[jimmy daniel]

How long has this taken? I wish I had sent my car up there.

[4 SPEED GOAT]

EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE ON THE JUDGE SO FAR IS GREAT. I WAS CURIOUS ON HOW YOU RESTORED THE FAN. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND GREAT PICTURES.

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by 4 SPEED GOAT

EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE ON THE JUDGE SO FAR IS GREAT. I WAS CURIOUS ON HOW YOU RESTORED THE FAN. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND GREAT PICTURES.

Thanks!

In regards to the fan,

From the factory, the center hub was painted black, and the folded metal parts that hold the blades with rivets were bare metal. The flexible fan blades themselves are stainless steel.

After a thourough cleaning and polishing of the blades, we masked off the stainless flex blades with duct tape and then sandblasted the surface rust off the rest of the metal parts.

We then painted the "backbone" of each of the fan blades to look like bare metal. After that was dry, we then masked those areas off (including the back side of the rivets).........and then we painted the center hub black.

Each fan blade has a thicker piece of stainless steel wrapped with it that acts as a stiffener to help keep the blades' form and also to give the rivets something stronger to clamp down on. Those pieces of metal had a golden look to them. Since we couldn't remove them and have them plated without destroying the fan, we decided to paint them with a light mist of gold to freshen them up.

[keith k]

Jason, you are doing such an incredibly thorough job on this restoration with virtually nothing overlooked, that I have to ask...

Maybe it's just the reflection in the pictures, but it looks like many of the parts that were rusty/pitted (frame, engine pulleys, alternator bracket) that you have stripped them and just painted over the pits. Why are you not doing more to fill the pits in on these parts before you put the final paint coat on them? I know it may be more time consuming, but certainly within your ability. Pitted parts just seem to scream out on an otherwise so nicely done car. Or maybe I'm just the only one who notices stuff like that -- would it be considered "over restoring"...?

Anyway, I admire the attention to the details you're putting into it, and enjoy watching your progress. This car was lucky to have been found by you.

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by keith k

Jason, you are doing such an incredibly thorough job on this restoration with virtually nothing overlooked, that I have to ask...

Maybe it's just the reflection in the pictures, but it looks like many of the parts that were rusty/pitted (frame, engine pulleys, alternator bracket) that you have stripped them and just painted over the pits. Why are you not doing more to fill the pits in on these parts before you put the final paint coat on them? I know it may be more time consuming, but certainly within your ability. Pitted parts just seem to scream out on an otherwise so nicely done car. Or maybe I'm just the only one who notices stuff like that -- would it be considered "over restoring"...?

Anyway, I admire the attention to the details you're putting into it, and enjoy watching your progress. This car was lucky to have been found by you.

When I take pictures, I use a flash, so the pitting you see is greatly exaggerated compared to what you see in real life. When you look at this thing with your own eyes it looks immaculate.

That being said, when you sandblast rusty parts......you're always gonna get some pits. That can't be avoided. As I said before, I did skim-coat the bottom and sides of the frame with filler to eliminate most of the pitting. I did not do that to the top of the frame because once the body is on, you can't see it anyways.

As for the pitting you see on the alternator bracket, you can't fill in that area because that is where the alternator is tightened down. Filler would crack as soon as you tighten down the belt. I could locate a new one......but it's just not that noticable in real life. The flash on the camera just makes it stick out.

Just today my dad was skim-coating the air cleaner assembly and Ram Air pan just to make them nice and smooth.

[keith k]

Originally Posted by JasonD

When I take pictures, I use a flash, so the pitting you see is greatly exaggerated compared to what you see in real life. When you look at this thing with your own eyes it looks immaculate.

Ah, I thought that might be the case.

Originally Posted by JasonD

Just today my dad was skim-coating the air cleaner assembly and Ram Air pan just to make them nice and smooth.

[wagonmaster]

Wow, I wish I still had my 70 even after 22 years I still miss it. great documentation on the restore. Gives me ideas on the 70 Judge model I am working on.

