Tufcj's 66 Rogue Project

[tufcj]

Kinda slow here. I bought a 66 Rogue back in October. It had been wrecked in the driver front corner some time in it's life. The sheet metal had been replaced but the inside structure had been very poorly repaired. Cowl was bent from the hood hitting it in the accident. We're working on bringing it back.

Plan is an "A" scheme SC/Rambler clone with lots of mods. I already have a full front and rear Control Freak suspension waiting. EFI 390 (dual throttle bodies on an Offy dual quad manifold). Ford 8.8 and 4 wheel discs. 17" tires and wheels. I'm hoping to have the money for a Keisler RS600 trans.

Here it is coming home. Bought it as a roller, no engine or trans. Was a factory 290/4speed car, had a 390/5 speed in before I got it .



Frame had a buckle just behind the sway bar mount, inner fender was hammered out, but still about 1" short, core support was just barely welded on.





On the frame machine. Core support removed.





Found a 69 in a junkyard. Been there since 81. Core was straight with just some surface rust.







Bad parts gone.









Test fit of replacement parts. Hope to start welding things back on next weekend.





Bob
tufcj

[tufcj]

2/20/12 Haven't had time to work on it for a month. Family in town, snow storm, sickness.

Got the cowl and core support set and tacked. Cross measurement says we're within 1/16" of true in all directions. As good or better than factory.











A dry fit of the front clip. Looks like a car again.







Once we finish welding, I'm going to put in a 69 tail light panel, then strip it to prepare for media blast.

Bob
tufcj

[tufcj]

2/26/12 Got the Rogue off the frame rack. Just some final welding and grinding to do. We found that the "weld through" primer was a problem on thin metal. When we would crank up the heat enough to "weld through" it would melt through too. We had to re-drill all the holes to get a clean spot on the back panel.

The cowl:




The core support and inner fenders:





Now on to removing the tail panel:






Bob
tufcj

[tufcj]

3/4/12. Got the tail panel out today. Didn't get more done because the compressor at Jim's shop broke.







Bob
tufcj

[tufcj]

3/10/12. Got the engine back from the machine shop. The block is a 68/69 390 I've had in the shed for close to 10 years, it was bored but never finish honed. Crank and rods were originally from my AMX (that block was really messed up when I got the AMX). Pistons are OEM .030 cast. Heads are 291C's that I traded for some 090's.

The red in the valleys and on the heads is a product called "Glyptal", basically a red high temp enamel paint. It's supposed to make the oil pass back to the pan faster. The block already was drilled for the valley line, so I'll use it. It also got main studs, but I didn't take pics.









Heads are 291C, they shaved .005" to assure they are flat, 3 angle valve job, hardened seats, positive seals, new guides. Guides have been cut for lift of up to .550". Valves are factory, springs and retainers are Crower. Studs are ARP SBC. I'll be using Crane roller rockers.









Crank had to be turned .020/.020. Rods were resized with ARP bolts. See how little was drilled from the harmonic and flywheel to balance it.









I'll have this manifold powder coated before installation. Two 400 CFM throttle bodies going on it.



Bob
tufcj

[pwborst]

probably a silly question but I build Boats not Cars,

what is the make and model of the red handeled vise-grip style clamp in the top picture. the straight handle one. they would be super handy. A good source to purchase them would also be appreciated.

Thanks

Borst

2/26/12 Got the Rogue off the frame rack. Just some final welding and grinding to do. We found that the "weld through" primer was a problem on thin metal. When we would crank up the heat enough to "weld through" it would melt through too. We had to re-drill all the holes to get a clean spot on the back panel.

The cowl:




The core support and inner fenders:





Now on to removing the tail panel:






Bob
tufcj

[tufcj]

I'll check on the clamps. Probably Snap-On, most everything Jim has is from Snap-On.

3/17/12. Didn't get to do any body work, so I did some assembly on the engine. Installed crank, cam, pistons, and heads. This was all done with parts I had on the shelf. Only thing I paid for was machine work, main and rod bearings, and timing set.











With the manifold and one shorty header mounted.



Bob
tufcj

[Blown7]

What a neat project ..Thanks for sharing.

[tufcj]

Brought her home a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had time to work on her till this weekend. Test fit the front clip. Got the 67-69 tail panel in, the back glass and the rest of the interior and carpet out. pretty clean floorboards for a 46 year old car.



















Bob
tufcj

[tufcj]

4-29-12. After a couple of months of sitting due to work and some health issues, I got back at it. The glass is all out, all fuel and brake lines out. Just a little touch up on the welds, and it's off to media blast.







I am going to have to replace the passenger side floorboard, and do some work to the trans tunnel. The tunnel was cut to install a T-5. Someone had filled the rusty areas of the passenger floor with what looked like an epoxy filler, which peeled back while I was removing the old sound deadener.









The factory undercoat was falling off the inside of the passenger door, must have been 1/2" thick on the door, probably 2" thick in a pile on the bottom. Must have rattled terribly going down the road.

I am surprised that I found 4 compression fittings used in the brake lines. I was taught this was a no-no early on, living in the rust belt.





I also found someone had used a shop rag as a wind block around the brake rod. We must have burned it during the cowl install.





Hopefully have it in media blast in the next couple of weeks. Lots of pics during the body work.

Bob
tufcj