1973 Torino Tribute Restoration

Nice work so far! I've had good luck with Sem dye (yeah, I'm going back a few posts) can't wait to see the color change. I'll be doing mine, but in the same color.

 

Thanks Adam. I imagine it shouldn't be that difficult in changing the color. From what I have read and been told the key is the prep work. Everything needs to be completely clean and dry and then the pre-treatments need to be used to help open up the "pores" for better adhesion. I am waiting to buy enough paint cans for the whole project in order to get them all at once to avoid different tints, or so I hope. The stuff Dearborn Classics and Autokrafters sell are about $10.00 a can each for the prep and paint, but I will continue to do some homework inorder to get the best value and best results. Keep up the great work and keep the photos coming.

 

Whichever brand you get, check out if it has both UVA and UVB sunray protectants. If you ever have to touch it up a few years later, you don't want the older parts sticking out like a sore @$!$. SEMS has both.

Clean, clean and clean a third time. It took a couple decades of ice cream drippings, baby drooling and greasy hands to get dirty, and it takes elbow grease and different cleaners to get it out.

Vinyl is pretty easy. Velour and carpetted door panel sections need more TLC. Carpet cleaner works great for those and about three rinses.

Then, when you're all done, get 3M's Scothguard to seal it all up. The next baby droolings won't stick.

 

This may help as well. This is a show that is on the Speed Channel that comes on normally on Saturday mornings. It's called "Gears" and yall may have heard of it, but this episode talks about how-to replace old carpet and paint interior panels. I hope the link works:

http://www.gearztv.com/index.php?em2044=190961_-1__0_~0_-1_1_2009_0_0&content=shows&em3198=

 

Neat site! Thanks.

 

Well I got the headliner down and rest of door weatherstripping off along with the window sweeps. The door weatherstripping is actually in pretty good shape, which is good considering they don't reproduce them. I believe they do "re-pop" the 2 door versions, but not the 4 door versions. The rear tailgate weatherstripping is a little more worn and rotted so the hunt is on for that piece.

The instrument cluster cover was originally a woodgrain, but since I am changing the interior color it is now a black "wrinkle finish". I sprayed them a few times after a good cleaning and scuffing with Krylon wrinkle finish paint. They came out very nice as well. I still have to repaint the silver trim, but none the less not bad.

I removed most of the clean interior pieces that were just stacked from inside the wagon and stored them in my back yard storage building. The goal is to get all the pieces cleaned and stored.

 

Hey Guys, my brother came by yesterday and helped me remove the bumpers. Thank GOD the bolts weren't too rusty and were able to come out after a couple weeks of WD-40 soaking. I cleaned up the backs, washed up the chrome bumpers and put them into storage. I will need to have them re-chromed, but thats for another day. The steel Bumper backs were pretty rusty, but nothing a wire brush and plenty of elbow grease couldn't handle. Next is getting them cleaned thoroughly and painted, which will probably be today.

 

Quick queston, how much does re-chroming run?

 

Well I haven't gotten any quotes yet, but I'm assuming it depends on how many dents the bumpers have and the amount of corrosion. I'm hoping mine won't be more than $300-$350 each. Pretty pricey I think, but the end result is beautiful. We shall see.

 

Keep the clips and fasteners together too. I used old egg cartons to ID them by type, Hex, Star cap, star countersink, screw thread or bolt thread, but some were so special that I taped them to the part. Even with that, after 2 years to finishing, I still got some wrong.

Still better than the 21-day memory (and lifespan) of a mosquito.

 

Thanks for the tip Norman. I think I have done a good job labeling everything and keeping everything together, but we shall see when it's time to put her back together.

 

For me a digital camera and take a picture of everything you do and before you take it apart.....It sure helps when you are putting it together and want it as factory....my camera is in the shop all the time....

 

I wish I would have had one from the start. So many details to recall, especially with the wiring harnesses, and the engine compartment, and behind the dash.

 

My digital camera has been a GOD send. My plan at the end is to post the link for every single picture I have taken from the beginning to the very end. So far I have about 300 photos already taken of the dissmantling. I figure this is where I should invest most of my photo taking because they will be my reference when it's time to put her back together. Again, I really do appreciate everyones input and advice.

 

Yeah, the factory manuals were useless with the Mexican options that mine has. I couldn't recall how the dual horns went back on. They weren't even an option on US/CDN Fairmonts. It took me a few days of fiddling to get them in right. I have to remove the dash again to route the harness better so that the glove box opens properly (or build my own dash ).

And the ground locations. This is a big deal. There's a lot of ground wires screwed into the sheetmetal. BEFORE you repaint the interior or engine compartment, sand those down to bare metal and 'tin' the ground spots with a small torch and solder. About the diameter of a penny. Then put some wax on the solder or grease. Put the penny on top of the grease and wash off all around just before you prime or paint. No masking tape required. When you reinstall, the grounds are clean, bare and won't rust. And your lights will blind you again! I got that from the HAMB or the12volt.com sites.

Also, you might check out their tip on upgrading their engine compartment and other big grounds.
http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1