wheee!

Completed all four corners tonight. The rear towers are a little different but still totally functional now. Fronts: Open rear hole: With coil over installed.

Pre August 1976 280's are the worst to find parts for...

Good point. I would think the pcv valve we have right now needs to be installed vertically to work.

Unfortunately I find this all too true. I come across a huge stash of parts in someone's shop, that haven't been touched in 20+ years and the owner will not or can't bring himself to part with anything in case "he might need it", regardless of the fact his cars are complete and he has no plans to start another project. Then he passes away and usually another "hoarder" buys the kit or inherits it and the cycle begins again.....! Our car club promotes a policy of "share the wealth" where members actively try and put needed parts back in to circulation when they are done their projects and have no plans for more to try and increase parts availability to other enthusiasts. Everyone has the right to collect, no doubt, it's just sad to see parts rust away in a hidden barn for years and then never get used when so many people are looking for rare and hard to find parts. Especially in Canada!

I followed the contour of the reinforcing plate with a jigsaw, then a pencil tip grinder. I will clean it up a bit more before I am done. But yeah, I wanted to see the top of the coil overs for both practical and aesthetic reasons... I still have 3/16" of metal above the 1/2" thick camber plate on the coil overs. I am thinking I will be good for strength. That plus a strut rod later...

I am in awe..... I thought I had an issue with two motors, three tranny's, two diffs and a few dozen small items....!

Yup! The side vent is in the optimal position right now as it is protected by the baffle. There is nothing under the baffle plate at all. I will try and hide my hoses too.

Rough cut for the shock towers. Looks good and the strut brace I add later will reinforce from the top too.

The baffle covers the breather tube just like the original setup, I just removed it for the photo. There will be no more oil than normal in there.

Relocate your vent out the side like mine! I will have to plumb everything carefully, but the intent is to hide as much as possible on the top of the engine and maybe add a catch can. The new side vent still threads into the portion of the valve cover that has the internal baffle (not shown).

Well, after a lot of soul searching and hand wringing, I think I have reached a decision regarding the wheels and brakes. I was going to go with the Arizona Z Car track brakes in 5 bolt pattern, but now I feel I will be happier with the 4 bolt pattern brakes they sell and then going with the 16x8 +4mm ET ROTA RB wheels and 225/50R16 tires. This will give me adequate clearance, no rubbing and lots of meaty tire tread. This should look better than the 5 bolt wheels in the end too... More period correct.

Camber will help. But too much is too much... I will have some adjustment room with the TTT control arms too. I can also go with 7 or 8 " wheels instead of 9. I am not trying to go as wide as possible, just trying to get the right tire diameter for the speedo after I upgrade to the 16" wheel to accommodate the big brake kit.

Did a little more welding and grinding. Took some time to start fabbing a complex curved replacement patch for the other side wheel well.

Oooooo! I love deliveries!

Looks like a very solid starting point! Good luck and make sure you read all the blogs on here for tips on the restoration/rebuild steps. It will save you time and money... lot's of it!

First, determine what kind of car you want. A daily driver (fair condition) with no repairs or minimal work required (5-$15000 investment), a light restoration project (15-$25,000 investment in parts and labour), or a full restoration or restomod on a rotisserie (20-$60,000+). Be prepared for spending real money AFTER the initial purchase! Spend more now and less later OR spend less now and a lot more later...

I'm in the same boat... previous repairs inside the wheel wells will make rolling more difficult too.

Interesting stuff

@grannyknot, any suggestions on how to roll the fenders in the current state? No where to mount a traditional fender roller... I was thinking maybe a stiff nylon or wood roller. Maybe the kind used for sound deadener installing.

I might just do that. I ordered the coil overs with camber plates already and I will be using the TTT lower control arms that are quite adjustable. My plan for tires and wheels was a set of Rota RB 16x8 or 9 and a 225 60r16. Offset I'm not sure of. I was planning on a factory order as I will also be going 5x114.3 with the big brake kit. Rolling the fenders might help, but might not be necessary. I would like to run about -1.2 camber in the rear and -1.7 in the front.

Decided to end the night with a little fab work. Cut a piece of 14ga to fill the old bumper shock mount and repair some bad metal work from the PO.

Haz mat!

Nope. I am currently removing almost the same amount from the driver side. The metal is good but the welding/fitting was sloppy.

Earlier in MY thread I said I'd be done metal work last year... ! Life happens