The body shop is working on the hood and door gaps on my 73. The car has had poor body work done in the past, and it is taking a lot of time to get them right. Here are some in progress shots:

First, you need to see the crapy work from a previous repair. Look at that bondin job!







I could fit my hand between the fender and the passenger A-pillar.

First they stripped the paint off the nose.



Then they started working on the L88 hood I gave them, getting the gaps right.





It was a lost cause, so they are working on the door gaps until the new hood shows up. Then they tried to split the old fender from the bonding strip. It was so screwed up, they replaced the top part of the fender







Then they started working on the door gaps.



They are getting closer. I gave then new hinge pins, hinge spacers, and springs to work with.



They need to add some fiberglass here.



It takes a lot of finess, to get these gaps just right. I told them to take their time, and get them right.

 

I can't help but think that this is costing some major $$$$$$. Looks good and keep posting pics of progress

 

Hi Curby,
Those are GREAT pictures. They really explain why working on a Corvette body and getting it ready for paint can eat up some serious time and $$$, if it's done right.
Thanks for SHOWING the truth.
Regards,
Alan

 

looks like fun.....i'm repairing all the previous poorly repaired body work to my vette too...about to get on the door gaps and in the door jams........it's a little overwheliming doing it yourself (hopefully a lot cheaper), but I guess it's moving along.

I understand how you feel about the hood. I cut the l-88 cowl out of mine yesterday and threw the rest away. The thing literally just peeled apart from the frame. Hopefully i can get something out of it.....

good luck! and get some pics when it's done!

 

just by looking at these pics, I have a couple of questions. What was wrong with the L88 hood you had originaly? The picture that shows the gap of the back of the door to the quarter panel, is the door all the way back at its adjustment there?

It looks like that shop has to undo a bunch of bubba work.

 

Are these the hoods that I read about in an earlier thread that were bought on Ebay and made by someone in Oklahoma (or whatever it was?). Sounds the same, with the bonding failures.

If so pleae respost that person's information so I can remember to steer clear of them.

One day I am going to want a hi-rise hood for my `76 to replace mine that has a hole in it for the supercharger...

 

Yes, this is one of the hoods from Oklahoma I got off of eBay. The hood looked great when I got it, but I was not ready to do the install, so it sat for a few months in my garage. Then when it came time to paint the car, the body shop put it on the car. The gaps were off, and it did not fit the fender curves well. I was having them re-do the passenger fender and work on the door gaps, so he started on that first. The hood is just too far off, to pay them to re-work it. It would be cheaper to buy a better quality hood and start over. That is what I am doing. I was also concerned about them using resin to bond the upper and lower portions together. I didnlt want the hood to separate, like the other ones from the same seller. It is best to buy one from Corvette Central or Corvette America, or Ecklers, or one of the sponsors of this forum. That way you have some recourse if it does not fit. The seller has assured me they will make it right on my purchase, but I have not pushed the issue with them, yet.

In the one photo the body guy had slid the door all the way forward to get the gap better at the fender in that shot. The door opened and shut perfectly in that position but I asked him to verify the door glass will fit and seal, as well as the weatherstripping, before he did any modification to the rear fender. I beleive he will be getting the rear gap right, then working on the front fender edge to get the front gaps right.

 

This may be a dumb question....
Why wouldn't you line up the door with the un-bubba'd rear clip and make the fenders fit to that rather than adding fiberglass to the door jam?

 

The day has finally come, where they put the car in the paint booth for the sealer, primer, base, and clear.

Here are the gaps this morning. Everything looked great to me. I am super happy.

 

Good thread..Was wondering how they took up the gap that you had in the A-pillar. . I have a big one and need something to sandwich in between the fender and the pillar.
thanks !

 

It's looking great! This is the point to not rush, add it looks like the shop knows what they are doing. Keep the progress pics coming.
Now would also be a good time to steam clean the engine compartment and re-spray the inner wheel wells, fan shroud (if metal), and so on, BEFORE the car is painted. Just a my 2c.
Glenn

 

It is looking AOT better,and wil leven still look better yet when paint gets on it.It won't be so noticeable then.If I have a big gap at the back of door...I move the door back,then address the door edge to fender gap.I just did one,and had to pop the front clip loose,and re-glue it once I got the gaps right everywhere.
Looks like you have a good shop that is willing to work w/you,and takes pride in their work.That's the main thing.

 

The car is looking good. I just did the gaps on mine. My passenger door looked like yours did. It took me several tries, but now they look great. It is a good feeling. Too bad about your hood. I was fortunate to find one from a forum member that was a good replica, air box and all. I still spent a week on the hood, repairing tiny cracks, stripping, and smoothing the underside. After I smoothed it, I put 6 coats of epoxy primer on it. I pity the fool who tries to strip it in 30 years!
I wish you luck on the hood, but keep pics coming with your progress!!

 

I went by the paint shop yesterday. It came out of the paint booth Friday. Rex put 5 coats of Torch Red on the car, then 3 coats of clear. They buffed on it all day Monday, and all day Tuesday. When I got there at 3:00 PM, the car looked great. He was working on the passenger door and rear quarter.

The car looks awesome!

I took some more pictures with my camera phone, but I didn't bring my cable with me, so it will be Monday before I can download the pictures.

The Torch Red is just breathtaking on the car.

I know, this post is worthless without pictures! I promise, you will not be disapointed on Monday!

 

Torch red is cool

 

looks real good. i also have a door gap to address this spring. cant wait to see it painted.

 

It looks a little orange under these lights, but she is Torch Red.





Here you can see the color better. Above the bumper is a panel off of the actual 1969 Camaro Pace car that paced the field. You can barely see the orange stripes on the white panel. This guy paid $50,000 for the car in disassembled, but original condition. You can see the difference between the orange and the red, if you look closely.



Here's the driver's door gaps.







Here's the passenger door gaps.







It was still being buffed out in these pictures.

Here is the headlight door all finished.

 

Did you double check that headlight to make sure there was plenty of clearance between the edges when it came up?

The previous guy that painted my car laid so much primer in between my headlights this is what happened.





I only had the car home for a few hours after paying for a brand new paint job... talk about pissed, it got both sides.

 

I will definitely cycle the headlights before I leave the shop with it.

The header brace had broken loose in the storm, when the roof pole hit the front fender and light. they re-attached the header brace in the body shop before they did any of the body work or paint, so hopefully they checked this already.

Thanks for the heads-up.

I hope your shop made good on the screw-up.

 

Actually they didn't (sort of), I took it right back up there, he dragged his rear end for almost a month (I already paid for the job) and never got it to look right.

He tried to "blend" in the paint in that area and for some reason it was dark in spots....almost like there wasn't enough red over the primer. This guy eventually got hooked on meth, lost 100lbs and lost his business. I gave up on him.

I drove the car like that for almost a year before I repainted the whole car my self....it looks 10x's better than the "professional" job.