[highrisk]

I started tearing my 65 GTO apart almost 5 years ago for what was supposed to be a quick refresh. But the more I removed the more I realized it needed a complete restoration. So now almost five years later I finally have paint on the body. The car started its life as a Teal Turquoise car then somewhere in the 80's someone painted it a GM Metallic Racing Green, the color it was when I got it. Now this car is no where near a stock highly optioned car, one of the main reasons I wanted it, so I was not worried about painting it its original color. I wanted a bright pure red and I settled on Toyota Absolutely Red, 3PO. Here is a couple of pictures the day I picked it up and a couple I took today when I was at the body shop.

I think I can actually see light at the end of this very long tunnel

[aljan]

Wow, that looks great! Nice when they get a fresh coat of paint on them!

[Old Man Taylor]

That looks awesome!

[highrisk]

Thanks, it has been a very long haul to get to this point. A lot of delays and set backs but I am hoping it will all be worth it once I can drive it again and it will be all brand new.

[The Champ]

That is really, RED...

[highrisk]

I was wanting a pure red with no orange undertones and this paint is a very pure red. It has no other colors in it. I can't wait to see how good it looks once all of the chrome and stainless steel is back on it and I can get it out in the sun

Originally Posted by The Champ

That is really, RED...

[tempest1964]

Gotta love that Red!!! Keep us posted . I would like to see the contrast of paint and trim too.
Tony

[highrisk]

They still have to paint the other pieces then start the reassembly process and new glass. Then I will get it back to put the interior back in. So it will still be a little bit longer but I will definitely post pictures when it is done. One of the first things I am going to do when I get it back is order some new wheels and tires but I need the car to get some measurements to make sure they will fit.

Originally Posted by tempest1964

Gotta love that Red!!! Keep us posted . I would like to see the contrast of paint and trim too.
Tony

[Tempest]

looks great, and keep us posted with more pics

[tripower]

That red looks perfect on your car. Panels look like glass, nice and straight. Nice job! Keep us posted! Inspirational

[highrisk]

The guys doing the work for me are the best around here for restoration work. That is one of the reasons for the long delay. You have to wait for them to have an opening, but the wait is worth it. They are very meticulous and have great attention to detail. I will post more pictures as the project starts coming together. I am hoping it will start going faster now so I can get it home and get it put back together.
Dale

Originally Posted by tripower

That red looks perfect on your car. Panels look like glass, nice and straight. Nice job! Keep us posted! Inspirational

[highrisk]

Here are some pictures of the trunk when I got the car (it was pretty sad and rusted), with the new floor, and then the new paint. You have to excuse the color because the pictures did not pick up the colors correctly. It is supposed to be black and gray but the gray looks more of an aqua and the black is more charcoal. But it is not a show car so I am more worried about it looking great than being 100% correct and I think it turned out incredible.
Dale

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by highrisk

Here are some pictures of the trunk when I got the car (it was pretty sad and rusted)...

That trunk looks nearly pristine...

This is pretty sad and rusted:



Note the nylon rope supporting the gas tank...

[chrisp]

Beautiful , nice job .

[highrisk]

WOW, now that is a rusted trunk. What you can't see in the pictures are the areas where it was rusted through and the thin areas. It was a lot better to just replace the trunk. But there is no doubt that your trunk is rusted.
Dale

[tempest1964]

That's the best way to do it. Remove all rust you can find. Hopefully, with a garage, you'll never have to address rust again.

[highrisk]

Originally Posted by tempest1964

That's the best way to do it. Remove all rust you can find. Hopefully, with a garage, you'll never have to address rust again.

It is definitely garaged. I bought this car out of Arizona but I don't know if it spent its entire life there. I have a feeling it did with all of the dust and dirt I got out of all of the floor braces and rear quarter panels. The floors were perfect, not even surface rust. The package tray, trunk, and lower rear quarters were another story. I have a feeling the rear window started leaking and filled the trunk and quarters with water. And since the quarters were full of dirt and dust it turned to mud and rusted them. The trunk was done in by a rubber mat that was in the trunk and the water sat under it for hard telling how many years. But the rest of the body was in good shape.

Here are a couple of more pieces that they just got done painting.

Thanks for all of the great comments.

Dale

[highrisk]

The trunk was in the shape it was in because someone had coated the trunk with some type of tar, then laid newspapers down, then placed a rubber mat on top of that and then the original style trunk mat. It was a nightmare getting all of that stuff up only to find the trunk rusted out. I was hoping it could just be cleaned up and repainted but it had too many holes in it and the metal in the other areas was very thin.
Dale

[highrisk]

They got a couple of more pieces painted. Now they have started taping the interior to spray it black. I might actually have a car some day

[tripower]

Originally Posted by highrisk

They got a couple of more pieces painted. Now they have started taping the interior to spray it black. I might actually have a car some day

These guys are good! Look at the reflection from the flouresant light fixture on the hood, no deviation. Just don't be afraid to drive it when it gets done!