[Judge273]

Boy, if those tail panels could talk.

The story on my Formula was after my car was painted probably 10 years ago.

It was painted black and no letters popular with the Camaro crowd I heard.

The guy I bought from got letters and painted it. It's close but not exact....

[Bentwheelbob]

Originally Posted by Judge273

My GT -37 headliner was installed by two guys. Dan and Scott, and I wish I was there to witness that. I did not look at that invoice....

But, that's a great price and the guy came to you? Was that like 20 bucks and hour?

It was more like $17 per hour - it took him about 12 hours. However, I also fed him BBQ pork. It was a deal, especially him coming to my place. One of the All Crane guys that salvaged my lift disaster told me about him. Turns out he only lives 5 minutes away. I've got him coming back to re-install some button caps on the Yellow Car's seats.

Originally Posted by njsteve

I think you'll have to wait quite a while for that Rustoleum to cure since it is an non-hardened enamel, before you can attempt sanding it.

BTW you can see where I used the propane torch to clear out all the brazing from the valance to lower quarter seam. The original installer of those NOS quarters thought the gap was not supposed to be there, and filled it full of brass after installing the quarters. One side was mostly body filler but the other was a brazed up solid. I gently heated the area with a propane torch and used a wire handbrush to brush it out. It made me real nervous when I originally saw it as I thought they used steel wire to fill it and that would have taken serious grinding to get it out.

....non-hardening enamel ...Hmm....I'm doing a baked on finish. It's sitting in the sun by the smoker. Smoking a lamb roast for Easter dinner. Hopefully it will harden up enough by the time I chase my family off this evening to take a whack at wet sanding. It really looks good though. There's just a few dust nibs...

Now that you mentioned the brazed area, I can see where you cleaned it up. Looks good.

[Bentwheelbob]

Well, the tail panel is done and so is the lamb. Now just waiting for for my family to arrive. I decided not to mess with perfection, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof. The paint has hardened up nicely and I'm sure that I could wet sand it given enough water and 400 grit paper, but man it looks so good already. If everything went right with the sanding and final paint coat, I could make a modest improvement, however, it would be just my luck that I would get a run, sag or dry spot. I know when to stop...Hah, hah. I just hope it doesn't make the rest of the paint on the Black Car look too bad. How many cans of Rustoleum does it take to paint a car.....

I can't wait to get the new letters. This thing looks 100% better than it did, and I like the low rent nature of it.

[Norwood]

they just push in.....no speed nuts

[Bentwheelbob]

Not these. There is no barrel clip on the shaft, they just have a smooth shaft that is smaller in diameter than the tail panel hole.

[Norwood]

that SUX...When you bought them from Pontiac back in the day they came with the clips on them

[Held for Ransom]

http://www.forums.maxperformanceinc....0&#post3744670

[Bentwheelbob]

That's it - thanks Mike.

[njsteve]

The problem with the barrel clips is that the plastic panel brittles with age and the stress of pushing those clips in and then expanding them by force leads to stress cracks in the panel. I used some Home depot flat, spring clips and silicone.

[RicksGTO]

I used a glob of silicone on the studs/holes and then pushed a small piece of 1/8" model engine fuel line onto the back of each stud to keep them tight against the tail panel. Once the silicone sets up with the tubing they shouldn't ever move or get loose.

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by RicksGTO

I used a glob of silicone on the studs/holes and then pushed a small piece of 1/8" model engine fuel line onto the back of each stud to keep them tight against the tail panel. Once the silicone sets up with the tubing they shouldn't ever move or get loose.

Water proof's the holes too.

[Bentwheelbob]

Originally Posted by RicksGTO

I used a glob of silicone on the studs/holes and then pushed a small piece of 1/8" model engine fuel line onto the back of each stud to keep them tight against the tail panel. Once the silicone sets up with the tubing they shouldn't ever move or get loose.

Rick - great idea. Your suggestion worked perfectly. The only change I made was that I used windshield washer nozzle hose that I got at NAPA. It pushed on easily and once in place held the letters very snuggly (SP?) while still allowing reasonable adjustment to get all the letters in alignment. I've got it parked now allowing the silicone to set up overnight. Hopefully I can get it installed this weekend.

