72 TA : New Project

[njsteve]

1972 is a close second for oddball parts. Try and find a points (non-unitized electronic) distributor for a 1972. The vast majority of 72 455HO's came with the unitized ignition. Luckily (or unluckily) mine originally came with the 1112126 points distributor. Unfortunately, I had to search for three years to find one.

The same search occurred for the 7042273 carb. The 4-speed, 72 455HO carb is one of the rarest pieces to hunt down.

I would imagine that if I had not done everything myself except for the body, the restoration costs would be well into the six figure zone.

[BARN FIND]

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A few progress shots of the rear window filler panel getting massaged into place. It's kind of a tricky piece since it forms the bottom of the rear window channel. It's a big water leaker if you get it wrong. It's also impossible to remove without cracking the rear window glass once the glass is installed.





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I have been mulling over this statement ever since you posted it 3 months ago, do you mean that your rear window sits on top of the small flange that sticks out of the filler panel that covers the trunk hinge springs?

[njsteve]

There is a flanged area that the rear window sits upon (factory black painted area in photos below). The area where the rear quarters mate up to the rear bulkhead leaves a 1/8" drop that is factory filled with dum-dum sealant. (the area just to the right of the screw hole in the photo below)






The filler panel mates up to the edge of that flange and was installed prior to the window being installed so it is usually stuck in place by the oozed out window butyl sealant. The upper right slotted area is where the screw goes.

[BARN FIND]

So it should look like this with the window in (minus the rust!)

[njsteve]

Yup. Looks like your back window has been replaced before by the look of the sealer. I would recommend pulling out the the window and seeing what surprises await you.

[BARN FIND]

LOL...that is a picture from the disassembly, it is out along with most of the rest of the car (see picture in my signature) I resigned myself before I started this process that it would be my own fault if anything surprised me on a car that was driven for almost 20 years in the rust belt. Most of the surprises have come from past body repairs that were not welded as solidly as I would like.

[njsteve]

Went to the shop today to check on progress. Still in the final stages of blocksanding. Hopefully in final primer next week...

[njsteve]

Cleaning up the dash panel area:

[njsteve]

Working on the polyethylene valance. It takes some special primer/paint processes to get it to stick to the polyethylene. The left and right edges need some attention to get them to match to the contours of the front fender bottom.

[njsteve]

Still grey, but slowly progressing along.