67 Mk1 GT6 restoration

[John Bonnett]

A real milestone Hazen and a great feeling that I can  relate to. Well done.

[byakk0]

Quoted from BiTurbo228

Looking great! Must feel nice to take it for a spin

It certainly does. And I got it starting on it's own without using starting fluid. Just need to adjust the idle speed. I was cruising about 20 MPH or so without my foot on the throttle. Engage the clutch and the RPM increases drastically.

---

If I am going to drive this beast I need mirrors. Little scary without...

So I worked up a semi-adjustable holder/drilling guide.
Making these easily adjustable is either just not something I have the gear to do, or I haven't quite figured it out. My original intent was to slot the horizontal and vertical strips so I could just change position on the fly, but having screws or nuts on the backside would interfere with the true position and possible dent the skin. I'm not worried about the passenger side as I need to re-skin that one still, but the drivers side is new so no chance. I'm taking a chance as it is as this type mirror has a bracket screwed from the bottom, but I've filed them a little flatter, and having the horizontal strip on the vertical I should be ok...
For now, I have them tack welded. Adjusting is a little more involved than my original plan, but it's fully functional for the purpose, and holds the mirror still for test driving.

With turn signals only (no windscreen installed-I've got the frame in I plan on using, so making adjustments with it in place) and seat not bolted in place I went for a spin around the block--last time was just down the street to turn around.
When I got home my wife asked to go for a spin. It's been 20 years since we last rode in it together.
I had to shove the treasures that have accumulated in the empty pass compartment (hey, storage happens  ) and throw in a seat. I told her it wouldn't be bolted down, but she was ok with it.
So, in went the seat, then her, and off we went for a jaunt around the block.

I shot a video, or rather my wife did, but it's turned 90 degrees and shows mostly the dash. Need to figure out how to rotate it before posting it.

[byakk0]

I really need to pull the passenger side door and get to re-skinning it, but instead I've been piddling around with misc bits and driving it a little.

I've got some discarded packing foam from work and built a seat base cushion as practice. Need to do the same for the passenger side, as there is no telling when I'll get to doing it for real. Sure beats having the old one crumble into a school-bus yellow powder every time I touch the seats.

Rebuilt the headlight buckets and installed working bulbs. New gaskets, spire clips and screws on hand so I can get them installed on the bonnet now.

Installed the tachometer and dialed the carbs down to something around 1500 or less. Not entirely sure as one time I'll run it and it will be sub 1000 and later it will be above 1500, with no adjustments other than engine warmed up and choke off. I'll sort that issue later. Timing shouldn't be an issue as I haven't messed with it or the dizzy at all.

Played with the horns and dug the missing pig-tails out of my bins.

Verified the Alternator is still good. Good thing too. It probably has less than 5k miles on it even though I bought it back in 95-ish. So, either my voltage regulator is shot or I have it wired wrong as the alt just isn't recharging the battery. I may bite the bullet and buy an internally regulated one, but I need to get a crankshaft position sensor for my truck first...

I also got a nice little package from Canley Classics, Longhorn headliner, tailgate seal, and a shifter rebushing kit. Now I can lose all that slop and perhaps be able to find 3rd.



With the new tailgate seal in hand I can now test the fit of the rear hatch and see just how much work I need to do on the back-end to get everything fit properly and looking right.

The driver's side of the tailgate seems to fit just fine, but the passenger side lower corner seems to be high, and the center of the body looks low. The fit is very tight on the passenger side and I can't quite get it to latch now.






I'm wondering if I can put a shim between the hatch and the hinge and get that side of the hatch to raise enough to relieve the pressure and allow that lower corner to drop.



I've got some work cut out for me now.

[byakk0]

I've got a lot of slop in my shift lever. It's pretty obvious why, as the hole for the shift linkage to the transmission is probably around 1/2" diameter or so and all I have is a 3/8" pin. The lever moves a lot before it makes any contact and actually shifts.
I recently got the rebuild kit in the mail, so I tackled that today.

The ball was a little torn up, but beyond missing the bushing in the linkage everything was in good shape.



This clip was a bear to get off. It is seated in a groove. In the end I used a wide flat blade screwdriver to spread it open and start it upward and out of the groove. Then it was just a matter of persuading it off. I had to use a wrench against the clip and tap on the wrench. Installtion of the new one was the reverse operation.


