My 83 Wagon

[mikester]

Flipping the like button reacquainted me with your pair of projects. Can you share any news on the wagon? Or the coupe? I'm glad to hear I'm not the only lunatic with one of each...

Bloody Hell.....I've just read the whole thread about your wagon rebuild. You're nuts :-D This is the cleanest restoration of a G Wagon I've ever seen. It looks absolutely stunning. Great job done so far and I'm looking forward to reading about it til it's done.
Frank

Thanks for the kind words and the interest guys !

The wagons under the plastic for the time being. Im really trying to get a lot done on the coupe.
Things are moving kinda slow. Once I got the brake situation fixed I moved on to finishing the wiring for the starter, alternator and sending units. I still have to mount the MSD 6AL and wire that into the harness. While I was wiring up the starter I noticed the freeze plug above it is weeping. I wasnt happy. Now I have to pull the header and starter out all over again. Easy when I was younger, now its getting tough. LOL
My back/neck/knee issues are the biggest factor when it comes to getting the cars done. Its starting to suck.
I have the interior of the coupe close to being finished. All thats left is mounting the shifter and putting a stereo in.
Today I was putting the carb back on and 2 of the fine thread SS nuts galled on the ARP SS studs. Needless to say I was pissed. I had to run to the local engine shop and spend another $25 for new studs. Thats what Im doing tonight. It never ends. LOL

BTW, I think Scotts wagon is way past mine as far as details. My body never came off the frame. Hes got every nut and bolt painted the correct color. Im an amateur compared to Scott ! LOL

 

[ssn696]

BTW, I think Scotts wagon is way past mine as far as details. My body never came off the frame. Hes got every nut and bolt painted the correct color. Im an amateur compared to Scott ! LOL

Speak of the Devil, have not heard from him in quite a while.

 

[mikester]

Speak of the Devil, have not heard from him in quite a while.

Yeah, Scotts been MIA for quite a while. I hope hes working on something. lol

 

[mikester]

Back on the wagon now that the 81 is actually moving on its own power.
Switched the cars around in the garage a few weeks ago. Got the rest of the hardware today. Bought a new convertor from Pro Torque. UPS delivered the new shorty headers today. They dont look bad but the flange is perfectly flat. Im hoping they seal right.
Hoping to get my buddys transmission jack tomorrow. Maybe the motor can go in this weekend. Ive been trying to get that done for almost 3 weeks.

 

[1320John$$$]

Very nice love the color

 

[liquidh8]

Awesome! Hope you can make forward motion and get it done.

 

[mikester]

Worked on the wagon for a bit today. Helping one of my friends in a few minutes so I'll post some pictures of the progress tonight. It was a productive day !

 

[airboatgreg]

Very very nice. I am impressed

 

[mikester]

So, finally inside with some time.
Everything was ready for the install. AC box all back together. I even had time to polish the accumulator. Looks nice but Im not 100% sure if I have the right one. Time will tell.

Im lucky to have a couple of good friends that were both happy to give me a hand today. It didnt take long. Only pain in the butt was the right side motor mount bolt.

The new Heddman headers seem to fit well but I didnt put the right side on because I still have to mount the tube to the transmission for the starter wires. Going to redo the harness anyway. One thing I can see is going to be a ball buster. For some reason the hole for the dipstick tube bracket was a little off and it took some time and patience to get it in. Now I had to take it back out so the header could go on. If the AC box was out it would have gone right in. And yes, I know a nut is missing on the upper control arm. Ive got all new but havent had the time to put them all on.

Next weeks project. A mess of wires and plugs. Im making new wires for the starter. A couple of wires are for the sending units. Everything besides the engine harness is already finished. Basically just starting and charging. I hope its easy.

Well thats about all the good news Ive got. If it wasnt for my two friends Vinny and Ralph I wouldnt have this done tonight.

 

[mikester]

Since I have to use the Cutlass setup for the AC I took a trip to my favorite junkyard the other day. I was able to grab a bunch of stuff and the owner only wanted $20 for everything. I picked up a set of clean fender to cowl braces that I already sandblasted and primed, the plastic strap for the upper hose since I have a one piece Cutlass shroud, a few loom clamps and two of the small AC tubes that I guess only can be found on a Cutlass. I saw one on a Regal but it was bent totally different. Not sure what else they come on.
Both of them were pretty nasty. Lots of corrosion and a decent amount of light pitting. About two years ago I bought a cheap bench top 6" buffer from Harbor Freight. Im glad I did. A little 320, some 600 and some time spent on the buffer and they look 100% better. Not ready for SEMA but they look okay. Good enough. Im not sure which one Im using yet but Im probably going with the one that has steel fittings. One has aluminum. The loop was a pain in the butt. I have a 3" buffing wheel but it was tough to hold it to the tubing. Like I said. Good enough.

I also got a new condensor from Autozone. Delivered on Friday, taken back Friday night. It was made by Spectra. Didnt like the way it was made. Im trying one from Advance next to see if it looks any better. I guess I'll know in a few days.