[79 Phoenix]

Originally Posted by OCMDGTO

Put the headlights into the on position(knob pulled all the way towards driver) then push the button behind the dash and it should come right out.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! I tried them all but , OCMDGTO, yours is the one that worked in my case. Knob pulled right out when I pulled it out and then pushed the button. Bezel is now installed as it should be.

Also, I put in the new pedal pads and also parking brake grommet and handle. In picture I have a wire tie holding handle till epoxy dries. I needed to drill out new handle because hole was too small. So, I epoxied it.

Also, finally got front seat belts bolted in with new vinyl anchor covers.

Next to attack doors. Hinges are acceptable. First the driver's side. I am going to clean the part that closes against the jamb, paint and install new weather stripping around door.
Then I will address the rust in both lower corners of the outside. Rear corner needs to be cut out and repaired. Front corner...not sure if it's rusted through...

[79 Phoenix]

Started working on the door. Got most of the paint off and started to explore the rust areas in the lower corners. Need to cut the rust out and figure out the best way to fix the holes. I'm sure these are typical rust areas for A-body cars. I'm wondering what makes them susceptible to rust in these corners and how to reduce re-occurrence. My original door was completely rotted away in the front lower corner, so I bought this door from a guy in upstate NY where it had sat in a barn for years. .It needs a lot of work but it's really not too bad.

I will be installing new lock cylinders and new (or good used if I can find) door handles after car is painted.

Also, I had installed late seventies F-body mirrors so I would have functioning mirrors. F-body housings are slightly wider than my originals but the mirrors seem to be the same size as my originals which were frozen. I am going to attempt to put the guts from the F-body mirrors into my original housings (which are nice). I need to finish getting the F-body mirrors apart--need to drill out one screw. We'll see.

[Scarebird]

Originally Posted by 79 Phoenix

...I'm wondering what makes them susceptible to rust in these corners and how to reduce re-occurrence...

Like other GM's, the door corners have triangular flat sections on the inner stamping that are parallel to the door skin and only a fraction of an inch apart: perfect for gathering and holding silt which retains water... and breed rust.

[79 Phoenix]

Haven't done anything in about a month. Still recovering from Carpal Tunnel surgery. But have gotten a good bit done on driver's door the last couple days. I found a little surprise under the lower front inner corner... I have cut out the rust,, cleaned and rust treated as best I can and am in the process of fixing this hole which was only plastered with a big blob of Bondo years ago.

I'm thinking after door is finished to maybe drill some additional drain holes in the bottom to help slow future rust.

Also, there is a small bit of weather stripping missing (about an inch) by the front of the window edge that I will repair. That may help reduce water and debris from accumulating in the lower corner of the door.

Finally, the F-Body mirrors DO fit nicely into the original housings. So that will definitely look better when put back together. The F-Body housings were a little too big.

[79 Phoenix]

Rust holes are fixed inside and out. Used epoxy primer on the bare metal. Patched rust holes with fiberglass and contoured the repairs with body filler and then 2 coats of filler primer. Still more to go on this door but making progress.

Next will begin blocking the door and lower fender. But that will have to wait a couple weeks as we are headed to sunny FL for a little break.

[79 Phoenix]

Finally able to get back on this. Continuing to Block sand door and lower fender. Fender is now good and door getting close to completion. Repaired rust holes plus various low spots and dings are shaping up nicely.

Also, got a nice set of original door handles that are angled correctly for my doors from Dave (Dave's Chevy Parts) in NM. Used but in nice shape-no pits. I need to shorten one of the shafts. They should be nice after cleanup.

[79 Phoenix]

Door and front fender are basically finished-- just need some finishing touches and spot putty. Now the challenging quarter panel! There were at least 4 coats of paint and primer to sand off...

[79 Phoenix]

The work continues... Defintely a challange! It's slowly taking shape. Like I've said many times, if I had a body shop I would go broke in a hurry. But this quarter panel is important. So one way or another, it's going to be right!

[79 Phoenix]

Quarter panel seems to be shaped pretty well.... Next, more refining, blocking, spot putty, etc.

[79 Phoenix]

Nothing more accomplished as things have been extremely busy the past couple weeks. Progress should resume soon. Need to continue blocking the driver's side. It's not far off at this point.

