68 el Camino Resto-Mod

Dean Jenkins said:
Oh yeah, kit is sitting on the bench ready to go.
Going to test fit that and power window kit before paint.
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Then, you may want to rethink your mirror location....or not, I just found the mirror almost beside me in a bad spot.



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Getting ready to spray black epoxy on EVERYTHING underhood. Barry convinced me that is best solution.
Was trying to figure out how to stretch the hood hinge springs for painting (I've read in other threads the epoxy will flex enough for this.)
My hydraulic press caught my eye . . .

20221005_171836.jpg

Swapped in the hood springs and extended it.
Boom! Problem solved. I'll paint em right there.

20221005_172235.jpg
 
U may not be there yet but I'm having a hard time finding the steering column firewall boot for 68. Surely it's reproduced?? Any leads?
 
RosharonRooster said:
U may not be there yet but I'm having a hard time finding the steering column firewall boot for 68. Surely it's reproduced?? Any leads?
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OPGI is my first stop for parts.

Is this what you are looking for? It is in stock now:

And this:
 
dhutton01 said:
I have always found OPGI prices to be very high. Them and Year One. These guys are pretty fair and keep good inventory. This part looks the same.

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Don
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I'm willing to pay a bit more with OPGI because service is excellent.
Whatever you do, don't use Ground Up Ss 396. Horrible!
 
Ok I apologize. I'm not used to anything newer than 64, I was looking for a rubber boot that is embossed with metal to mount on the firewall. The 68 doesn't use that. All it calls for is new foam which u guys posted links to. And the metal piece is currently on the steering column. We could have put this thing in the car 3 weeks ago lol
 
If your looking for weather stripping or seals I'd look for Metro or Soffseal. Both made in the USA. Restoparts are made in Tiawan and you won't be happy with them. I've used rubber inner tubes for some gaskets which work well for the ones no one makes. Even with Metro / Soffseal some seals (Door seals) are better from one than the other. Just my .02 worth

John
 
LITJOHN said:
If your looking for weather stripping or seals I'd look for Metro or Soffseal. Both made in the USA. Restoparts are made in Tiawan and you won't be happy with them. I've used rubber inner tubes for some gaskets which work well for the ones no one makes. Even with Metro / Soffseal some seals (Door seals) are better from one than the other. Just my .02 worth

John
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In my experience Soffseal are anything but soft and doors and deck lids are really hard to close. They know about the problem but have been reluctant to fix it. Plenty of Camaro guys have had to throw away their Soffseal and replace with Metro. I always use Metro, and specifically look for their hollow core trunk seals. Things like steering column seals aren’t critical so just about any vendor will work unless you are doing a concourse restoration imho.

YMMV,
Don
 
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Starting to put it all back together.
Decided to Base/Clear the forward door jambs and hinges, with the doors off, since I'll be spraying the car assembled and won't be able to get to those very well.
I'll do the rest of the jambs and blend with this paint later.
Pictures don't really do justice, I think it came out good. A nice glimpse of how glossy the SPI Base/Clear is going to be.

Jamb painted.jpg


Also tried to think ahead and do whatever mechanical work I could before re-assembling the front sheet metal.
Installed the starter and headers.
And decided to install the steering column and associated U-Joint, shaft, Rag-Joint.
It will never be easier than now.
Of course, had to paint the steering column first (it came out really nice!)
And before I could install the steering column, had to put the seat in, and mount the steering wheel, since the aftermarket tilt column has about 5-inches of In/Out adjustment and I wanted to get it located perfectly.
Kinda cool to have stuff installed and get a glimpse of how it is going to look.

wheel and seat.jpg
 
Sometimes you have to get creative.
I needed to move the core support, with fenders and inner fenders bolted on, about 1/4" to get the hood to line up.
2X6 cut to length and a small hydraulic jack and it was done.
It is coming together well and I'm excited to start final filler skim and blocking.

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