1966 Factory V8 Valiant Signet Restoration For My Other Daughter

Jim Kueneman · Sep 13, 2021

Oh and new from Kueneman MOPAR Corner I’m going to give dash pad restoration a shot. Those early A pads are super simple and Just Dashes has a video of how they do it. All I don’t have is a vacuum table but like I said this is so simple compared to the dashes of the 70’s I give it a shot. If I screw it up I’ll send it to Just Dashes and $700 for them to fix my mistakes.

Started to sand it down since I had the air outside. It is just using body tools with foam instead of filler.

halfafish · Sep 13, 2021

Princess Valiant said:
Why are there so many speaker holes in the package tray??

That would make it handy to add some modern stereo equipment.

I'm currently planning a system in my valiant and I'm thinking to leave the hole open where the rear defrost bezel would go to act as a bass port so the trunk has some air circle-ation and really rattle that deck lid.

I can't answer your question but I have two 66 Valiants, both have the three speaker holes. I put some 6x9's in two holes and left the other one alone but I did consider it would make a dandy port for a boxed in subwoofer should I decide to go that route.

Jim Kueneman · Sep 15, 2021

Did not take any inprocess photos incase it did not work... no evidence. Since it is working great I will fully document what I did for the other part of the dash pad.... A little glaze to fill a few bubble holes and a straightedge and a bit of sanding to get the "U" indentations at the front edge back in the pad and it will be ready for the vinyl....

Jim Kueneman · Sep 15, 2021

Peal (crack) off the old vinyl trying to save as much of the old foam as possible. Brush it off and wipe it down to get the loose pieces off.

Jim Kueneman · Sep 15, 2021

Make a cheap dam around the edges out of tape. This one was too cheap and I had a lot of leaks.... You only have about 60 seconds to mix, pour and spread. Mix up the A/B product and only stir for 10-20 seconds. Next pour it in the cracks and the missing pieces then pour it all over the pad. I spread it with a filler spreader. The second it starts to kick and expand (i.e. bubbles start to form) you have just a few seconds to do any final finishing then get away from it and let it kick. It will be hard in about 30 minutes. Now be very very careful sanding it. The 50 grit on the rotary will take it down to the original foam in seconds. Only go down so you can see the old foam color through the new foam. Now get out your sanding blocks with 50 and start blocking it down. There will be a few voids here and there that I plan on just using glazing filler in them and sand them down later. Now flip it over and do the same thing on the under side of the front roll. I will do that tomorrow.

Jim Kueneman · Sep 17, 2021

Early start on the weekend. Halfway done across the top. Need to save some for tomorrow! I am so much better at this now I _almost_ would like to have a second shot at it.

Jim Kueneman · Sep 18, 2021

Just a good day of work. Nothing special just getting it done...

Jim Kueneman · Sep 18, 2021

Only one more piece to install, which is good I am tired of welding and grinding.....

mpgmike · Sep 18, 2021

Looks like you had to go back & remove some surface rust in the spare tire well. Was the primer not thick enough, or did it get really wet, or both??

Jim Kueneman · Sep 18, 2021

mpgmike said:
Looks like you had to go back & remove some surface rust in the spare tire well. Was the primer not thick enough, or did it get really wet, or both??

Both. I did not really prep it right. Just trying to get something on before the summer rains came and I had to keep it outside. Now it’s in the garage I’ll be doing it for real.

mygasser · Sep 19, 2021

will you hang some plastic 'curtains' around it in the garage to keep the dust somewhat confined?
neil.

Jim Kueneman · Sep 19, 2021

mygasser said:
will you hang some plastic 'curtains' around it in the garage to keep the dust somewhat confined?
neil.

I push it outside to work on

Jim Kueneman · Sep 19, 2021

I was going to just blast this again but the hawk spirit animal my metalworking friend on the SPI site left me when he visited a few weeks ago was glaring at me so I cut it out and made a new piece.... I had to recut the rear panel and resize it as it was just a bit too long. Now it is a perfect fit.

Jim Kueneman · Sep 19, 2021

Can't believe I forgot to weld in the 3 brackets.... oh well, it is blasted and ready to strip the rest of the way an put on the engine stand rotisserie now that it has structural integrity.

mopowers · Sep 19, 2021

Keep it going! Your energy is an inspiration. Stop and have a couple beers already!

Jim Kueneman · Sep 19, 2021

mopowers said:
Keep it going! Your energy is an inspiration. Stop and have a couple beers already!

Oh I had a few hard ciders during the day!

mopowers · Sep 19, 2021

Jim Kueneman said:
Oh I had a few hard ciders during the day!

Atta boy! You deserve them. Hopefully your daughter bought. Haha!

Jim Kueneman · Sep 19, 2021

mopowers said:
Atta boy! You deserve them. Hopefully your daughter bought. Haha!

She did but with my card.....

mygasser · Sep 20, 2021

Jim Kueneman said:
She did but with my card.....

Jim Kueneman · Sep 20, 2021

Not feeing good today so I worked from home. I could not concentrate much on work and felt generally crummy. I did a bit in the garage and when I was busy there I didn't think about the nausea. Nothing difficult just pulling things apart and tagging them, ready to pull the powertrain and K-Frame. The daughters went to town to pick up some new dolleys to replace this old ones that got me through the other 3 restorations. What an interesting exhaust system... wow.

Jim Kueneman · Sep 20, 2021

Tried a few things for the roll pin on the steering knuckle. Turns out a 3/16" Snap On deep socket was the perfect size! Need a quick rebuild of the cart and it's time to pull the lower control arms to get the torsion bars out and we can drop it out and get the body on the engine stand rotisserie.