Well, since I sold my Volksrod and my Coronet is in the tedious process of block -sanding plus waiting a big cube bullet.

I bought myself a cheap throw together type project. Every B-body that I looked at was way too much of a buy in, and I had no spare parts for an A-body so I got a pair of 76 Volares'. One is ok the other is toast but has some good useable and needed parts.

Pics coming

Pics of how it arrived. The landau quarter windows will be swapped to the standard glass.

I will be making it a Day 2 tribute to the 70's street car. Without the phsycadelic (sp) paint job.

Fitting in a 400 & 727 and I used a set of B-body SS leafsprings and a 8-3/4. I rebuilt spring packs using the F body main leaf and the isolaters went away with the swap.

Here are the mods done to the driver side motor mount as per Schumacher directions, with considerable more mods than they say.

The power steering box is getting swapped for a manual so i had to make the extention. The brake booster is going to be from a 75 Dart which is smaller in diameter to clear the big block valve cover.

The engine compartment is stripped of everything, and k frame will get cleaned up before reinstall. Lots of scraping cleaning then some paint.

I'll be making steel blocks to replace the shabby isolaters, I am going to rebuild the suspension once the car is complete again. I think it will be easier with the k frame mounted and above me on a lift.

The car was considerably rustier than the seller disclosed so I had to patch the frame rails and will be doing the floors soon.

That will make a nice ride.
Used to be a black R/T or RR (decals removed) w/ Centerlines near me. Sounded very healthy and looked very good. Never had the chance to stop by and talk to the guy.



Tim

Wow , that was the good one? I can only imagine what the other one looks like .

Have fun , looks like a great project.

Was able to fab and weld up my steel isolaters blocks, I decided to make them a little shorter than the originals.

They are supposed to be 1-5/16 but I used two 5/8 thick blocks with a 3/4" through hole, I welded them together and added a modified flat washer to make the locating tab.

New grade 8 hardware is shorter since there is no isolaters on the bottom of the k frame

In place, I will paint them and the k member before re install.

I'm not really going to put alot of horsepower or sticky tires or a steep set of gears, but since it needs some floor work I figured I would install frame connectors.

I used .125 wall 2" square tube, I did a lap joint on the front and matched the framerail on the rear

Since this car will never be worth too much, I am cutting a few corners and saving weeks of work and lots of money in some of the repairs I do.

The cowling had many holes, and overall was paper thin in alot of it. Seems the paint never reached the obscured areas so in rusted out pretty good.

There is no way I would cut the upper cowl off to properly replace the lower, so I opened up the cowl a bit and sand blasted the entire area, I used an epoxy laminating resin to coat and layup the entire cowl area, kinda like a full tray and then a coating of flex seal liquid to protect the resin.

I'm sure I'll hear blasphemy from someone for the way I fixed it, but otherwise the car would not be saved.

And so I don't spend a day driving to the steel shop for sheetmetal, I procured a bit from elsewhere

I did the same thing to my 76 Volare in 1988, I used a 440, Headman E body 2" headers and fabbed solid motor mounts. The car was new enough at the time I was able to get new quarters and a grill from mopar, with a little trimming on the front i can get a 30 x 10.5 to fit. If you want to save about 300 lbs make bumper brackets to replace the crash bars and energy absorbers at both ends.

I got my Volare for $150 from the back row of a chevy dealer, 73k on the clock.

Floors are patched, not pretty, but solid. Guys be thankful to have replacement panels for your common bodystyles.
because cutting & bending flat stock to fit sucks

Wow Henry nice job bro, i didnt realize how much work youve been doing on it.
dont get too carried away, i know the fabrication of the build is what you really enjoy but try to remember, its to be a fun driver not a show car ha ha ha.
(since Dan @performance only (RIP) isnt around anymore, someone need to pick on you to keep you in check.)
copper

After a couple weeks of working on other things I was able to dedicate a few days to the engine compartment.

First I did the bodywork to the repaired rusty areas on the firewall, then stripped the paint off the rest of the panels, primed with metal etch, and a bit of rattle can high build primer, sanded it completely then COLOR

Here are the shots in primer. These cars are seriously crap bags when it comes to the sheetmetal stamping and assembly.

We Got COLOR, LOTS OF GREEN. Sassy Grass, to be specific.

Single stage.

Couple more

They do look good in Sassy Grass green......