Tim

[GT182]

One word is all I can say Jason..... Wow!!!. I wish I lived closer to ya as I'd love to stop in and shake yer hand. You've done a spectacular job.

[JasonD]

Thanks again for the nice comments guys!

Here are the quarter panels all finished and in urethane filler primer, which will now be wet-blocked to perfection:



Here is the original 7040273 WC Ram Air Q-Jet that I rebuilt and restored. The date code is 295th day of 1969. Notice the large orange "R" stamp on the side of the carb that I found during disassembly:




Here are the wheels all restored, including the backsides which are a light gray color with dark gray overspray through the holes in the rim:



And the chassis......which is starting to look like a contender.

[OVERULD]

Jason:
I think Scott Tieman has some competition - your work and attention to detail is amazing. I'm not knocking Scott's work at all - I've seen his work and your's looks to be in the same class. Keep it up!

BJ

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by OVERULD

Jason:
I think Scott Tieman has some competition - your work and attention to detail is amazing. I'm not knocking Scott's work at all - I've seen his work and your's looks to be in the same class. Keep it up!

BJ

Thank you very much. That's a heck of a compliment. I've never seen Scott's work in person, but I have seen a couple of his cars in magazines and I know he's very respected in the GTO world.

I'm more of a Trans Am guy so this is my first "ground up" GTO restoration. One thing that I like about these GTOs is the fact that you can restore the entire chassis and mechanical and be able to work on it right there in the frame. It makes it MUCH easier to get everything set up and bolted in before you set the body back on. When you're doing a T/A like this......everything is bolted directly to the body so things are a little more cramped to work on.

The only down side is that GTOs are quite a bit bigger than T/As.....so that means alot more surface area to work on.

[CDN2PLS2]

Are you taking this to the GTO Nats this summer?

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by CDN2PLS2

Are you taking this to the GTO Nats this summer?

If we still have it we'll take it.......but it will probably be sold by then. As soon as this car is done I'm going to sell it because I don't have the time to show it......and I think a new owner would enjoy taking out a "virgin" car to wow the crowds with.

Isn't it in Saratoga Springs this year?

[Mark Simiele]

It is in Saratoga and someone will get a stunning car when you do decide to sell it. You do fantastic work with spot on detailing.

Jason, what did you use to restore the trans housing? Did you media blast it first and them paint with the aluminium color paint? I will be doing mine soon and I'm curious.

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by Mark Simiele

It is in Saratoga and someone will get a stunning car when you do decide to sell it. You do fantastic work with spot on detailing.

Jason, what did you use to restore the trans housing? Did you media blast it first and them paint with the aluminium color paint? I will be doing mine soon and I'm curious.

Thanks Mark,

The actual tranny case was done by the rebuild shop that I take all my trannys to. I wasn't really happy with the color as it's a little too dark for my taste. I would have rather seen it look more like the bellhousing.....but it's not terrible looking.

[JasonD]

Here is the original Ram Air III distributor (manual trans), part number 1112010 with a date code of July 18, 1969. Completely rebuilt and restored.

Notice the small red daub of paint on the distributor housing under the dwell adjustment window:

[wagonmaster]

Jason, thanks again for bringing all your hard work and dedication to the forums for all of us to be inspired. I cannot wait to see it done.
Will make someone proud to own it. I know there is no way in gods green earth I would be able to afford it. But I have my memories of mine.

Tim

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by wagonmaster

Jason, thanks again for bringing all your hard work and dedication to the forums for all of us to be inspired. I cannot wait to see it done.
Will make someone proud to own it. I know there is no way in gods green earth I would be able to afford it. But I have my memories of mine.

Tim

Thanks Tim.....no problem at all. I enjoy sharing my work with everybody.

[JasonD]

All the urethane filler primer on the body has been completely wet-blocked out to perfection and she's as smooth as glass.

The next step is to paint the bottom of the body in the correct black primer with white overspray, and to paint the cowl and firewall with a very low-gloss blackout paint. Then she goes back on the frame again.

[Sport71]

Beautiful work, Jason! Did you do the alternator yourself or did you send it out? If so, who did you use?