[Hunter98TA]

I was looking for the gaps between the body and the bumper. I need to raise mine up closer to the trunk based on your pics which look much better then the ones I have.
Thanks

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by Hunter98TA

I was looking for the gaps between the body and the bumper. I need to raise mine up closer to the trunk based on your pics which look much better then the ones I have.
Thanks

Ah. Well, for starters, you center it. I used my fingers to judge the gaps, and lightly tapped the bumper from side to side to center.

At that point the only thing left is the 'tilt', and that's done with washers on the brackets where they meet the body.

Up-down, there's not much adjustment there, and it's done with the brackets that mount to the body.

There's an alignment hole in the brackets that first bolt to the body, but on mine, they're off like half the hole. It can take some trial and error to get the ones that bolt to the body lined up right to allow for the brackets that bolt to the bumper to adjust in the range you need. If that makes any sense!

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[HWYSTR455]

One step forward, two steps back....

There's a few areas the body shop needs to correct before I can actually continue assembling, so looks like it needs to go back. I had the one main tech come out and look at the areas of concern(s), and agreed it's pointless to assemble it since those areas would require disassembly to correct. Dang.

So looks like next week it will go back to the body shop. They will make it a priority since it's a call-back, so should be handled immediately. Frustrating, but better to take care of it now than later.

Will post when I get it back, and start the assembly process again....

.

[HWYSTR455]

Update:

All the corrections have been completed, and the car is prepped to have areas touched up (paint). It's waiting for a spot in the paint booth, hoping this week or next it will get in there.

I will go up this Friday and see what the status is, post then.

I have most of the trim straightened, polished, and ready to install, with the exception of a couple pieces. Those I will probably have to send out.

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[bulletpruf]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Update:

All the corrections have been completed, and the car is prepped to have areas touched up (paint). It's waiting for a spot in the paint booth, hoping this week or next it will get in there.

I will go up this Friday and see what the status is, post then.

I have most of the trim straightened, polished, and ready to install, with the exception of a couple pieces. Those I will probably have to send out.

.

What were the areas that needed fixed? Orange peel in the paint or something like that or was is more involved than that?

[HWYSTR455]

It was a little more involved. It was kind of a handful of small stuff, but it added up, if you know what I mean.

Like one thing, the outer wheel housings didn't meet the quarters well, at the seams, and the wheel opening lips were worked some, so the quarter molding wouldn't fit right. It would have probably leaked too, down where the trunk drop offs met the quarter panel. Kind of hard to explain, but in the end, it wouldn't have looked right first off, and as I mentioned, would have leaked, and started rusting pretty quick.

Another item was the floor patch. This might sound anal, but the more you think about it, the more you could see where other issues would have arose. When the patch was installed, the rear of the panel was raised/too high, the front was lower, so the patch was at an angle, and it changed the shape/contour/drop of the floor. So the carpet wouldn't have sat/fit right for one, or the intermediate wire harness. If you were to be sitting in the car, you would definitely notice.

It was items like that, and like I said, when I pointed it out, they were very understanding and didn't think twice about fixing it. I definitely don't feel like they try to 'run cars thru' and make a profit, they actually care about the quality of work, and are true car people.

They re-shot and re-cleared the fenders, doors, quarters, and roof, so the fixes don't have a hint of any blending. I'm totally satisfied with the work, most places would have just tried to patch/cover it up, or just not agree to do it at all.

The last item is the font bumper/endure. The body line from the bumper onto the tops of the fenders are off by like a 1/16" or something, and in order to fix it, it looks like they're going to have to strip and redo the whole thing. They shuffled the fender and nose alignment around, and because of the hood gaps, it just can't be lined up. I'm hoping it can be done before the end of the year, but they are a busy shop.

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[pontibeast]

Man, sorry to hear about the issues. I know how long you have been waiting to get it back. I can't wait to see the finished product, hope it is soon.

[HWYSTR455]

It's all part of it, and as I said, I'm totally happy with the service of the shop. I would recommend them to others, the stuff they put out is great, and have done show winning stuff in the past.

Would be great to have it back before the end of the year, have my fingers crossed!

