[tooski]

Wow. Looking at the pic in post #1 I never would have guessed that that amount of repairs were necessary. Looking great!

[pontiacstogo]

Originally Posted by tooski

Wow. Looking at the pic in post #1 I never would have guessed that that amount of repairs were necessary. Looking great!

Surprised me as well - I've always thought of the car as being a relatively rust free example.

The hood and fenders had no visbile signs of rust so the bodyshop asked me if I wanted to have them stripped or just 'scuff and shoot' them. I went with the strip option...




The decision was made to 'de-skin' the hood to address the rust properly.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

The car held up for almost 50 years with minimal factory corrosion protection.
It should be good for another 100 years with the treatment they are giving it now.

Keep up the good faith
One day it will be a car again !

[Formulabruce]

Any panels close together trap moisture. This is why "Wool Wax" and "Cavity Wax" are needed.

[Dave R]

Wow! Just read this thread for the first time and I’m shocked by the hoops they make you jump through. There’s safety and then there’s lunacy. No wonder they have tight gun laws

That said, it’s nice to see every bit of forming rust chased from the car. Thankfully they don’t require switching the car to right hand drive. The 3D scan of the suspension is a new one for me and actually not a bad idea if you’re buying an expensive classic. I assume that is to reveal any twist in the body or accident damage.

Hang in there, it will be an amazing ride when done.

[pontiacstogo]

Originally Posted by Dave R

The 3D scan of the suspension is a new one for me and actually not a bad idea if you’re buying an expensive classic. I assume that is to reveal any twist in the body or accident damage.

Correct - the repair certifier calls for it when any major collision damage is done or when there is any sort of large body panel replacement performed (like quarters and tailpanel). The T/A had a couple of points that were +/- 1mm but that's well inside what is allowed - I thought it was pretty good for an almost 50 year old F-body.

[pontiacstogo]

More trial fitting going on;



Yep - that's an Ames catalog on the hood

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by pontiacstogo

Correct - the repair certifier calls for it when any major collision damage is done or when there is any sort of large body panel replacement performed (like quarters and tailpanel). The T/A had a couple of points that were +/- 1mm but that's well inside what is allowed - I thought it was pretty good for an almost 50 year old F-body.

+/- 1 mm? That’s shockingly accurate! Factory tolerances were up to a quarter inch (6 mm) on subframe mounting and panel placement.

[pontiacstogo]

Originally Posted by Dave R

+/- 1 mm? That’s shockingly accurate! Factory tolerances were up to a quarter inch (6 mm) on subframe mounting and panel placement.

Yikes - cars fail here if the measurements vary by more than +/- 3mm for a unibody or +/- 5mm for a body-over-frame.

[pontiacstogo]

Slow progress. All of the 'finishing' work is done and now down to block sanding and prep. for top coat.

Made the call to purchase new reproduction wheel spoilers as the ones on the car had too many imperfections.

[Scarebird]

Is the top of the cowl to remain white?

[pontiacstogo]

Originally Posted by Scarebird

Is the top of the cowl to remain white?

No that will be black like it was originally, along with the area at the bottom of the rear window/parcel tray.

[kingbuzzo]

Slowly coming along...looks good 👌

[pontiacstogo]

Inching closer:

[jhein]

Well, it kinda sucks to be "forced" to do all that, but you're gonna have on helluva great car when it's done.

[kingbuzzo]

coming along nice...

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Looks like its down to just some soft sanding now .
Then start brushing the paint on it.

[Vid]

I’m still working on my LeMans but you and MGARBLIK are giving me Firebird fever, hahaha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pontiacstogo]

Originally Posted by Baron Von Zeppelin

Looks like its down to just some soft sanding now .
Then start brushing the paint on it.

For the money I'm paying I hope they would at least use a roller!

[pontiacstogo]

Sills and pinch welds were one of the last areas to be prepped. And of course, the drivers side had some previous repair damage;




Passengers side ready for epoxy;



Front valance has been repaired - lots of plastic welding required for minor cracks and missing 'chunks'. These were originally molded in body color but mine will now be painted.

Car is apart for the last time. Individual body color parts (spoilers, flares etc.) are all in the booth;



Be good to finally see some top coat applied to the car.