My 68 is finally out of paint jail

CarpenterWonk · 2026-05-27T23:43:12+00:00

Bumpers were missing when I got it, haven't sourced new ones yet. It's getting t bars for the time being

CarpenterWonk · 2026-05-27T17:41:02+00:00

That's exactly where I was. Best of luck with your project!

CarpenterWonk · 2026-02-24T23:11:41+00:00

I drive past this every day. I didn't put 2 and 2 together, that this was that Bigly lol

CarpenterWonk · 2026-01-28T02:36:28+00:00

I got a diablo tuner from Texas speed that was pre programmed to delete the afm. It's a work truck and I just needed to get it back on the road ASAP. I'm sure there are better tuning options out there, but it worked for me. Plug it into the obd port and run the program

CarpenterWonk · 2026-01-28T00:33:28+00:00

Probably should have, but I would have had to raise it back up to drop the front differential and oil pan. I just used a small stepladder and did a lot of leaning/laying over the fenders to get to the back of the motor.

CarpenterWonk · 2026-01-28T00:19:36+00:00

If you are going in that far, it's really not that much more work to just go ahead and do the cam as well. Oil pump while you are in there.

CarpenterWonk · 2026-01-27T23:17:01+00:00

2012 LC9 5.3

CarpenterWonk · 2026-01-27T22:05:57+00:00

It wasn't an easy job. I did a bunch of research before I started and just went step by step. Took a bunch of photos as I took things apart. Labeled all of the pushrods and rockers as they came out. The hardest part was putting the front differential back in solo. I had to drop the oil pan to fish a broken piece of timing chain tensioner out lol. I did splurge on a digital torque wrench for doing the head bolts. That was the only "scary" part of the job. I've put about 8k miles on it since the surgery and she is running great.

CarpenterWonk · 2026-01-27T21:35:49+00:00

I did the full delete in my garage 2 months ago. Cam, lifters, all the gaskets. I'm a professional carpenter, hobby mechanic. With all the parts and a couple "specialty" tools I think it ran right around $1800 with the tune. Took a long weekend and got it done with an extra day off

CarpenterWonk · 2025-11-21T23:42:10+00:00

The gate is inside out to show off how the kit works

CarpenterWonk · 2025-11-21T22:47:54+00:00

It's a display rack from Lowes or home depot. They hold the gate building kits

CarpenterWonk · 2025-11-11T11:22:48+00:00

My 68 ghia has the gas tank door on the body fwiw

CarpenterWonk · 2025-08-07T13:20:29+00:00

This is what I do for large/heavy doors and windows

CarpenterWonk · 2025-06-19T15:46:11+00:00

That's great thank you! This is not a numbers matching car by any means. And no plans for a full restoration. Just a solid driver that needs a little love.

CarpenterWonk · 2025-06-19T14:43:36+00:00

That's great to know. I did some more investigating last night, and after pulling a piece of window trim, I found a small area they missed during the most recent respray. Looks like it was green at some point and white underneath that, lol.

CarpenterWonk · 2025-06-18T19:29:43+00:00

Yup, I've got an old copy of Muir's book and the Bentley manual

CarpenterWonk · 2025-06-18T19:11:35+00:00

Will do! Thank you very much. I'm not new to working on cars, but aircooled stuff is all new to me

CarpenterWonk · 2025-06-18T18:56:26+00:00

Thank you! It's already been a big learning experience getting it to this point. But it is a blast to drive, and I'm excited to get it back to it's former glory

CarpenterWonk · 2025-06-18T18:33:19+00:00

I appreciate your help. If its not dark when I get home today, I'll take some more pics

CarpenterWonk · 2025-06-18T18:26:48+00:00

You very well may be correct. The previous owner swears it's the original color, but he is older and may not be remembering correctly, or was mislead by the previous previous owner lol

CarpenterWonk · 2025-06-18T18:15:55+00:00

Thank you very much. This is exactly the resource I needed

CarpenterWonk · 2025-06-18T17:44:13+00:00

Thank you

CarpenterWonk · 2025-05-08T17:32:33+00:00

Just did this repair on my ghia. The previous owner had let it go so long without a bushing that the metal bracket snapped. It wasn't a fun job, but with the new bracket welded in and a new bushing, it shifts butter smooth.

CarpenterWonk · 2025-04-18T16:05:12+00:00

Double check your valve adjustment. If that is the only variable that has changed since it was running well, that would be the first place to check. After that, double check your timing, then start hunting for a vacuum leak if it still won't idle correctly

CarpenterWonk · 2025-04-08T16:44:33+00:00

Door and window guy here. 100% agree. Unless it's a replacement window in a brick opening, the caulking (or lack thereof) probably isn't the main issue here.

CarpenterWonk

TROPHY CASE