tgtexas02

My original start thread is tiled "C1 1958 inspiration Restoration Tread". The following link will take you to it if you are not familiar with it:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...on-thread.html
I will also place a link near the end of my original starter thread which will bring you to this "C1 58 Restoration Thread (Update #1)". From now on, once I post a new update I will not be posting my progress in any previous thread but if someone asks a specific question or comments in any thread which is directed at me or something that in general I can answer-I will respond within that thread or you can too. Updates will start with and include a title and link of every previous thread regarding my restoration. It simply is easier for me to compose an update thread and post more quickly. The end of an update will also have a link to the next update. I hope this procedure will be easier for you to follow and navigate too?

Previously, I had my nose bonded, hood and doors aligned, both quarter and rear lower panels test fitted, deck lid and trunk lids aligned in preparation for rebuilding my trunk towers so that I could remove both quarters and finish striping trunk area paint and reconstruct both my very badly damaged rear body mounts. Once completed, everything back together and "REAR BONDING". This is my primary goal right now as this body and frame have not been together since at least 1978 and probably many years prior to this. Well, I had no idea how difficult rebuilding my trunk towers would be and I spent the better part of a week trying to complete this what appeared to be a simple task. I started a separate thread titled "Hinge Tower Rebuild (56-60)" in hopes of getting some help. Not being critical but I really didn't get any help. The following link will take you to it if you are not familiar with it:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...d-56-60-a.html

Fig 1: To date, trunk area cleaned up and all paint striped. Towers installed and according to the ST-12 1/4" bottom spacers were required on both towers
Fig 2:. Put Deck Lid and Trunk Lid back on but I simply was discouraged as gaps seemed wider and everything just did not fit. I could shim trunk lid up on the left hand side but my right hand pivot plate was as low as it would go and the trunk lid corner was about 1/4" to high. I could not lower whatsoever on the right hand side unless I removed the bottom spacers and shimmed my towers at the top.
Fig 3: I had a wild idea to go get my original trunk lid out of nearly twenty years of storage and cobble it back together with pins. When I did this, all gaps were nearly perfect and the right hand side was just barely too high now. SOLUTION: I decided to lower my right hand tower and shim at the top just like what I think the factory originally did without using any bottom spacers. I would only have to add some hinge-to-lid shims to get the right height for decklid and trunk lid. But, fixing my original lid and the support frame was going to be a lot of work. I know, when I am finished somebody is going to say my car is "over restored".




Fig 4: My original trunk support frame was essentially three separate pieces and a couple of more severe cracks with a shattered latch mounting section. By using modeling clay ***** placed along the channel as shown on both sides, installing my trunk lid, and closing, I found the clearances were very consistent over the entire channel. I was going to repair my original lid. Consequently, I will now have a very nice donor trunk lid and another decklid which I will soon list in the "For Sale" section if anybody is looking for nice lids. More importantly to me is that my lids look great-or the trunk lid will when I get it fixed.
Fig 5: This is just a close up of the impressions in the modeling clay.
Fig 6: Yellow arrows show severe crack locations in the support structure. The red arrow is the latch mount area and it was broken into several pieces. Just know, I split the trunk lid skin from the support structure. They are two separate pieces and held together for repairs with pins. After repair, I will bond together.



Fig 7: Initial unfinished fiberglass repairs on the support structure. I am in the process of reinforcing the back side.
Fig 8: Underside of trunk lid skin clearly showing long crack and the emblem hole was glassed over. I cut some of the hole out but it is still in bad repair.
Fig 9:. Just another view of the trunk lid top side showing the damage. You can see that the previous owner attempted edge repair for a section that was missing. (Ignore the red arrow above the photos--I don't know how it got there)


Fig 10: I am trying to get everything fitted so that I can remove my quarters to complete the body mount areas. Without the quarters I have good access to make these repairs. The photo shows that entire sections of the mount area are missing and both sides are this way.
Fig 11 I have about four weeks left to work on my car before we go visit with our daughter for in Greenville, South Carolina, for three weeks, and then leave for four week vacation in Europe, and then return to daughters house for another two week stay. That is a couple of months I cannot work on my dream. Since I fit everything that hasn't been on this car since I bought it, I need to rebuild windshield once I finish the rear work. I will be shipping both Windshield posts to Corvette Central for missing tab repairs. Takes several weeks so trying to plan ahead. Cannot wait to report on windshield effort sometime after return from Europe.
Fig 12: Photo shows couple of finished fiberglass repairs on the trunk lid support frame. The structure should be a good as new when I finish..



I have a lot of work to do before our Europe trip and this fiberglass work is killing me at my age and Texas 100 degree days. I hope I can make significant progress before my next update as I am trying to get this body ready to transfer to my paint jig for final body work, sealing with DP90LF (not doing the gelcoat thing), primer, and Inca Silver body/red interior/black cove/hardtop only.

