[ZeGermanHam]

Just checking in here again for a small update. No surprise, it is taking much longer to get this car painted than I had hoped. But with that said, I think the painter finally has some fire under him and is pushing to get the color sprayed in the next 2-3 weeks. I had a few in-person meetings with him last week, and snapped a few photos while I was there. He has spent countless hours block sanding, and it will undergo one additional round of major block sanding and then a final minor block sanding before spraying color. I was just excited to see the body as (mostly) all one color again. It has been a while since I've seen something like that!






He put the trunk lid on after these photos were taken and I couldn't believe how nicely it fit and lined up with the surrounding panels. It bodes well for how the rest of the car will turn out, which I am confident will be excellent. These photos above were taken just as he was beginning to refit the doors and front clip again to block sand them together. He still had lots of fitting/shimming to do, and of course they will come off the car again for paint. Current ETA is around March 10th. We shall see.

In the meantime, the long-delayed window felt kit finally arrived from Ames, and the equally delayed parking brake kit should be getting here on Tuesday.



Also bought a new "Tomahawk" valley pan from Butler, as I figured why not. The one on my engine currently is (I'm assuming) from 1970 and the engine hasn't been run much in the past 20+ years, so internal corrosion is a possibility I'd rather not risk.



And I posted this elsewhere a bit ago, but I also worked with Mike Noun to perform some detective work and finally figure out who the mysterious Zone 17 Dealer 079 is. We were able to do some cross-referencing and determine that Zone 17 Dealer 079 was a secondary lot for Colonial Pontiac in Miami, FL (Zone 17, Dealer 080). Very happy to have solved that mystery. Turns out the original dealer building is still standing, and is being used to sell classic and collector cars nowadays.




I also found a vintage Colonial Pontiac key chain on eBay that I will use with my keys, which I think is kind of neat.

[MUSLCAH]

Finish dates and Bodyman/ Painter should not be used in the sentence. We are creatures of habit…and hate looking at the same car day after day. It’s a very ,very long marathon to finish a restoration. Are you putting the car back together once it gets painted ?

[ZeGermanHam]

Yeah, so far all previous dates have been missed, so I'm not going to hold my breath. But he seems extra motivated now and has numerous other cars stacked up waiting for mine to be completed.

The painter is going to put the doors and front clip on once everything has been painted, but I'll be putting the rest of the car back together once it has been returned to me. At that time, the only thing I'm considering not doing myself is the headliner installation. I would take it on if I had someone who knows that they're doing to guide me through the process, but I don't want to fly blind and screw it up on my own.

[bdk1976]

Headliner is a PITA since you are working overhead the whole time, but is relatively easy to accomplish if you have patience. I found it easier than recovering seats and mine came out really nice in the end. I stripped off all of the 'felt' under the roof and por15'ed and then covered with a layer of knock-off dynamat. No issues with heat/sagging in 14+ years.

I can never understand how body guys are always so damn far behind schedule. I work a 40+ hour a week job, have lots of other crap going on, and I still did all of the bodywork and paint on my 65 in evenings/weekends/late nights in a croweded 2 car garage, ending up with as good of a paint job than 90% of them put out.

It did take me a couple of years, but from what I'm constantly reading online that is about as good as some of the 'pros' out there. The thing that really gets me is that this is not rocket science - it's just really boring and dirty work.

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by bdk1976

Headliner is a PITA since you are working overhead the whole time, but is relatively easy to accomplish if you have patience. I found it easier than recovering seats and mine came out really nice in the end. I stripped off all of the 'felt' under the roof and por15'ed and then covered with a layer of knock-off dynamat. No issues with heat/sagging in 14+ years.

Interesting to hear your take on installing the headliner being easier than recovering seats, since I did that job myself over the summer and achieved outstanding results. Didn't find it particularly difficult since the Legendary website has video tutorials that walk you through the whole process.

What worries me about the headliner job is that it seems like you only get one shot to do it right.

[MUSLCAH]

The painter doing the cut and buff …there’s another weeks worth of work anyways.

[MUSLCAH]

ZeGermanham….just ask your body guy why it’s taking so long …and tell him “ It’s not rocket science “ so I don’t understand ,what’s the hold up….? You might find your car parked outside next time you visit…LMAO

[1_Wild_Cat]

Glad to see you still rolling (creeping) toward the finish line...I can't wait to see it in color - she's gonna be a beaut.

