[1_Wild_Cat]

That’s great - looking amazing. Glad that you are seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by 1_Wild_Cat

That’s great - looking amazing. Glad that you are seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks 1WildCat! It's finally back on a roll again.

Got the clear sprayed today with sanding/buffing the end of next week after a good long cure.

Dennis

[Stuart]

Once those parts are buffed there can't be much work left - just reinstall the front clip, is there anything else major that needs to be done?

[SD455DJ]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Once those parts are buffed there can't be much work left - just reinstall the front clip, is there anything else major that needs to be done?

We are still looking for the correct Hurst handle for a '68 bench seat B-body (I believe '66 - '68 are the same). Other than that, just reassembly and waiting for the lower front valance to the touched up and painted next week.

Dennis

[misterp266]

Here’s a ‘65 - ‘66 bench seat shifter. Would need a rechrome. Look right?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/23448725652...&customid=capi

[gtospieg]

That doesn't look like a bench seat shifter. It should have a pretty good bend in it to clear the seat.

[70staged1]

Lookin' Great!!! Can't wait to see it finished.

[6T5 Cat]

The B body Pontiacs in 65-66 used the same shifter for bench and bucket seats, there was no bench seat-specific shifter. However the 65-66 A body cars had different shifters for bench seat and bucket seat vehicles.

[SD455DJ]

Are the 67-68 B-body shifter handles different than the 65-66's? I haven't had a chance to look them up yet, so wondering if anyone on PY knows right off hand...

Thanks! Dennis

[SD455DJ]

Getting a little closer...wet sanding this week, buffing next week, then assembly on the big Cat. Here's Scott checking the color match of the recently painted front fender.

Dennis

[north]

That fender to door color match looks better than factory.

If you look at factory photos from the era you often see a distinct shade difference between the doghouse and the front clip. Not surprising since they were painted separately.

An interesting trick is to look at a black and white version of the photo, our eyes pick up the difference in shade (darkness level) better when not distracted by colors.

[SD455DJ]

We certainly didn't want to mimic that factory idiosyncrasy of mismatched Verdoro paint, even though the front end was painted separately and more than a year apart from the body, but the paint was from the same batch/can.

I'll have to look at some old assembly line b&w pics to see that. I've heard some of the horror stories about terrible paint match at the dealerships when they had to do touch-up or body work on the VooDoo green cars, not to mentions, no two cars were alike paint color-wise.

Dennis

[north]

Perfect example, both these cars are original Voodoo paint. The Executive is later Kansas City build while the wagon is earlyish Southgate build. Note the color difference between the cars but also the fender to door difference on the Executive. (while the lower front fender has some repaint the upper fender and the entire doors are untouched factory applied paint.

I'm not sure which of these two cars have the "correct" Voodoo. I also believe there was some official coloration difference between 68 and 69 cars.

[north]

I wonder if the fender to door difference was related in part to the difference in primer? The dog houses (in most plants*) had a red oxide (maroon) primer while the front clip was primed in black.

* Framingham cars had a grey doghouse primer, which seemed to be prone to poor adhesion between it and the body color.

[SD455DJ]

North, that is definitely noticeable on the Executive! I can't see any difference on the wagon, but it's probably the extreme angle. The wagon's color looks very much like Dan's Catalina. Thanks for posting those! Love that wagon too!

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

Finally the '68 428 HO Catalina restoration is coming to it's conclusion. Last week the front fenders and hood was installed...

Dennis

[SD455DJ]

...then the bumper was reinstalled. Now the lower valance just has to be finished. It needs a little more body work and then paint. It's the last panel to be finished...yah! Just need to find the 67-68 floor shifter handle yet...rare as hens teeth it seems.

Dennis

[north]

On the cusp!

[coonhunter70]

This will be one of the coolest B bodies anywhere!

[rustyrelic]

I have been following this build from the beginning. It just has to be pretty close by now? Did it make it to the POCI Nationals?