52b3b Joe

Yeah, I worry about flash fire too with sparks and the furnace! The exhaust fan is "explosion proof", but the furnace sure isn't! I always turn it off when spraying. Crank the heat up before I start, and turn it back on after most the over spray has cleared out.

Well, tomorrow is the day! I spent two nights this week getting the garage prepped for painting, and I have the hood and rear fenders back off and ready. Tonight I'll get the surfaces of the car clean and mask it off. Tomorrow morning I'll be spraying a ton of black paint! I hope it all goes well! I did change the exhaust fan set up again. The box fan wasn't cutting it, so I put my big exhaust fan in its place. It moves a lot more air.

Another day in the garage yesterday, and the car is ready for ready for paint. We just need to clean the garage better and mask it off. We are planning to paint it next weekend if everything goes well. We definitely don't want to rush it since we don't have to. Hopefully I don't destroy all the work with a bad paint job!

I'll start this off at $100. It can be the first step in the cab over project!

Very good tip! I learned that somewhat the hard way on my truck when I painted it. I've been using a couple different soft blocks like those for all the curvy panels on the car like the roof and trunk. They weren't special enough to make it in the pictures though lol. I have two different thickness of them, one being stiffer. Between the two of them one normally works. In a few spots I just folded a long piece of sand paper to create some thickness to prevent pressure points to sand with. The only things I have been able to use the long blocks on has been the doors, and front fenders (and hood when I get there) lol.

Getting closer! The main body is blocked and nearly ready for paint. We spent all day Saturday out there in the dust bowl. Still have the hood and one rear fender to block, then a major garage cleaning before masking and painting. The car blocked out very nice. I won't say it is 100% flawless, but its the nicest job I've done so far.

We finished up the harness last night. It's all branched off, and wrapped like it was when we took it off. It came out great, and I'm happy with the results. It was a lot of fun, and it was very laid back to make it. Now we just need to install it! It is the bulk cloth wrapped wire from Rhode Island, and all the terminals are crimped and soldered with heat shrink.

Thanks! I'm glad to hear a similar setup worked out well for you! I will definitely be wetting the floor when I spray the car. I always do that to avoid dirt. I haven't wet the floor yet due to the weather and cold temps. I thought it might cause more problems than it was worth. I'm hoping in a month or so it will be a little warmer out and I won't have to worry.

Here's a couple pictures of the progress. Not much to see, just blocking, blocking, and more blocking. I'm getting tired of sanding, and I'm tired of the mess! I have the front clip, cowl, roof, and both driver side doors done. The car seems to be straight now. It will be good enough for what we're after. Just takes time.... The last picture is of the wiring harness project. Just showing how it's laid out on my plane building table. I plan on replacing one wire at a time as I pull it apart. Shouldn't be too bad.

I spent around $400 have mine repaired and calibrated. I about fell over when they told me that! I even sent them my spare speedometer to use for parts. They said they were both in pretty bad shape though. It works great now, and the past is the past.... I'd call around and get verbal quotes first! I went there based on other people I know, and I wanted a fast turnaround. I sent it on a Monday and had it back by Friday. I have no issues with their work, but be prepared to spend money.

I've used Bob's Speedometer in Michigan with good results. I don't think any of the speedometer repair shops are cheap!

It's all part of the experience.

Lol, I was just thinking about a quick update too! Not much has changed if you were to look at the car. We spent a Saturday lining up the front end. we had some problems with the hood gaps. I also was able to get one front fenders blocked out (they are BIG fenders!), but our main focus has been the wiring harness the past two weeks. We decided to try and do some inside work while its cold out, so that was the next logical place to go! It's one thing to have a painted car, but it's another to be able to start it and drive! We are replacing the engine, and dash harness along with the transmission harness. While I was working on the body, my dad carefully removed the original wiring and labeled all the connections. He also made a book with descriptions of his labeling which has worked out pretty well so far with the help of the wiring diagram in the shop manual. We inventoried each wire by gauge, length, color, and connection type, and I ended up placing an order this week with Rhode Island Wiring for all the supplies and the braided wire. I priced out buying the harness, and making it ourselves is going to save around $700. That $700 will hopefully pay for a set of tires! I like wiring, so it should be fun! It's just going to take a little bit of time. We are planning to get some more of the car blocked this Saturday if nothing else pops up in our schedules. I'll try and remember to take some pictures!

