rene040269

Great work, i really like the combination of a pre-78 sugar scoop rear end and the 80-82 nose and a$$

persuader

Thanks! Its all part of the general picture that I have had for years of how my first Vette would look like.
I was just wondering if there is someone out there that has done the same body mod on a 74-77. It would be nice to see an actual picture of one done other than the picture I see in my head.

rogman16

Richard--

You are doing outstanding work and will enjoy following your build...

Rogman

persuader

After a month of not doing anything to my car, I Have finally jumped back on it to finally try and finish the bodywork on the front end. The left fender is almost done as is the nose and the hood surround. The headlight doors are gapped and just need bodywork..
Anyways, I have already reworked the door gap on the drivers door but now I have to deal with an unevenness in the bottom of the drivers door which I can't adjust out and is going to require that I build that area out with some VPA. So with that being the case I have decided to remove the door and not just strip the paint off the outer skin, But strip the entire door inside and out. Talk about while I'm at it! So I took out the handle ,the glass,the regulator, Everything, And I chemically stripped the door and them sandblasted the inner frame. I then cleaned the bare inner frame and gave it a couple of coats of epoxy primer.
In the next couple of days I will hang the door back on bring this part of the project closer to the end.

Here is the unevenness in the door and fender.



Unfortunately this label is done. going to have to go with a repop when the time comes.




Strippidy do dah, Strippidy yay!





Almost ready for my trusty pressure blaster.





I was on such a roll that I forgot to snap a picture of the door shell after being blasted. Sorry!
Here it is with the epoxy primer ready to be rehung.

persuader

This past month has been hard trying to find time to work on the Vette. I did however manage to finish the left fender to door gap, headlight doors and the whole nose ready for a final once-over before spraying the polyester. Hopefully next weekend and then finally, finally I can start on the engine bay.




Sexy curves! Wouldn't you agree?




I used a regular high quality body filler on the two headlight doors.





I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel. At least for this operation

AdamMeh

Looks great! Share the process you used on the door to fender gaps please! I'll be digging back into that portion in the next month or two.

Thanks!
Adam

persuader

Thanks Dude. Pretty much the entire process of repairing the gaps are all in this thread. What I do is grind the edge of the fender into like a knife edge. And make sure that I taper that edge for at least 2 or 3 inches along the fender edge.

kenny77

Holy crap!
You are scaring the living daylights out of me!
I just got my first one also.....think I will drive her over to the mechanic, then upholstery shop, then the body shop!
Lol....awesome work brother!

persuader

Thank you ! Good luck with yours.

persuader

I was cleaning out the closet in my office and though I would post these up. I picked the tray and the latch up from a member here a few months ago and I got the window from a guy in Lehighton who had it in his attic since the 1970s . All I need now is the weather strip and the latches. The tray is missing a couple of aluminum rivets but other than that its like new.

chstitans42

the removable rear window is one of the best mods you will ever do!

persuader

Today I reached a milestone. I was able to at last poly prime the nose on my Vette. I went early this morning to pick up a quart of slick sand and then swung by my garage to pick up my gun and a few more supplies. I left the headlight doors in place so I can prime them at the same time. They still need to be redone any way so I don't care about any overspray on the mechanism.
I am also pleased that now I can finally start getting the engine bay ready for a full detail. most everything is out except the brake lines, A/C box and trans. The lines I am replacing with all new stainless ones and the trans is coming out as well. I haven't decided on wether or not to remove the A/C box yet. Since I already have the whole dash out of the car I may just decide to take it out to just make sure the evaporator and the core are leak free. I am already used to this thing called project creep so as long as I continue forward it will eventually reach the end and my car will come out the way I want it to.


For this part of the process I will be using Evercoat's Slicksand. It is a high build polyester primer. The gun in this picture is specifically for spraying thick coatings such as Slicksand which is like spraying concrete.



The black stuff is just guide coat. A thorough wipe down with acetone will remove that and any surface contamination.





Done!




I will now remove the headlight fixtures and store them till later on when I will completely rebuild the mechanism.



And now I can start on this mess. You ever look at your car and wonder if there ever will be end in sight? LOL

doorgunner

Hey.........the worse the engine bay looks now...................


the better it will look once you get inside it!

persuader

Well it has been a little over a month and now I am again at least for the next few days going to get as much done on this thing as I can. All my schedules for finishing this or getting to that I have totally given up on. Every time I lift a finger on this thing I get caught up in that Vortex known as the while I'm there effect. All I will continue to do is just keep going forward and hope I can drive this thing before I drop dead.

Today I started removing the rest of the stuff from in the engine bay and the fire wall. Also after giving it some thought and since most of the system was missing anyways I've decided to go ahead and do an A/C delete and install one of those A/C delete covers that are available. I would rather go this route for now and then maybe in the future I can just install a modern set up like Vintage Air instead of trying to piece together and fix the factory set up that never really worked well in any C-3 I have been in.



Just have to remove the forward brake lines and the proportioning valve.



One more reconditioning project added to the list.




Tomorrow I will scrub everything and start the prep work for a fresh coat of black.

persuader

Well today I got out the paint stripper, lacquer thinner, scrapers and plenty of paper towels. I proceeded to strip the firewall and the inner fenders. As i went along I discovered a couple small spots that need some glass repair.

First came the firewall. Yuk!




I removed all the wiring harnesses so that I can go over every wire and add any modifications to any circuits like for instance, the cornering light curcuit.




Tomorrow I will hit it all with a pressure washer and then I will start the repairs and final prep.

persuader

Yesterday I masked off the car so I can prime and paint the engine bay. I used epoxy primer and then followed by some single stage urethane with a flattening agent in it. I could of just used some black epoxy primer and called it a day, But this way I feel is better.

I removed the backing plates for the gas pedal and the accelerator cable.



Preping the holes for the firewall blanket retainers.




Laminated and VPA'd.


Everything scrubbed clean and all surfaces sanded.
Ready for masking.


Rock and Roll time!


Primed! ( Two coats of epoxy primer)



Once it was all primed I brushed some seam sealer on those areas were the original adhesive was cracked or missing. And those spots that had the original sealer which I removed during prep. I know I could've just sanded it all down for a cleaner more finished look but I prefer doing it this way for a more original looking flavor.




Good stuff! And DUB approved.



Primed and sealed and ready for color. It may look like I got carried away with the sealer. But in reality, I brushed on very little. Just enough to make the factory stuff smooth and consistent.


U-tech single stage. Made by AkzoNobel. Makers of Sikkens paint. I have been using this stuff for years as an under hood and chassis paint. U- Tech is their fleet line and it wears very well.


Stay tuned!

persuader

After 2 Wet coats, Done! I like it! Just the right sheen. Not to shiny and not to dull.




Done!


Done!
Did some of the chassis also.


Also did the whole forward section and the new header and nose bars.


It was well worth all the work to do this conversion as it is slowly starting to look like I imagined my first Vette would be.





Now, Maybe I can start putting some parts back on the car, Instead of removing them for a change.

AirborneSilva

Great progress, looks good

persuader

There really has been very little in the way of any progress with my car for the past couple of months. I have managed to spend a couple of hours here and there mostly media blasting and powder coating some of the parts that need to go back on.
I also, After thinking about it for awhile and reading some of the feedback about it. I have decided to go with the SS brake lines in my car.


I restarted my project by reinstalling the front reinforcement


Media blasted and powder coated.



Using the same factory style soft rivets. I think that these came out good.





I also media blasted and powder coated both hood locks




A new emissions label and some new brake lines.








The next few weeks should see a lot of progress on the car.

RBrid

Looks great Persuader. Carry on...