V8TV Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 (edited) This '66 Ford Galaxie 7-Litre just arrived in the shop for a resto... we're excited about working with the owner on an uncommon Muscle Car! This one will be an all-stock restoration, as the car has been in the same family since new!It's a very cool car. It's a pretty solid car, we're really diggin' the Emberglo color scheme. These 1966 Ford 7-Litres are very unique cars because they were used as a platform to launch the new for 1966 Ford 428 in. V-8 engine. They were advertised as their own model, even though they were essentially a jazzed up Galaxie. We had the pleasure of spending some time with a very rare 427 powered 7-Litre on Muscle Car Of The Week. This is one of 2 427-powered convertibles ever built: Now our '66 7-Litre is not as rare as the 427 Convertible, but it is a pretty low production car, with around 11,175 built, with 2367 convertibles. We extracted this car out of a storage barn and brought it to the V8 Speed & Resto Shop for a once over. Edited November 30, 2015 by V8TV (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 At first glance, it is a pretty clean car. There is some rust bubbling in the quarter panels, and it is sitting low because the trunk was full of extra parts at this point. One of the most unique features of these cars is the interior. The bucket seats are similar to what you would see in a Thunderbird, but it has a full backseat with plenty of room. The wood rimmed steering wheel is spoked with racy-looking holes, and it has a full length automatic console on the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 This is a true hardtop, meeting there is no pillar when the windows are rolled down. We were impressed by the fit of this car, the door gaps, deck lid, and even the hood fit very well. The hood was interesting, because there were no hinges installed when we picked it up. The engine have been removed and rebuilt several years ago, and we did not bring it in with the car. We will freshen up and install the engine later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 (edited) There are many unique parts to the 7-Litre model, one of which is the grille. Time will tell if we restore this one or find a different piece, but most of these parts are not reproduced. Underneath, the car demonstrated typical Midwestern rust, but the floors appear pretty solid. Edited November 29, 2015 by V8TV (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Looks to be an interesting restoration. Will be great to follow the work being done. Hope that you keep it up to date for us to follow progress. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Looks to be an interesting restoration. Will be great to follow the work being done. Hope that you keep it up to date for us to follow progress. We will keep you up to date, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 We gave the car a bath, and we began our disassembly and documentation process. The back sides of the fenders seemed to be dirty but not rusty. THe disassembly continued removing the heater assembly from the firewall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 The crew was happy to see that the floor seemed to be in excellent shape. The original bucket seats were dirty, but perhaps they will clean up without the need for reupholstering. All the parts were photographed, tagged, and bagged or wrapped for safe storage. Once we removed all the parts from the trunk, we spied some rust in the seams where the wheel tubs attach to the trunk floor, but we’ll get the whole picture after the paint is removed. Found a little crust in the doors… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank29u Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Door condition reminds me of my '73 Gran Torino Sport. That wasn't the only place my poor car was rusty, either. The color was Medium Copper Metallic, which appears much like this car. Thanks for your work and posting on the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 Door condition reminds me of my '73 Gran Torino Sport. That wasn't the only place my poor car was rusty, either. The color was Medium Copper Metallic, which appears much like this car. Thanks for your work and posting on the forum. This one was hiding a lot of rust, as you'll see as the story develops. Thanks for having us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 And a little crust in the door skin… The teardown continues… Soon, the body was ready to remove from the frame. And the body was mounted on the rotisserie for paint removal. The chassis was disassembled for media blasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 We elected to use a dustless media blasting technique for paint removal. In this process, crushed recycled glass bead is the cutting media, and it is blasted at the subject with high-pressure water. The water contains a rust inhibitor, so the clean panels do not immediately start corroding. The benefit is that the water keeps the temperature down to prevent the friction of the glass bead impact from heating and warping the panels. The other benefit is that the glass bead does not harm the environment, as the dust simply integrates with the gravel in our lot. Go Green Dustless Blasting brought their mobile unit to our shop to do the work. The first sheetmetal panels stripped clean, without significant damage or warping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 We had mechanical parts stripped like the rear axle housing and pieces. The parts retained all their stamping details and appeared nearly new when cleaned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 great job, at the rate you are going you should be done in a few weeks, ha,ha, i follow you every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 great job, at the rate you are going you should be done in a few weeks, ha,ha, i follow you every day. Right! We all know these jobs only take a week or so! Thanks for following along, we'll try to share things that are worth checking out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Next, the chassis was stripped. Finally, the Go Green team stripped the body shell. The Emberglo paint was hiding many secrets on the body shell, like the holes in the quarter panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Numerous pinholes and previously damaged areas were revealed after paint stripping. The Go Green crew rinsed the body shell and we rolled the body shell into the paint booth for epoxy primer. There are numerous areas that will require repairs. This is below the rear package tray. Quarter panel: Other quarter panel: There are areas of the frame that require reconstruction as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 It sure didnt look that bad when you first got it. were you able to get inside the box frame? green team did a great jom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 It sure didnt look that bad when you first got it. were you able to get inside the box frame? green team did a great jom. They never look as bad as they really are. We were able to get inside the frame, you'll see the repairs soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Wow. Some of those factory welds look like they were done by a beginner in welding class. My istructor called those pigeon welds cuz it looks like a pigeon flew over let go of some droppings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScarredKnightfan Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Holy cow. Appearances can be deceiving..... &, it's amazing what a little cleanup can do. Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.compigValve, paceMaker, cowValve | 1979 Caprice Classic (awaiting new owner)"May your days be merry and bright" __ Irving Berlin/Bing Crosby __ 'White Christmas' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 Owning a restoration shop, we're not surprised by much anymore. All old cars have secrets if you dig deep enough! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 (edited) The parts were then coated with black epoxy primer. The body was primed, save for the areas we knew we were removing. Edited December 5, 2015 by V8TV (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 The frame on this car had some obvious repairs over the years. We noticed that these large sections of angle iron steel were added to “fix” something… wonder what it is? After a little cutting with a wheel on both sides of the frame… … these giant holes were revealed on the driver’s and passenger side of the frame! Yucko. Obviously, the correct way to repair this stuff is not to just hide it under a patch. The top side of the frame was still intact. Out comes the rusty metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 We measured the rails and determined that 2” x 2” box channel is a perfect fit inside the stock rails. We elected to leave all 4 sides of the box tube intact to add a little more rigidity to the stock frame. The reinforcements were MIG welded in place, and ground flush. It’s hard to tell the repair ever occurred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Street Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Neat cars I recall working on one in NC. I still have a big Holley carb that might have come from one so must look at the numbers.Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 outstanding work. it is nice to have a lot of light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Neat cars I recall working on one in NC. I still have a big Holley carb that might have come from one so must look at the numbers.Robert Let me know if you find it! Thanks! outstanding work. it is nice to have a lot of light. Thank you Gary, our shop is bright and it is helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 A couple more “soft spots” were repaired on the chassis with new steel of a matching gauge. The fully repaired frame was then brought back into the paint booth for epoxy repairs and final paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Next, the crew mounted the body on a fixture to begin the sheetmetal repairs. These cars are cool and have a following, but parts are not as plentiful we’d like, so restorers are faced with some decisions to make. The wheel tubs were very rusty on this car, and replacements are not made for it. The good thing is that the tubs interchange with regular Galaxies, and there were many thousands of those made. We obtained a clean replacement set of wheel tubs removed from a car at Desert Valley Auto Parts in Arizona. They cut them from a car and shipped them to us. Upon arrival, we trimmed off the excess rough edges. The DVAP crew cut them oversize so we could do the finish work in-house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Our crew drilled and ground away the original spot welds in the car and removed the original wheel tubs. Original tub removed. The DVAP tubs were media blasted and epoxy primed. After priming, we repaired any rust pinholes or damage in the DVAP tubs. They were very clean, but sometimes the steel peels when being un-installed, etc. Edge repaired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Holes in edge to be repaired Edge repaired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacerman Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I worked a summer job June through August 1966 outside the Ford assembly plant in Louisville, KY and remember a few of these cars. We were in the rail yard where they marshalled the new cars and we loaded them onto tri-level rail cars (auto racks) for shipment wherever. We also received new Fords from other plants and unloaded them. The 7 Litre badge didn't mean much to me at that time because I wasn't a car guy and they were big boats anyway. I was more interested in the Mustangs and Fairlanes which came into the yard from other plants. But I do remember those luxurious interiors. We were loading the new cars onto rail cars (auto racks) for shipment wherever. And I can still remember that new car smell in cars that had been sitting closed up in the 90 degree heat. Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 Nice remembrance, Joe, thanks for sharing! I'll have to check and see where this one was built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 i hope you didnt stop working. i miss the updates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 i hope you didnt stop working. i miss the updates Far from it, we've been very busy in the shop, but we'll post some updates soon! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 Many 1960’s cars held leaves, pine needles, dust, and debris at the bottoms of the fenders and in the lower cowl boxes, and that stuff holds moisture and eventually rusts the car from the inside out. This one was no different. Here, the original rusty panels are drilled and removed, and repair panels are fabricated and welded in place. The new front piece welded in And the new side piece attached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8TV Posted January 14, 2016 Author Share Posted January 14, 2016 A new inner rocker section was made to replace the rusty original. Like most old cars, there were numerous holes in the cabin floor. The crew assessed each one, and fabricated steel repair panels where needed. These were made by hand using hammer and dolly techniques, the Mittler brothers bead roller, and other tricks of the trade. They were butt welded in with an HTP MIG 200 welder, and the edges were metal finished, so that they were not visible when finished. New brackets were fabricated were necessary as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 great metalwork and pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Gregory Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Great work . A friend had a car like that in the late 60's . If you need new parts there is a company in Oakville , Ontario , Canada called Special Interest Cars at 905 844 8063 I guessing they must have 6,000 square feet of parts . They ship all over . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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