1973 Torino Tribute Restoration

1973 was the first year they had the 5mph bumpers. As I remember, it was a law that passed fairly quickly, so basically what the manufacturers did was just extend out the bumpers that were originally designed for it. For some of them, it really did look like an afterthought. When Buick came out with the '73 Century's, I recall thinking how much better they'd look if the bumper was flush, like it was supposed to be.

 

Right. I remember looking at the first GMs thinking they'd gone back to ugly 1930's bumpers, sticking out so far.

 

Hey guys, I hope all is well. Well the weather is changing for the better and quickly approaching is Spring Break. No fun in the sun for me, but it will give me a chance to gets some work done on the wagon. I spent this week ordering the sound deadening material and I also just bought a fresh batch of POR-15. I have a laundry list of things I PLAN on doing, but we'll see by next weeks end what all ACTUALLY got done. Photos will follow.

Just FYI I ordered this stuff off Ebay. I hope it works well. :confused:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/100-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

Interesting stuff, that eDeadener. Good price too. I think the evercoat that I used on the floor was about $1.50 per sq. ft. and you can't use it on vertical panels like doors. I just wanted to replace the broken/loose Factory stuff. I undercoated the door panels and rear quarter panels on the inside.

 

Ya know Norm I thought about doing the same thing, but after opening and closing the doors it took me right back to being a kid. That "clank" of the door opening and closing was GREAT! I couldn't bring myself to remove it. So I left it AS-IS. Thanks for the tip none the less.

 

Ah yes, the GM Clank. One of those irreplaceable options that comes with time! Happens to Clankshafts too!

 

Well maybe I mis-spoke. :banghead3:
Maybe it's the FORD "clunk" and NOT the GM "clank".

 

Its Ok, The new weatherstrips will change it to a THUD option.

 

Well today was a great day! The weather was great and I finally got over the lower dash removal "jitters". I figured well I can't screw it up that much can I ??? Rhetorical question, NORM! j/k of course.

Anyway I removed the lower dash and cleaned it up and just about got it ready for paint. I need to epoxy a couple cracks from behind and re-spray the black portion where the switches are a flat black. Then spray the Bull Dog Paint adhesion promoter and then the blue.

The steering wheel was a mess. 35 years of dirt, grease, and grime, but it all came off pretty well with the POR-15 Marine Clean. I need to fix a couple cracks on the wheel itself, but the rubber pieces are looking pretty good. I think I am gonna give the rubber piece where the horn button is another once over since that is where the most black goo was.

I also cleaned up all the wires, hoses, duct work behind the dash. I vacuumed the lil RAT nest that was inside the lower duct work. There was even RAT hair in the filters. I took it all apart and washed everything up and also opened up all the blower motors and vents to make sure all the crud was gone. My poor vacuum got a lil bit of everything today. Everything is looking very nice now. I just hope I am able to put it all together once painted.

Here is a link of a few pics of todays progress:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=490678649308:230019935

 

wow! You are a better man than I am, gpd! Great work! You, sir, are a real trooper! That car is going to be a show winner!

 

Thanks Silver, I appreciate the Kudos!

 

I love the way your ductwork is attached to the firewall. On the Fox cars, they float until you attach the dash at the top. You feel like you need 6 more hands, especially when you hear the freshly refinished plastic crackling.

Heck of a job. Well done. You'll be glad you took all those pics in the removal stage. I didn't and I fought with one bracket for over 2 hours, consulting the manuals and getting back under, and over and over.

Screwups? Nah, learning curves - big ones!

 

Actually Norm, it does float just like the FOX bodies I imagine. There is a lil balancing act I had to do to take the photo.

Here was todays progress. I painted the steering wheel horn assembly, ash tray, shift indicator, and other misc pieces including the lower dash.

That was the biggest project, but I think it came out very nice. I sprayed the flat black around the switch bezels first, then taped everything up and sprayed the blue. Then did the finishing touches with the silver model paint around the border strip and radio knobs and windsheild washer indicator knob letters.

Tomorrow the plan is to POR-15 paint the front bumper and possibly paint the 73-74 Base model Torino grill silver. I prepped the front steel bumper backing with the Marine Clean and and Metal Ready today.

The cracks in the steering wheel were also filled in with the POR-15 Putty today and was left to dry thoroughly over night so maybe tomorrow I can start sanding it down and get it ready ready for paint as well.

Here is the link to a few photos:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=712718949308:1878252172

 

How nice. At first I thought why are you painting everything brown...then the blue when on. Everything looks brand new. Very nice work.

 

Special FX, huh?

Did you have a helper? I used masking tape to hold it up temporarily until I got the harness threaded through and a couple fasteners in place.

How did you do the lettering? That sure came out nice too.