476 replies to this topic

[Struggler]

As promised here are a couple of pics of the car after being blasted with garnet in the engine bay, windscreen recesses and door jambs and plastic bead blasted on the roof and quarters.....

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I did very little panel work before getting it blasted and I am glad I didn't. It seems the stress relieving qualities of the bead blast is very good at shrinking metal slightly. This was very handy as a few dents in the roof have been substantially reduced and a couple of shrinks I was planning on doing are no longer required !! Overall the car is in great shape. No previous repairs at all, a few pin holes of rust in the screen recesses and one hole about the size of a match head under the drivers rear scuff plate. Take that UC haters !!!

Anyway I carted it off to a friends panel and paint business and spent a full day cleaning it out, repairing a few minor blemishes and fully removing all traces of paint, seam sealer and primer from the outside of the car with a wire brush in the end of a drill. I then rolled it into the booth and watched while it got a good coat of 2K etch and a few coats of 2K High Fill. An hour later I loaded it back up and took it home. I now have to grind some of the primer out and perform a few repairs before taking it back for some more High Fill. Here are a few more pics of it once I got it back home.....

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It looks pretty good in the pics with the matt yellow primer but it still needs a bit of bog wiped over it. There is no shortage of minor dings to attend to and the engine bay needs some filler too. No point dribbling about it, I better hook in !!

[TempesT]

Looking good Andrew, any idea on the new engine yet. A 350 or another 400 block?

A light candy gold or deep metallic blue would be nice. Black running around the silks and the lights would suit a ic too.

[Struggler]

Thanks for the kind words Goat, LH SLR 3300 and TempesT.

Well it has been a few weeks now and I have been flat out !!

I got busy with the filler and body file and went to town. There were quite a few repairs that had to be done and a few others I never noticed until I started blocking it back. I also took a bit of time to smooth the engine bay out a little without going overboard. I rubbed the whole car with 240 dry before getting the painter to apply another full 3 coats of the HiFill. I then rubbed this back with 320 wet and then 600 wet.

The shell is now at a point were it is almost ready for paint. I still need to fill a few pin holes, blow some primer over the rub-throughs and seal some seams. I hope to get it all the same colour some time next week if I can get it all organized. I might have a bit of a break then and get my VH SL/E regoed and catch my breath. Then it will be up on stands, front and rear ends out and a quick paint of the underside before refitting the diff and crossmember.

Yes I know, you all want to know what colour it will end up. Well I'm still not sure !! I have narrowed it down to something solid, clean and bright !

As for the engine, I have been hoarding SB Chev blocks for the last few months (no 400's) and will run you through the build once the car is back on the ground and I have refitted the wiring etc. It will be something low budget but still a bit of fun !

[Struggler]

Spent a few hours today filling pin holes and checking the primer over to make sure I did a reasonable job. Then gave the whole thing a hand wash with ultra fine scotch brite before a good rinse with the Karcher. Then masked up some of the smaller things to make it a bit easier on the day. I will spray the primer over the rub-throughs and seal seams etc in the booth (it has been a wet day here ).

Just waiting now on my and the painters schedules to line up !

Here is a quick pic of it ready to go....

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Edited by Struggler, 31 October 2010 - 05:28 PM.

[Struggler]

Well everything lined up sooner than I thought and I got into the booth this morning. Just got home now and pushed it back inside. It has been a hectic 30 days from sandblasted to painted and I'm ready for a couple of days off ! The colour doesn't quite look right in the pics, the engine bay one is closest to reality. Had quite a few cars honk and give the thumbs up on the way home so it can't look too bad.

Let me know what you think.......

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[LXCHEV]

HELL YEAH! This thing looks MINT now, I want one

[Struggler]

Looks awesome mate can't wait to see it all back together

top effort looks awesome!

Thanks guys.

Looking sh$$ hot Andrew, no wonder you got the thumbs up on the way home

Good to see Scotty at work with the gun I am not quite ready to see him yet and hope and pray he is not too busy when the time comes, damn Summernats is looming fast, maybe too fast for me ;(

Cheers
Herne

Hi Alan, time does get away easily. A lot of work goes into the engine bay. Good luck with yours, I'll be watching !

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Looks good Struggler, is that panama or barbados green? cant quite tell from the pics but looks a little dark for barbados?. That first pic kinda made me wonder what the painter was thinking spraying in a booth without some sort of mask on though..

It is neither Barbados or Panama. The painter did a car in Barbados a few weeks ago and it was too light and bright for me. I searched through a pile of colour chips and found one that is really close to Chrysler Sublime. It is just green and yellow tinters so is very clean and bright. I was a bit scared at first but it has really grown on me. It is very hard to capture on digital as well and looks very different under lights as opposed to sunlight.

I have known the painter for about 15 years and he hasn't changed a bit !!! Still ignoring the OH&S. You can't see his offsider in that pic (he is painting the sill on the other side) but he had all the gear so will probably live a bit longer !!

I am going to trundle along with the shell refit now for a while before getting back into the panel work on the boot lid, bonnet, guards and doors which are all still brown and littering my backyard.

[Struggler]

HELL YEAH! This thing looks MINT now, I want one

MINT, is that a play on words

Thanks Brett, it came up better than I thought it would.

[Struggler]

I forgot, I must give a big thanks to Scott and Andy at Duffy Automotive, not only for the paint work but for putting up with me harrassing them, pointing me in the right direction with regard to the repairs and pushing me to do the full job (bare metal respray) rather than just a quick blow-over.

Thanks again guys

[Struggler]

It has been a while since my last update but the weather has kept me away from the garage for a while and I also got a dose of food poisoning that knocked me around for a week or two.

Anyway I repainted inside the car in red oxide to keep the rust at bay and gave the boot a quick birthday with some black paint and marine carpet. I then dropped the diff out and all the rear suspension to paint the underside in black over Wurth body deadener as well. The diff also copped a quick respray before cleaning it all up and refitting it. I also fitted a new rear sway bar I had custom made for the car. It is a mere 30mm thick and should keep the car level on the drag strip and avoid all body roll on the burnout pad.

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I then turned my attention to the front and dropped out the crossmember and stripped it down. I tidied up the engine mounts and ran the sander over the whole thing before sending it and the control arms off for gloss black powdercoat. As I had to destroy the outrigger bushes I decided to replace them and the upper body mount bushes with some aluminium I tuned up on my old lathe. I also rubbed back the green below the chassis rails and sprayed it with some Wurth body deadener and black paint. While I was at it I also did the outside of the inner guards.

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The crossmember came back from the powdercoaters looking great so I bashed some new bushes and ball joints into it and reassembled it on the floor before bolting it back under the car.

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Thats about where I am at at the moment, I still need to tidy up the steering rack, discs and calipers before reassembling them and also finish off the paint under the car before putting it back on all 4 rims. I will have a bit of a break for Xmas before getting back into it in the new year.

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Merry Christmas and have a happy and safe new year everyone !!!

[Struggler]

Nice bit of kit there Andrew and of course top work.

Merry Xmas to you and your family mate.

Cheers
Alan

Thanks Alan and I hope your rebuild went to plan.

I like the colour keep up the good work and have a great xmas and new year

Thanks Goat !

Coming along really nice mate

Thanks Lee, not quite in the same league as yours but tidy enough for me !

Hmm" GREEN" green is nice

Thanks Nicko, the green is really growing on me now, I'm glad I went with it.

[mr5000]

looking good mate look forward to seeing it finished in the new year possibly return to the ubc?

[TempesT]

Gday Andrew, on my way down to coma for Xmas-new year, ill have to pop round for n have a look if your about.