Rookie's First Restoration Attempt...

[stinger12]

I have been very busy lately with a lot of things, which is why I haven't been posting much. That being said, stuff is still happening. I've been picking away at the front bumper, and its finally starting to come around. Pretty soon I will have to start fabricating the grille.













Here are the bumper brackets permanently glassed into place.





And here is the other project I have been working on. Rick's 65 Fairlane race hood. I'm doing the entire build on it from start to finish. Its a cross between an old ford hood scoop and a cowl induction hood. This is the race car which won best paint, along with a bunch of other awards, back in February at World of Wheels...one of our creations at Alternative Restoration. Rick rented the race track up in Edmonton a few weeks back to test the waters on his new twin turbo setup. His best time was 8.40...that's just motor (NO BOOST)! Add 35 pounds of boost from the turbos and you got yourself a low six second, over the top, show/race car. Here are some pics.















The vette will be moved to the shop in the next month or so; Byron will help me get it ready for paint while I work on his 67 Parisienne, which he has been wanting to restore for 12 years now. There's a ton of work left, both on my project and his. Together we will try to get them both done.

Alright, time to get some sleep!

 

[stinger12]

The front bumper should be finished by the end of the week. Then I can start building the grille for it. Everything is the same as factory in regards to the mounting of the front end to the vacuum bar - the only difference is I made my own custom crash bar which is hidden behind the top of the bumper. It is in two pieces like the rear crash bar I made, so you can remove and install it without screwing up the paint job when the car is finished. The corners of the bumper are securely mounted using the factory setup...you can jump on the corners of the bumper and the whole car moves with it.















I have to raise the left corner of the bumper and bolt it into place...I need a second set of hands to do that. You can see its a little low in the following pic, but it just isn't bolted to the crash bar yet.



Custom crash bar.





I think I've kept you guys at bay long enough in regards to the headlight situation. Well, I have had my headlights for over 8 months now but kept it a secret...until now. Stay tuned.















Five years ago I had this image in my head of what I wanted my car to look like. Tonight, I stood back, and took it all in. This is exactly what I had envisioned 5 years ago, and my god was it a lot of work. I am very proud of myself for sticking with it.

 

[GT6Steve]

I am very proud of myself for sticking with it.

We're very proud as well! Glad to see that the future is in such capable hands!

 

[stinger12]

I have been swamped lately, so I haven't had a chance to really post much...sorry for the delay. I received a lot of messages lately from people wanting to see more posts!

Rick's entering his car in two races next week in Edmonton. I'll be in Winnipeg on vacation during that time, so I need to finish his hood before I leave this upcoming Friday. He can't race without it according to the rules. I have been working my tail off on this thing, but its finally starting to come around. Tomorrow morning I'm spraying the underside, then on Thursday I will be shooting the top. I'm looking forward to it - I have close to 100 hours in this hood.













Those are steel tubes bonded to the back of the hood, and at the bottom of each tube is a hidden dzus fastener. There are holes on the top panel for access to them with a screwdriver. Looks really trick I think.

And then there is my project. I haven't got much done on it lately, however I did start finessing the front mouth of the bumper in preparation for the custom grille. I'm getting excited. Byron and I just built a storage shed at the shop for his and my project, so that is another thing I have been doing after hours. I've also been working on our website on and off...lots of work. So, as you can see, I haven't been sitting back relaxing!

I'll keep you guys posted. Rick's car will hit one of the drag magazines eventually, so when you see that hood, you'll know who did it from start to finish

check out our site if you have a chance.
www.alternativerestoration.ca

 

[stinger12]

Still needs to be wetsanded and polished.

 

[MYBAD79]

that "over the top" is a very nice touch

 

[turtlevette]

Still needs to be wetsanded and polished.

I don't know if i'd bother. You did a real good job of getting a nice heavy wet coat to make that look ultra glossy.

When i try that i always run it. It's a fine line.

 

[stinger12]

Still needs to be wetsanded and polished.

I don't know if i'd bother. You did a real good job of getting a nice heavy wet coat to make that look ultra glossy.

When i try that i always run it. It's a fine line.

Thanks for the compliment.

 

[stinger12]

Ordered my Hella projectors and my running lights today. I also ordered the materials to build the front grille!

 

[stinger12]

Still chipping away at it. The glass work on the front bumper is completed, and so is the glass work on the left front flare. There is now a full lip on the front left flare.

 

[stinger12]

The front grille is almost complete. I have a set of aftermarket running lights coming in the mail, which will mount in the top right and top left corners of the grille (they are 1"X5.5" in size). I just need to mount the sheet metal screw "tangs" which the grill will fasten too.

Fixed in place with a fabricated bar bolted to the custom crash bar down to the front point of the valance.



Edges all squared up.



The car will probably be painted a dark blue like Rick's car. The grille will be painted flat black.



Alot of work went into making this happen. I've seen a few vettes with custom grilles, but the work wasn't put into making them look like they belong there, so they looked odd. I'm happy with the end result.



My hella headlight projectors also arrived last week. Everything is finally coming together.

 

[DC3]

It is coming together very well. I like the grill and the choice of blue paint. Back in the late 70's (maybe early 80's as well), Pontiac put a blue paint on Trans Ams they called Nightwatch Blue. I painted a '68 Chevy pickup that color and loved it. It looks black at night until you park by a vehicle that really is black. It looks even better in the sun. You might check it out.

On the road by next summer?

DC

 

[Mr.Kiss]

Hey Jeremy .... car is looking great ... it will look wicked blue.

 

[denpo]

Jeremy I've been a fan of your flawless work, but I got to say I'm partial on the aethetic of the front grill.
Oh well, everybody it's own, not my taste but still a very neat work, keep it up!

 

[turtlevette]

[I'm partial on the aethetic of the front grill.
Oh well, everybody it's own, not my taste but still a very neat work, keep it up!

I think that's going to look cleaner. Blacked out it'll look like an air intake on a jet fighter. I assume the directional will be behind the screen?

 

[mrvette]

[I'm partial on the aethetic of the front grill.
Oh well, everybody it's own, not my taste but still a very neat work, keep it up!

I think that's going to look cleaner. Blacked out it'll look like an air intake on a jet fighter. I assume the directional will be behind the screen?

I last passed any inspection when I bought my shark in '95, and since my directionals are behind the grill now, I wonder if they are legal for any inspections.....maybe a good point to consider.....

but MY directionals will be no sweat to move forward and cut some steel support out, just mount to the grill as it is....

 

[denpo]

[I'm partial on the aethetic of the front grill.
Oh well, everybody it's own, not my taste but still a very neat work, keep it up!

I think that's going to look cleaner. Blacked out it'll look like an air intake on a jet fighter. I assume the directional will be behind the screen?

It's the fact they're flush to the body, having them recessed would add relief to the front.

 

[stinger12]

The running lights will most likely be mounted behind the corners of the grille. Denpo, trust me, once this is blacked out, and I have dark blue paint on this thing, it will look very nice.

 

[stinger12]

Almost done - just a few last details and the grille is finished. This was a lot of work, but it was worth it in the end. I purposely made the bumper extra thick so I could screw brackets on the inside to hold the grille, without the screws coming out to the front side of the panel. Next is to install my running lights.















Hella projectors.

 

[stinger12]

On the road by next summer?

I'm not sure about that. I'm hoping it will be...but I've been saying that for years nowprrtt: