They are red, 'cuz the base didn't quite cover the red primer. Not really worried about it since they'll be buried inside the doors after assembly...

 

The shine you're getting on that paint/clear is tremendous... Tell your son I said "Hi", and to enjoy his time home with the folks!!!

Rogman

 

Thanks Rog...his ROTC grade is better than all his others right now. All he thinks about is that !@%!%& CAR of his it seems...wonder where he got THAT?

 

At that age cars a women are probably 99% of what he thinks about

 

Finished polishing the left front corner this morning and the door jambs; even did one rocker sill, so with that out of the way it was time to work on getting the hood re-installed. Before that could happen the headlight doors needed to go back in, and judging by the amouint of difficulty I had getting them OUT I decided awhile back that the best course of action for re-installing them would be to get the doors rigged in the frames before I began priming (see post #118). Once I was done priming, painting, and polishing I could position the 'pre-rigged' door assembly into the car without all of the mechanism, vacuum pot, etc. fighting for space while I inserted it into the grille opening. this actually did seem to work, and once the door assembly was installed and adjusted to fit the opening reasonably well I was able to attach the vacuum pot, stiffener braces, linkage, and springs. after that I re-routed the wire harness and re-attached the vacuum hoses, and ran the door up and down a few times to check adjustment, which was corrected by turning the little stopper bolt on the back half of the linkage. As expected, it all went together fairly easily, once I figured out a sequence that would actually work. As with most things that apply to these cars, there's really only one correct way to put them together, and trying to do it any other way just results in a roadblock...
(Left Front corner polished)

(Light Door installed, up position)

(Light Door guts)

(Light Door installed, down position)

 

Dave--

That looks great!!! Did you have the whole area taped up when you were installing??? That would be very nerve wracking...

Rogman

 

Actually, YES...I just lined the opening with tape until I had all 5 bolts installed around the door frame. After that it was pretty easy to move it around to get it centered up in the opening. Without all the extra junk hanging onto the frame it's pretty easy to get it slid into place without damaging anything...I was a little worried about this part beforehand but it went together so easily that I was a little surprised...

 

That's awesome!!!

Rogman

 

Got up and put the other headlight assembly in this morning, then put the hood, wiper door, and grille on later. From the windshield forward it's actually beginning to look like a car again!



I've still got some more color sanding and polishing to do up front (down below) but I just had to get some of the loose parts back on the car. At this point I think the next step is to charge the battery and start it up, since all of the vacuum lines are once again hooked up, then finish the 'repair' work in the back. After that I think I'll put the new weatherstrips onto the doors and hang them, and build them up on the car.

The worst part of the whole deal is going to be the carpet install, something I've never done before, but once I'm past that it should all go pretty quickly. The whole thing is actually kind of fun now- a year ago it was definitely NOT fun- it was just endless hours of sanding and grinding and stripping and cleaning but now it's actually beginning to pay off

 

Looks awesome brother! Nice work! I may have to start a new thread next winter like this one!!! Hahaha

 

Doing some darn good work, looks beautiful

 

This is a great thread to follow. Thanks for all your effort. You have inspired me Your car looks awsome.

 

Those reflections are awesome!!! Outstanding work, Dave!!!

Rogman

 

The carpet install will be a piece of cake compared to what you have been through with the paint job. Nice Job!!

 

It's been over a month since I've posted anything here, mostly because progress has been rather slow and the paint repairs to the rear deck really slowed things down. I am FINALLY done with that bit, and have slowly moved on to some reassembly...rocker panels, tail lettering, side grilles/ emblems, sealed the T-Top seams, installed the gas door, etc., etc. ...






Please forgive the poor photo quality...I took them with my phone in somewhat poor light...

I did start the car for the first time in awhile about a week ago just to get it warmed up and see if the lights and wipers work. The lights go up (slowly) and won't go down, and the wipers don't work at all...grrrrr. I'm going to finish installing the rear valance, exhaust bezels, etc, repaint the trim on the front grilles, but before I install those I'm going to troubleshoot the lights while I still have decent access into the hole where the relays go. Once I get the lights and wipers sorted out all that will remain will be carpet installation and door assembly/ installation. Lastly, I will clean up the wheels and try to make them look reasonably presentable, then use my newly-acquired Motive power brake bleeder to try and get the !@&&*!$$ brakes working properly before I head down the road with it. There really IS light at the end of the proverbial tunnel...

 

Looks great brother!!!

 

as long as the headlights go up, and there is no rain... there is light

 

Hi Bird,
It looks like you're making very nice progress getting it back together!.
To do a nice detailed job and NOT screw anything up while you're working does take a good bit of time.
Almost there.... don't rush the finishing.
Regards,
Alan

 

Alan, I was watching 'Graveyard Carz' last night where they were assembling a '71 'Cuda, in this utterly hospital-clean facility, repeatedly emphasizing how letter-perfect their restorations were. I mean, they were SO good, they were almost as good as YOUR car!!

All kidding aside (your car IS probably the most nicely, accurately-restored C3 I've seen on this forum though- no kidding there), it just felt a little embarrassing to be going through the trials and tribulations that I have endured with this project, expending as much or more work as those guys do but getting far lesser results because I just don't have the resources that those guys have. It's not that I don't know what perfection looks like, it's that it takes soooo much effort to get there when you don't have the right equipment or experience that it's almost impossible to really produce what you set out to produce.

Still, it will be infinitely better than what I had two years ago, and I might even be able to put it in a car show or two without having to make excuses for the paint!

 

Don't forget that dude (mark I think is his name), has over 30 years experience in building MOPARS. You're doing a hell of a job on your Vette hold your head up high and keep the pictures coming