BODY WORK

As expected the body work started at the beginning of February with the stripping of the paint to discover hidden rust, excess filler, etc.
I am a complete ignorant in body work, so the best that I can do is help with the stripping and sanding!

The great surprise is that other than the parts the we kew about, i.e. door sills, front and back valances, and floor panels, there was virtually no rust anywhere.bb

 The work was started by removing all chromed parts, whatever can be salvaged, it will be, and sent for re chroming; body trimmings most likely will be all replaced, but bumpers will be repaired and chromed in Mexico.

The stripping job is done, now we have to dismantle all windows, doors and the interior.

I already have ordered and received all new rubber seals, bushings, grommets, exhaust system, window components, new door handles and locks, new rubber floors, fire wall insulation, and expecting to receive next week new original upholstery and headliner.
Eventually I have to order a new windshield which needs badly to be replaced, even though is not cracked (yet) and a new dashboard, VP Autoparts produce an exact replica made with the same tooling as the original.

The trunk was completely misaligned, mainly for forcing it to close, and not knowing how to do it properly by lifting the lid first.  That has been repaired, now it works and I will never allow anybody to touch it but me!

On the right is the picture of the lid properly adjusted, ready for priming.

Coming up are the engine/transmission removal, all windows removal, door and interior removal, installing the car in the rotisserie, which we made according the model in the picture, and start working the floor panels, removal of the front and rear ends and replacing all the under frame bushings, overhauling the hand brake.

We already have knew master and brake cylinders, springs, hoses, etc. to overhaul the brake system.

The picture on the left is the example of a repair done improperly, the repair has a thick coat of body filler and under it there were these little holes, we assume that were made to pull the metal out after it was hit, however the part is perfectly accessible from inside the trunk.








The pictures that follow show that the sheet metal is in excellent condition, now the painstaking work of removing the black tar like material that was the original undercoating.

You will notice that the heater blower is missing as well as the windshield washer pump, both have been overhauled and the process will be shown later on.