My Coupe Project
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RonP
Well-Known Member
Wow, you learn something new every day!!! Love the color!
I took the sub-frames to have them blasted and then had some cracks repaired before taking them for powder coating.
In addition I have started to press in bushings and bearings so that I can get ready for the rear sub-frame install.
Oops! I forgot the backing plate.
Better.
I see your taking your time and using the right tools for the job - very impressive. When I replaced my bushings, I took a big hammer and slammed those suckers in place.
Super nice job, I wish I had taken the time to do that instead of painting it black, though I'm thinking now that the front sub frame may get your treatment. BTW did they charge extra for powder coating the coffee cup? 
Really though, fantastic work, it's so much fun to watch these things get put back together with an eye towards quality and originality. I also think there is a lot to be said for piecing them together and just keeping them rolling down the road but sometimes it's almost as easy to completely rebuild a section since we're in there jacking around anyhow.
Please keep posting!
Really though, fantastic work, it's so much fun to watch these things get put back together with an eye towards quality and originality. I also think there is a lot to be said for piecing them together and just keeping them rolling down the road but sometimes it's almost as easy to completely rebuild a section since we're in there jacking around anyhow.
Please keep posting!
Well at roughly $400.00 to powder-coat this lot I wasn't about to take any chances with the finish though I had a few moments where a sledge would have come in handy!
i really like the color. i had my rear subframes powder coated black. wish i had seen this before hand.
Wow, that is beautiful. Just wondering how common the Green was? Pretty sure the finish on my 71' is original (and Black).
Ron P, can you elaborate on the difference between stock rubber and Poly when driving a Coupe.
Ron P, can you elaborate on the difference between stock rubber and Poly when driving a Coupe.
Beautiful work!! I can't wait to see the final product.
Subframe color
While restoring mine I wanted to stay with the original color so I took the pedal box to the paint store and asked them to match an area that was as close to new as I could find. After three tries I think they got it very close. The paint is PPG DCC acrylic urethane. My car is a '73 and most of the major suspension pieces and others like the above mentioned pedal box/booster mount were a sort of gray-green.
When I restored a 2002 back in the nineties I had the subframes powder coated. I liked the result a lot but at the time I had to choose one of the stock colors that was a more pure gray.
At any rate, your parts look terrific and when all is done the result should be worth all the effort. By the way, was the powder coater able to mix a custom batch to get your color or did they have one in stock. It looks very close to original, at least in the photos.
While restoring mine I wanted to stay with the original color so I took the pedal box to the paint store and asked them to match an area that was as close to new as I could find. After three tries I think they got it very close. The paint is PPG DCC acrylic urethane. My car is a '73 and most of the major suspension pieces and others like the above mentioned pedal box/booster mount were a sort of gray-green.
When I restored a 2002 back in the nineties I had the subframes powder coated. I liked the result a lot but at the time I had to choose one of the stock colors that was a more pure gray.
At any rate, your parts look terrific and when all is done the result should be worth all the effort. By the way, was the powder coater able to mix a custom batch to get your color or did they have one in stock. It looks very close to original, at least in the photos.
Attachments
Great picture Bill, that looks fantastic. It turns out that the company that did the powder coating had a sample that was a match. He knew what I was looking for when I brought him the airbox as an example.
It has been awhile since my last update. Things have been going slowly mainly due to time constraints. I have been ordering parts and having things plated. I decided a while back that anything that was safety related would get new hardware, nuts, bolts, etc... Also anything relating to cosmetics and mechanical unless they are NLA in which case I would have them plated such as door lock, trunk lock and hood latch mechanisms.
This past Labor Day weekend was spent assembling sub frames, and struts. The differential was rebuilt and I finished assembling it last week. Everything went rather smoothly with Saturday being the most productive. It has been nearly 5 years since Darin and I disassembled the coupe so my memory isn't very fresh and how everything came apart. Fortunately I have the orange parts books, the blue shop binders, and realoem to lean on. Gathering the parts is always a challenge, you think you have everything until everything starts coming together. I had everything for the sub frames, I ended up having to order to spring pads for the rear springs and had to run to the hardware store for 2 washers. I guess this wasn't too bad in the grand scheme of things.
After assembling the differential I mounted the rear sub frame to it then moved it closer to the car where I installed the trailing arms and the sway bar. I installed an adjustable rear camber kit and adjustable toe kit to the sub frame prior to powder coating.
Filling the diff with vital fluids.
Here's a better shot.
One more.
I had to finish off the fuel lines prior to installing the differential and sub frame.
Before the rear sub frame.
And after.
Adjustable rear sway bar.
Strut assembly. If you look closely you can see that the spring perch has been separated from the housing and a threaded collar has been welded in . This along with a collar nut makes the perch height adjustable so I can fine tune the ride height.
The weekend in a nutshell.
Later this week I will install the front sub frame, front wheel bearings, rotors and eventually all 4 calipers.
I picked out the leather last week, 6 hydes of something reminiscent of oxblood red.
I am having a hard time capturing a good photograph of the leather/color. It would be helpful if I could actually use a camera. It is hard trying to capture the color against the car. I'll take a better picture eventually. The color on the blue swatch is not as dark as the color of the car.
This really doesn't depict either color very well.
This past Labor Day weekend was spent assembling sub frames, and struts. The differential was rebuilt and I finished assembling it last week. Everything went rather smoothly with Saturday being the most productive. It has been nearly 5 years since Darin and I disassembled the coupe so my memory isn't very fresh and how everything came apart. Fortunately I have the orange parts books, the blue shop binders, and realoem to lean on. Gathering the parts is always a challenge, you think you have everything until everything starts coming together. I had everything for the sub frames, I ended up having to order to spring pads for the rear springs and had to run to the hardware store for 2 washers. I guess this wasn't too bad in the grand scheme of things.
After assembling the differential I mounted the rear sub frame to it then moved it closer to the car where I installed the trailing arms and the sway bar. I installed an adjustable rear camber kit and adjustable toe kit to the sub frame prior to powder coating.
Filling the diff with vital fluids.
Here's a better shot.
One more.
I had to finish off the fuel lines prior to installing the differential and sub frame.
Before the rear sub frame.
And after.
Adjustable rear sway bar.
Strut assembly. If you look closely you can see that the spring perch has been separated from the housing and a threaded collar has been welded in . This along with a collar nut makes the perch height adjustable so I can fine tune the ride height.
The weekend in a nutshell.
Later this week I will install the front sub frame, front wheel bearings, rotors and eventually all 4 calipers.
I picked out the leather last week, 6 hydes of something reminiscent of oxblood red.
I am having a hard time capturing a good photograph of the leather/color. It would be helpful if I could actually use a camera. It is hard trying to capture the color against the car. I'll take a better picture eventually. The color on the blue swatch is not as dark as the color of the car.
This really doesn't depict either color very well.
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Looking terrific!
A work of art takes time.
A work of art takes time.
RonP
Well-Known Member
Looking good, Mikey!
Nice work!
I feel like a "hack" No offense Rob-
I feel like a "hack" No offense Rob-
Laurel and Hardy
Guess which one is which!
I'm the good looking one in case anyone was wondering...
Guess which one is which!
I'm the good looking one in case anyone was wondering...
Another fine mess you've gotten me into....
umm, uum, um!
umm, uum, um!