[gtospieg]

9.5 months really isn't bad...especially compared to some of the horror stories we've read about on here. Congrats, looking forward to seeing the forward progress from here til the end.

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by gtospieg

9.5 months really isn't bad...especially compared to some of the horror stories we've read about on here. Congrats, looking forward to seeing the forward progress from here til the end.

Yeah, in the end 9.5 months really isn't bad. That's about the amount of time it took to do the metal work. However, I found having the car painted to be a considerably more stressful experience because the painter was less communicative than I was accustomed to. Months would go by without any update, and when I would periodically check in to ask how things were going, the reply was usually just that he was busy and behind schedule, but no additional details about where he was in the process. So while 9.5 months isn't bad at all, I felt like I was mostly in the dark for 8.5 of those months.

[ZeGermanHam]

Now we're cookin' with gas! Color is finally being sprayed. The body was jammed yesterday and the hood, fenders, doors, trunk lid, and other miscellaneous parts are getting color tonight. Feels good to be moving forward. Once you reach the point of spraying color, things tend to move pretty quickly, so it shouldn't be much longer before I get the car back and can start putting it back together.

[gtospieg]

I hope my experience will be better...only time will tell.

[1_Wild_Cat]

Yeah Baby — That’s what I’m talking about! Congrats…I wouldn’t be able to sleep…

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by 1_Wild_Cat

Yeah Baby — That’s what I’m talking about! Congrats…I wouldn’t be able to sleep…

Needless to say, I wasn't able to fall asleep last night as quickly as I usually do.

Originally Posted by gtospieg

Awesome...finally. Is that a factory color for 66?

Yes, it's Montero Red. It's correct for 1966, but not original to my car. It was born Cameo Ivory (paper white), but it had been painted red by a previous owner long before I got the car. I had considered returning it to the original white, but I just couldn't get on board with it. I don't like how white looks on the '66-67s, so I kept it red since that's the color the car has always been with me.

I find red very difficult to photograph accurately, however. Seems to always look slightly different in photos than in person.

Originally Posted by MUSLCAH

They come apart faster than they go back together……and the stress level is picked up a notch ( being careful around new paint ) …but yes it’s exciting and motivating !

Yeah, so I hear. Fortunately, once I get the car back in my hands, I will no longer be reliant on others to do their work. I also have every single part needed to finish the job already on hand, so there won't be any waiting for parts to ship, either. The timeline to completion will fall entirely onto my shoulders and I will be my own project manager, so things should move pretty quickly. The cut & buff of the paint probably won't happen until after I've gotten the car back and have installed the engine and most of the interior, just in case I accidentally scuff or scratch the paint while putting it back together.

Anyway, here is a video from the painter: https://youtu.be/r3XPHGcQcUU

[Scarebird]

Originally Posted by ZeGermanHam

...I also have every single part needed to finish the job already on hand, so there won't be any waiting for parts to ship, either...

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by Scarebird

O ye of little faith. I'm tellin' ya, I got it all! Although I did have to buy new taillight louvers last week that I had held off on buying until recently. Originals ended up being too cracked and brittle to reuse. But otherwise, I have combed over every aspect of the build and ordered & received literally everything. Ames must have had a good 2021 due in part to me.

[62cat]

Looking good. Bodywork is the hardest and most costly part of the project. Latest pic of ours. Its in my friends garage until i can get back to it.

[MUSLCAH]

They come apart faster than they go back together……and the stress level is picked up a notch ( being careful around new paint ) …but yes it’s exciting and motivating !

[RedDirtRoad]

Karl
What paint line are you using
Looks great so far

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by 62cat

Looking good. Bodywork is the hardest and most costly part of the project. Latest pic of ours. Its in my friends garage until i can get back to it.

Yes indeed! In my case the metal work needed to fix the rust in my car far exceeded the cost of the paintwork, but the cost of paintwork is extremely costly as well. It's an expensive hobby...

Originally Posted by RedDirtRoad

Karl
What paint line are you using
Looks great so far

Thanks Dominic! I wish I could tell you the paint line being used. I left it up to the painter and his experience working with various products over the years. He told me at one time what he is using, but I can't recall what he said. I know it's not PPG or DuPont, but beyond that I'm not sure. I will certainly have to get the details of what was used when he is done in case paintwork is ever needed in the future.