Between, installing Hurricane panels on my house and picking up endless amount of debris and junk so it doesn't become a projectile. I managed to get a little assembly done on the Volare.
Just a few odds and ends that have to go in before the engine, and the A/C & blower fan assemblys, and the front suspension assembly, it will get a rebuild kit and new brakes when the car is whole. Plus a brand new "Chinese" windshield. How or why the Chinese can make a 76 Volare glass cheaper than Americans is disgusting.

Glass pic

I did a little template porting to maximize the iron heads, got the motor reassembled and painted a very nice shade of race hemi orange.

Took the day to install the engine and trans and a few other items, I wire tied the headers into the engine bay and nestled the 383 down between them, then I installed the trans from underneath. Went in without a hitch, only one small scuff on the paint behind the right valve cover.

The headers are headman hustler #78030 for a 66-74 B/E-body. Fit really well.

nice!

Nice alternative body style!

The install is a little more complete and this is the next task once the drivetrain is finalized.

Gauges and gauge panels are installed, face trim is just sitting there it will be trimmed out in silver with body color edging, Still need to drop the fuel tank and install aftermarket shifter then it will be ready to do the engine run in and brakes.

You sure do nice work for a "throw together". Love it and will be paying attention to this.

gk

A little more complete and mock up. The only new items are the fan, pulleys and altenator. All else is cleaned up and painted used/swap meet parts

Henry,
What did you use to paint the M/T valve covers?
On both of my cars I used bed liner to simulate the textured pattern and hide the fact they were cheap swap meet parts...Looks good so far...

It is a rattle can called wrinkle plus. It is VHT brand. I get it at Autozone.

It takes some practice to get real even coats to get a consistent texture

Getting very close to starting the car and being able to drive it a little.

I have to rebuild the front brake calipers and rear brakes, plus hook up the shifter cable. The most recent mock up was my fabricated shroud. It still needs to be cleaned up a bit before I finish the install

Nice work.



Tim

Just throwing this out there. A front Duster bumper is a very close fit in the rear. I've been thinking about trying the swap for awhile.
Doug

Nice job. Sadly, the '76 F bodies came with factory installed rust. You could have avoid a lot of these repairs by going with a 78=80 version.

It's nice to see a F body getting some attention.

Holes and patches, I am cutting out the areas that are swiss cheese and making patches, I am lucky to have a parts car with a few of the areas solid where my project isnt.

Looks great so far, I reaaaaaally wanna paint my car Sassy Grass now oh well maybe someday...good luck on this Volare!

Well just about ready to send the car to the scrap heap, but I sold the rest of the car to a guy who has a 56 dodge, he is going to use the front suspension and what ever else he may be able to use.

PARTS IS PARTS.

Some of you guys may be wondering why it has no roof, well the crappy cardboard headliners with some heat and humidity like to invert themselves and be useless, so I used the roof upside down to create a perfect mold to reshape the headliner.

Some water and heat in the bed of my truck with a topper got it most of the way back, a few platforms and some weight plus my wife's iron got it the rest of the way.

From there, I repaired the cracks, patched the holes where the shoulder belts were, fixed the damaged edges. Then fiberglassed the entire part to make a hardend shell that won't warp with the elements.

I will cover it with a modern type of headliner material when I am finishing the interior.

Nice build!

Looking pretty slick there Henry. I didn't realize you had this thread going, looking great.

Yeah, Thanks. My 67 Coronet is on the back burner cause I was mislead in the purchase of these cars. Once I was in, I had to take it to the finish.

Been working alot but took this last week to work on the drivers quarter panel. Did all the rust repair and patches, filled,and blocked it, layed down metal etch primer then two med wet coats of high build.

Going to spin the car around and get the passenger side done next.

Great seeing this car saved. It's going to be a fun ride for sure.

I wish these cars didn't have to be Smogged in CA. Keep up the good work.

Started on tightening up the rear bumper, these things from the factory have a filler panel that warps and breaks plus stick out a good 2 inches on either side, the front is far worse.

I used the trim holes to weld temp brackets to 1/4-20 bolts for placement of the bumper, I will make a new mounting setup next with some built in adjustability

Found this great pic of just how large and bulky the bumpers are and look, not to mention they are 140 plus lbs with the self absorbing crap and the inner bumper structure

This is looking great! Could you post more pics of the bumper mods when you get a chance? I would like to do something similar but so far have only been thinking about it. Thanks!

Excellent to see you fiximg that car. There is a 76 Aspen RT up the road. It's rusty. But you give me faith. Keep up the good work.