We've never let rain stop us! If we have something planned with a car and it rains, we don't let it stop us. That's why they have wipers! Lol, how else do you know if your windshield leaks? It adds to the fun in my opinion and actually gives me reason to wash them other than from dust. On my 61 Ford convertible, you can see daylight very clearly in the top corners of the windshield frame where the top meets it, and it never leaks any water. My truck with a new windshield seal and glass leaked like a garden hose at first.

I left mine unpainted stainless, and it looks nice.

That's exactly what I would do too, but I'd add a large exhaust fan if you plan on doing welding or painting in there. I'd also make it so you could store parts above the ceiling.

Looks great! Nice metal work!!!

Yes, this car had the truck painted the greenish blue color that the inner fenders have also. I know it was dependent on what plant the car was made in, and this one was made in Detroit (which used the green color). I am looking forward to getting it painted too! I just hope I can do a good job spraying it and keeping dirt out of it!

More pictures.

Yesterday I was able to get the trunk painted the green color it is supposed to be and I painted the door jambs and firewall black. Everything came out great with the exception of a little dirt here and there. I'm happy with how the paint is laying out! Today we assembled the front clip and got most of it aligned before calling it quits. Now I have a lot of blocking to do!

The epoxy came out nice yesterday, so I'm pressing on! Today we fixed a few small promblem spots with some glazing filler, and put on almost a gallon on high build. I used my new gravity feed HVLP primer gun, and I really like it. I had a couple learning curves with it, but I feel pretty good about putting the black down with the finish coat gun that came with it. I plan on painting the trunk next, then I'll do the jambs and firewall before doing the final block on the high build I just put on. Hopefully I'll get the cut in and trunk done this week still and get some of the blocking done.

Don't laugh too hard! It's nothing fancy, and it definitely doesn't work great, but it seems to help. It's just some cardboard duct work running to the window with a box fan in it. I put a cheap fiberglass filter over the opening to try and keep the fan clean. I also have filter inlets in the opposite side in the ceiling plastic. I put them up top to try and draw the warmer air through the booth when I "seal" it up. I also thought it would give a cross flow. The box fan is brushless and is rated at 2500 cfm but I probably need 4 of them to really get air moving. I only used one because I'm afraid of heat lose. It's only 9 degrees out today, so it's taking a lot of propane to heat the garage this week! Spraying high build today, I had very little overspray. The difference is my new HVLP gun. That thing makes a HUGE difference! Almost no haze and overspray.

I used my axle shafts. All I did was unbolt the 4.10 center section once I had the axles out and bolted the 3.54 center in as a complete unit. I had to reshim the axle shaft end play though.

I changed the center section of my rear axle with a 3.54 from a Plymouth for better cruising speeds. I also added an AUX plug on the radio in my truck so I'm not stuck with AM radio. Other than that, I added a factory spare tire holder, I added electric wipers from a junk yard truck, I stained and varnished the bed wood, and my truck originally had a black bed that I painted body color. Everything else is stock on my truck. It drives and runs great!

Today was the first day of primer. I've been busy making something that resembles a paint booth (more to keep the rest of the garage clean and to keep the fumes away from the furnace as much as possible). My dad and I finished a few minor details, and we masked the car off today, so I thought I might as well give it a go. This is PPG epoxy primer that I'm using as a barrier between the original paint and the new. It's left over from my truck, and it was the perfect amount to get a good wet coat over the entire car. Tomorrow I'll fix some minor imperfections in the epoxy and put down a couple layers of high build over the body work areas to get the sanding marks out. I'll be a happy guy when the body work and paint is over! The booth did ok until the filter I have for the exhaust plugged up. I need to rethink it a little bit before I try again.