I shot some SEM bedliner under the floor after I sandblasted it. I would have preferred to fix the trunk area too and bed line it all at the same time but I got in a hurry because I have to give the rotisserie back. I have to order some some more parts now.
That ougta keep it from re-rusting! And it's a great sound deadener too! The strength, durability, and ease of application of today's plastics sure beats the hell out of the old undercoating from the '70s.
It will be interesting to see how heat resistant it is. I agree that technology has greatly improved the paint and body world. Just what they have done with primer since I was a kid is incredible to me.
I have been messing with my 8.8 trying to get it ready to go under the back of this car. It came out of a 2000 Explorer. Unbeknownst to me, some water got into the center section and rusted the gears a little bit. I have to take the ring gear out and clean it and I also have to replace the spring perches. I tried to re use the old ones but the welds are so good that it aint happening.
Monday I took the rear end to a driveline shop to have the new rear perches installed. I ground the old ones off at home, but found it easier to take it to a shop that has a jig rather than try to cobb up something to support it in the back yard. They are already done with it but I won't be off work again until Friday. I am also going to take the 4.10 gear out and install 3.27. I plan to put a 302 in this car with an AOD. I found a buy on an AOD with a new torque converter, but it is supposed to have a 2000 stall. How would that work with the 3.27 gear at 55 mph?
The 8.8 is sitting in place. The shop did a great job welding the perches on. I cleaned the 4.10 gears up and reused them rather than swap to the 3.27s. I still have to find the proper U bolts and spring/shock mounting plates.
fresh coat of SPI black epoxy in the engine room. I ordered new springs and control arms from Rock Auto. I have to order spring saddles and the rubber insulators before I can assemble all that.
I put that rear end in by myself with a floor jack. You know how well floor jacks roll on dirt. I raised the rear with the jack, put it on stands, then installed the leaf springs . After that I raised the rear again, moved the stands out of the way, and set the rear down on the springs. I found my U bolts at Napa.
Did they just match up the spring perch location with your old rear end? Also curious how to run the sway bar on the 8.8? I have an 8.8 to throw in my '69 but haven't started on it yet.
I took the shop my original rear end to take measurements from. They have a jig they use to weld spring perches on. They set my original rear in that and took measurements and measured the factory pinion angle so they could match it on the 8.8. I had given thought to trying to run an Explorer anti sway bar and just making frame brackets but I doubt I will.
There's a lot of stress behind this picture. I thought I would never get these springs in. The Loan a tool spring compressor from Auto Zone was probably not the best tool to use, but it beat nothing. I gotta get some strut rods and then I can put it on the ground. The rear is waiting for me to modify the shock plates so the new u bolts will fit.
The rear is back on the ground. I'm not sure that the offset is just right on these draglites. I bought them to go on my 55 Chevy but they are the only thing I currently have to fit a 5 lug Ford so on they go.
Wow I've been gone almost a year. I haven't touched the body of the car but I have rounded up a roller cam mid nineties 302 for it and a small bell housing C4. I plan to start the 302 on a stand and see if it runs as good as the previous owner said it does before I put it in the car. The C4 will need to be rebuilt. Many more missing parts will need to be located.
Here's my 302 and C4 waiting to go in. The internals looked mint on the engine. I think its been rebuilt before. I added some GT40 heads and a HO cam out of an old 5.0 Mustang.