Saturday, April 10, 2010

Prepping the body...

Work is now concentrating on getting the main body ready for paint.  This time the top side was sealed and the interior portion got a coat of chassis black.  No one will ever see this, it will all be hidden by carpet and trim.

The exterior was sanded and the imperfections were patched up.  It was soon ready for its first coat of primer.



As you can see the underside was sealed off, after all we don't expect to have to spray that again.  Just like the underside the body was left to cure for about a week.

While the main body was curing, we started to address the doors.  My driver side door was in decent shape.  It had one small rust hole forming in the lower corner.  Seems liek everydoor I had seen had this problem.  It was a quick fix for Joe to perform.  As for the passenger side, it was a lost cause.  I had to get a different door.  Luckily I had a decent door to use and it was brought in and restored instead.  This door was a non power window door, so we had to punch the factory knock-out out to allow the wiring to come through.  The doors were soon finished and ready for their first coat of primer.  I still need to address the power window set up.  I'm not sure yet what I need to replace as far as the rollers, track and etc.  I'll likely get to that after the car is painted.



As mentioned previously we never found a passenger front fender.  The one from California was just not quite good enough to use.  I had already found a driver's side NOS.  Actually everything in the front clip was NOS that I accumulated over the past 3 years.  Luckily we found a guy who had a 1973 or 1974 fender NOS.  As best as we could tell the fenders were identical except for the front end section at the bumper and the fender extension.  These sections from the California fender were in great shape, so we graffed the two pieces together.  It came out way better than I had ever thought possible.



This fender still has one minor dent in it, but that will get addressed later when it comes time to put the front clip back together.

Here are a couple more shots of the car after the 2nd block and sanding that was performed on the car.  At this point the car is ready for its 2nd and hopefully final coat of primer.




At this point I'm bringing back all my trim that I had taken to ABC Chrome in Waterford.  The guys there did an amazing job.  I highly recommend them.  He even did my giant bumpers.  Bob at ABC Chrome swore to never do a set like those ever again.  (For the right price he will, as I'm not done with these guys) Anyway, we needed to bring the trim in and dry fit everything to make sure stuff still worked together.  I don't foresee any issues as everything has been going back together pretty well.

5 comments:

  1. hey great pics, thanks so much for making this blogspot, my friends at a body shop are putting together a 73 implala conv,ur pics were a great guide in reconstructing the rear trunk floor/frame area, but you did a way better job great car!!!!!!!!

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  2. Hey Mike - I could have posted exactly the same pix! I did my 72 ragtop from 1996-1998. I ran into all the same problems as you - I kept a diary and picture journal which are on film (old technology) - Lots of trips to Carlisle, & Barrie Ontario - I didn't have internet in those days- Contact me @ blueimpragtopman@hotmail.com

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  3. Hey Mike

    We are looking for a trunk floor for a 72 Impala. Can you tell me where you got yours? it is nearly impossible to find.

    Your car looks great :-)

    Sincerly Marleen

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  4. By the way, you can contact me on marleenbhansen@hotmail.com

    Marleen

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  5. Nice way to chronicle such a resto Mike! I wish This stuff was around when I did my last... https://goo.gl/photos/LhsZ5vQtvdUnyeev9

    ReplyDelete