What's the "proper" reassemble order? (1 Viewer)

[lmajor32]

Full restore here that is back from paint and the tub is on the chassis. What are suggestions for order of reassembly? What would you do different this time around? Was thinking about getting the windshield and rear side panels on so I can get them off the floor in storage and keep from getting scratched. However, I'm thinking I should maybe do all of the body panels at once so you can align once and be done? Was going to try and get all of the brackets etc under the dash inside in. Wiring will prob be later on since it needs to be refurbed. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[zerotreedelta]

I did the wiring early...chassis wiring was much easier with the tub off. I tucked the main loom and all the dash controls into the tub while it was off, as I could sit in the trans tunnel hole and get everything clipped under the dash without rolling around upside down in the floorwells. Guessing too late for that in your case though.

Past that, once the tub went on, I basically did what I could do to get it driving without the top - then finished the hardtop and installed that.

• Tub on (drivetrain already in chassis, brake lines already done)
• Finished mating wiring loom to the chassis/engine
• Trans tunnel on,
• front heater and rear heater lines, rear heater (easier to do this before fuel cover and seats)
• fuel tank and cover
• Finished mating fuel system to chassis
• Mate hydraulics to chassis (brakes/clutch)

Once that was all happy, the little interior bits started:

• gas tank pewter bits
• front seats
• steering column (easier to do seats without)

From there, did the front clip last - it's easier to do stuff like the steering column and heater hoses without the windshield and fenders.

• fenders/bib/aprons
• hood
• windshield
• front bumper

Last was front/rear doors and hardtop...was fun to drive it with the top off before final assembly as well. :-D

 

[Jetlander]

Only thing I would add to what @zerotreedelta said would be not to tighten any of the body mount bolts until you’re ready to start aligning the other panels. One of the last things I did was tighten things down.

 

[fyton2v]

When I was in your situation… I was in a hurry to get it back together so I could finally drive it a bit and didn’t thoroughly test every component and system. I wasn’t going for an immaculate restore so I didn’t immaculately refurbish every tiny thing. Obviously, using 40 year old, not well tested parts created a lot of extra work, since I ended up fixing and reinstalling several things. Don’t try and save time or cash on the harness, the braking, or the cooling systems. My motor is pretty good, so I didn’t rebuild it, but wow it’ll be a pain later. There will never be a better time to throw cash at your drivetrain. If your aren’t already, consider rebuilding anything that’ll leak.

Also +1 on Zero’s advice, above.

Don’t forget to grease the moving parts of the brake/clutch assembly. It’s very hard to work on after it’s installed and it’s a pain to redo.

 

[zerotreedelta]

It was definitely interesting how spoiled you get working on a bare chassis/drivetrain. As the parts go on, it gets incrementally more cumbersome to get work done...that last mile is an interesting one for sure, but there's lots of good motivation as it all starts to come together.

The longer you can keep any panels off, the better...whether the front clip or the doors/hardtop/windshield. It's surprising what gets in the way and/or is susceptible to damage during work. Even things like the windshield are nice to wait on - no real hurry, and being able to reach and work from odd angles can be helpful when doing things like the heaterbox.

 

[coinoperated40]

Driver seat first.
So on your breaks you can imagine.