'69 2000, shop recommendations please

[Dino in Reno]

A bad photo of the floor with the carpet pulled back, and the trunk floor..

[Gregs672000]

I get the impression that it's been wiped down with rust converter. SEMS Rust Seal would look like that. Good idea. Metal looks solid at first glance.

[SLOroadster]

Looks like a pretty decent car. Judging from the lack of cracks in the trunk floor, Id bet its a somewhat low mile car.

I agree on the SEM rust seal in the trunk. Its good stuff, but does need to be painted over.

Will

[Dino in Reno]

Thanks Greg and Will. I -think- it has 87,000, not 187,000 miles. When I get to the body and paint work should I strip the sealer and re do it?
On the underside, should I use a rust converter for the "patina" or surface type rust on it, or try to get down to only shinny steel then prime?

OH! can anyone tell me how to hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge to check the real oil pressure when hot. It drops to halfway past the first marking to the second with a hot 700 rpm or so idle. Cold slow idle is just around 1/3 or a bit more on the dial.
If it's ok, I plan to get the wheels stripped, painted, new tires, and back on for the odd little trips in town.

Does anyone have a favorite transmission and diff oil? Any additives you would think worthwhile for them?

Dino in Reno

[fj20spl311]

That oil pressure sound fine. You only need about 10 psi per thousand RPM.

[Gregs672000]

My oil pressure was the same as yours on my electric gauge. I tried a new sender and it wasn't any better. I hooked up a mechanical gauge I got at the local parts store. They come complete with line and fittings that will go into the same spot on your engine block. I just wanted to confirm good pressure, which it did under all conditions, so I didn't spend time mounting it etc. The electric gauge is a bad idiot light I'm afraid, but so long as it responds I'm sure your fine. The oil pumps on these cars are pretty robust and I'm sure mine has seen over 300k miles. It was inspected at every rebuild and found to be perfect. It's cheap insurance to check your actual pressure with a mechanical gauge but I'm pretty sure you'll get the same result I did.

[Gregs672000]

Regarding trans oil, yes, invest in Swepco. I don't have a jug left over so I can't give you an actual part number, but do a search of this site for Swepco and you'll find it. Worth the investment IMHO. After switching the stick shift no longer gets hot, indicating a lot less friction.

[SLOroadster]

Thanks Greg and Will. I -think- it has 87,000, not 187,000 miles. When I get to the body and paint work should I strip the sealer and re do it?
On the underside, should I use a rust converter for the "patina" or surface type rust on it, or try to get down to only shinny steel then prime?

OH! can anyone tell me how to hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge to check the real oil pressure when hot. It drops to halfway past the first marking to the second with a hot 700 rpm or so idle. Cold slow idle is just around 1/3 or a bit more on the dial.
If it's ok, I plan to get the wheels stripped, painted, new tires, and back on for the odd little trips in town.

Does anyone have a favorite transmission and diff oil? Any additives you would think worthwhile for them?

Dino in Reno

87K miles wouldn't surprise me in the least. Like I said, I don't see any insane cracks in the trunk floor. (I dont see any at all).

As for the SEM stuff, you can paint right over it. I'd give it a quick sand to make sure the surface is smooth, but its designed to go on before primer. For the underside it really depends on how into a restoration you want to get. If you are doing a body off, then yes, take the car down to bare metal everywhere you can. Acid etch it, epoxy prime, surface prime and then topcoat. Is that a lot of work? Yes, but its the right way to do it. If you aren't getting that deep into the car, find the area's that have rust and treat them. On the underside, POR-15 is likely your best bet. When the stuff dries, its like a powder coat finish. The wheel wells would benefit from POR-15 as its tough and doesn't chip. There are also areas that collect dirt and moisture leading to rust.

You oil pressure gauge is a direct mechanical gauge. You could run an aftermarket gauge from the stock location (The passenger side of the block.) Heck, you could put a T in it and run both the aftermarket and the factory one if you got creative. As long as you see about 60 psi cold, you should be fine. When the engine is warm, the oil pressure will drop to about 10psi or so. As long as the oil pressure jumps right back up as the engine is revved, you are likely good to go.

SWEPCO 201 is the stuff for the diff and transmission. I've been running it for nearly 20 years now. Very good stuff.

Will

[Dino in Reno]

Thanks to all who responded!
I got a bit "cave-bound" and dropped of the world for a bit.
Found one mechanic I will never go back to, and one I trust, so that's a $1,000.00 lesson learned. Lot's of little stuff had been done wrong in the past but now the carbs are rebuilt, spacers on the chain tensioner, the valve train checked, ignition system rebuilt, shocks...
It's running now with one odd problem:
the spedo and tripometer (?) work, but not the main odometer. Any clue to get this fixed? I don't understand what would stop only one of the three parts of the system.

Dino in Reno

[spl310]

Stripped gear - replace or have the gauge rebuilt.

[Gregs672000]

Welcome back Dino! Our driving season is starting to shorten up here, but yours should be cooling enough to make it nice? Glad to hear it's up and running!

[Dino in Reno]

I was able to find a mechanic I trust, and he got it running. Lots of little stuff had been done wrong/badly in the past. I'm pulling the little voltage regulator out to check as per discussions here on the board. Both fuel and temp guages drop to zero, and then work from time to time.
I'll pull the speedometer out and send it to be rebuilt if I can't find the gear online.

Thanks again to all, there are still a few months of good driving weather left