I've got a fairly long list of things for this weekend. I bought a new concourse door and ignition lockset from PY and I hope to get it installed. At some point the ignition lock was replaced and as a result the ignition and door locks are keyed differently. This will remedy that. While the door panels are off I am also going to install new door handles. While the doors locks and handles are removed I am going to buff out the upper parts of the doors. Then of course there is the tail panel and bumper.

Tonight I also installed the new dome light and new visor mirror. I ordered the visor mirror from Ebay from a company called Fine Sunvisors. I was really impressed with it as it was an exact replica of the original. It's a quality piece. Here's the link and a few pictures.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370774446492...84.m1439.l2649

Are there any tricks to removing the door panels or is it straight forward? How about a little feedback please.

[The Boss]

Just a question - was the license plate frame painted originally or was it zinc or phosphate coated and left natural?

[njsteve]

Bob,
On the ignition switch topic: I always change ignition switches/rekey them after buying a car. It's a safety/antitheft issue since anyone could order a PHS and have your key codes in hand.

Also on the black car, the ignition switch had been replaced and someone used a crappy repro ignition switch that had no accessory position. I found an original used one and put it in the black car.

Please verify before you attempt the swap, that the new ignition cylinder you have bought will actually have a working detent position for accessory mode. You may be unpleasantly surprised depending upon where the switch was originally manufactured.

As for door panels, the black car has two non original trim screws on the top that were screwed into the vinyl (horror!) to retain the upper portion onto the door. They were there when I bought the car and I imagine the "restorer back in the 1980's did it. There are two large screws under the black plastic caps at either end of the pull handle. There are also a number of trim screws around the lower perimeter of the panel and a plastic cover plate inside the inner door lever that needs to be gently disengaged from the chrome bucket.

[Bentwheelbob]

Well it was a pretty good weekend. Didn't get as much accomplished as I would have liked, but that is usually the case. I guess you could say I set lofty goals....

The tail panel is now installed and the lights are back in place. Unfortunately, the bumper is still garage art and has not gotten united with the Black Car. The tail panel looks great. That fine Rustoleum finish along with the new letters, bezels and polished lenses are a big improvement. The door handles have been changed inside and out, and the exterior handles have the black inset as appropriate for the Custom Trim Group. Instead of tape, I masked them off and sprayed the inset area. They look really nice.

Also, the door locks and ignition lock have been changed and now they all work from the same key. The new locks were the PY Concourse set and are really nice. The ignition lock does have the accessory position, and the keys still had the knockout inserts. However, the steering wheel is not back on yet as we couldn't get the lockplate depressed far enough using brute force to get the snap ring in place. MPD is borrowing the requisite special tool from a buddy tomorrow, so that should get remedied soon. Regrettably, we fought it so long that by the time we gave up we were both too tired and pi_sed off too even want to fool with the bumper.

While the door hardware was all off, I buffed out the doors. It's amazing how much better they look. The doors, rear quarters, rear spoiler, and trunk lid have now been buffed out and I am getting much more comfortable with the buffer. On the doors I wet sanded with 3000 and 5000 grit and it made a big difference. I'm going to go back and wet sand the trunk lid too see if I can get some of the acid rain spots out of the finish.

I'm still waiting to get the radio back as well as the jack shaft. Hopefully they will both come in this week. Once those pieces arrive the car should go back together pretty quickly. I'm looking forward to getting it on the road, and to make another burnout video...

Here's some pictures.

[The Boss]

LOTS of progress! Very nice!

[Norwood]

Bob, are you bringing that car to the T/A Natz?

[Norwood]

I didn't know the Judge had that much pull......I wish he would promise me the same

[blue71ta]

This is the original door handle off my blue '71 T/A with Custom interior and it has the blue tape on it.

[njsteve]

The color keyed door handles came with the custom trim/deluxe interior. All the deluxe interior cars I have owned have had the color keyed tape: 72 T/A, 72 Formula, 73 SD and even my Gramma's 75 Esprit.

Sorry I sold you such a lemon, Bob. Feel free to return it any time. (After you paint it)

;-)