[Thumpin455_GTO]

Originally Posted by 442dude

Ive never heard of anyone using rust encapsilator or POR 15 on a car body and planning to paint over it.

I have used both on previous cars that had some rust or pitting. The 67 Cougar had a vinyl roof that pitted the steel real bad, shot that back in 2008 and its been sitting outside ever since. Held up fine. Also used it on the 79 Formula, there was a big spot on the door where the German paint reacted poorly with something and flaked off. That has been two years since I did it, no problems yet.

POR has to be top coated since it isnt UV resistant, its just the two products dont always play well together.

Originally Posted by Andre

Post a list here of some of the other parts you might need, and I'll see what I got. I am more than happy to contribute some more to the cause. Its a better one than most any other that I know of.

Thanks, its needs a huge amount of parts, most of which I cant think of and wont remember until I put it back together. Everything inside the car was junk when I got it, all the trim that holds the headliner in, a rear window, drivers side quarter window, and quite a bit more. Electrical stuff is all junk on it, like the wiper motor, all the switches on the dash, and everything that doesnt bolt to the engine. The wiring harness I got for it is set up for internal regulated alternator and HEI so I dont need regulators and stuff. Everything else was gone when I got it or unusable.

[klunker]

As far as the parts you need, I have windows, I would have to check on a rear window.
They may not be perfect but for 50 year old glass they are OK.
Shipping is an issue, if you can get them picked up they are yours free.
Let me know exactly which windows you need and if I have them they are yours.
Do you have the bucket seats? I have cores that you can have for free also.
send me a email direct please if your interested.
[email protected]

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Thanks Klunker, I sent an email. You guys are awesome!

YAY PRIMER! Its not bare metal anymore! I feel like I just won a seat in the Senate. Went out just now and took some pics since I could breathe without a respirator now.



Fenders are done too!







Even shot the dash!

[Superduty65]

Well, all I can muster is WOW! What you're doing here is priceless. Great job man stay in there.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

No worries, no choice but to keep going. I have more cars to do after this one. There is a 71 Mustang in bare metal that has been taking up shop space since 05, it needs to get done and gone. Then a Trans Am or two, a couple early Formulas, and of course the T37..

So today I got more filler and did some more sanding/filling/sanding and sneezing gray boogers. Also took it off the jackstands so I could reach the roof easier and so I can use the jackstands under the 70 when I swap engines. The body lines are starting to come out and I filled some of the smaller dents. Tomorrow some high build will go on once I get the filler smooth, it has some low spots causing trouble.

[gto_ron]

Great work on the resto, I wouldn't have believed it if it weren't for the pics. I always paint the underside of the dash bright white, it helps later when wiring up the dash and there's never enough light.

regards

[Thumpin455_GTO]

White under the dash is a great idea. There never is enough light under there and that would help considerably! Thanks for the tip.

Did some more filler work, got it pretty smooth, filled in a few low spots, then shot some high build on it before calling it quits for the night. This stuff really lets me see all the problem areas, the gray kinda lets them blend in.m A bit of blocking, more smoothing, and fill the lows, then a coat of gray high build with a black guide coat. The front fenders need a bit of work, then they can go back on to get blocked with the doors. The hood hinges showed up today, so that means I can bolt it on and get the fenders right. With luck I could have it painted in a week or so!

[indymanjoe]

damn fine job thumpin...need to schedule a week to hang with you,could learn alot..(me that is)

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Come on up, and if you have a trailer you could bring the 65 that is down there.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Drivers side needs a bunch of work yet. Thing fits like crap, but then again it was pretty beat when I got it.




Passenger side isnt too bad, spent most of today fixing the fit, still needs work but the gap is ok and so is the alignment.



C pillar came out nice, and the back half is pretty darn smooth now. Just need to make the front match.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Thanks John! You are the man! Now I know where everything goes, and I have a bunch of the stuff I cant find anywhere else. Looking at this car was surreal for me, opening the trunk and doors and not finding holes and rusted out weather seal channels. Sure it may be rough for most people, but to me this one is super clean. I guess it just depends on what you are used to. Yesterday was a long day, three tanks of diesel and we drove from one end of Michigan almost to the other and back. I am happy John doesnt live on the Ohio border.

