Rookie's First Restoration Attempt...

stinger12 said:
Ronak? Not sure who that is. What I do know is Byron has been collecting Pontiac parts for the past 12 years now, and it is finally time to start building his project. Byron is known across Canada for being the "Pontiac guy". I am more excited for his project than I am for mine. Its going to be a fun build.
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Pat Ronak auto body in Ogden had a BB 4spd Parisienne he bought new that I think he sold recently. Sorry I didn't see the 409 part - that would be a 64 - early 65? I have seen 65 Impala's with both 409's [early production] and Mk4's 396/427 [late production].
 
So I arrived back from Vegas on Sunday. Insanity, that is the only word to describe it. We hopefully will be racing Rick's 65 fairlane at the street nationals next year, which will be epic. I can tell you this right now, once these people see how nice his is, they won't believe that he races it. Until you have seen a 6 second car run in person, you will never understand how insane it really is! I have videos and pictures! The air force base is right behind the drag strip, and jets are always landing, which was an added bonus...incredible.

The stories I have from this trip, the stories! I had a blast...we all did. This is what hard work gets you - a trip to Vegas.

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One of our competitors from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

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Rick sent me this photo the other day with the hood I built.

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Here are some videos...turn up your sound!

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Here is my engine.

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Rick made me get a picture with that clown, that's why I was laughing lol.

Vegas is an amazing place...its so big that I never even got to see the whole strip.
 
That track has sure grown. I was stationed at Nellis AFB in the late '70s and visited the track regularly. Amazing what can take place in 35 or so years...
 
Okay, I'm back on it again!

I finally finished the last flare, man that was a lot of work.

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Its close to primer, and I'm really getting excited...I've put a lot of effort in to make this project happen, and it is finally getting somewhere.

Here is the color I am going with (I sprayed an extra t-top panel I had laying around). You have to see it in the sun to really appreciate the pearls and metallics...its insane. The cowl on the hood is going to be painted bright white, and there will be a baldwin motion stripe in bright white on the rear end.

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you modified a current vehicle color to look like LeMansBlue ???

LOL just joking, it probably looks different in person, there's only so much that photos can show
 
it looks to good to be one of those $100 repros that MidAmerica and Ecklers sell.... if that's one of those I might order one too.... I'd like to get my stock horn button to work too :3rd:
 
My only complaint are the holes were just a tad off, so I had to use a drill bit to open one up for movement. Not a big deal...looks great.
 
Got a little work done on the cowl today. I trimmed it to size now that the hood is in its final position.

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I also picked up a set of Camaro seat belts. I cleaned them really well and will spray them black this week sometime. The receivers are from a 95 Camaro as well. However, I took them apart, got rid of the safety red button, painted it black and glued the original gm logo onto them. They look a lot cleaner now. I'm starting to slowly make progress again.

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Great news...Byron came over this weekend and he helped me get a ton of stuff done. The hood corners were glassed and reshaped, the doopr gaps were shaped for final fit, and the hood gapping is finished...sh8t is happening. Pics to come tomorrow evening, as my camera is dead right now.
 
I've been working diligently this new year, and I see light at the end of the tunnel. The entire body is almost ready for slick sand. Last weekend Byron started working on the final gapping of the doors, while I worked on the hood. Its really looking nice. I've been waiting a long time for this!

The hood-to-fender to cowl transition before...

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Glass work...

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The end result - one smooth line into another.

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Built the door edges up to match the fender edge.

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Now the cowl lip. I reshaped everything to even thickness all the way around.

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The final gapping on the hood before slick sand.

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Byron started to do the final gapping on the doors...

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I final gapped the left rocker cover to door area.

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We'll be giving this thing the smackdown again this Saturday. I sprayed the t-top panel this Morning with a pearl white stripe which I thought would be suitable for the baldwin motion stripe I am doing. I also primed the front valance panel and gas lid door in final primer...that felt good!

Once this thing is in slick sand, prep should go fast as I have a lot of experience at it now. I don't see a problem with this thing making World of Wheels next year here in Calgary.
 
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I suggest you farm out your powdercoating...its more economical. Also, I will never blast my own parts again at home...way too much work. You are better off taking it to someone to blast it, or go to a DIY facility in your local area and use their pressure setups and pay the hourly rate. Its way cheaper in the long run.

Byron came over again today. We finished fitting the t-tops and test fit the windshield.

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I did some touch ups on the body line before filler.

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The hood is just about finished. So Are the t-tops. If all goes as planned, I will be slick sanding the t-tops and hood by the end of the week. The entire body is just about finished...I can't believe I'm almost done the grunt work.
 
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