Bringing the '65 back to life

[timmytimm3]

Nice to see you're still at it. I've been making a ton of progress on mine as well. I'll get around to posting some pics at some point.

[racecougar]

Welded the front brace back in today. It's ready for final body work and paint.

[racecougar]

I had completely forgotten about this thread! Time for a bit of an update:

I took a week off work in July and we knocked out the tailgate:





I put at least another 1,000 miles on it between then and December, alternating between it, the Skylark, and the Coug for gym trips, hardware runs, etc. We decided to finally take it back apart to finish it over the winter:




Note the supervisor at her desk

[racecougar]

The plan for the winter is to install a Vintage Air system and paint the front clip. Last weekend, I worked on the fitment of the condenser package. Of course nothing can ACTUALLY be a "bolt on" affair. Lol.

The Vintage Air kit places the condenser lines and filter/dryer in the space previously occupied by the trans cooler lines, meaning the trans cooler has to shift over 2". That wouldn't be a PITA if the trans cooler lines didn't route through the grill support. (Old photo of trans cooler location attached).

No matter; that's what the welder is for. I whipped up a patch panel out of White Max's old bedside, used my shrinking stump and English wheel to establish the correct compound curves in it, then burned it in and sanded it smooth. Presto-chango, the hole for the trans cooler lines has magically moved over 2". 🙂 These parts can head over to the other shop for paint.

[racecougar]

Here's where I'm at as of yesterday:

Making good progress on the Vintage Air installation. Evaporator box is installed, five of six ducts installed, controls converted over from cable to electronic, and the condenser/filter dryer assembly is assembled.

Still need to install the last vent, mount the compressor, paint the core support, grill support, and hood, install the condenser/filter dryer assembly, make the lines, and wire it all.



Installed the freshly painted inner fenders today. We decided to do something similar to the paint in the Coug's engine bay, using a black and white fleck buried in clear over a base color. Whereas we used a gray base on the Coug, we went with a black base here. It looks rad, and I can't wait to see it once the rest of the body parts are installed.




Picture of the Coug's engine bay for comparison. This was shot over a gray basecoat.

[racecougar]

The correct bolts/spacers finally arrived for the compressor mount. Thanks to Wayne at KWiK Performance for getting things all sorted out.

[rideblue00]

Just read through your build, nice work! Lotsa time involved, but looks great. I love the rake this thing has. Get er done!

[nsb29]

Originally Posted by racecougar

The correct bolts/spacers finally arrived for the compressor mount. Thanks to Wayne at KWiK Performance for getting things all sorted out.

I’m glad you had better luck than I did. I wasn’t impressed by him or his bracket! Sum of the parts looked like they were stamped out of old beer cans. I haven’t changed mine yet I’m hoping I don’t have the squealing problems that so many other people have had, there chart on belt size wasn’t right after three phone calls I just measured it myself
Posted via Mobile Device

[racecougar]

Originally Posted by rideblue00

Just read through your build, nice work! Lotsa time involved, but looks great. I love the rake this thing has. Get er done!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by nsb29

I’m glad you had better luck than I did. I wasn’t impressed by him or his bracket! Sum of the parts looked like they were stamped out of old beer cans. I haven’t changed mine yet I’m hoping I don’t have the squealing problems that so many other people have had, there chart on belt size wasn’t right after three phone calls I just measured it myself
Posted via Mobile Device

Well, I was happy with his helpfulness on correcting their mistake, but I can't say I'm super impressed by the parts for the price point. I ended up having to relocate the idler pulley in order to get the belt to clear the upper radiator hose. I don't see how it could possibly clear in the as-provided position, no matter which hose you use.

Since the last update I've painted and reinstalled the core support and grill support, along with a litany of small parts. The compressor is mounted, condenser is installed, lines are routed, etc. It might not look like much changed, but trust me, all these little items eat up time. Additionally, when working with all of these parts that are now in final paint, every move has to be fully thought out prior to execution. I really don't want to have to pull anything back off to re-spray.

The main things left to complete are heater hoses, wiring, install fenders, grill, bumper, associated small parts, and then paint the hood.

[racecougar]

Completed the wiring integration of the Vintage Air system yesterday between plowing sessions, meaning the system is now fully installed. Now it's just a matter of putting the truck back together.

I wonder how many miles of wire are in this truck now...

[racecougar]

Dad came over this morning so we could hang the rest of the front sheetmetal. We're both quite happy with how it turned out.

We decided some time back that the grill would not receive new paint. It is in great shape as it is, and we thought it important to keep it completely original to the days when my grandfather drove it. It is the face of the truck after all. 🙂

All that's left now is to paint and install the hood, then this project is complete!

[racecougar]

It's come a LONG way.

[cwcarpenter98]

Wow, that is quite the difference! I like both versions though

[racecougar]

Thanks! I whipped up a few more before/after photos today:

[The Rocknrod]

Hard to believe huh? Looks great and thanks for the update.

[racecougar]

Back to working on the hood once again. Dad came over this morning to blast the inside, I DA'd it, and then we got it into primer this afternoon. A piece of a newspaper from May of 1988 popped out whilst I was sanding it today, which was pretty cool.

[88Stanger]

nice work!

[LostMy65]

Have you had any issues with the exhaust routing out the sides in front of the rear tires?

[racecougar]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

Have you had any issues with the exhaust routing out the sides in front of the rear tires?

None at all.

[LT7A]

Thanks for updating this. You guys have done a ton of nice work on this truck and the story and legacy behind it are cool as well. I like the unabashed hot rod persona. It makes a statement without being over the top. My favorite thing about it is that you guys worked on it together. A great accomplishment and a priceless family heirloom.

[racecougar]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Thanks for updating this. You guys have done a ton of nice work on this truck and the story and legacy behind it are cool as well. I like the unabashed hot rod persona. It makes a statement without being over the top. My favorite thing about it is that you guys worked on it together. A great accomplishment and a priceless family heirloom.

That's high praise. Thanks! And thanks for reminding me to update this thread.


Captions for the photos below:

After having nothing but trouble with the Vintage Air-supplied Kwik Performance bracket, we bit the bullet and bought the Holley AC compressor bracket kit. WAAAAAY better! It looks better, too. The air conditioning has worked exceptionally well. The truck has no trouble staying cool while keeping me cool. It is weird driving around with the windows up though.


Finished painting the hood a few weeks ago. It turned out great, particularly considering how beat/rotten it was. Glad to get the original hood back on the truck.


The truck is finished!!! It'll never be finished, but it's finished. 🙂 We installed the hood yesterday. Happy to wrap this thing up. Yes, the truck is filthy. I enjoy driving cars, not washing them.

[88Stanger]

Great Job !!!!

[cwcarpenter98]

The hood on completes the whole look. Great job!

[LostMy65]

Everything about this is just fantastic!

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by racecougar

Good news all around today. Dad scored some 15x7's in 5x5 that match the rear 15x10's. He mounted a pair of tires from one of my parts cars on them, and we stuck them on the truck today. We also installed the passenger side door, found the door striker plates right where they belonged in a box in the back room (not sure how we missed them before) and bolted them onto the cab, and I probably chased paint out of the threads of 100 holes.

So, you have 15x10's in the rear and 15x7's in the front?