Beautiful-just beautiful!:cool2:

I've really enjoyed following your restoration here and it's great to see all the little details that you make sure are correct. Thanks for sharing with us.

Thanks guys! Oh, and Bill, yes, that's the plane I fly (757 and 767) when I'm not out in the shop making a fool of myself. Which I just did, and here's the result!!!:biggthumpup: Steering column in, time to test everything!!!! A hook up of the battery, sit in the seat....oh boy! First time it's cranked in 2yrs! Lemme put this key in here and ........

(click.......click....):no:

So, after much dileberation, researchification, and defecation:rolleyes2:, I realized my franzamatog was installed topwise and needed to be counterboreafied....seeing how this is a delecate operation, I pulled out the smaller, more precise tools.....:hmmm:

And then a bump of a key and she's alive!!!!!:grin::grin::grin::grin::grin:

Hear that? That's the sound of a Mopar starter turning over a fourhundred and forty cubic inches of Dodge Muscle!!!!:biggthumpup::biggthumpup: Will it start? Beats me. But sure sounds good cranking!!!!:crazy:


Of course, there's only one thing to do in a time like this....pose....and strut!
:cool2::cool2::cool2::cool2::cool2::cool2::cool2:: cool2::cool2:

Cheers:beers:

A few more miscellaneous details. Here's a good shot of the screw caps on the tail panel, and I just pulled the steering wheel and brushed the spokes. I need to repair the typical crack at 12 O'Clock that every steering wheel gets from the 60s. I'm repairing the hood as we speak, and the glas goes in next month!:biggthumpup:

So close, so close.

BTW, which routes do you fly normally just in case we cross paths. ;)

Wow -- two gear-head stick actuators talkin' about real machines ... LOL

Great day!!
Flying the front seat of the big plane has to be a thrill. Getting to see the world out in front of you.

Dave,

You crack me up.....LMAO!

Dan

Saweeet Dave. You da man!!!!

Dave, Are those tail light screw caps a tough item? Curious, I think I have a drawer full someplace....???

BIG

BIG,

Yeah....They are very difficult to find. If you have a drawer full, I'll give you pennies on the dollar..... PENNIES I tells ya!!!!:biggthumpup:...... for this drawer you speak of:cool2:. Now tell me, where you gonna get a better deal than that!:hmmm:

Cheers:beers:

Dave

PS: glass goes in next Friday, hood just about done, and radiator should be back next week too. That is it!!!!:biggthumpup:

Ha! Never said it was a BIG drawer...:laugh:

BIG

You mentioned some minor imperfections in the center dash pad. Those pads were notorious for getting punched during the second to third gear power shift. The ones in the Chargers were plastic in 1970 and my od charger had some real spider web cracks in the back from repeated fist impacts. Maybe your original owner was wearing jewelry when he hit the pad during his good times back in the day.

I used to hit the dash mounted Rev light indicator with the factory Hurst....A V- Gate fixed that problem.

BIG

Steve,

Exactly right, man, but...... this is a console car, and the console shifter is way farther away from the pads than a non-console car. My 69 RR was a non-console car, as was a 69 Charger RT I had and same thing: That 2-3 shift was a knuckle buster!:burnout: And yeah, for those that don't know, 68-69 lower dash pads were pads. But in 1970, they went to plastic pieces on the Chargers (don't know about other 70 B-Bodys since I've never owned one, but I'd guess the same) and they're a little nicer looking, IMO.

BIG....those are not the same ones as the tail light panel caps, unfortunately. Those are the speed nuts for things like side marker bezels, tail light housings, etc. But hey....don't lose 'em...I may be a callin'!!!!!:eek2:

So, moving on, an astute person will notice the brake pedal to the floor. That astute person would also notice that I have decided to commit myself to an insane asylum. While I was putting on the steering wheel and laughing at others who may not be at this stage on their project, I had noticed I put the brake light leads on backwards and while down there, I just happened to see a trickle of brake fluid seaping out of the back of the master cylinder. Karma being the thing that she is, and since I just spoke bad about others not being where I'm at on my car, that'll be one major leak running down the firewall to deal with now. Oh, that's just great. So, down comes the column and in doing do, I busted that ever so eloquently engineered, octopus-required crimping tool needed, 18 piece steering column to box joint.....AAARRGGHHH!!!!!!:eek2::eek2::eek2:

Cheers:beers:

Out comes the master cylinder...and lemme see here with my lookin' eye.......

Hmmmmm.......:frown:

Yep.....that be a leak, and pretty darn rusty already!!! SEE!!!! I knew these Mopars rusted coming down the line, and here's proof!!!!! Chalk that up to being authentic! Time to ditch this whole "right" thing and paint that bad-boy steel colored with brake solvent resistant paint. I'll take the point hit, and then I'll hit the judge giving me the hit! Nah. I better not. Moving on.....

I did some fiberglass work on the hood and it's about 95% there! WOOHOO!!!!

Cheers

So, you may be asking yourself, "Self? What's left on this thread to talk about? What is left to do on this restoration? Why hasn't this guy been refunded his Paid Member money and booted off this site?:hmmm:" Well, lemme answer those questions, if I may:smirk:

There's not really much left, or is there!?!??!?!? From a restoration standpoint, there are four things left: Glass installation, painting the hood, installing the radiator, and applying the rear Bee stripe. And that will wrap up my restoration. But, here's where it gets entertaining again...

