Red Convertible Resto

[mdkd]

Kevin

Congratulations

Way to go

Milton

[Aussie Skylark]

Hi Kevin,
I like the work on the convertible, its great to see the progress.
When you lifted the body off where did you connect you strap at the rear of the car? I've got the height to lift from above, I'm guessing its easier than jacking and blocking up from underneath?
Marcus

[cwmcobra]

Hi Marcus,

When my body came off and went back on, we fed straps through the tail light openings and lifted with an engine hoist.  We did the same on the front, feeding the lifting strap through the access holes for the body mounts in the lower firewall.

See attached pictures.

Have fun and keep the updates coming!

 

Chuck

[Rollaround]

Marcus,
I used the same lifting points as Chuck. The only difference was I used a four post lift; there is a picture of the lift process on page 8 of this build.
Where ever you do lift from inspect the area carefully. I found cracked welds in the tail light brace area and needed to re-weld  them prior to lifting the body.   

[Aussie Skylark]

Thanks Fellas,
I was guessing the rear lifting point was through the tail light openings, was good to see the rigging.
This will test out my repair work on the trunk floor/ tail light supports.
Marcus

[Rollaround]

After hours and hours of block sanding and shaping followed by more hours of cleaning all that dust out of all the nooks and crannies it's finally painted. But it's not red anymore! One coat sealer, two coats of black base followed by four coats clear then cut, buff and polish. The project has been in work for almost five years, still not done but this is a huge milestone. 
I painted the doors, fenders, hood and trunk two months ago the body was painted last Saturday. The top and interior will also be black; still not sure on the finial wheel and drivetrain selection.
 

[cwmcobra]

VERY nice job Kevin!  You can surely be proud of this work.  Did you enjoy it enough to do more?  It wouldn't be a passion for me, but I sure appreciate those that have both the skill and the passion!

 

Chuck

[dsags]

Wowzer. Beautiful work Kevin ! 

[vinnie]

Good work Kevin. Can't wait to be able to get over to see it in person.

[Rollaround]

VERY nice job Kevin!  You can surely be proud of this work.  Did you enjoy it enough to do more?  It wouldn't be a passion for me, but I sure appreciate those that have both the skill and the passion!

 

Chuck

No. When this is done all of my auto body and paint equipment will be gone. I actually became comfortable spraying paint. I achieved a smooth uniform finish minimal orange peel that wet sanded off easily leaving great depth and shine; I’ll let Glenn be my QA.  However I would prefer getting mugged in a dark cold wet alley to doing bodywork. I’ve seen professionals do in minutes what took me hours and days. 
What did Clint Eastwood say....”Man’s got to know his limitations”     

[35chevcoupe]

Nice job Kevin .  Looking great , can't wait to see it someday .

[GS66]

That is really looking great Kevin!

[elagache]

Congratulations Kevin!    The car looks great thus far!    Thanks for keeping us updated!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Loren At 65GS]

That is really looking great Kevin!

  X 2 !

  Loren

[Rollaround]

Busy week here. Installed doors, window tracks, hardware and glass; a lot more work and time consuming then I expected, there in almost rigged and alined.
Dry fit all A/C components, worked on the control cables, vacuum switches and lines making them functional. Then using a shop vac for system vacuum and a battery for electrical, operationally checked the system air flow routing and fan speeds.
Now the system will be dismantled then reinstalled with gaskets and sealant
Cleaned painted and detailed the instrument cluster, checked the electrical circuits and lighting. If you haven’t tried the 194 LED lights, they are bright.
Installed power top hydraulic actuators and replaced all hydraulic lines then rigged a temporary power source for the pump; the top frame was repainted before the car was painted.
Considering the components have been apart in boxes for five years, things worked out well.
The top guy showed up and started on the top, so the color selection is pretty much finalized.