Transmission Cooler as well as a couple of rotted body panels

So I installed the transmission cooler the other day and attached it to my lines, I also installed the kickdown cable so I could kill up my transmission with fluid.  I also ordered my steering rod and ujoints so that I can install my steering column.  Lastly I got the gas tank in its position with the filler neck coming out the hole in the fender so that I can mount the gas tank permanently, just need to make my custom gas tank straps (have it hanging on wires temporarily).

First Engine Start, painted inside trunk and ran transmission cooler lines

Ok so the first engine start was tonight.  Thanks Peter for the help today, we couldn't get it going, guess the gas was too far away or didn't let it try long enough.  I put a 12" hose right from the fuel pump into the gallon jug and it started up in no time.

Turned out my timing was way off, I had to move the vacuum advanced all the way ahead in order to get it to run.  I'm going to move all the plug wires tomorrow over counter clockwise one position, then put the vacuum advanced back to where it is supposed to be.

Last night, I painted the inside of the trunk and some of the inside trunk walls with POR15, came out great.

THe last thing I did the other night was bend and run my transmission cooler lines.  What a pain bending and running them and then attaching them to the transmission.  Had a heck of a time getting the fittings lined up.

Update for Today/Yesterday

So I ran the 3/8 galv fuel line yesterday, left a space in the middle for the fuel filter and made all my bends, came out pretty good.  I ran it inside the right frame rail.  I also set the battery in place.

Then I went to set the body on the frame to see how everything I had been planning was going to match up.  That's when I had my first "Oh Shit!" moment.   The firewall fit perfectly and I couldn't have gotten the distributor any closer if I wanted to.  However the rear of the body wouldn't go down the last 2"...  As you can see in the last two pictures below, the body is resting on my rear top shock crossmember that I had made.  I put it inside the frame, not knowing or thinking that the body would drop down right there.

So after checking everything out I had two options, take the cross member out or cut the body.  I went with option 2.  The Crossmember and top of the shocks will be under the rear seat, I guess they don't call it a rumble seat for nothing!

After making those cuts the body fell right down.  So I went to Lowes today and got a piece of sheet metal to make a cover that can be removed in case I need to replace those shocks in the future.  Cut the piece of steel and bent a small piece that is shaped the same angle as the edges in the middle for a support so it will hold it at that shape and give it some rigidity (even though the seat won't actually be sitting on it), just over it.

Bottom of Body Painted

So I got the bottom of the body painted with POR15 today as well as rear wheel wells.  Came out good, I made a big mess all over the place, however I didn't get any on me, I wore two pairs of gloves (which was a good thing).  If this stuff dries on you there is nothing that will get it off unless you scrape the skin away.

I made such a big mess, I didn't even bother cleaning the can/cover, I ended up using about 2/3 of the can, so I just put the cap on tight and pounded it closed.  I'm sure the top is welded to the can right now, but when I'm ready to paint the inside of the trunk, i'll just drill a few holes in the top with self tapping screws, one for pouring and one for air.

Will post more pictures of what else I did today tomorrow.

Guess I didn't put the primer on thick enough...

So woke up this morning and went out to check out how my primer did last night and this is what I found...

The rust mark around the roof area still shows where I hadn't really sprayed since I was goign to be blasting off the black anyways, however the little surface rust that formed on one entire side on top of the primer.  Guess I didn't spray thick enough, so off to the auto parts store, got another quart of primer and hardener, good thing I got 8 more bags of sand yesterday.

I blasted off all of the rust and all of the rest of the black from the roof and gave the entire car another coat of gray epoxy primer.  After I let it cook in the sun for a few hours, I then moved it inside the garage.  We'll see if the "Dew" can get it in there!

Blasting Body and priming, only got roof left to do!

So I sandblasted most of the body, just have most of the roof left to do.  I also quickly blasted the bottom and wheel wells of the car just to get the loose scaly rust off so I can paint it with por15.  Here is some pics.. Will be setting it on frame soon!

Steering rack back in and wheels pointing straight!

Got the rack back installed after painting of the frame, ended up using a 2X4 to get the wheels close enough to be pointing straight right now.  From what I read online, you should adjust toe at the very end, after caster/camber, etc.  and since I still need to take the springs out to cut them, might as well wait until I do that for final alignment.  Should be alot easier to push around now with both wheels locked together.  :)  You can see see with the weight of engine and tranny how much the lower arms are still aiming down (they are supposed to be level).

Engine Back in and started blasting/priming body

Engine back in (kind of a pain to line up the motor mounts, I guess I had the bolts very tight on the bushings when I welded them in the first time, but I got it.

Also while the chassis paint was curing (it still won't be fully cured for probably a few weeks) I started working on sandblasting the firewall and front end of the body and wanted to get a coat of primer on it so it wouldn't flash rust.  I went with dupont's cheapy 2k epoxy primer bought from local advanced auto.  It actually flowed pretty good out of the gun (first time using it), I didn't even have to reduce it as the hardener actually takes care of that.  I only mised up about 8-10 ounces, should have had a little more to put it on thicker, but i'll just spray this section again next time I paint.