!!! Take that you WCRFS fans!!:chain:
 
#16 ·
C Gauch said:
Bob, you are on your way to a real nice convert! Keep up the good work!

...The little things I could get in my big lunchbox
Like nuts, an' bolts, and all four shocks
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home.
Now, up to now my plan went all right
'Til we tried to put it all together one night
And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong....

I got it one piece at a time
And it didn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around.

Ha ha Chris I like your lil poem! :icon16:
Bob I should show your Pictures to My Hubby maybe then he won't think I'M A IDIOT:cwm27:
Keep up the good work!!
Juli :wave:
 
#17 ·
It's not a poem

my69xr7rocks said:
Ha ha Chris I like your lil poem! :icon16:

Juli :wave:
It's not a poem. Those are the lyrics to a Johnny Cash song called One Piece at a Time. It's about a guy who steals car parts from his employer with the intent to build a car. Didn't know guys from New Jersey were familiar with country music. Good stuff!
 
#19 · (Edited)
ntgregory said:
Whew! I thought replacing a trunk filler panel was an accomplishment.

How many spot weld drill bits have you burned through?
Todd,

It will sound hard to believe, but I am still on the second side of the very first spot weld bit! I started out using a little WD-40 when I did the first inner rocker and torque boxes (you have to go through about 1/8" of metal for a lot of those welds), towards the end of that job I flipped over the first bit (and kinda stopped using the WD-40 although it enhances cutting and prolongs bit life, I should go back to using it) and am still using that one now. The floorpan was a breeze by comparison and a welcome relief after doing the many "brute" inner rocker and torque box spot welds.

Now the 1/8" pilot bit I have gone through a number of mostly because of breaking them. I find it much easier to rock the drill in a small circular motion to aid the cutting process. Sometimes a bit will break while doing this.

Most important thing I've learned to make this process of spot weld removal easier (and others live by this as well) is to pre-drill the pilot holes so you are not having to do that with each spot weld drilling operation in addition to drilling the actual weld. In fact, some spot weld tools do not have the pilot drill at all, they have a "stub" rod instead to go in a hole drilled by other means. I have gone to this method as well, leaving a broken pilot bit in the tool as a stub instead of a good bit, since I predrill this works out and saves me bits in the process. Less likely to break bits when drilling with a regular bit putting in the pilot holes.

Hi, my name is Bob and I'm an ECI.

{audience:} Hi Bob...

:buck:
 
#20 ·
jcbingcougar said:
Didn't know guys from New Jersey were familiar with country music...
There's a lot about "Guys from New Jersey" people don't know. Sure, we fart, burp, scratch our genitals (but only at formal events), but we have been known very eclectic in our tastes too. Heck, some of us even have more than two teeth and two brain cells to send synaptic impulses between!!:lolani:
 
#22 · (Edited)
How do you like me now??

Okay, time for an update from your favorite ECI.

Second inner rocker/front torque box assembly just about to go in, to be followed soon thereafter by firewall foot area patch panels and then the HT floor modified to fit the 'vert. A little work to do to the pan before it is ready to go in, but we are about to get on a roll here.

2.5 days this week devoted to nothing but the car, thank god I have the cheap garage AC, was 100 degrees here today, garage was tolerable at 81 degrees and minus a lot of humidity. Lot of grunt work in the offing today and the next two days.

Note the Grey primer on the undercarriage side of 'vert seat reinforcements, this is what was under the grease, so at least on my car, grey primer was the finish (plus some undercoat here and there), not red oxide. I noticed Jdalu did his trans tunnel in grey and was wondering if it was correct. Looks like it is.

Bob



 
#23 ·
Looks like yer doing an awsome job (for an ECI) ...keep it up....the pictures are worth a book .....when you are done, write one and sell it along with the detailed pictures you are showing us and WALLA! yer fortune is made! Seriously, have you ever tried to find a book on cougars? I have yet to find one of any kind.
 
#24 ·
Any tips and or procedures to removing the drivers side torque box??
I have to replace mine and am wondering just how to get started.
Oh, and I have no "civilized" lift. I can see a lot of time on my back coming up..
So where do I start cutting and drilling??
I wish someone would write up a "shop manual section" on R & R'ing a 69 Cougar Torque box..
 
#25 · (Edited)
COUGRRRMAN said:
Any tips and or procedures to removing the drivers side torque box??
I have to replace mine and am wondering just how to get started.
Oh, and I have no "civilized" lift. I can see a lot of time on my back coming up..
So where do I start cutting and drilling??
I wish someone would write up a "shop manual section" on R & R'ing a 69 Cougar Torque box..
Assume you mean the front torque box (or either side)?? Convertible or HT??

The first thing to do is to clean the floor where peoples feet sit. There are a number of spot welds from the firewall extension (the floor area where peoples feet sit) to the inner surface of the torque box. You will need to slice the firewall extension just past the inside of the front frame rail and remove it (see what it looks like in my first inner rocker after pics, although do a neater job than I did!).

Then you are going to need to cut the welds from the inner rocker to the torque box and the four or so spot welds to the inner flange of the front frame rail to the torque box (again see my first inner rocker after pics). Do a clean job as you need to harvest part of the old inner rocker to graft onto the new torque box. Then, the front frame rail to torque box which is inside the wheel well running vertically, the welds are hidden. The best way to do this is to split the torque box with an air chisel running vertically along the frame rail and then across the bottom by the corner (both in the wheel well) where the torque box bends under. Do the same at the bottom of what you see on the inside where the torque box leaves the floorpan and bends downward to meet the bottom. You then can open the torque box up like a clamshell. Basically, you cut the metal to be replaced whenever you cannot access the welds in order to get access. There are also inner rocker to torque box welds that are inside the torque box. Actually, I am unsure the job can even be done without replacing the inner rocker at the same time. Maybe if the new torque box was split in half and put in bottom half first followed by top half (advice from Tom Lawrance and what he does).

As you might of guessed, all of this must be done with proper support too, under the leaf springs in the back and under where the lower control arms attach to the frame in the front.

Last, I will tell you that getting started is the hardest part. I spent a really long time looking and thinking, looking and thinking some more and then looking and thinking once again before I cut my first spot weld. This is a scary and pretty technical job, something one should be VERY prepared to take on. Not to discourage you, but it is probably as much or more than it looks like and my lousy explanation. Unless you feel your skills and mechanical aptitude are really good, it is probably better to get a West Coast Rust Free Shell (WCRFS)....NOT!!! J/k. Seriously though, it is a job for most that is best left to a professional. If you go for it and feel you are up to it, I will assist you as best I can with advice.

Yes, a book or manual would be a good idea. Writing (and publishing, marketing, etc...) a book would be at least as hard as doing the job though!! However, being an ECI, I might just be dumb enough to try, just as I was to engage in this monumental project. Maybe there is a career direction for an EE in the NE USA afterall, it is just not obvious one...

Regards,

Bob
 
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