If you can find a fiberglass bumper, you can mount it up tight like this.....

Thanks, here are some progress pics of the bumper and brackets. I cut through the absorbing tube to use the factory attaching plates, from there I bent my own brackets. I welded the stock carriage bolts to the backside of the bumper, they made it easy to fill the large square bolt holes.

Tucked it up and in and rebuilt the ends, I did it all with strategic cutting and piecing the the bits I cut off, only fabbed two pieces per side from 1/8 plate.

No fancy tools either, a cutoff disk, 2 lb hammer, bench vise and a welder.

More pics

I will grind them smooth and shoot with DP90. A little body work and they should look alright high and tight. Really updates the look.

Keep em coming. Nice work

Last pics, bumper is roughed in it needs some filler, prime and color.

Very nice.

bad ass work

Any updates? Awesome work

Thank guys, Actually been working a bunch and a few family things have not let me do much. However, I did get the go wing mocked up and the support brackets modified to fit the F body deck lid.

This is a factory b body wing and brackets that a friend of mine picked up at a local swap meet, got it for 175. I am really happy with it.

I love this build. Great work. Please keep them coming. When you once said they were the last pics, i got a little sad.

looks great

My first thought if I had seen this car was to say "scrap metal" and you have turned it into something pretty darn cool... Keep up the amazing work..

Nice work, good save.

did you find the tail light trims?

Thanks fellas, I did pick up two NOS tail lamp bezels from Len Dawson. Gotta tell you they are perfect NOS pieces still in original packaging. But holey crap what junk, those mid 70 cars are made of the cheapest, cheesiest parts made.

Although I really like many of the mid 70 early 80s mopars they are crappy.

Excellent, glad you found the bezels.

Tons O' plastic in the mid-late 70's up...yup.
The sun beats the snot out of most of it here so I dont wind up with much of it thats good.
But then I drag one it with some really nice pieces...oh well...lol

Nice work on the bumpers, I reworked a set on my 66 coronet and about the time I was finished I was ready to pull my hair out, but it was worth it in the end.

Looking good man! Love what you did with the bumpers, and the go-wing looks right at home there.

Appreciate all the comments and Jarrod I soon hope to be cruising this Volare around South Florida with you in that sweet 70 Ragtop you are finishing.

Henry

Well they did go bankrupt in the early 80's... Remember the K car... And you wonder why everyone was buying Honda's and "Datsun's"......

Had a friend buy ALOT of that $1 stock... He did pretty good on that stock buy....

I'm waiting for the windshield and the new top to be done... Very soon!

Well finally was able to set aside a few days and got the passenger quarter patched up and first coat of hi build, it still needs a bit of work on the body line around the quarter glass. Next few steps are body the doors and deck lid prep and prime the trunk and door jamb and the add color to the jams. I'm getting close, I hope to drive it to Garlits in November.

Well just more body work and primer, it sure isn't exciting but I do feel accomplished.

Got the roof, trunk jamb, and door jamb primed. Driver door is in really good condition only had to work a few small dings and a small wave about 6" behind the front edge in the middle.

I did get the trunk hinges and support braces painted as they can be masked easy while I continue priming and blocking.

Very cool. I like this build a lot. Looks great.

Laid down a couple coats of Zolatone. I had purchased it a year back for the Coronet, but it will be awhile till it needs paint. So for it not to spoil I used in in the Volare, I would have went with a gray if I had bought it for this car, but on the car is better than on the shelf.

Just continuing with body work, priming and blocking, in between of working a lot so not much progress but, I did make up a sample spray out of my color combo.

The gray is kinda like an Argent, I am real happy on how it is gonna look. The hood, fender tops and door tops will get the Argent color in a waterfall type two tone like Dusters

Looks Great. "Hold Your Head Up!"

I drove a /6 Volare through college, abused that little car. I loved it, best daily driver I have owned, took abuse and kept running.

Great project! I always wanted to do a Volare wagon! Anyway, I especially like your fabbed bumper work!

Scott

Does it have paint yet? I love this build

No, sorry. Been on deadlines and family matters. Only a few hours here and there
Nothing of consequence done. But. I have not mothballed or set it aside for something else I will post pics when the last of the body is blocked and ready for paint.

I will be making a temporary spray booth in my shop.

