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1968 Acadian winter upgrades

4K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  sbc1320 
#1 · (Edited)
1968 Acadian winter upgrades (Updated Feb.9/13)

Well I moved my '68 Acadian into my dads garage on the weekend to start this winters work on it.
The whole underside is losing its original undercoating and I'm going to refinish it in some sort of sealer (like POR15).

As a reminder the car looked like this during the summer




Today we lifted it up on jackstands attached to dollies, and removed the exhaust, driveshaft and rearend (in preperation for an upgrade to an 8.5)



This is the new/used posi rearend that will go back in (3:73 gears)



Underside is very clean, the car had floorpans done several years ago. No other rust to be seen. Just an ugly, uneven greyish brown colour. I want to end up with a satin black finish



Bought a $20 heat gun and its works great at removing the gunk off the bottom! The plan is to do it this way first, then brass wire wheel and the wipe it all down before paint.



Additional plans include new exhaust to go with the new headers and sub frame connectors.
I'll update this thread as I go, but its going be slow progress working around kids/life/work :)
 
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#4 ·
68 project..

Looks like a cool car...68's are neat.

Is that C clamp conected to the jack stand?? Can't quite tell from the photo..


also, you might want to change those leaf spring bushings while you have things apart...they looked dry and cracked.

Good luck with the project..

wilma
 
#7 ·
Looks like a cool car...68's are neat.

Is that C clamp conected to the jack stand??

wilma
The C clamp was just put on the frame behind the jackstand so there was no way it could slip back.

Thanks everyone for the compliments. The interior and paint are very nice on the car luckily:).
This years plan was to hit the undercarriage. Next year I'm hoping to pull th motor and detail the engine bay.
I'll keep this post updated every couple of weeks:yes:
 
#8 ·
Well as usual when I work on a project I forget to take pics all along the way. Here's sort of a midway update.
We got the underneath of the car from the tranny crossmember back stripped to bare metal, cleaned, primed and painted black. All the little fasteners underneath cleaned and/or painted. Rearend painted, along with new spring pads and bumstops.

Here's some photos









Hopefully more updates soon:yes:
 
#10 ·
Update Feb. 9/13
Well the exhaust is finally done, we took our time to get it to where I'm happy with it.
Here's some pics of the setup; Hooker longtubes, Jegs 2.5'' mandrel bend kit, Dynomax Ultraflo's









Just need to finish putting the shocks on and ebrake, then back on its wheels:yes:
 
#15 · (Edited)
Who makes that rear end cover? Looks really nice. I have chrome now but would like to change it to Aluminum as it will not rust over time.

Steves70SS
Those are more than a cover as they have the special bolts that support the third member bearing caps. I just put one on my car about a week ago.

I also bought new stainless allen head bolts as the one's that came with my cover were too short due to my 8.5 having recessed( about a 1/4")threads in the housing. At least the bolts will not rust on me and I did anti-seize them also.
 
#16 ·
Bo


Additional plans include new exhaust to go with the new headers and sub frame connectors.
I'll update this thread as I go, but its going be slow progress working around kids/life/work :)
Might as well replace those worn out leaf spring bushings and perch pads with some black poly ones. :yes:
 
#18 ·
Lpw also looks like they make a nice piece. I like the Ta one better because the bolts are recessed not flush. Both look nice . Anyone else have any thoughts on these two??? Will wait to order.

Steve
I only have experience with the TA cover but its an awesome piece. It's built solid and has great fit and finish. Several buddies run them on their drag cars and swear they keep the bearing caps alive:yes:
 
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