Arabian454

Thanks Dennis,

Lou

NewMuscle67

Hey Lou, glorious work!
I was just curious what sandblaster you use? It seems to get you great results, and I can't really see a mess in any of your pictures. Also, it looks like you are painting in the same place you blasted, but it's hard to tell. Thanks man, and thanks for the great write up!
Eric

Arabian454

Thanks Eric,

I got my sandblaster from Tractor Supply. Here it is

JobSmart® Portable Abrasive Blaster, 20 gal. Capacity - 3999698 | Tractor Supply Company

Yep, paint in same place I sandblast. I have curtains I made to separate that area from rest of shop. So if I need to blast I just pull the curtains and blast. When done just sweep up the sand. Before I do any painting I pull curtains and hose everything down curtains and all. I have a inside French drain type thing that runs the length of the wall. So I just squeegee the water into drain. Very very little dirt in paint. Real easy to clean.

Here are pictures
You can see the curtains pulled back beside my box.


Here are curtains pulled out


Works well for me and was cheap.

Lou

Arabian454

Got some more done, blocked out the hood with 150, and sprayed another 3 coats of surfacer on it. Will let it sit a few weeks before I block it again.



Also test fitted the moldings on one of the qtrs. to get a idea on how I am going to make them work. The wheel opening molding actually fits really good, just 2 inches too short. I have extra front moldings that I will cut a section out and splice? It in. Thinking of seaming it right at the top horizontal black stripe in side molding to try and shadow/hide it a little. The side moulding in front of the wheel opening will need to be shortened 1.5inch. Which should be easy.



Next I have to finish up some stuff on drivers front aprons and firewall. So I can get the front in epoxy and car off of rotisserie.

Lou

Kelly Burns

Awesome!!!

__________________
-Kelly Burns

NewMuscle67

Thanks Lou! That is about what I was thinking to do in my shop, glad to hear it works well!

Arabian454

Been getting more done, sandblasted the drivers aprons and surrounding area. Also finished welding unwanted holes and stitch welding the drivers front aprons/frame rails. I did the pass side and rad support last year and never got to tha drivers side.





Since it is time for the car to come off the rotisserie I blew as much sand out of the cracks, crevices, holes and such that I could. This took a good hour.

Also masked off the finished floor of car with plastic to help keep it clean while I do rest of car.



Finished blocking out the qtrs. this was the first coats of surfacer on the qtrs so I blocked with 80 grit first and finished with 150.





After cleaning and masking qtrs I put 3 more coats of surfacer on qtrs.

Next I put in the rear axle ass. And installed rear wheels and tires. I lowered the car as far as I could with the adjustments on rotisserie. Then attached my engine lift to front of car to lower front on to jack stands. Then took lift to rear of car and lowered it on to jack stands. Disassembled the rotisserie and removed it from car.

Then I had my first "panic" moment! The car didn't rest on the stands flat! It teeter/tottered on the stands. I was like son of a b!tch!! Car is crooked!

I was bummed and knew I couldn't have been that far out. So walked around car and checked stands, left rear stand was 4 clicks lower than the right. I fixed it and car sat flat on stands. Relief is a understatement lol. Here are some pictures of car on ground.









I am VERY happy with it. ESP. Since it isn't crooked lol.

Right now I have 29/12.50-15 Hoosier pro streets on 10 inch wide wheels. When I moved the rails and did the mini tubs I made enough room for 29/15.50-15's
But got a deal on the 12.50's.

I have 1.25 inch between inside of tire and leaf spring. Also have 2.5 inch between outside of tire and qtr panel lip. Which should give me plenty of room to move up in tire size.

With the car on the ground I finally feel like I am making progress.

It was a good day!

Lou

ford88

Looking good that is going to be one nice car,People that don't do body work... me being one of them have no idea of the work that is involved.I'm working every fri-sat on my car with shop owners and it takes time.Looking at your car brings me back to when I was 20 and had my 65 cyclone black on black 289 4-speed wish I still had it.Keep the pics coming Im following along.

Arabian454

Thanks Ed,

And your right It does take time. The biggest thing with bodywork is don't rush it.
Your cyclone sounds cool. My comet will be similar, black with black vInyl top, and black int. I have the orig 289 but planning on putting a 331 in it with dual quad. Also 4 speed top loader, V gate shifter and 4:11 rear. Well off to the shop.

Lou

NewMuscle67

Lou,
Just wanted to say thanks for recommending that JobSmart blaster, it is a dream. I have been looking around for stuff to blast... so far have done sever rear diffs, 2 doors for the house, and about 40 small odds and ends.
Thanks
Eric

RickRacer

Lou! You RULE! I love this build and what you've done....mines next! LOL

__________________

Arabian454

Glad the blaster is working well for ya Eric, when you need tips harder freight is cheap and the same.

Thanks Rick.

Update on progress. Finished up front aprons, rad support, and firewall.
After seam sealing I put 2 coats of epoxy on everything. I then skim coated a lot of the area with plastic and sanded to smooth out everything. I don't plan on mounting anything on front aprons except hood hinges so I want everything to look good.





After sanding the filler I reapplied epoxy.



Let the epoxy sit overnight and put 3 coats of surfacer on it next morning. Here are pictures of front aprons/front sheetmetal in surfacer.











I'll let the surfacer sit a couple weeks then sand it. Will still need to do some icing/finish putty and re primered but pretty much where I want it.

With the front done moved on to body panels. I have a fiberglass trunk lid for it.
Mounted the trunk hinges and installed trunk lid. For fiberglass it fits pretty good. Gaps will need clearanced esp the front, but I will wait till I get new weatherstrip before I do final fitting.





I had fiberglass front fenders for it but decided not to use them and sold them. I have the orig drivers side fender. Which is pretty good found some plastic in it when I started to sand it down. But nothing bad.



The orig pass side fender is pretty bad. I found a decent used one and will use it. The used one is from a 404 so it has the holes for the upper molding I will have to weld up. Not going to use the Sargent bars either so I will weld up those holes too.



Going to try and get the fenders welded up and in epoxy this week. Also dug out the doors to get started on them. Hopefully have this thing on the road sometime this summer.

Lou

ford88

Looking good Lou keep up the good work,can't wait to see this car in paint...ED