LowKat

Thanks for the update

Factoid

tgtexas02

Thanks for the kind remark. My wife totally understands my passion and allows me to work as much as I want on it without any nagging or complaining. I understand her passion too-travel. Works out well for both of us!

tgtexas02

So hot today I just had to get away from sanding fiberglass repairs. Had the best time cleaning and zinc plating my trunk latch items with my Caswell Kit. I give the Caswell folks 2 times 5 stars on this little zinc kit. Experimented about a year ago and had so, so results. Today, I methodically paid attention and I am very impressed with the results. Fig 13 is the little 2 gal zinc setup. Fig 14 is the before pictures of my trunk latch items. Fig 15 is the final zinc plated parts. Really enjoyed this. I plan to do as many items as I can such as door internals or whatever. When I get to my seat tracks I will take them apart, use a 6" diameter pvc pipe with bottom cap--you can do longer items if you think about the container which doesn't have to be a plastic bucket. Really had a good time doing this today.



Also made a mold so that I can repair the missing edge section of my original trunk lid. Fortunately, I had the donor lid to use as pattern. Fig 16 is just after I poured the mold. Fig 17 is the final mold. The yellow line is about how much of the edge is missing on my original trunk lid. Hope to have my trunk lid finished by this weekend, mounted back in car for test fitting, then removing lids and both quarters and starting on body mount reconstruction so that I can put everything back together and bond the entire rear. Need to move on to doors and windshield as quickly as I can?

oldskydog

I am loving this thread since my 58 is very similar in that my left rear quarter was hit long before I got it and the left rear body mount area along with the outer half of the inner fender well were crushed and the outer quarter skin was replaced without repairing or replacing the damaged inner fiberglass.
my plan is to remove the left rear quarter outer skin so as to get to the damaged area and piece in partial panels that I saved from a wrecked 59 or 60.
I to have to rebuild the rear bumper bracket square holes on the left side. To make matters worse, someone coated the entire trunk inside with thick undercoating that I have to remove before I can do any FG work.
You're doing a great job documenting and explaining your work worthy of an NCRS article or better.

tgtexas02

Cecil,
Thanks for keeping me motivated. Ditto back to you. I share your pain as my entire underbody and wheel areas are like your trunk (and probably your underbody and wheel areas too). Once I have a solidly bonded body I will be removing off my frame and on to another jig that I have not yet built. It will tilt so that I can scape or chip off all this undercoating and have better access for rear panel and body mount fiberglass reinforcing work but at least the top side body mount repairs will be complete. My undercoating is hard yet tar like and aircraft striper doesn't affect it. About the only thing that has worked for me has been scraping/chipping it off, lacquer wiping the residue, aircraft striper on the exposed paint/primer, scraping again and neutralizing with a good lacquer final wipe down. So tedious but feels good once done. If I can be of any assistance to you or others, please feel free to contact me. Bill

P.S. Ended up with 1500 hours UH-1 time in Viet Nam and then road a desk for the next 18 years of my military career.

INMYBLOOD

Keep up the great work!

oldskydog

I've had pretty good but messy results softening the undercoating with a heat gun and then scraping it off followed by lacquer thinner or other solvent wash. Works better on flat areas……not so easy in other more complex areas.

Huey time had to be hard time. I almost got into the Army Warrant Officer program in 65 and would have ended up there without much doubt. I was talking to the Army recruiter as my first enlistment was almost up but I was saved by the new USCG Aviation Cadet program.

tgtexas02

This will be my last post to this update as I prepare for Update #2. The temperature has been 104 to 111 degrees for the last week and will be staying there for awhile so not working very hard. You may have noticed that my fiberglass repairs are kind of a dark tan color. I purchased two 2 oz bottles of pigment (Off White and Maize) to color my resin. I used only the off white on my first pint of resin and mixed approx. 3/4 oz to the pint which is too much. Should have started out using about 1/4 oz of the Off White to a pint of resin. In small samples that I added less than a teardrop of maize, found it simply took the color to far over to the darker side. Following link will take you to site that I purchased my pigments from: www.carbonfiberglass.com/Resin-Systems/Colored-Pigments/Colored-Pigment-Maize-Yellow-1oz.html
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Fig 18 are my 2 oz bottles of pigment. Fig 19 is what my original damaged trunk lid looked like when I started. Fig 20 shows the repairs I have made with the pigmented resin. Using only the Off White pigment, matching original fiberglass is getting much closer or close enough for me.


Fig 21 is my slightly damaged right hand exhaust flange. Fig 22 shows how I cut the top and bottom sections a Pepsi aluminum can off and then cut the remaining cylinder so that I get a flat piece of aluminum which I used to form the flange for molding the fiberglass repair. Fig 23 shows how clean the repairs comes out after removing the aluminum template.


Fig 24 is a finished repair of my exhaust flange. I will do the same thing on my left hand exhaust outlet. Fig 25 shows the door upper rear jamb repair that I am presently working on. As soon as I finish this reconstruction, I will be removing both quarters and doing my body mounts. I hope I can show the body mount repair in my Update #2 before I leave on vacation. And, bonding of the entire rear section.

oldskydog

Great detail and great work.

LowKat

Lookin' good.
I hear you about the high temperatures. I lived near Palm Springs for 15 years and had a giant swamp cooler on my shop. If it was too humid out, I'd head for the A/C in the house. (or try to be out of town)