Help planning a complete re-assembly

[rjd2]

Hi folks-so I think this winter will finally be the year that I start the reassembly of my 1973 2002. Several years back, I started the project of restoring this car. I decided from the outset that I would do it slow, and right. I started by doing a complete teardown of the chassis, soda blasting to bare metal, and then sending to the body shop for body/paint. I went with a factory torquise that was used on 3.0CSL's. It looks great. I had the short block and the head rebuilt, and assembled the motor. Same for the weber carb. Refreshed LSD is in hand. I am planning on doing basically new "everything that wears" , and think I have most of it in hand(hoses, belts, mounts, etc). I bought a new wiring harness, and may buy a new gas tank. I have some ideas as to how to plan out my work, but I wanted to tap into the hive mind here to get pointers on an order of operations from the folks who have already done it. Also, should I bother trying to "bench test" any aspects of the engine reassembly before it goes into the car? Thanks for the tips!

 

 

[Son of Marty]

Start with the wiring harness then the brake and fuel hard lines then dash, glass and steering gear, brake pedestal and pedal box, I would recommend assembling the subframes as completely as possible on the bench before mounting them with a fresh paint job I would wait to put the struts on until the front subframe/engine/transmission are installed from the bottom

[Lucky 7]

I’ve kept a checklist for the whole process that I’ve tried to keep in order of installation. Might be helpful, feel free to PM me if your interested. It’s literally every single part, so it’s a bit protracted. 
 

That said, you may find benefit in making your own list. Thinking critically about the rebuild, installation order and making my own list definitely forced me to learn the car and gave me a better understanding of the thing as a whole. 

[Mikesmalaga72]

Chassis/suspension: (What I did...without shop lift)

**All torque settings correct and done at the right time with full weight on loaded suspension etc.

Brake hard lines, pedal box  and master cylinder

Wire harness after color.

Rear cross member/diff mount bushings,

Hang diff install trailing arms w/rear brake assemblies attached etc.

Hang front subframe/engine then attach all attendant hardware and struts . . 

Do try to run the engine on a stand/dyno if possible to observe for any problems prior to install.

Fuel tank try to salvage what you have if you can unless too far gone an old school radiator shop can boil it out pressure test and treat it.

Prepped Interior door parts, door handles, weather strips seals, and moldings and clip hardware.

headliner

sound deadening/custom installs etc

interior.

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by Mikesmalaga72

[rjd2]

thanks folks! helpful info. I have a 4 post lift at my disposal, not sure if I should assemble on there or not...

[slowbert]

On 11/17/2023 at 7:19 PM, Son of Marty said:

Start with the wiring harness

 

Agreed.  Wiring touches everywhere in the car, so as you do it, you will note what needs to be done in every area of the car.  Wiring is also behind everything else, like carpet, trunk panels, etc.  Wiring is also the last part that you will be debugging when everything is together and the car is running.

 

I reassembled by '72 over the last several months.  I did not have much of a plan, just start tackling projects one by one.  Inevitably, I would need to order a part or two, then start working on something else until the parts showed up.

 

Ultimately, these are very, very simple cars.

[rjd2]

thought I would share pics of the car.

[zinz]

On 11/17/2023 at 7:54 PM, rjd2 said:

I wanted to tap into the hive mind here to get pointers on an order of operations from the folks who have already done it

Calling Dr. Toler… you’re needed in surgery… 😁  @BarneyT

[Son of Marty]

Beautiful car, first step is to paint the hood supports black like the factory did. I also noticed your intake manifold  needs to be port matched to the head otherwise I'd start assembling the sub frames and running the wires and hard lines.

[resra]

And what is that beautiful Italian red beast sleeping next to it?

[BarneyT]

53 minutes ago, zinz said:

Calling Dr. Toler… you’re needed in surgery… 😁  @BarneyT

start with something easy…

 

1)wiring harness front and rear, fuel lines

2) fire wall insulation

3) pedal box,  break fluid reservoir and brake booster

4) front break lines in engine bay

5) front and rear subframes

6) rear break lines and finish break system 

7) fuel tank, engine, transmission, drivetrain and exhaust system 

😎 exterior trim out… knee / belt trim, lights, horns, 

9) door trim out, locks side windows front and rear.

10) dash / glove box

11) front and rear windows.

12) cab insulation, carpet/seats

 

really what ever works for you…

 

 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2023 by BarneyT

[rjd2]

Thanks ya'll!!!

 

-what is "port matching" an intake to a head? is this just mounting it, or something more precise?

 

-car next to it is a 1976 Lamborghini Espada. Last winter I pulled the trans/diff/suspension/brakes/steering box/cooling system, had it all rebuilt, and re-installed. Back on the road now. Apparently my baseline functionality as a human is having some major automotive project on my hands, thus here I am.

 

-dropping subframe: I'll search the forum history, I'm sure there's tons there, but at first glance this appears to be not too complicated. (I currently have the body up on jack stands at the fake frame rail locations under the front footwells. Can I throw a floor jack or two under the subframe to support it, unbolt it, and drop it down, or is that potentially unsafe?)

Edited November 27, 2023 by rjd2

[Stevenc22]

Perfectly safe to drop the subframe while the car sits on jack stands on the frame rails. The sub frame, without the engine in, isn't very heavy.

 

Get the car as a roller first. Meaning do the suspension / subframes / wheel bearings and brakes first.

 

Then maybe drop in wiring harness.

 

Then decide how you are going to install the engine. Either from the top with a engine hoist or from the bottom by attaching the engine to the subframe and then sliding the whole assembly under the car (Car has to be jacked up very high though or be on a lift)

 

Honestly, its not that bad to reassemble. Just get started. Small victories each and every day. I like to do one area per day, so i can feel accomplished and i can clean up and put my tools away each day. 

 

 

[SplitDash]

Very nice. I hope to be at this stage in the next few months.......

Any way. I notice nobody has mentioned the headliner.

Am I right in saying it needs to go in before the glass? Also IIRC correctly the dash needs to be in before the windscreen?

[Stevenc22]

Headliner does go in before glass.

 

For the dash, there are 2 screws that go in the back under the glass. HOWEVER almost no one reinstalls those 2 screws, so if you don't use those 2 screws you can install the dashboard after you install the glass.