Installation order.


I didn't use the beige washers, and the metal ones I used on the outside. Only the black plastic ones fit on the inside.




Reverse lockout pin in the correct position.
I left it as is as I didn't have any issues with it.

[byakk0]

Staring in on the passenger side door re-skin.
I knew it had to be done, and as I have a new skin just waiting, I dug in. Good thing too.

Here is the tear-down and initial reconstruction.





Upper side of the door. This screw hides behind a rubber plug, which naturally I am missing.


The nuts, bolts and brackets they belong to and where they go.

Upper-outside bracket of the wing window


lower bracket of the wing window.


The hole the previously mentioned screw goes into is under my thumb.
I like to put the hardware back in place so I don't misplace any, and also so I know which goes where.




remove this clip, separate the linkage and put the clip back on the pin. It's too small and you don't want to loose it.


start sliding the wing window out, but you'll need to remove the waist seal and it's clips before you can fully remove the window.


Slip the rollers at the bottom of the winder mechanism from the channel at the bottom of the window and slowly slide the window out.

The other components can now come out.

winder mechanism, overlaid in it's correct position


upper travel-limit stop


latch-side window guide.


uncovered this little gem. Hose clamp (loose) held in place with plumber's putty? Where is the spring clip?




lower travel-limit stop.
Why Phillip's screws instead of bolts? The factory does strange things sometimes. Some engineer has an answer, but likely we'll never know.


skin removed.
Ah...there's the spring clip for the lock. Also note the bondo oozing through drill holes.


I had forgotten how thick the bondo is around the door lock-not my handiwork.
I could tell from the inside the door was dented, so I knocked the dent out with a mallet.


roughly 1/4" thick--wow.


as with the driver's side, the door check strap connection is awol.


I've kept the shell soaking in TSP (tri-sodium phospate) for over a day. It was cool today so I didn't need to re-apply it very often. It started looking as bad as the inside of the door skin. Thought I took a photo but I guess not.
The TSP killed well over 75% of the rust. The rest should come off fairly easy with a little persuasion from a brush on my grinder.


the old check-strap connections and my reproduction. The look a little large here, but I ended up needing to reshape them a little to extend the tabs, so in the end they were still a little over-sized but closer. No one will notice anyway.

[efp]

Fascinating thread, many thanks

Not sure how to phrase this without getting the fnurr, fnurr comments here , but your gearstick looks almost as rusty as mine.

I asked noted gearbox guru Mike Papworth once if good shiny ones ever come up and he said rarely, but suggested that rather than having an expensive rechrome, some early spits came from the factory with a black covered stick and that suitably sized shrink wrap could be heated on and look authentic.

I've done this and don't think it looks too bad at all. Easy to do and easy to reverse if you want to.

[GT6 1]

Look after that rear glass channel guide, very rare! 🙂

[byakk0]

No worries. The pictures make the shift lever look worse-that orange must be a reflection as it is certainly not rust! . It's mostly shiny. Just the lower bits are a little pitted. The rough parts are all covered with the shift boot in the end anyway. Good idea though.

As for the channel guide, thanks for the heads up. I'm ultimately not hurting though. Plenty of spares there.
additionally, I put all the parts directly into a box for safe keeping-something I've rarely done. I frequently have a 'now where did I put that' moment...

Today i installed and connected my headlights. They work (YAY!). In doing so, I dropped an amber beehive lens on the concrete and it shattered. It was my new one too-still in the box when I received it a few months ago.

[byakk0]

Little more work.

Knowing the pitfalls I encountered with the driver's side skin I knew what to look out for--or so I thought.
I took before measurements in various locations just to be safer side.
Come to find out I needed to make adjustments to the skin itself, and the curve wasn't as nice-if It's not one thing it's another. Guess you get what you pay for as these were not heritage panels but cheapo re-pops. They were labeled as made in England.

Anyway, I made it all work in the end.
Still needs more fitting but the QP and rocker are still loose, so I can make adjustments as needed all the way around.

Insides all painted.


I had to add a little to this section, and remove a little from the latch end.


I also had to shorten this section about 1/2", and as you can see here, like the otther side, there is no clearance. No after shot-yet-but I had to adjust it in a similar manner as previous.


relief cuts on the lower corners so I could tap the skin down.


checking the fit of the wing window. Need 3/4" clearance at the point indicated, as per previously mentioned measurement.