[RA1John]

No problem Todd. Glad to see that the LeMans will be useful for your project(s).
Your project updates have been a huge inspiration to us all. Looking forward to the 'after' pictures! Let me know if there are any odds & ends you need.

Don't forget the Midas Muffler Lifetime Warranty receipt from the early 80s in the glove box
Also, ya might wanna check for the Build sheet under/in the back seat.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

For now its resting comfortably next to the 72 Formula, need to get the GTO painted before I can start digging into this one. I plan to see if the build sheet is in there, I was going to ask you but its apparent you didnt look.

I wish I would have found this car 5 years ago, but then the other one would still be rusting in SC.

[BLACKGP]

Dude, you are bringing this car back from the dead! What will the final exterior/ interior colors be? And what will the wheel/ tire combo be? GRRREAT job , what an awesome post! Homer

[geeteeohguy]

Thumpin, glad to see your car is coming together and glad to see that you ended up with that LeMans! Great news. Keep the progress comin'....we're rootin' for ya!!!

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Originally Posted by BLACKGP

Dude, you are bringing this car back from the dead! What will the final exterior/ interior colors be? And what will the wheel/ tire combo be? GRRREAT job , what an awesome post! Homer

Funny thing, the GTO Dave had was a 4 speed 4 barrel vert, and guess what color it was. Mayfair Maize, the same color as the LeMans I got from John. If only I had found the second car instead of the rusted red one. Oh well, the hardest most time consuming work is done now. So Dave wants it to be that rather dull yellow. I have been thinking of adding some pearl or a bit of very fine flake to make it shimmer or something. Its getting a base/clear two stage so it will at least look very shiny.

As for wheels, I am thinking either 15x7 front 15x8 rear Rally I with trim rings and center caps, rolling in some thin whitewall tires, maybe raised white letters, or some new slots like I have under the rear now with either Goodyear or Firestone tires. Dave doesnt care what it gets, so its pretty much up to me. He would be ok with the steel wheels and hubcaps that are on the LeMans but the 14" wheels wont clear the new disc brakes.

I installed the hood and gapped it, worked on a bit more filler, and tomorrow I might finish the filler sanding and shoot more primer on it.

After checking out the gaps and panel alignment on this LeMans, and seeing the pics of Keith Seymore's dads car, I realized this one will be better than factory assembly was by a fair margin. I will probably tape off the pinstripe and put it under the clear. If I wanted it to be close to original, I could easily do that by hand with a brush. I was amazed to see how uneven those stripes were back then.

[weevilkenevil]

im watching this thread from the other side of the planet ! absolutely amazing job! you should just scotch brite the whole car down to the bare metal and clear coat it!

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Nah, it still wouldnt last up here, and my metal work isnt that good. Maybe I will do it with the scratch build I have rolling around my noggin, but this one is definitely getting painted. It needs something to cover up the Frankenstein scars after being pieced together from so many different cars.

Here is the slice I had to make, turned out pretty well but I am waiting to grind it down until I have the hood aligned and the fender gapped right. It doesnt hit so its no problem. It needed about 1/4" at the worst part of it, so it looks worse than it really is. Kinda sucked filling a big gap like that though. This car does not want to line up the front end, must be too many parts from too many different cars or something.





I lined it up as best I could from behind, and with the hood, isnt perfect but it is better than factory from what I have seen of unmolested cars.




And the long view. Took some pics of the LeMans and the front end is tweaked to the passenger side on that one.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Today I got more filling done, lots of it actually, and lots of blocking too. I shot more primer on it, then saw a few spots I missed, so I went back over them with some metal glaze. Tomorrow it will get another coat of red oxide anf blocked again after I sand these spots down. That should be almost everything that needs attention, and you know what that means... Paint coming soon. First will be the black on the dash and firewall, then the jambs, and with any luck at all I can go pick up the base on Monday or Tuesday. I will be so happy to get this thing painted, and start putting it together. It had better come out nice or I will feel like a failure.

[Thumpin455_GTO]

Man I am tired of body work. Lots of sanding and filling today, now its red oxide again. One way or another it is getting painted Monday. I am done making it perfect.