FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => Member Projects => Topic started by: George vega on July 23, 2017, 12:49:05 PM
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This has been my project for over 35 years. It started out as a daily driver coupe. Then I back halved it and raced it, crashed it, fixed it, raced it some more. Then I moved fm NC back to Fl. I raced it here until I blew the 428cj. While it was down, I decided to make it into a fastback just because I liked it more than the coupe version. In the course of finishing the body work and installing emblems I though it would be cool if the car looked like a 68.5 CJ. So I also converted the body fm a 67 to a 68. Here's a couple of pics of before and after.
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Car looks great, George! I'm very curious about the fastback conversion, because I've heard of that being done before. How difficult was it?
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Hard to believe that's the same car!
Lou
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Jay I done this in my 2 car garage with just basic skills. There are different ways. I'll tell you how I did it all by myself. I had a rusted out 67 fb that I bought to use as parts when I had the wreck. The top was good so I cut it off at the front pillars, removed the rear door lock panel and cut the rear quarters about 6 inches down from the crease at top and drilled out all spot welds for the quarter panel at back. Fastback corners at the rear panel are needed. There are some braces inside that also need to be removed. Anyway I got the top off from front pillars to trunk with all interior brackets. I brought it with me to fl. So while the engine was down I put the car on jack stands and leveled on one side of the garage. I installed 4 screw in hooks on the ceiling sqare above the top of the coupe. I got 4 small ratchet straps with hooks and connected them between the roof and the ceiling hooks. NOTE...My car is back halved with a 12 Point roll cage. It's not going to twist when I cut off the roof and I square measure the chassis and dropped plumb Bob markings for reference later. Ok, I hooked the top to the ceiling and cut the top off the coupe after taking a lot of measurements at the font window back of door pillar, quarter panels and rear end cap, always leaving more material than needed. BTW, you will need fb end caps.
I got the coupe top down and raised the fb top up trimmed the front pillars to dimensions taken earlier and insted of replacing the complete door lock panel I trimmed the fastback panel so it fit into the coupe glass notch and down the quarter over the coupe panel and preposition the panels at the cap ends. Take measurements before cutting then trim excess metal until I mock it up like I want it. I flange the fb qtr panel so that the coupe panel layed into the flange. Then it's a matter of tweek and stitch with the mig. I had to remove most of the interior brackets because of the aluminum interior and tubs. After it's all welded up, comes the grinding and body work till, you know what I mean.
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Beautiful car George!
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Looks like your hard work paid off.
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Nice!
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Thanks guys. Right now it's just a race car but in the back of my mind I want to put it back on the street as weekend pro street driver.
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Looks great!
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Nice car. I remember when i was just a small kid 4-5 years. The Austrian
coach builder that worked out of my dads shop did that coversion
on a 65-66 mustang that had hit a street light pole and the pole
had chrused the roof. I was his little helper holding the torch ,cooling the welds
with a wet rag, pestering him with questions,why do you do that? why do you do this? :D
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That's cool. I also had a guy that use to build fiberglass cars and I'd go over and hang out also.
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Hi, it is amazing how that changes the looks of your car Wow, I have owned my 1969 Mach 1 forty three years and like you I beat it hard through our childhood but we both lived through it, scared the hell out of all my nephew's friends I was not smart enough to be scared my self, please don't UN tub it it has history. Leny Mason