And the current after-shot.I'm far from finished, but at this point everything at least lines up correctly, and with the latch installed, it closes nicely.

[byakk0]

I've been waiting for the tailgate seal to arrive so I can make necessary adjustments, and now that I have a new one I am at a temporary loss as to what to do.

With the seal installed the passenger side is much higher than the driver's side.


as much as 1/2"


Driver's side is more or less right on the money.


really had me scratching my head, so I added a cardboard shim between the hinge and the tailgate-this is the before shot. (notice only one bolt...had some broken ones, more on that in a bit)
The shim brought the top of the tailgate up a little and thus the lower portion down, but It was still off. To add insult to injury it would no longer latch.


So, at this point I gave up on it for the day.
When I came back to it later I discovered I have placed the striker assembly off center. See the emblem hole just below? yeah, they don't line up.


As this striker unit is not yet welded in place (you can see the self tapping screws) I was able to shift it to the left to it's correct location, and while not the entire solution to the problem, I got it latching once more.

I added another layer of shims and it got a little closer. The passenger is still high, but nearly liveable. It is the center of the hatch that is the problem.
This is my current head-scratcher.





I'm wondering if my tailgate seal is part of the problem. Even adjusted to the center, it takes effort to latch it. Ordered from Canley, pt# 610657


Before I added the next layer of shims I decided to take the hatch back off and deal with 2 issues. One of the previously mentioned broken bolts, and another of the fasteners used by the PO to secure the latch. (I don't think it was me, but I haven't looked at this part in nearly 2 decades)

As you can see, two of these do not belong, and the thread should be like shorter screw.... The middle one was in all the way.
So I removed the offending screws and chased them with a tap. If you look closely you can see a crack also.
So I welded it together.


As for the broken bolts, I managed to successfully drill them out and re-tap those holes. I can again have three bolts on each side of the hinge. Photos may follow later.

[John Bonnett]

Hazen, the answer to the tailgate problem sounds like the seal. The after market ones are too thick. Rarebits supply one which is pretty close to the original profile if you fit one of his  your tailgate will sit much nearer where it should

[byakk0]

so I've heard. I see BS2 and BS5 listed, but no dimensions.
http://www.rarebits4classics.co.uk/Forms/Extrusion_List_15_05_2013.pdf

[byakk0]

just sent them an inquiry...

I'd much rather get it right before I start making drastic changes.

[byakk0]

Did a little more on the electrics this week, and got some more bits installed in the dash.

Backside of the speedo instrument cluster. I took this more as a reference shot.


I also discovered I don't have the long L-shaped bracket that mounts to the back of the center panel to secure the bottom of the panel to the top of the radio support, so I fabbed up 2 brackets that fit into the spire-clip holes in the metal part of the dash.

I started off by cutting and then bending a piece 16 ga steel. I stopped the cut above the 90 degree bend to make bending the offset easier. Measurements? No way. I just eyeball it and fettle it from there as needed.




After some work getting them sized and positioned, here they are painted black and installed.


positioned for tilting in. They almost act as hinges.


And the final product (for the workday)


I am aware the later models had screws in the lower corners. I'd like to avoid this method if at all possible, but through use of the choke and heater pullout knobs the tiny screws could pull out or the brackets could bend. I usually do it two handed, one supporting the dash as I pull either out anyway, so we'll see if it lasts. I have an idea for a second, slightly stronger bracket if needed.

I don't have the heater box installed yet, so those holes are still empty, however I did put in the manual washer pump and the wiper switch later. Something is off in my wiring or connections as I couldn't get the wiper to operate. Testing showed no voltage output to the motor, so more digging.

I also realize my wooden dash looks a little ratty, but that is because it is a little ratty. I've got a new one ready to install, but I want get the kinks and bugs worked out before I use it. Scratch up the old one, no harm no foul.

[byakk0]

Got some little things taken care of this week.
Got the windscreen wiper motor working. Turns out I didn't have it grounded properly. I was more or less bench testing it, but when I got it fully installed it fired right up. Good thing too. I had it apart and repainted it back in '09 or so and never tested it. The only thing I had to repair was the connection for the brown wire on the top.


