Day 227

Can you say three month hiatus?

Such a shame, but sometimes life gets in the way.  My motivation level also needs to be up there to get good work done.

Got the last fender color sanded and buffed today.  Still had some issues with burn through.  I think it is a combination of over aggressive sanding and a thin paint layer.  The more I reflect on it, it appears I had some dry spray and probably had too fast of a gun speed.  Considering I only had 1 run to sand out I think I was overly cautious which lead to other issues.  Live and learn!

In other news, I also bought a close numbers matching engine in Illinois.  We were there for Scott's graduation, I rented a car, looked at it, and bought it.  Then drove it to Caroline's uncle's house for safe keeping.  He then dragged it to northern Michigan and I disassembled it there with Caroline's Dad Shawn.

We boxed it up and then drove it down to southern Michigan where it awaits my next move.  I'm thinking I'm going to take it a piece at a time back home.  I'm also thinking of getting a large piece of luggage and putting it in there.  I don't know if I can trust it to be shipped.

I decided on my vinyl colors, just waiting on the company to get to it!

That's all for now, hood is next to be buffed!

Day 226

Another fender down!

Day 225

Well, about half way done number wise with the extra body parts that need sanding.  I finished the decklid and both rear fenders.

Here's some shots of what the before, during, and after looks like.

I tape the edges where the paint is thinner to help prevent burning through.

The orange peel can be seen when looking at the reflection of the spray bottle.  There is also some dust/trash in the paint if you look hard enough.  Wet sanding will get rid of both of these.

Showing the glossy non-sanded part in relation to a partial sanding with 1500 grit.  Basically leveling the peel.

Here on the left side of the picture you can seen the peel still, bottom of the picture two pieces of trash, and the fender further down is sanded flat.

All the peel and trash is gone but still needs compound and buffing to bring back the shine.

After sanding and buffing you can clearly see the bottle in the reflection now, no trash, and a shiny fender is done :)

Hopefully I'll get the two front fenders done in the next couple of days.

Day 224

I got a non-functioning horn, disassembled it, cleaned and painted it, re-assembled and a working horn!

And this isn't all the parts...

Day 223

Today, I was able to get the passenger side rear fender wet sanded and buffed to a glossy shine.

It took about 4 hours with quite a bit of orange peel and trash in the paint.  Some of the trash you can still see in the paint but it is smooth and shiny...so there's that.

I also bought a used horn with the correct binding posts but it didn't work.  The 2nd replacement didn't either.  I am still trying to source the correct part and it is proving to be a bit of a challenge, but nothing I can't overcome.

Day 222

More buffing today!

I got the decklid all sorted, it looks beautiful.  I did have a couple areas where I sanded through, which I was a bit bummed about.  It's on the bottom of the decklid and won't be too noticeable.  I will try to touch it up and see if it blends in a bit better.

I also got the front and rear aprons sanded and buffed.

I think next time I work on it I'll do the fenders and then onto the body.  Still many, many days of work ahead.

Day 220 & 221

The past couple of days I've started color sanding the car.  I started with the decklid and it polished out smooth but have some swirls that I need to take care of.  I think I didn't spend enough time with the 1500 and 2000 grit paper so the sanding scratches from the 1000 grit are still visible after polish.

If you look hard enough you can see some swirls in the light.  The orange peel is gone, however, and it is very shiny!

I'm relatively happy with how it came out.  I did burn through the paint on the bottom of the decklid.  A little touch up should fix it.  Kind of a bummer but it isn't a new car and it's my first time, so eh!

I color sanded and buffed most of my small parts today.  The speaker and gas gauge (my car doesn't have one) grills.  The radio delete plate and the ash tray cover.  I ended up sanding through on the ash tray cover too!  It's also on the bottom and you won't see it.  Moral of the story, I was probably a little too light handed on the paint when I sprayed it.  Lesson learned!

Here's the rear taillights on a before and after.  Can you tell which one wasn't buffed yet?

I re-adjusted the passenger side door as it was sticking out a little proud on the top and got some random odds and ends done.

I also have been trying to get my bluetooth amplifier working.  I got a kit and put together a 5w stereo amp and it works, but only on 12v.  So that was a bummer.  Then I tried hooking up a bluetooth receiver and no joy there!  So, I think I am going to scrap this project and I found another solution I'm going to try which has both the amplifier and bluetooth all in one.  We'll see!

 

Hopefully I will get the decklid re-polished out and then onto the hood, fenders, and body!

Day 219

More work yesterday.

I finished some more wiring and the wiring harness for my accessory 3rd brake light.  Not an original piece, but disguised to be pretty stock looking and also able to be removed if necessary.

This wire will allow me to disconnect the brake light and remove it while the wire stays hidden.

I also got the door latches and strikers install.  The doors line up nicely and close well.  The insulation inside the doors give them a less tinny sound.

I also installed the original coconut fiber backing strips for the engine compartment tarboard.  I like reusing these original pieces as it retains the car's character.

I also placed several orders for some finishing parts.  I'm kind of at a stopping point until I get them.

First, I ordered the padding for the headliner and will install that.  I also ordered all the materials necessary to polish the paint.  A new buffer, the compounds, and pads.  I even got some smaller pads for the tough to reach areas.

Finally, once that is done I can continue with the rubber pieces.  Unfortunately, I can't do much interior wise until I get my vinyl picked out.  I need to compare the custom matched vinyl to the headliner samples before I can order that.  I hope to have an answer on when it will be available soon or I may just end up going with a less perfect match on vinyl and just getting it done.

Day 218

Today I got quite a bit accomplished.

First I adjusted the doors again and they are opening and closing now with no rubbing and very minor creaking noise on the driver's side door.  It won't be an issue.

I did however, get a little nick of paint so some touchup will be necessary.  ;(

I also put in the sound deadener and it turned out pretty good.  It's in the doors, rear quarter panels, and the center tunnel.

I also replicated the original factory markings.  Not sure what they mean but they are reproduced!

during teardown

And I started running the wiring harness.

I called my vinyl supplier and checked on my vinyl, they don't have a timeline.  I need it now because it is holding up my progress.  I will make a decision on whether or not to continue trying to use them or just go with an off the shelf vinyl.

I will finish the wiring as much as I can, the padding for the headliner and carpet, and think I will start cutting and buffing the paint job.