Rookie's First Restoration Attempt...

The body is officially off of the chassis! I am now in the process of detailing the frame, and getting it ready for Rick, who is going to be building and installing the power train for me.
 
Originally Posted by nwav8tor:
Jeremy, Are you getting flooded out? We all hope not...


No, we are very fortunate!
Our house is no where near the river, and the closest body of water near us is fish creek, which is at the bottom of a hill. The shop is also nowhere near the river, and is at the top of a huge hill.

Everything is safe!
 
stinger12 said:
Originally Posted by nwav8tor:
Jeremy, Are you getting flooded out? We all hope not...


No, we are very fortunate!
Our house is no where near the river, and the closest body of water near us is fish creek, which is at the bottom of a hill. The shop is also nowhere near the river, and is at the top of a huge hill.

Everything is safe!
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Good to hear
 
Unfortunately my grandfather just past away, and I am in Winnipeg for his funeral. He really wanted to take a ride in the vette before he was gone...I tried to finish it, but was too slow. It's very sad news, and I am really going to miss him. He was only 72, and he was really proud to see me succeed in a trade I really enjoyed. The irony of all of this is that he used to teach Byron, my boss, in high school when Byron lived in Winnipeg...it's a small world. Rest in peace Adam...I'm going to miss you.

I do have an update for you guys, give me another week to get the pictures together. The car is looking fantastic, I am very excited.
 
I'm pretty sure your grandfather would have hated you rush the job just for him.
He left knowing his grandson have found a job and a passion,
he will rest in peace.

Condoleances.
 
Condoleances to you and your family Jeremy.

Sad he wont see the finished car but I'm sure that, like us, he saw your dedication and determination.

Thats all he needed to be a proud grampa.
 
1Michel said:
Condoleances to you and your family Jeremy.

Sad he wont see the finished car but I'm sure that, like us, he saw your dedication and determination.

Thats all he needed to be a proud grampa.
Click to expand...

:thumbs: I second that, Take care Jeremy,.....:bestwishes:
 
There is a reason I have been keeping these pictures away from you guys until now. I knew that If I posted them while I was doing this job, most of the people supporting me here would think to themselves that wow...this thing will never get together if he keeps going on and on doing things over.

Here's the problem. Byron has taught me so much about restoration and being at the top in quality that I keep going back and improving my original work which I thought was good at the time. The body is gorgeous and up to my standards (other than the undercoat which we are removing and then painting the underside for a clean look). The chassis on the otherhand was not up to par with the quality of the body. There were rust pits everyhwhere, and I really wasn't happy with it. So, this is what I did in 3 weeks worth of work.

I took the body off, and stripped the chassis down to the frame. I clearcoated every nut, bolt, tie rod, ball joint, u-joint...everything for rust protection. I sanded the bottom of the frame with 180 to remove the rust pits, and primed the bottom of the frame with high build. I then painstakingly sanded the entire frame with 320 on a DA. Epoxy sealed the frame, and painted it myself, under Byron's supervision, with semi-gloss. I did the same process with the upper control arms, but instead painted those gloss. The front hub assemblies were torn apart and repowdercoated semi-gloss. The rotors were stripped and clearcoated with high heat paint. The calipers were sanded with 320 and painted with body color basecoat and clear. I'm finally back to where I started 3 weeks ago, and I am satisfied with the results, it looks way better now, and it is ready for the engine.

Rick's 3000 HP fairlane hit the wall at the race track in Medicine Hat a month ago, so we have a deal going on right now. He is putting together my motor for me, and installing everything left on the chassis, while I do the bodywork on his racecar.

Its out of my hands now, and I can finally move forward with the body and head for the finish line. The new wheels are being shipped right now, and should be here in 2 weeks. Enjoy the pics.

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At Rick's place.

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OHHH 4 post, nice floor - clean work space -- I jealous! Is that vinyl siding on walls and ceiling? (Can you tell I'm working on my garage too?)

BTW - VERY NICE frame work there too.

Cheers - Jim
 
Painted the fuel tank body color yesterday. The calipers are painted body color and installed. The half shaft safety loops are installed. I painted a batch of parts gloss black for the engine. Rick received the new torque converter.

The Fairlane is at the shop and being fixed while he works on my chassis. Everything is coming together nicely...the engine is finally being built correctly. Rick is really anal about being clean since he deals with monster turbo engines, and he is applying it to my motor.
 
I have gone back and forth on whether I wanted to inform you guys of what really happened with the engine I received from Mike. And, quite frankly, I was originally going to let is slide and forget the whole ordeal all together. However, I really can't not say anything after the amount of hours Rick has put in for me to rebuild my entire engine, from top to bottom, on his own time. If it wasnt for Rick and Byron, this engine would have blown up the first time it was started. I am not going to post pictures of the engine I received, as it isnt necessary. All you need to know is that I was taken advantage of, and my spirits went downhill after I spent $700 in shipping, and waited two years for Mike to build my motor for me. It has severed are relationship unfortunately. I know Mike will respond to this post, but I truly feel I needed to post this and get it off my chest. It really hurt me emotionally and financially, and I didn't deserve what happened to me.

On the plus side, I learned a lot from this experience. Rick, you have been one hell of a friend, and I can't thank you enough. Enjoy the pics guys.

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That's a bummer, what was wrong with the engine ???

Just out of curiousity: you waited that long for the engine, what made you take it apart?
 
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