1969 Imperial progress thread

Wow is all i can say i. I just spent a1/2 thumbing this . You sir are true crafstman! Om looking forward to following this!!
 
Of course I do. But I want to know if there are special things to note.


Thanks furyus 67! I love doing these things and seing the before after pics ;)
 
I'm thinking there might be a tension spring in there that can cause some serious injury, so please be careful. Another interest of mine are vintage wind-up phonographs. Opening the spring box wrong could kill the mechanic, quite simply that spring is very long and would fill a room in an instant. I'm not saying that's the case with the antenna, just that it is something to consider.
 
I just decided to remove the antenna and replace it with a a hidden one, but I willl keep all the original parts so I will rebuild it anyway. I just don't want to kill myself or destroy something.
 
I will dive into the body work. Even if I'm scared about it, because I have no experiences on that...

I know the feeling Julian, but I usually find that fear go's away once I start on a unknown project and it usually turns out to be much easier then anticipated........ Usually......
 
I'm sure you are right, but I never ever did anything comparable... That doesn't stop me from diving into it, but I have sleepless nights thinking about what options I have and how to do it.

Bake the body, hot tank it, blast it or just do it myself with paint stripper and grinders... Everything is very expensive here...
 
But you're going to anyway, aren't you... lol

Ok, I can't access to the drive assambly on this motor, the cover is pressed on and "bent" together. For a good reason I guess...
Thanks to the shipping company, the mast is bent on every step, means this power antenna is junk, because you can't remove the nylon cable from the drive to replace the mast.
But I decided not to put a power antenna back on the car anyway. I prefer the clean look without an antenna. I will remove the hole in the fender and install a hidden antenna under the headliner.
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Here is a smaller update. First I just wanted to keep the original Dash illumination. I initially thought all bulbs were just shot, but I found out that the 2 piece sockets were to coroded to lead current anymore.
Dashboard - Illumination 01.jpgDashboard - Illumination 04.jpgDashboard - Illumination 08.jpg

It was not possible to separate the two pieces without breaking them. So I decided to switch to LEDs. I modified the plastic holders by drilling holes into them and used rivets and new connectors to make new contacts.
Dashboard - Illumination 20.jpgDashboard - Illumination 40.jpgDashboard - Illumination 17.jpg
This 5mm LED was my first attempt, but is was ugly and cold white (6500°K). The color temperature of the LED throught the filters made it look blue.

Dashboard - Illumination 25.jpg
So I bought a perfboard and used neutral white (4000°K) 10mm LEDs instead.

Dashboard - Illumination 56.jpg
Because the new lights were a little bit darker then the originals, I sprayed the housings silver to brighten them up.

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Sorry, I don't even believe it then. We'll just have to wait for your car to be on the road to see how you react to the first item that needs repair.

:icon_lol:
 
I would go the short cuts when something is broken and do it probably in the wintertime when the car is sleeping anyway ;)
 
Ok, I can't access to the drive assambly on this motor, the cover is pressed on and "bent" together. For a good reason I guess...
Thanks to the shipping company, the mast is bent on every step, means this power antenna is junk, because you can't remove the nylon cable from the drive to replace the mast.
But I decided not to put a power antenna back on the car anyway. I prefer the clean look without an antenna. I will remove the hole in the fender and install a hidden antenna under the headliner.
View attachment 48322

Oh... i put a modern power antenna on mine.
if you fill the hole, will you sell the antenna guide ( attached to the fender ) ?
 
Yes I do, but not before I have a new antenna installed. So, it can take a while until I will sell it.
 
It's been awhile since I had time to work on the car because I'm working away from home the last two month. I tried a few different paint stripping methods but none of them worked...

I've read about using breaking fluid, I tried DOT3, 4 and 5.1. Nothing.
I tried 2 different paint strippers. Nothing. The good stuff is not available in Germany anymore due to environmental reasons...

Today I started sanding and found more layers then I've expected.

I'm counting 5 layers of paint. Is this the factory amount of layers?
2015-06-19 17.17.48.jpg

I also found a lot of bondo, but no welding seams so far. Could that be factory? I've read about Chrysler using bondo from the factory on some of the big panels?!
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The car should have originally had three layers of paint so it looks like it was primered and painted again sometime in its life. Maybe the bondo was done then.
With regards to paint stripper, check with the local aerodrome and find a place there that repaints aircraft. They are sure to be able to tell you what sort of paint stripper they use.
 
Chemical stripping is a mess and you can't find the "good" strippers anyway. Since you want to do as much as you can yourself, I suggest these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-1-2-x7-8-...165?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f3d16f06d along with a 4 1/2" angle grinder. Harbor Fright actually makes a decent throw away version, but I like my Dewalt.

Figure on 40 or so of those discs to strip the car... maybe more... so shop for the best price. (I just grabbed the first one I saw). You do have to watch out for heat as they will warp the panel if you don't use some common sense.

I've stripped panels with these and they do a great job.

One other thing... NEVER BUY THE PAINT STRIPPER AT CARLISLE. You guys know... across from the food court. That stuff sucks.
 
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