My first resto project - all in

[mshort07]

Got the body married to the frame today, hopefully for the last time. The past week was a rough one. The Flu cancelled all my restoration plans of last weekend. Finally was able to get off the couch and get to work. Used the frame pad restoration tip in the Tech Wiki. Cut new pads and spacers on the body bolt clips. I also finished off my exhaust.

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Time for some serious stress. I’ve got a winch attached to a track on my ceiling. Lifted a few times this way before, Just never with it fully painted. My wife’s in the background wondering if I know what I’m doing. I’m not sure myself either. Anyway, got it down without dropping it. All bolted and ready for the next step.

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[Gregs672000]

Well Done! I remember doing similar moves 34 years ago myself!

[notoptoy]

Looks fantastic!

[mshort07]

Looking for advice. I've done it now. While putting the car back together today I realized I goofed up. I installed the steering box from the '69 car. I didn't notice it at the time, but I kept the steering shaft from the '68 car, not the '69 lower steering shaft. I noticed today that the '68 steering shaft doesn't fit into the knuckle u-joint that fits on the '69 steering box. I have a pile of parts in the woods I have to search through, but I'm worried that I might not find it.

Does anyone have a '69 or later lower steering shaft they want to sell? My only other option, if I can't find the correct steering shaft, is to remove the '69 box and replace it with one of the earlier steering boxes I have. One that fits my u-joint and steering shafts I already have.

[mshort07]

Well I found 2 for sale on ebay. $78 including shipping. Not bad. Chalk it up to lesson learned from a project that's lingered on for 7 years.

[ACote]

Well, the 69 steering box I've heard is a nice upgrade. The car looks great!

[mshort07]

So I’ve got a lot done, getting parts and systems on the car. I’m now up to bleeding the brakes and the clutch. I thought it would be an easy question but I couldn’t find a clear answer around the site. What brake fluid should I use in the clutch and brakes? Clutch master and slave are brand new. Master brake cylinder, calipers, and rear wheel cylinders have been rebuilt. All brake lines are new and dry right now. What type should I use?

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I do have a custom setup. I think I saw this on someone else's post. I didn't want to see the brake lines going back and forth through the engine compartment so this is what I've come up with.

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Got the radiator, overflow tank, fan shroud, pedals, accelerator cable, and choke cables installed. Yeah I know I'm missing a hose clamp.

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Now the steering was a little of a challenge. The body of the car is mainly a modified '67 with a '69 windshield frame and a '67 flat dash. The steering is all '69 and a half with a '67 steering wheel and '67 column cover. So possibly I welded in the '67 too far into the drivers compartment or the distance from the dash to the end of the '69 column is not what I touch it would be. Anyway, I had to extend the inner steering column housing a bit for it all to fit and now it does.

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Now for the fun shot. My nephew got his 1st almost ride in my car.

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[notoptoy]

If you are starting with a fresh system, and have a stomach for the cost, I would go with the silicone fluid. It is not hygroscopic like regular brake fluid and thus you should not see the degradation of the rubber or rust in the cylinders. Since these cars tend to sit more than a typical car, every precaution is a good one. That said, any 3 or 4 DOT fluid will work, just be consistent and don't try to mix them.

[mshort07]

That info about the brake fluid was just what I as looking for. Thanks.

[C.Costine]

If you are starting with a fresh system, and have a stomach for the cost, I would go with the silicone fluid. It is not hygroscopic like regular brake fluid and thus you should not see the degradation of the rubber or rust in the cylinders. Since these cars tend to sit more than a typical car, every precaution is a good one. That said, any 3 or 4 DOT fluid will work, just be consistent and don't try to mix them.

Thatis good information about the silicone brake fluid. It needs to be broadcast loudly!

[Pjackb]

I’m surprised nobody has commented on that but going troughs the pictures it looks like you narrowed the stock steering wheel almost 2inches, I’m very curious about the process

[mshort07]

Thanks for noticing the diameter of the stock steering wheel. I mentioned it a few pages back. I spent a good amount of time on and am very pleased with the finished product.

Started out by breaking off the rim covering. Then cut the rim off the spokes and removed enough spoke to make it a 15” diameter wheel. I covered the wire rim with a garden hose section to thicken it up and wrapped it in a vinyl wrap I made.

[nismou20]

Very nice Matt. Great idea!

[Pjackb]

Thanks for noticing the diameter of the stock steering wheel. I mentioned it a few pages back. I spent a good amount of time on and am very pleased with the finished product.

Started out by breaking off the rim covering. Then cut the rim off the spokes and removed enough spoke to make it a 15” diameter wheel. I covered the wire rim with a garden hose section to thicken it up and wrapped it in a vinyl wrap I made.

Interesting
I don’t suppose you took pictures?

[mshort07]

I found a few pictures. I'll try giving a better description.
- removed plastic hand grip material.

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- Created a template to maintain center when the loop was cut and the spokes shortened - Cut hoop off spokes and shortened spokes.

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- took sections out of hook to create new diameter - re-arc'd the hook ring as I went.

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- After it was welded back together I noticed the hoop wasn't perfectly round, so I took the upper '69 steering shaft and stuck it in the vice. Inserted the wheel on the shaft spline. I attached a reference bar to my work bench that was next to the outer radius of the steering wheel. I spun the wheel and when the hoop was off from the reference bar I cut the hoop and re-welded it so it was the correct radius distance from my reference bar. I repeated the process until the hoop was perfectly round. Sorry, couldn't find a picture.
- I took some sections of hose, tried a garden hose, some different diameter clear hoses from the hardware store, sliced it down the length of the hose, and slipped it over the hoop till I found a thickness diameter I liked. I then epoxied the hose on the metal hoop ring.
- From there I created a steering wheel wrap from my scrap interior material. Sewed the edges to create a clean edge, sewed it into a loop, and wrapped it around the wheel and hand sewed the edges together as seen on the TV car shows.

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