Finally have a week or so that I'm free to work on my car, I hope to get the front fenders and deck lid primed, I started today on tightening up the front bumper similar to what I did on the rear. Here are some pics and I will add more as I get stuff done.

Here is the refit bumper, the last pieces will be welded in once I put the bumper on the bench

One more for comparison

Your fabrication skills are incredible.

Xs 2

Thanks guys, appreciate the cudos.



Blocked the high build down with 180 and put two final light coats. I will block the entire car a final time with 400 right before spraying color.

I will however be jamming it (painting the jambs, under the deck lid and behind the doors) and attach the deck lid and fenders for the last time before final blocking and color.

2

Deck lid is blocked and primed ready for final blocking with 400. It was the easiest part, no through rust, only a couple tiny dings.

Next few days gonna try and get the car jammed.

My brother and a buddy of his came by and called it "Kermit" it is a serious shade of Green.

Got the jambs done and the bottom of the deck lid, trunk bolts are painted but will need to cure for a week before install them.

Looks awesome, after a few days I will mount the front fenders for the last time, then work up the energy to start the final blocking of the entire car.

Looks good.

there used to be a late '70s Dodge stepside Power Wagon around here with a pic of Kermit on the doors, sweet looking truck, and your car will be too.

Gettin' there.



Tim

Got the driver side jamb shot, and made two risers or benches to stand on to shoot the roof, put 4' flouresent lamp to add light at the rocker level.

Looking good Henry.

I agree: It is looking great, lots of progress.

Thanks guys, only had a day left before I'm back at work to 70 hour weeks, so I won't get much more done for a couple three months.

But I decided to start on my hood, since the big block with an rpm intake won't fit under the flat hood and I don't want the same Ole scoop that everyone else has on my car, a little fab work was in order.

The doner: wrecked 70 Challenger hood

Some slicing and dicing, measuring once and cutting thrice, some tape and green paint I have half of what I'm going for, working hard on keeping it from looking Pontiacish.

Once I get both sides mocked up I'll decide if I like it enough to do the bodywork to finish.

That would be a lot of welding.

I can't convince myself that it is going to look good. Any comments?

That looks great!
Plus excellent engineering and fabrication..
recycling a wrecked Mopar hood,
works with the Volare hood lines,
and helps with the clearance you need.

Heck,make a mold of that hood and sell fiberglass copies!! LOL
Better put a patent on that puppy,LOL
That would be Awesome!

I think you're on the right track. I think it looks way better than other hoods I've seen. The only thing I may have done different would be to remove the center pointed section and left it straight just behind the air inlets, similar to a T/A hood I guess. Kind of a hard thing to test though and not certain it would look any better than it already does.

Overall, you should be really happy with it. Very nice work. Always nice to see something different.

Edit: I think it looks very nice. Please don't take my input as a negative comment. It was just a thought and I hope it didn't come across wrong...
-Trent

Thanks guys, Trent, not at all, I asked for opinions and I appreciate hearing other points of view.

It isn't exactly what I envisioned but my idea is to build a hood that could have been designed had the "muscle cars" of that era continued.

As a matter of fact I was hunting a hood like yours (73-74 RR) to graft in instead of the challenger hood.

Different, looks good, although a bit fordish looking to me in some ways.

How will the underside end up looking?

not crazey about the front pointed section, but the rest looks good.

I AGREE, And stay tuned.....

Hell yeah that's cool. This is one of my old cars, a buddy did this with a damaged hood we acquired

Ucudant, that is nice, I thought about the Cuda hood but it didn't have enough clearance bulge in the center and the Cuda guys wanted way too much $$ for rust beat up hoods.


I just couldn't get past the pointy area that the challenger hood created when I made it follow the factory hood lines.

So I cut a couple more times and added a pie piece in the front. It is a Much improved look and I have no issue on moving forward into filler and finish work.
This is a kinda hack job, without being to overly concerned with quality work.

Lots of filler will surely hide the flubs.

That looks pretty good I think.

much better

Your'e "revisions" look much better on the hood! Great thread...keep
working on it, and keep us posted...good luck!

Yeah, thanks. I am happy with the hood now, once I get it in primer it should make a much better photo to see the lines and proportions.

I took the car to a shop to get the front suspension rebuilt and aligned. I could have swapped parts myself but I still would have sent it for an aligment anyway so I'm killing two birds.

Once I get it back. I will button up the top end of the motor and do the run-in and fill the brake system. It will be drivable in a month or so. Then I will prep for paint. Soon soon soon.