I drilled 1/2" holes in the flange around the passenger wing and mounted it to the tub with self tapping screws. Now I can get the door gap correct and then finish the metal work on the door skin and passenger side. That will leave me with just figuring out the fit of the rear emblem panel-something funny going on there with the tailgate.
Once I have those complete I can move on to the final body work.

I misplaced the new spire clips for the front and rear lenses so I only have turn signals installed right now, but I came across a few old ones and put in one of the rear clear reverse light assembly's to verify if the reverse lights work as intended, and they do.

I also modified the horn button. It has been turned at 90^o to the steering wheel. I had to tear it apart and make a new slot in the emblem plastic so it would orient correctly. Looks much better now.
before:


after:

[byakk0]

I installed a Heavy Duty headlight harness with relay activated lamps so the high switching current doesn't route through the column switch. This will also grant me the option to go halogen at a later time if I so desire.

I purchased the kit from a US based distributor, Victoria British. Turns out it is of Chinese origin and the color coding is quite different and has no documentation. Needless to say I needed to make modifications and additions to get it installed and working correctly.

As constructed, the wire extension for the relays is close to one of the headlights, but I had to slit the yellow sheath to get the rest of the wiring routed correctly. This places the relays near one of the buckets-take your pick. I went the driver's side. You can just mount them on the inner support between the bucket and the wheel well. (I still need to do this). If you wish to mount the relays on the bulkhead, you'll need to supply enough wire to do so. The other option to leave the relays in the center of the bonnet.






I popped the wires and grommet free from the bucket , clipped the wires and drilled out the hole on the grommet to 1/4" so the new wires would fit and crimped them back in. I should probably solder them as well.
The ground wire terminates in a short pigtail. I clipped it and connected it to the old ground wire, but they are two different sizes/gauges, so be sure your connection is good and tight.
If you don't mind drilling a larger hole in the bucket, once you remove the wires you make a larger hole for the new headlight connector, and just put a larger grommet in place. If you go this route you don't have to clip the oem wires, just push the old grommet out and pull the wires through. The new ground wire will need an extension, though, and that is not included.

I bought a 12' roll of red 12ga and I needed 2 lengths of 6' for the power. I also bought 2 inline fuse @30 amp. Clip the new ring terminal off the harness and add wire as needed to the battery terminal. I ran mine to the connection on the starter solenoid.




The only other issue was the connection between the new harness and the old. The old harness has black, blue/red and blue white. The new harness has a plug that is brown, blue, and yellow. Brown(or was it white...) is ground, and the blue and yellow are high and low beams.
Make your connections how you desire. I used #12(yellow) spade terminals as they fit the plug tabs, and cut about 3" of the bulleted ends from a donor wiring harness and crimped the terminals onto those so they would connect right into the oem harness.

This was the only color coding difference that really mattered. On my new setup it has white, brown and blue/white. Connect Brown to blue/red, white to blue/white and blue/white to black. Double-check you setup, however. I would be surprised if other kits from the same manufacturer had different wiring schemes.

In a nutshell, the old harness connects to the new one at the blue/yellow/white connection. Run your power wires and add fuses. Connect the lights and relays, and you're done-wish it was that quick though.

Of course you could build this setup from scratch with your own relays and wire. 12 gauge wire, 2 relays, and 2 fuses--and 2 headlamp connectors wire heavier gauge wire. The high/low power from the column switch activate the relays. The power for the headlights connect directly to the battery, the other side for the relay connects to the headlight. One relay is for high beams, and the other for low.

[drofgum]

Hazen,
No need for a separate supply to each relay. When the main beam is working the dipped beam is off, and vice versa. 30 A (American rating) is also a bit more than needed unless high power headlamps are to be used.
                                                                              All the best,
                                                                              Paul

[byakk0]

Boot floor painted.
Once I get the rear bumpers positioned I can install the fuel tank and stop using the gas can.
coverage is uneven and it needs another coat or two, but I'm not worried about looks. No one will see the boot very often anyway.
I can't wait to see the outside in this color. (drool)

[byakk0]

BMW space grey.
Slight variation on color 18, IMHO

[byakk0]

Didn't accomplish as much this past week as I would have liked, but here you go.

I dug out my rear bumpers, which I had stored fully assembled--thank goodness. With my "organizational skills" I'd be lucky to find all the hardware otherwise. You'd think I'd learn.

