45swb project - 2short

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Mounted up all the parts and stripped off the stuff I didn't want painted.

Spent a morning aligning the front clip. I don't think I've ever had a cruiser with the gaps this right before.

Replaced the allen head countersunk ws hinge bolts with phillips head.

finally got around to fixing the fuel filler opening and mounted the FJ55 filler door.

sanded and scuffed and sanded and primed and sanded and prep-solved.

Masked it all up and gave it three coats of Lily White today.

I'll go in tomorrow and fix the couple of runs and spots where my cheap Harbor Freight gun shot out a chunk of dried paint into my nice new paint job.

Then back again to color sand and assemble.

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My shop speakers came apart from age so I got a pair of old 80s Cerwin Vega studio speakers. two 15" woofers in each.

The receiver wouldn't power them enough so I bought a nice ADCOM amp.

Then the receiver didn't have pre-amp outputs so I got a Harmon Kardon AVR 520 receiver.

Now the shop sounds pretty good.

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I have a an HK 520 too! Love it. Truck sounds like its coming together nicely.
 
I caught a nasty flu New Year's Day. Kept me out of the shop until this afternoon.

Went in and took the tops off the runs with a finger plane, then sanded them down.

Wet sanded everything with 600 grit and got started on the 1500 grit. I never did color sand the old paint job.

We got a snow day tomorrow so I'll be able to finish sanding and polishing tomorrow and start reassembly and cage building.

Still no windshield.

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Put the top back and doors on to check clearance for the cage and found the tub is bent. Called the insurance co and they want me to take it to a shop to see if it can be pulled, so I buttoned up everything else. The passenger door is about 5 degrees out of square. The cowl must be tweaked pretty good.

Picked up the windshield and installed it. Got the top on and bolted down. Got the VSS in which required pulling the brake drum. I used Marlins square wave pulse generator, but it hits on the e brake cable enough that it will only fit if put in before the e brake backing plate. Installed the mirrors, fuel filler and spare tire carrier. Got the front clip all rewired. Built an air box for the Spectre air filter. Adjusting the shift linkage was a giant pain.
 
Gumby
Sorry to hear that the tub is tweaked, pretty amazing things can be done on the frame/body stretcher and get them back to dead on square, might have to deal with some repaint work but these tub's are not the straightest from the factory as you already know. keep us posted, like to follow your journey on this project. Best
 
Had a '72 LTD with a 460 in the early nineties that I bought for $1 off the son-in-law of the deceased PO that had died in the car.

Out of any vehicle I'd ever driven in before that, or since, it was the best riding, the closest second place an early 90s Town Car.

This your plan for it, Gumby?

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Dunno. It's pretty rusty. We have to put it up in the air and see how bad the frame and floors are. There are no aftermarket sheet metal suppliers. Everything is NOS or used.

Worst case is the school will get $500 for scrap for the thing.

Allegedly, the non-opera window cars are very rare, but much in the same way as the fixed hard top 45s. They are rare because they weren't desirable then and not so desirable now.

The guy who donated it had a beautiful old Bentley MKVI in his shop next to an unrestored E-type and the Lincoln was parked outside next to a Power Wagon.
 
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