# 1967 gto trunk restore



## 67chivo (May 20, 2011)

ok so please forgive me as I am new to this forum and I am new to the world of restoring. I have some background in welding (mostly underwater was a diver) I have a 140 mig lincoln welder. I am working on an air compressor. I have never done any kind of body work and I will take my time. I cut out the sheet metal that was used as the trunk. the person I got this from just stick welded some low grade sheet metal (i think it was a water heater skin) and there is rust everywhere. This GTO is all numbers matching and I am planning to do a complete frame off restore. I need to replace both rear lower quarter panels,both trunk inner side filler panels, and the trunk itself ( fuel tank brace's body braces. So where do I start now that the trunk is out... was thinking the rear quarters then the trunk side filler panels. also I was planning on getting most of these stamped sheet metal from OPGI parts catalog but I have seen Cheaper metal on Ebay. the stuff on ebay looks like it fits alot of models and years. I am wondering if its safer to stick with the opgi or take my chances on the ebay stuff. I would probably have to modify to fit the stuff from ebay. any items or tips guys would help a ton..... I am really nervous and will be asking for a ton of help. thanks again p.s I am sure this is not spell checked and there is run ons but really you guys get the point.


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## onetwomany (Apr 22, 2011)

Hi. We just finished doing panel repair on my 65 GTO. I would recommend purchasing your replacement panels from reputable sources such as Ames, OPG 
etc. Why gamble with purchases on Evil bay. You say your car is #'s matching so why gamble to save a couple bucks. Good luck with your build and keep us posted (with pics) on your progress.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Howdy and welcome...

Let me recommend a forum and a set of DVD's to you. The forum is Kevin Tetz's Paintucation Forum, and the DVD's are Kevin Tetz's "Painucation" series, available from lots of places, including Kevin's web site. Kevin's a great guy (you might have seen him on the Trucks! TV show and also the new one, Search and Restore. He really knows his stuff. He's been extremely kinda and helpful to me as I've worked on my 69, and going into it I knew -nothing- about paint and body, plus on top of that I was only a beginner welder at best. Since then I've replaced one complete quarter and have fabricated (and welded, finished, etc) my own rust patches in a few other places on the car. If I can do it, anyone can.

Bear


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## 67chivo (May 20, 2011)

thanks for the tips I went ahead and got the metal from OPGI and I feel good about the buys....I was thinking of having the car media blasted and I live in Las Vegas so its hella dry and hot do I need to treat the metal right away or can it wait. I bought the car from Indiana for 5500 with a restored engine (about 2800 in cost). I plan on keeping this and maybe given it to my kids later down the road but I really want to make this a Driver not a Trailer Queen. It is Gold On Gold int. Blk vinyl Top, his and hers shifter and everything was in the car. it was in a shed for 18yrs I think it cost 1k to ship and now starts the pocket drain. I am happy I got all the paperwork and #'s matching stuff and here is where I am sure it might rub everyone wrong. I think I want to do one of those Air Ride Tech Suspensions instead of a normal stock suspension and power brakes. it has 14 in rally II rims but I dont like them. Is it wrong to move up to 15 16 or 17 inch rims. I am sure thats putting the cart before the horse but I was thinking down the line. your thoughts....


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## 67chivo (May 20, 2011)

*one more question*

ok so I was dumb and started removing all the body bolts and snaped off or broke most of them. So i figured I might as well break them all :lol: but when I got to the bolts behind the doors and under the rear axel area there is what looks like rubber covers. but I cant get them off to get to the last bolts. any ideas..


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## onetwomany (Apr 22, 2011)

I'm assuming the rubber your talking about are the factory rubber bushings that isolate the frame from the body. Snapping them off can sometimes be easier. Your obligated to get them all off or out and replace them with new ones. When you seperate the frame from the body it will allow you access to the shank portion of the broken bolt. You can soak them in penetrating oil and use some heat to break them loose. With that being said use all safety precautions necessary. Fuel tank and lines should be removed from vehicle and interior components should be removed too. Always have a fully charged fire extinguisher on hand in the event of a small fire breaking out. Work safely and let us know how your doing.
As far as your modifications go.. Its your ride build it the way you want. I like the air ride technology stuff. I had it on one of my trucks years ago.


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## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

If you want to see pictures of what your getting into, click the link under my avatar next to My photos (or click here). All of the panels you are talking about replacing start at around page 25 and go backwards to page 5 or so.

Good luck,


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## 67chivo (May 20, 2011)

*body bolts*

No I am not talking about the rubber bushings that isolate the body off the frame. from under the frame as I was removing the body bolts from front to back and there seemed to be like a rubber cover to the last 4 bolts. I dont want to rip this off if its not covers to the body bolts, I was thinking they might be like guide rubber studs or something. they are located just behind the doors and under the rear axle. any ideas guys?


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

67chivo said:


> No I am not talking about the rubber bushings that isolate the body off the frame. from under the frame as I was removing the body bolts from front to back and there seemed to be like a rubber cover to the last 4 bolts. I dont want to rip this off if its not covers to the body bolts, I was thinking they might be like guide rubber studs or something. they are located just behind the doors and under the rear axle. any ideas guys?


Ah, I bet I know what they are. Looking up through the frame where you'd expect to see a bolt, you just see rubber - right? I bet those are just pads. On my 69 not every "mount" had a bolt through it. Some of them are just rubber cushions that sit between the body and the frame - they don't have bolts in them and never did. 

Bear


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## 68GTO4004Spd (Jun 19, 2008)

I would suggest that you wait until you get your new panels before you cut anymore off the car. You need to have some structural integrity and also you need to have some old panels in place for fit up and alignment. If you go to "68 goes to the paint shop" thread, there are pics of the quarters and partial truck pan replacement. He left the door jam in place to fit the door, then removed the rest of the 1/4 panel and used the door jam, trunk and wheel house to line up the new 1/4.


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## peahrens (Jun 7, 2010)

For what it's worth, on my '66 I went to a Jr College Saturday all day body shop class in 1992. My trunk floor was toast, so it got cut out and new panels spot welded in, plus some goo along the seams, then spatter paint. Came out great. Other issues were inside rear wheel wells partially bad (overlaid some metal), 3 of 4 floor pans replaced plus bad corners on the bottom of the 2 doors (probably from poor drainage). The big mistake was cutting out about 4"x4" skin on the door corners and just welding in new skin pieces. The heat did a nice job of warping the middle of the door skins and lots of work to get it straight before painting had limited success...I can see waves there. The bottom line IMHO is to get the right insight and/or real time coaching to avoid significant hindsight on something that becomes difficult to correct.

I fully agree on buying parts from those suppliers who work to provide the best products.

Good luck with your ambitious project. You will be rewarded in the long run.


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## Too Many Projects (Nov 15, 2008)

I probably saw this too late to have any influence on the parts purchasing but I HOPE you ordered the one piece trunk floor with all the braces attached. It is so much easier to do it like that than weld a bunch of panels together. There is one just for the Pontiacs now instead of modifying a Buick pan. 

There is also a good parts vendor near you in Phoenix AZ that has very reasonable shipping rates on large panels. Something like R&S, I can't remember off hand.

You can also look at my thread link in my signature line to see what I started with and all the parts I've bought for my 67.


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