I work part-time at a local auto auction for late- model high mileage vehicles . But the other day a cool 76 Trans Am (400 4 speed) came through but did not sell. Not sure what it brought but the owner wanted at least $25,000.

[79 Phoenix]

It's going slow. Though not perfect, I'm pretty pleased with how the quarter panel is turning out. The door seems good. The front fender had 3 significant dents and 6 holes where the chrome trim had been bolted on. (Fenders came off a 71 T-37 with Deluxe trim package.) Of course, the front fender also needed extensive re-constructing on the lower end.

But, I am reaching the extremity of my skill level. So, this week I am going to get some professional assessment on where I'm at with the driver's side. I want this to look good when it's finished!

[79 Phoenix]

Progress has been slow because of being busy with a lot of other things and the difficulty of the quarter panel repair. The QP and the driver door are the worst panels on the car other than the passenger QP already replaced.. I have blocked this between 10 and 15 times! But I think QP is very close now. At least as good as I can make it. The body shop will refine as necessary.

It won't take much to finish the front fender. After that, the whole driver's side will be ready for any finessing by the body shop.

After that I will finish the front valence which is already close. Then the roof which I should not need to take down to bare metal.

[79 Phoenix]

Small update: Haven't had time to do much at all... But did wash a lot of dust off and took it for a good ride the other day. By the end of this week, I should be able to begin making good progress once again.

A lot of my spare time in the past month has gone into fixing minor issues on my Phoenix which I just sold a couple weeks ago. A sad day but also glad I got a good price for it and it went to a good home. I had the Phoenix for 16 years.

[kingbuzzo]

nice

[79 Phoenix]

Finally finding time to resume working on the car. I've been working toward getting the car as good as I can make it and then turning it over to a body shop to finish prepping and paint.

Yesterday and today, I have finished the driver's side and also sanded down and primed the top and then re-sanded... I used a little filler on the driver side qtr panel seam with the roof. Joints on both sides are original lead filled. I was able to improve the joint on the driver's side.

Tomorrow I will begin stripping the hood down to bare metal. The paint is cracked in one area and there is surface rust underneath. So, I will know the whole story once I get the paint off.

Also, I have cleaned up the aluminum step plates which are decent for being 55 years old. I need to install so the new carpet doesn't get messed up.

Also got my driver's side remote mirror back together using the original 71 housing. Mirror itself is late 70's F body.

[79 Phoenix]

Took the car outside in the shade to sand off the hood paint and save some of the mess in my garage.

Several coats of paint, primer, sealer? It's had at least 1 repaint...maybe more on the hood. A lot of paint on a big hood!

Small patch of body filler on passenger side above hinge bolts. Also some surface rust on passenger side.

More exploration tomorrow!.

[Shiny]

Originally Posted by 79 Phoenix

Took the car outside in the shade to sand off the hood paint and save some of the mess in my garage.

Several coats of paint, primer, sealer? It's had at least 1 repaint...maybe more on the hood. A lot of paint on a big hood!

Small patch of body filler on passenger side above hinge bolts. Also some surface rust on passenger side.

More exploration tomorrow!.

Nice progress! I may take on my hood next. What did you use to strip it? DA? Looks like it's solid! That's a good surprise. And kink-free!

For the same reason of giant mess, in addition to not wanting to deal with the underside, I'm considering having it blasted or just leave the underside as it is. What's your plan for the underside?

[79 Phoenix]

I'm using a drill with a rubber sanding disk with 80#. I have an electric DA that I will use to help reduce the scratches before I start with primer.

On the underside, I sanded surface rust by hand, cleaned and used Rustoleum rust reformer. Then painted with Rustoleum satin black. This worked well on the Phoenix I just sold and still looked fine after 16 years.

I hope I will be able to get the rest f the paint off today... My hand is swelled a little and somewhat numb. I had carpal tunnel surgery back in January and hand is slow to recover...

[Shiny]

Thanks. Be kind to that hand!

[79 Phoenix]

Thanks! The hand survived pretty well today and I got the rest of the paint off. I sanded it with 120# DA and am in the process of fixing the body filler patch on passenger edge of the hood. Next , I will run 150# DA and then clean and paint with self-etching primer. After that, 2 or 3 coats of filler primer and sand...