1979 Spirit GT Project

[mojobean]

A while back i was making a list of parts interests for a Spirit I found locally. see here: http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=23091.msg220396#msg220396

Well, we decided to haul the whole car home and rebuild it. Here are a few photos and i will be adding more in the coming days as we've already begun a bit of work on the poor thing.

These are the day it came home:



And the interior that day:

[Pa sx/4]

Hello looks like you have your work cut out for you on this one. hows the crank tattoo coming 

[mojobean]

Hello looks like you have your work cut out for you on this one. hows the crank tattoo coming 

just started looking up tattoo artists locally.. i'm quite picky about who tattoos me. If one thing rubs me wrong (ie: rude tone to voice when answering question, having an air of "i'm better", etc.. etc.. it could be any number of things that will make me walk away) then they get scratched from my list. Only thing is its rough to go in person to all of them, catching all artists that may be working in any one location.. in order to rule them in or out. So its prolly gonna be a bit.. but i'm workin on it.

[SuzyBruisy]

Cool Spirit! Looks like it'll be a great opportunity to brush up your bodywork skills 

It's sad that someone used the hood/cowl as a staging area to spraybomb something red. What's the matter with people?

[IowaEagle]

Looks to be a real project.  I am guessing the underbody is solid?

[Mavericke]

Nice.... as if you don't have enough projects already, geez! What the heck are you thinking? Probably the same thing I am - YEAH BABY! LOL!

Have fun! Wish I could help!

[amcinstaller]

man, that interior is a carbon copy of my 80 GT. except for the sunroof. i have all the glass and brackets, but could figure how to get the gasket and headliner parts out of the old one. maybe the pick and pull will have one one day and ill pilfer it. i did love the sunroof in my 79.

[amc78concord]

Man, what happened to that poor Spirit!?  Well, at least it is good hands now. 

[mojobean]

the underbody is indeed solid Doug! that was the simple factor leading us to bring the whole car home. 

as far as bodywork skills.. yea.. its a good thing the mister had a swell class on that earlier this month out on the coast. He can practice all he wants.. and if it turns out wonky.. i've got spares.

I'm still trying to track down the original seller.. (it was passed through a few people who didn't title it  ) and have only had a name to go by. one of which lived near the raceway on the south end. i wouldn't be surprised if it had been in a minor altercation in the derbys.

[landphil]

compared to the front seats i wonder if anyone sat in the back they look great

[amc78concord]

Any updates on this project? Just wondering.

[mojobean]

pulled the engine out to clean er up, located a wiring harness in way better shape than the original, slapped a shower curtain over the roof to keep water from dripping in the sunroof (leaky seal) and just pulled it back onto the pad the other day. but its been raining. thats it so far.
i did locate some of these by pure chance:


and will be retrieving them saturday.

[amc78concord]

Alrghty! Keep up the good work, fill us in as time goes!

[mojobean]

I fixed  the door hinges, used those pins from the eagle nest store.  I got bushings too.  I had to weld up some of the wobbled out hinge pin holes, and rebore them on the drill press.  the pins  were a little large for the outside of the hinge.  so I bored those out with a letter Q drill bit (maybe it was R).  I broke off a number of the bolts in  the hinge plates and had to drill them out.  the sheet metal was a little fatigued and cracked on the drivers side, where the upper hinge attached, so I welded up that crack.  But the doors open nice now.  Behind the front bumper there is a sheet metal valance that wraps around a spreader beam (best way to describe it).  Someone tried to tow this car by wrapping a chain around that or something.  They had pulled that beam out from its spot welds, it was hangin on by one spot weld.  Got that all dialed in and rewelded.  Help from a  ball pean, large crescent wrench, and a large pipe wrench.  so next I will work on getting the harness all tacked in place, then I will concentrate on the rear hatch.

[IowaEagle]

Now come do mine for me.