First item of business, I disassembled them and chased all of the threads with PBblaster and a tap, as well as the mounting points in the boot.


Next came test fitting. I want the bumpers straight and not drooping like you see on many restorations. Looks like I should be fine-however I discovered the lower mounting iron is off by about 1".


Not sure how they got off so far as everything was fine way back in the day. I ended up bending them until they lined up.

My first test fitting, the side of the bumper I have held in place with magnets.



Second fitting after bending the irons. The ends I held in place with some rope as the magnets were not quite strong enough after all.


A little paint and they are ready to go.


...

I've got a friend with an upholstery business and he gave me some remnants that just may work. I'll make a cover for one seat and see how it goes.I probably have enough to do the arm rest and both seats. I can get the color code for the Naugahyde from him so if I run short I can match it.


....

I spent the rest of my days off building a garbage cabinet for my wife as she was out of town on holiday. She saw this on Pinterest and has been bugging me for a few months to build one.
It has a storage compartment in the top, swinging door in the middle, and tilt out bin in the bottom for access to the can. It was the tilt out feature she fell in love with.
I still need to finish it, and she want's it stained...

[byakk0]

the bumpers aren't quite there yet. Haven't had time to actually verify my findings and bite the bullet and drill holes. I'm close though.

[byakk0]

before I continue with my resto update, here is a nearly completed pic of the cabinet. I had to make a slight modification to the swinging door, and then I stained and finished it.

[byakk0]

OK, so you may think I'm getting ahead of myself, but not really. I've got some fabric and vinyl to play with, and the colors may be just what I need. I take the opportunity with what ever I have time for, and sometimes wrenching just doesn't fit into my schedule.

Anyway, I finally got some time to play with my mom's sewing machine today. It's an Artisan 797ab.

So I did some practice runs and ended up with the following.




Then I marked up a seat base with registration marks and pulled it apart. Laid out like this it kinda looks like E.T.


At that, I did get some wrenching in today. I swapped a loose hinge on the passenger side and it doesn't sag any more. Now i can get the door gap adjusted correctly and finish the door re-skin job.

[byakk0]

Since I work nights I frequently need to stay up all night at least one night a week after days off to get back on schedule. Fortunately my mom was ok with me hanging out at her place all night so I could play with the sewing machine.

I had some time to play with it yesterday afternooon, getting the feel for the vinyl and the machine--sorta. It's really touchy. The pedal has a very wide range of motion, but the control band is very narrow and easy to get it going too fast too quickly. I'll get the feel for it, but here is the results of that round of work.

The piece I am working on is the snap tab on the rear of the bottom cushion. I made 5 unsuccessful attempts before giving up for a while. Frustration doesn't do any good, plus I felt I better make an appearance at home.


I made one nearly perfect...and then sewed the snap tab on the wrong side. That was the last straw before I threw in the towel for this round. I could pick out the stitches, but it would leave holes in the vinyl, potentially weakening it.


I went back over at midnight and had more success.
I didn't take many pictures, but I laid the seat pieces out on some stiff card stock and used those for the pattern. The good news is, if I flip the pattern over I have one for the passenger side.

I made a successful snap tab piece, then I sewed the panel with the pleats, leaving plenty of room on the ends and side, and then attached the vinyl bits to the either end, then attached the snap tab.


Next came one of the side pieces. I made up some black piping, which turned out to be the easiest part of the night.


Then came the hard part. Sewing the side to the rest.


I ran out of piping so I haven't sewed the other piece yet. I only had about 4 feet I had gotten to play with. Didn't realize I'd get this far this quick. Guess I'll need to pick up some more supplies before I continue.

I then 'installed' it in my car for a quick look-see. Ignore the wrinkles. The upper gets glued to the foams, and I'm not there yet.

[byakk0]

With the loose hinge taken care of I can now focus on the rear wing and get the door gaps set so I can complete the work on the passenger side door.

I discovered the wing protruded just a little too much beyond the welding flange at the rear, so I needed to add a little metal.





Metal added. Much more than I need, but it is easier to work with.


fitting and marking for trimming


and after prep and primer/paint, ready to go.




I got the trim strips that cover these joints, and I've debated on whether or not to put them on. They are kinda ugly as is, so I'll likely use them.


Also, I finished my tool cart a few weeks back. Here it is.

ignore the mess, or creative organization as some may call it.