[73LeMans]

Back in 1995 when life was easy, I blasted (with actual play sand) the engine bay, cowl, frame, suspension, interior fenders and and steering components with a 50lb Sears plastic sandblaster outside in my parents driveway. It looked just the one in this pic I stole off the interwebs.



I did it with a 2hp Sears compressor that definitely was NOT rated for that type of work. (Sorry Dad!)

Took three straight weeks of after work hours and sand in my ears to get it all done. My girlfriend was furious. (that's a lot of Friday nights to miss when you're 22)

I repainted the bare metal with reduced Rustoleum yellow zinc chromate primer and then shot it with Rustoleum Satin Black using a cheap JC Whitney paint gun. Don't ask how I was able to accomplish all of that and have the paint actually stick for 20 years, but that's exactly what it did. I never had any adhesion issues or rust.

The only problem I had (if you can call it that) was the bay was now so vast, with the fender wells and HVAC box/heater core deleted, I thought all that black would be waaaaaay too boring to stare at. Add to that dilemma my immense dislike of any OEM Pontiac engine color and you may start to understand why I have a Plum Crazy engine block...and transmission....and firewall...and control arms etc. Fun fact - GM had a purple they were painting their cars in 1996. I wanted to stay GM and use that color until I saw the cost. Local Allied suggested the Plum instead, so I went with it.

Fast forward. 2016. I'm tired of seeing it. Plus there was something to the effect of 456,971 chips (give or take 3) allowing the zinc chromate to show through just about everywhere. Time to clean this pig up.

Keep in mind, I blasted the front end in '96, painted the car this gray/black in '05 and then again in 2010 (fiberglass came!) and never did I ever take off the front fenders or the core support. So this look here is a first for me.





There is an army of fasteners to go along with all of this. Holy crap. (OK, I threw in some I had lying around, but still!)



I've got a 6 inch wire wheel that attaches a 1200 rpm motor I lock in my vice. No tumblers, no parts washers, no blasting cabinet. This...Ive got this.



And some wire brushes. Yeah. And some Laquer thinner.

You know how long those friggin bolts took me to prep? ^%#((% $#$^ My therapist says not talking about it is best.

Was all this my idea or was I being punished? I don't really remember anymore. And it seemed a bit late to turn back.