BBR's 545 83GT..... it is alive

[BBR]

Upper and lower torque box reinforcement kits are available, as well as an upper mount that completely replaces the stock mounts.

The stock upper mounts are actually spot welded to a heavier metal 'crossmember' that reinforces the floor pan and provides a secure rear seatbelt anchor point in this area. This is what you really weld the mounts to, not really the actual floor pan.

This car will be a street/strip car, not a weekly bracket car, so I really don't think I will ever have an issue with them. If I were beating on it week-in and week-out, I would certainly pop for the box reinforcements.

[BBR]

Gas tank is out, cleaned and ready for a sump to be installed. whoo hoo

[BBR]

Assembled the rear brakes last night and they fought me tooth and nail every step of the way. I hate drum brakes.

Today, I went and picked up the other hood and a better looking cowl piece. The hood is just a stock flat hood. I don't know if I will use it or not, but it is nice to have it as a backup.

I also started on the fuel tank sump:

I used the flapper wheel and cleaned off the area where it would sit and marked 4 2.5" holes using Comp Engineering's instruction sheet template.


I flared the edges of the sump so it would be easier for me to weld.


I got started off real good, but ran into issues with my welding wire coming off the spool, and not feeding smoothly.. or at all. Kinda jacked me up and caused me to burn though more than I wanted. After I finished welding, I shot it with some flat black and filled it with water to check for leaks. The black paint made it real obvious where it had pinholes and also made it real easy to mark where they were. I will touch up the leaks and it should be ready to bolt in very soon.

[milner351]

Well done....

What precautions did you take while welding on this thing as to not go BOOM!

[BBR]

Not really any, other than washing the tank out good with a pressure washer and dish washing detergent.

[mustang13]

FYI, the de-gas method of running tailpipe fumes from a running car into the tank for a half hour or so have always worked for three generations of my family. No ones blown up yet , and you don't have water in the tank to deal with afterwards. Silver soder over the weeping welds works to seal also.

[horsewidower]

FYI, the de-gas method of running tailpipe fumes from a running car into the tank for a half hour or so have always worked for three generations of my family. No ones blown up yet , and you don't have water in the tank to deal with afterwards. Silver soder over the weeping welds works to seal also.

Learn something new every day.

[BBR]

I've also seen guys use dry ice. Toss it in the tank and let it 'melt'.

It still had a little smell of gasoline, but it was pretty weak. I guess the truth will be known when I fire up the propane torch and solder the pinholes... :o

If I don't update this thread in a week or so, send help. lol

[BBR]

> Sump is done.
> Fuel pump is mounted to the front of the plastic tank cover.
> Console is out
> Carpet is out... good riddance
> Headliner board is out, will probably use it as a template for a new one.
> Door panels are out
> Hood is off
> Rear seat center pivot is mounted (went from solid rear bench to split)
> Outside door handles have been replaced with the ones from the Ranger because the driver's side was broken.

Found a surprise under the driver's seat. I really think this car has been hit at one time or another. It looks like the driver's seat bolts got yanked on pretty hard at some point. The body shop welded some reinforcement metal around the outside seat bolt area. It's not pretty, but it still seems to be sound. Luckily, the only rust on the floor pan was the pieces they welded in. I wire wheeled them and then shot them with some rusty metal primer.

Overall a good day. Should be ready to move to the engine bay and front suspension very soon. Might replace the front rotors/hoses and pads first. Then pull the motor, and roll it out and clean the engine bay/front end. After that, I can start in on the rack replacement without getting too grungy.

[nesabo]

Are you re using the factory sending unit and just blocking off the fuel pickup line? I just dropped the tank on my '86 to install the batter box and found after a previous owner installed the sump they did not put any thing back in the stock pickup/sending unit hole!