Hello all, I am a painter/bodyman restoring a 69 conv. 427 car for a customer. I have painted a dozen or so vettes over the last 20 years and have owned 2 myself. I'm finding my knowlege lacking on this job so I'm here to ask for help..
The car arrived in sad shape, disassembled, partially stripped, rear end had been replaced in an unprofessional manner, rust, seams seperated, etc. I started at the front, re bonding the panel in front of the hood with 3M 8116, replaced the front crossmember under the core support, repaired rust on core support, fixed numreous cracks and botched old repairs around the grill area, stripped old primer, filler, etc. I replced the inner grill supports and outer park lamp brackets, none of these fit well, the support under the headlightshad been repaired and it took some fabricating to get everything to fit. It appears that the nose is supported only by the 5/16 rod running from under the front body tip to core support. It seems like there should be more support there??






I moved to the doors, both had bottom seam was splits, there were rust holes in the shell, etc. I pulled the guts out and sent them to be media blasted upon return I bonded the seams then since they were poor shape I covered the whole seam area around both doors with a thin coat of marglass to give a better looking finished product.


I mistakenly thought the rear end would be a piece of cake because it was new.. The top bodylines on the quarters ended in different spots at the back, after looking at pics of other cars, I reworked both of them to be correct. The rt. quarter had a bulge running fron to back about 5 " down from the top. I blocked for a while but it became evident that it needed more.


Then I sprayed 4 coats of polyester primer over the body and started blocking. After 10 hrs. of longboarding with 180 I was one step closer. I then sprayed 4 coats of Spies Hecker HS primer and blocked again.

The rear panel has a slight ridge in the center, not enough to be a bodyline, but enough to pose a problem. Is there supposed to be a line there?

This brings me to where I stand today. I plan on spraying the whole body and other parts with Spies 5400 in black then spray the car with Spies Hecker 2002 blue black base/clear. I've got alot of work ahead, I've got about 65 hours in it so far, I'm hoping to get it ready to paint by 100.

My main questions now are about the front nose support, the bodyline/lack of one on the rear deck, what color the plastic headlight surrounds are supposed to be. I appreciate any tips from those with experience with this sort of restoration I'm sure I'll have more soon.
I'll be happy to help anyone with questions about body/paint

Thanks, The painter

 

Do you know there's a specific paint/body forum? Under Forums, click general corvette, then scroll down to the bottom of the drop down list. A gent who frequents there named DUB knows everything.

 

Here are a couple of shots of my 71 convertible, hope they help...


There are two brackets one on each side of the rod you were talking about (sorry for the picture angle it was hard to get in there)They go from the frame to the clip I believe.



Right and left sides of the decklid




I don't see a ridge or line on the rear, it appears to be flat. Its hard to see with the luggage rack, but I hope this helps you out a bit. Headlight bezels were body color. If you need any other angles let me know.

 

The assembly instruction manual (AIM) shows the nose bar installation. Head light bezels were painted body color.

I can recommend purchasing a copy of this:


Good reference photos here too:

 

no i didnt know that and i have been here forever....thks bob

 

You need to get out more, Bob.

 

Hi P,
I believe the main support for the front clip are the metal brackets riveted to the front of the wheel aprons, and bolted to the sides of the core-support. The bottom of the core-support has 2 bolts into the frames front extension cross member. These bolts can be shimmed to move the front of the clip up and down.
The large U shaped brace that horse-cop shows actually supports the center of the front bumper, (and bolts to that front cross member), and should mount free of the front clip fiberglass.
I agree with Mike that you should have the 69 AIM sitting right next to this car in your shop.
Regards,
Alan

 

Thanks guys for the help. I found the paint/body forum last night. After a few phone calls and more research, The rear panel is supposed to have a crown but the panel installed barely has a line so I spoke to customer and he's ok with a flat rear panel. I polyester primed and baked the doors, rear conv top hatch etc. today.



Then spent the afternoon fitting doors, drivers side took about an hour, pass. side took 3 had to shim bottom hinge from body side,then shim upper hinge on door side, etc..



I would like to get the manual for the car but my schedule is tight, I have to spray by Thurs.
The front nose is still un clear. i agree that the bumper structure is seperate from the glass, I guess thats to limit danage in collision. The brackets off of the core support/apon are to far back from the nose to support on this car, It's been hit at least once and the structure is weakened, as I stated before, I didn't sit up where it was supposed to until I installed the rod to core support. I'm going to get back in there mon. and see how I can beef up the the structure to prevent nose sag

I just ordered all the hood latches,hinges,cables, etc. I have an old aftermarket L88 hood to try and make work...