What we have to look forward to, is..."I don't remember the engine knocking like that..." And, "Why is there a bunch of white smoke coming out of the exhaust? Must be this new-fangled gas they have now a days...." And of course, the dreaded..."Whoooaaaa...easy big fella, time to slow her down....CRAP.....Dead pedal.....no worries...lemme hit that emergency brake and {pop}[TWANG!!!!](as that little round ferrel pops off the repo brake cable and dings my truck then bounces and hits the Bee dinging the driver's door glass with a BB mark). :frown:

Oh yeah, stay tuned.....more to come!!!!!:laugh::tongue::bs:

Cheers:beers:

Did a few small detail items which was paint the grease on the trunk hinges. :biggthumpup::biggthumpup::biggthumpup:

Ya know....I find it amazing I'm replicating slop.....:confused2::hmmm:

Last shot is the trunk done with delivery floor mats (upside down, of course to protect them for right now!:laugh:) waiting to be laid out on the interior floor.:wink:

cheers:beers:

dave

Hood sealed. :biggthumpup: Lots of pinholes on this fiberglass hood. It's the original one to the car, so I am doing everything I can to save it. Once this sets up, I'll test fit later this week and once it's a "Go", I'll shoot the final faux organisol texture black. :cool2::cool2::cool2:

Cheers

My other "inspector" came out, and with a loaded "Rawrf!!!" she gave her final opinion which was.....

"Grille not lined up right, wrong alternator, incorrect horn mouting bolt, split washers under carb bolts....wrong!!!!!...incorrect filament on dome light, rear bumper saggy, too many bugs in the paint....wrong texture on undercoating, car is an embarassment to society in general.....":crazy::no::mad2:

Oh yeah....she's one "In-the-know" pup!!!!!!:grin:

cheers:beers:

Dave (and Lacy)

Tough crowd:-)

Two paws up:-)

Ryan

The last major piece on the Bee (besides the glass, which goes in Friday installed by a guy who knows what he's doing instead of some amateur like me!:grin:) was the hood, and with that came some debate. Mopar A12 hoods, much like the AAR and T/A hoods on the 70 Cuda and Challenger respectively, are covered with a coating called Organisol. It's a matte textured coating that is impossible to apply, and designed specifically to attract any and every kind of lint known to man. Easily scratched, incredibly hard to touch up, and a real pain in the butt to maintain. But man.....nothing looks as cool! So, what to do. Get some and apply it?:hmmm: Just do a flat black sheen which won't look right?:dunno: Or how about try my hand at making my own textured finish to mimic the Organisol without all the nasty side effects?!!!!!:biggthumpup::biggthumpup::biggthumpu p:

I decided to do the latter. And with incredible succes I might add!!!!!:grin:
I started with a matte black base finish and then applied a satin clear over top of it. Both no-mix laquer products you can buy from Advance Auto or the like. I figured if this didn't work I could easily spray epoxy over it and try again without a lot of wasted money, since I didn't know how this was going to come out. I used a 1.3 tip at 20psi applied at about 12" away fading to about 18" away on the last coat. This low pressure and distance means peel, and it's exactly what I wanted without looking like peel. Just more of a texture than anything else.

Alternating patterns (up and down, back and forth, then diagonal both ways) resulted in no streaks and an overall even sheen. I did that with both the base and the clear. That resulted in a rather heavy orange peel texture (of which, I naturally can obtain!:cool2::hmmm::rolleyes2:) that looks and feels almost exactly like Organisol but the best part? When you run your hand across it, it's actually smooth since it's clear coated, and no lint sticks and no staining if water is left to stand on it!!!! WOOHOO!!!! I pat myself on the back for this 'un!!!! It's pretty durable too. After I let the hood sit for 24hrs, I noticed a bunch of white hazy overspray on it. Like Organisol, it seemed to get worse as I ran my hand across it. I didn't wipe up, rather, got caught in the texture and moved around. So I got out soap and water with a bristle ended sponge and scrubbed it down. The result? Haze and overspray dust gone, perfect finish left over!:grin::grin::grin:

Hood pin lanyards with new bezels applied and correctly riveted in place. Notice the lanyards are all inboard. A detail some guys miss as is the orientation of the rivets at the 12-3-6-9 O'Clock positions too. :biggthumpup::biggthumpup:

SIX PACK callouts go on Friday!!!!! Rounding the corner gents!!!!

Cheers:beers:

Oh....and what you see in those large boxes behind the Bee is a one piece floor pan, decklid, and a few patch panels for the Mustang. I know!!!! Not done one and starting into another!!!:biggthumpup::hmmm::rolleyes2:

:thumbsdown::thumbsdown::thumbsdown:

Cheers

Dave

Looks great Dave!!

Rich

Killer finish on the hood! Nice fit too!

:biggthumpup:

That came out great. The closeup shots look like you could use it for GM textured upper dash.

Mike

That looks great

Great job on the hood! Beautiful car.

Looking good. :biggthumpup:

Nice job on the hood.Bob

That hood looks.....Super!

BIG

x 100!

Awesome that you came up with a concoction that worked perfectly, great job.
Man, I love that car.

This has been a wonderful, informative thread. Thank you Dave for the journey and I'm very much looking forward to your upcoming Mustang adventure.

Fantastic build thread, I am sad to see the car almost complete:-)

I will check out the Mustang thread daily:-)

Ryan

Six Pack decals applied. Here's some trvial information for you guys....did you know that the decals are actually meant to slant the other way?:grin: And did you know they are aligned with the top edge of the hood scoop, not the angle of the hood with the fender? See? I bet you didn't know there was so much info that went into just applying the decals to the friggin' hood!!!!

Glass installed too. That was a 5hr process with both of us working at it. :thumbsdown:

On the 2yr anniversary that I started it, the Beater Bee is back on her feet!!!:biggthumpup::biggthumpup::biggthumpup:

I also was able to get a shot of both hoods for a comparison. Pretty close to the organisol on the T/A's hood.

Cheers

Absolutely beautiful! Great job. Can't wait for the next one. :)