Rookie's First Restoration Attempt...

[mrvette]

Well, yeh, actually, I been messing with cars for over 1/2 a century...never done one all at once the way you are going at it, but have done every aspect of what you got there at one time or other, on some car or other....they all got 4 rubber tires, steering wheel, windshield....with some tricky variations...:clap::clap::shocking:

Just don't go nutz putting that last bolt on, there's always ONE MORE.....

don't ask how I know this.....mmmk??

:yahoo::search:

 

[stinger12]

I am just COVERED in buffing compound right now:ack:

 

[stinger12]

This piece took some patience to refinish. And yes, this is the original one that came with the car...

 

[mrvette]

NO a/c car then??

I presume astro vents were never included with a/c....

from that I hear, anyway....

 

[BryanB75]

I spent close to 2 hours reading this thread the other night..WOW! To be single again with no kids and able to spend time working on cars...ahhh.
I'm glad I won't be doing any glass work on my 75 project. I was wondering if you bought stock in a sandpaper company I'm sure you went through plenty. It does look good though.
Keep it up, not long now...hopefully

 

[stinger12]

Console bezel is done.

 

[Twin_Turbo]

that much work and you paint bolt heads? Toss the in a bin, take them to the platers and have them plate the bolts and do a black topcoat. This is what it will look like, a factory finish.

 

[stinger12]

that much work and you paint bolt heads? Toss the in a bin, take them to the platers and have them plate the bolts and do a black topcoat. This is what it will look like, a factory finish.

I'd rather spend my limited budget on shop supplies and the bodywork.

 

[Twin_Turbo]

for what it cost to do you can buy exactly 3 spray bombs

 

[stinger12]

for what it cost to do you can buy exactly 3 spray bombs

I will definitely pursue this on my next restoration then!

 

[stinger12]

I finally had a chance to start dying my interior parts. I've been real busy with work lately...lots to restore...it eats up a lot of my energy by the time I get home. BUT I LOVE IT! Working with sheet metal is awesome.

I scrubbed each panel with soap/water, rinsed clean, wiped with wax and grease remover 3 times...then painted as per Mike's instructions (yes, he's done this before too...no surprises there). I used SEM Color Coat. It took 3 thin wet coats top and bottom.













The rest of the interior panels are pretty beat up. I'm going to try and fix them before tossing them in the garbage.

 

[010752]

I hope you wear good masks for both dust and paint, especially if you're planning a career in this.:drink:

 

[stinger12]

I hope you wear good masks for both dust and paint, especially if you're planning a career in this.:drink:

I usually do...but I forgot my mask at work yesterday...and just opened the garage.

 

[stinger12]

I bonded the right rear flare today.

 

[MYBAD79]

I bet you can't wait to get the screws out, the holes ground and filled and the quarter panel painted one solid color. It already looks good but it's going to look great once it's primed

What are you using for filling the transition from flare to quarter panel ?

 

[stinger12]

Hey mybad.

I will have to practically remake the entire fender lip. It is not round...I have to glass the entire radius of them. These flares are far from perfect out of the box...they look terrible from the side...but I'm going to change that.



Most of the filling will be done with fiberglass matt and resin...just like the front flares. I have a lot of work to do on these flares. They will be totally reshaped and rounded perfectly to the wheel...so stay tuned.

 

[68L71]

Console bezel is done.

All this work and you go with an auto trans????

 

[stinger12]

All this work and you go with an auto trans????

I don't have the money to go with a manual transmission.

 

[stinger12]

My used seats arrived in the mail a couple days ago.







I stripped 3/4 of the frames so far.

All of the frames were twisted and have cracked welds. It took a lot of work to straighten and hammer them all back into shape. Tomorrow I will begin welding and reinforcing them so they are nice and strong. Stay tuned.

 

[stinger12]

I finished stripping the seat parts.





I welded in the reinforcement plates I made for the back of the frames (also fixed all the cracked welds)...







Sheesh that was a lot of work.

Oh, and by the way. I just found out that some of Mike's work is going to be featured in the upcoming issue of Vette magazine. Too cool.

 

[stinger12]

Powdercoated some pieces...



Clam Shells ready for paint...



I'm going to try and stop by the shop tomorrow and prime the seat frames (in the paint booth).

 

[stinger12]

I epoxy primed everything today.









I'm going to topcoat the seat tracks with some rattle can black so they don't stand out. I was expecting the primer to be black, but then figured out that it was grey when I opened the can. The main thing is that they are protected from rust forever now.

 

[denpo]

This is so beautifull....:clap:
I'm so jalous

 

[stinger12]

I'm so jalous

Get your ass out in the garage and forget the big picture. Focus on one project at a time. People always tell me I will never get this thing done. Wrong. Little do they know that I am getting something done everyday...then BAM...it all comes together and they say WTF?

My boss was laughing at me at work yesterday for pounding out the dents in my fuel tank. He thought I was crazy. I told him to imagine a car as meticulous as the gas tank and seat frames. He got the big picture.

 

[stinger12]

Finished disassembling the steering column tonight.



Time to hit the blast cabinet.

 

[stinger12]

Here are some more parts beadblasted (some required some really careful masking) and painted. The black parts are rattle can, but the fuel tank, which is exposed to the elements, is primed with some really tough epoxy from work. I scuffed the epoxy on the seat tracks before I painted them.







Jim, it was nice talking to you "in person" the other day. Thanks for all the info on the steering column rebuild. Oh, and by the way...my dad told me where the keys to the vette were, so I don't have to replace the lock cylinder in the steering column anymore.

 

[68L71]

Finished disassembling the steering column tonight.



Time to hit the blast cabinet.

I know you are on a budget, but please tell me you aren't going to use that steering wheel.

 

[redvetracr]

[/quote]

I know you are on a budget, but please tell me you aren't going to use that steering wheel.[/QUOTE]

don`t you like the Vega steering wheel?

 

[stinger12]

No way in hell I am using that steering wheel.

 

[stinger12]

I started glassing the flare in.