Well here it goes. I have officially start to refurbish a 1969 X-55 that I have had for a couple of years now. This will be my first run at a full resto. I have built a jig (from pictures and build instructions off of this sight, thanks for that info). It is a basket case, but a promise to a friend who has since passed away has put me on this path. I will post pictures when I figure out how to. I have 2 1969 RS/SS 396 cars as samples to help. Sorry this is so long but I am new to this and will have alot of questions from all of you guru's.
69 x-55 ss project
fledem
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Good morning all. Didn't have enough people to get the car on the jig yesterday. got antsie and decided to sand blast the firewall.
hit it with a self etching primer to keep it from rusting for now.
found some damage, but not too bad overall.
Questions for anyone, what are the outer edges of the firewall call (like where the blower motor mount, one on the left and one on the right)?
hit it with a self etching primer to keep it from rusting for now.
found some damage, but not too bad overall.
Questions for anyone, what are the outer edges of the firewall call (like where the blower motor mount, one on the left and one on the right)?
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1,750 Posts
It's a 4 spd U17 car as well, I see.
I have heard the complete floor with the braces installed is actually very nice, a friend just put the whole floor in a 69 conv.
The base of the windshield is a bitch as the there are about 3-4 layers of metal and a foam sound deadener that ends up holding moisture and causing rot. If you can see that much the whole thing is probably going to need to be replaced.
I have heard the complete floor with the braces installed is actually very nice, a friend just put the whole floor in a 69 conv.
The base of the windshield is a bitch as the there are about 3-4 layers of metal and a foam sound deadener that ends up holding moisture and causing rot. If you can see that much the whole thing is probably going to need to be replaced.
well made some progress and have some issues maybe someone that done this before could advise me a little, first when i went to put the car on the jig. there was no place where i needed it to line up with the car that it wasn't rusted away (gone), so i ended up shifting the front body pins back about an inch and a half. this is the only place i could get the rear on the frame and only in the upper part of the wheel wells.
I got it mounted and leveled the jig then I proceeded to level the car itself. This was also successful
I was going to proceed to start on the bracing on the inside and then weld the car right to the jig. Does anyone have any better ideas? Will this work or will I hit issues down the road. The jig and the car are perfectly level in every place that I can check
I was going to proceed to start on the bracing on the inside and then weld the car right to the jig. Does anyone have any better ideas? Will this work or will I hit issues down the road. The jig and the car are perfectly level in every place that I can check
Do you know if it will be an issue (the fact that i had to move the front pins Back 1 1/2 inches to be able to line up with any solid part of the frame towards the rear)?
Thanks for the comments, it is a basket case and I think I might be losing my mind but oh well
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1,666 Posts
Hi Floyd. I haven't used a jig like yours so I'm not to certain what the attachment points are. The only thing I can think of is that when you replace the frame rails, the master hole on the new rails won't line up with your pins and that might cause some headaches. IF your jig was supposed to locate on the master hole.
As far as welding to the jig....I wouldn't worry about doing that unless you need additional support for removing pieces. I didn't weld anything to the jig until I removed the back half of my car because there was nothing left for the jig to hold. On the flipside, it probably won't hurt anything either. Just might be a little more difficult to work around. I think this one may just come down to your personal preference.
Keep at it! :beers:
-Matt
My problem is that the frame rails, where the holes were, are gone and the frame rails where the rear shackles for the springs are were also gone so I had to shift the car just to try to get it sitting on more than 2 points on the jig. right now i am sitting on the front 2 pins (i moved them 1 1/2 inches back) and a piece of the frame in both rear wheel wells. Do you think i should do the frame rails first and the get it reset on the jig?
I'm sorry, I don't. You would have to take some measurements to see if it affects anything.
Correct me if I am wrong, most of the measurements are going to be made by me back to the jig. I know i have to verify all of the Fisher Body measurements but if I am shifted back 1 1/2 inches they should be the same because they are from piece to piece not to the jig (correct?)
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1,666 Posts
Floyd
I had to look at your pictures again to see what you had. Looks like the back just has a beam straight under the car that the rails are resting on?
Here is what I would do...but just a suggestion. Please remember I am NOT a professional so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Since your only fixed location is the front 2 pins on the firewall where the body mounts to the subframe, that would be where I would build from. It shouldn't matter that it's back a few inches on the jig frame. All of your dimensions will be based off of the location of your pins. I would start from the front of the car and work your way back since that is the only set point that you have to work with. I definitely would not cut out the frame rails and start there because I think it will be next to impossible to figure out where the new ones need to be located for welding in. I think I would tackle the floor and rockers first, taking measurements and building jig supports at key locations as a guide for going back together.
Hope that helps.
-Matt
Just lays on them (should they have pins on them)
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