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[Squidward]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

It's all part of it, and as I said, I'm totally happy with the service of the shop. I would recommend them to others, the stuff they put out is great, and have done show winning stuff in the past.

Would be great to have it back before the end of the year, have my fingers crossed!

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Still excited to see pix of the final product. Glad to hear the shop is taking care of you.

I think all of that is one of the reasons why I don't finish my cars. I don't have to absorb the stress over imperfections!

[HWYSTR455]

Yeah, most of the imperfections are due to quality of aftermarket parts, so there's really not much I could do about that anyway.

And I'm excited too! It's going on 3 years I haven't had this car, so I'm jonesin'!

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[GOAT WHORE]

Sucks to have to send back but obviously worth it. Hope it's smooth sailing once you get it back.
Thanks for all the posts I don't always reply but enjoy the thread.

[HWYSTR455]

And thank all for their' kind words and support!

I'm really hoping to have it back before end of the year, that should give me time to crunch before the summer, so I can enjoy the thing!

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[HWYSTR455]

UPDATE:

Body shop is almost done getting the final touches done, and am hoping to get it back in a week or so.

They did get the stripes installed, and I have to say, WOW! Those things POP! The Phoenix Graphic stripes are incredible, and the effect is nothing short of breathe taking. The pics don't do it justice, as a matter of fact, just viewing them on different computers and cell phones, the color changes, which I had to take a double take on. Odd.

The way those thing flip colors as you walk around it is cool, pink, orange, mix, it's exactly what I was hoping for. In the pics, you can really only see orange, or at least on my computer that's what I see, the original phone pics you see more pink/purple/magenta.

One thing left is the rear wheel opening trim fitment, since the body shop did patch panels. It had skins put on it at one time, and I wanted the quarters correctly repaired, had those skins removed, and butt welded patches on, and repaired the outer wheel houses. My concern was the shape of the opening, and the fitment of the trim, so provided the trim at the beginning of the project. But, along the way, they forgot to check fitment before they painted. So the opening of the patch panels are kind of 'off'. But they will work it out.

So that, and a spot or two in the clear that needs to be fixed, and it's coming home. Finally!

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[Carmine]

Those stripes really make the blue pop. Beautiful, Carmine.

[HWYSTR455]

Exactly what I thought! Yeah, the paint has an effect too, it changes with different light and angles, it's opposes the stripes well!

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[Squidward]

Giggity! Looking great!

[HWYSTR455]

Friday the car was delivered home, so now I can get cranking again. Finally! They wanted to rinse it off and wash it before they delivered, but that would have been a few more days, so I just said bring it the way it is, I will deal with it.

General plan is to start on the wiring, and the AC install/line routing. So need to order the EFI ECU, pulley setup, AC setup, and the replacement cam. With those items, I can pretty much lay out the engine compartment and start organizing.

Recap:

Pulley Setup - Billet Specialties Tru Trac, Premium, black
EFI ECU - Holley Dominator EFI
AC Setup - Vintage Air (custom)
Cam - Undecided at the moment, most likely a VooDoo lobe solid roller

Have a little more homework to do before I pull the trigger on that stuff, but should have it all ordered within the next couple weeks.

In the mean time, I'm going to clean it up some, mount the amp board, rear deck, and finish out the trunk. Also going to remount the rear bumper assembly, and do some prep work for the tank install.

I'm looking at some headlights, LED halo with H4 type LED bulbs, and will do all marker/turn/brake, and interior lights with LEDs as well. No sequential tails, it's just not my thing. The interior light I will do with the blue tint, as well as the halo rings, which should match/compliment the exterior color well.

I have some trim getting polished, and should have that back in a week, will finish trimming out the exterior. Still need to send out the grill surrounds for rechroming, hope those don't take too long.

Got some catch up work to do, will be busy here for the next couple months.

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[JSPONT]

You will be ready for spring. It looks great by the way. Please keep posting all the progress. It might motivate me to get going on my body work,

[pontibeast]

Glad you got it back in the garage. The color looks really nice with the stripes too. Thanks again for posting all the info as you go through this build. It is real helpful for some of us that haven't restored a Pontiac before. Great thread.

[Kurt L71S]

455,
Very nice build and great documentation! Love your detail work. Thanks for posting!