65 GTO

[milner351]

Absolutely amazing - the trasnformation you've brought this car through - man you should be proud!

Can't wait to see this thing in paint! Take it easy - maybe wait a day or two to recharge your batteries before picking up the paint gun again, don't work tired - when I do - I usually don't like the results.

[Blazerteam]

You guys will think I am crazy. Ive been told there is no way I can build this car by May 5th this year, and certainly not for less than $10k. If the parts suppliers can get me the stuff I order a bit faster than OPG has on the floor pans (24 days) I should be able to get it drivable by the deadline. Now before you think I haul it around to different shops to have things done, the only thing I farm out is machine work on blocks and cranks, sometimes valve jobs. I rebuild everything, engines, transmissions, electrical, interiors, and since 2006 I have learned how to do body work and paint decently. So everything is done by my hands that still work ok, the rest of me not so much. I have very low labor costs associated with my projects, because I do it myself.

The deadline is due to my father in law Dave's 65th birthday. He helped me out considerably when the USAF broke me and medically discharged me in 2005, and supported me until the VA started compensating me a year later. I cant work a normal job anymore, so without him I would have been in a world of hurt. On one of the trips he and I made to the VA in Milwaukee, he told me the only car he would ever want back is the 65 GTO he had back in the 60s. So I started looking for one and the next year I found a rusty hulk I could afford in South Carolina. It sat for a while, but in November he ended up in the hospital with heart problems, I figured I should get his car done while he can still drive it. Thus the GTO went in the shop and everything else was put on hold.

The rough part of this is the rust. Its considerable, most wouldnt think this car would be a good parts car, and they have told me so. I have found a couple parts cars, but most of the rust repair will be parts I fabricate. It wont be a show car, just a nice driver for Dave to enjoy and feel young again. The floor is supposed to show today, and it has cost me a month waiting for it. In the meantime I got the frame almost done, and most of the front suspension rebuilt and painted.

Here are some pics of this thing.




And the difficult rust. The window channels are almost completely gone. Looks harder than it actually is to fix it.



Funny thing about this one. The only thing holding the dash in was the wiring harness. It was rusted completely off and just sitting there.


Built a rotisserie and pulled the body off the frame.






Then started sandblasting. I still need to do the body, I wanted to get the floors done before I started on it, for structural reasons and to limit me blasting things that dont need it because it will get cut out and replaced anyway.




I need to do a bunch of work on this A pillar, or find one to replace it. Its almost gone.


Here's the frame, I wasnt worried about the finish so much so I didnt bother to sweep the floor before I shot it. It still came out nice, it has pits but hey its the frame, nobody is going to see it.


I'll post more after I get some more work done. After the paint dries on the control arms they will get the bushings pressed in and the front end reassembled. February purchases will be quarter panels, disc brakes from Summit, and wiring. Probably another spool of mig wire and another bottle of gas too.

Lookin at these first pictures,makes your work even more awesome!!

[mike343sharpstick]

First off, nice work! I wouldn't have touched this with a 10 foot pole, 'er sanding block.
Secondly, I know what you mean about getting sick of sanding. I finsied the Javelin in '09 and I'm still tired of blocking! That's why my new hood is still flat-black primer, the thought of blocking it makes me ill.
I would say focus the perfection on areas that will be noticed the most, hood, side body lines, stuff like that.
If it's gonna be a light color that helps hide mistakes too.
For my car I expect I'll want the sides re-blocked and shot in a few years, there are a few areas that bug me. I haven't cut and polished out what I have yet, so that may fix some stuff too.
On Labor Day there is a pretty big show in Fond du Lac, WI you may want to check out. It may give you some gumption

[Thumpin455]

Well the dash, A pillars, engine bay, and radiator support are black now. I dont have any pics of it because I am clean and tired now, but its done. Tomorrow it will be yellow, unless something terrible happens.

[A/Fuel]

Think positive,

[Thumpin455]

Think positive,

I need to do exactly that, and hope no more paint comes flaking off. Got another spot on the drivers door that lots two small spots when I unmasked it after shooting the engine bay and dash. No painting of yellow today, need to fix the stupid door. Part of me thinks I should take it to bare metal again and start over...

[SuperBuickGuy]

why is the paint coming off?

[Thumpin455]

I think it was a near bare spot where I had sanded through the epoxy I use as a base. The high build doesnt stick so well to bare metal. Not many of those spots on the car, its just hard to tell where they are now. Not a problem at this point, I can just sand it bare, hit it with epoxy and call it good. Its low on the door and no filler was needed there.

[Thumpin455]

Honestly it doesnt look too bad, only a few spots will really show, its just the perfectionist in me wanting it to look like a $15k paintjob instead of a $1500 one. I have gone over it again, and shot more epoxy on it to cover the bare metal spots. I will rest while the epoxy cures, then tomorrow I will set everything up, wipe it down, and get to making this thing yellow. The only thing I will rework will be if there are any bugs or runs in it when I check it later tonight. Barring that, it gets painted tomorrow, flaws and everything.

You can see the spot I reworked because the tape pulled some up in this pic. Just sanded it down, feathered it and shot more epoxy over it. Done. Doesnt look like it will wrinkle up, so maybe its good to go now.



Here is the quarter extensions and A pillar fairings with the drivers side fender I had to grind the welds on, fill, and then slather some primer on it. Its under the hood, and heck this thing is no show car, so its good enough.



And the car, as it sits now waiting for its first coat of base color.

[Huskinhano]

Looks great. Man you put a lot of hard work into that especially the last few days. It'll all be worth it. Get a good nights rest!

[langleylad]

I think I can speak for all of us when I say we admire your work ethic . Well done .

[Thumpin455]

Thanks but... Work ethic? I dont have much else to do, so this is like my job and I am still lazy about it. I took a year off from working on it, and have only really been working hard at it since July. It probably would have gone faster without some of the road blocks, waiting for parts, money issues, and running out of stuff. Today I had more issues, but also some help. Walt stopped by and helped me tape off a pinstripe. Went so much faster with him here, too bad I cant employ the guy full time or something. Perhaps Warren Buffet will sponsor me and Walt and I can build hot rods for fun..

Why yes it has a pinstripe, under the clear too! Except the tape let the paint creep a bit, should have burnished it down more. It will probably get a double tape stripe over the black one, something like Silver would look cool me thinks. Still the factory pinstripes were crap, so this one is a little better than crap but up close it looks furry.

Todays problems: Ran out of activator for the clear, not done with it yet. Still have jambs, drivers quarter/door, and the second coat yet to do. It looks like the clear didnt peel bad this time, but it will still need a bunch of sanding. Had some issues with stuff ending up on the hood, not a big deal the hood is temporary I didnt even do any body work on it. Then there are the suicidal bugs, saw four of them stuck in the clear, so more sanding and the second coat should take care of that too.

So here it is right before Walt and I masked off the rest of the car to shoot the stripe.


Here is the oh so shiny hood with bugs, dust, and dents in all their glory.



Here it is with the clear done on the pass side, and just the lower door and front half the quarter on the drivers side. I should have brought more home, but I need another gallon of clear anyway..





Cant forget the extensions...

[A/Fuel]

Wow, it's come a long way...
Forgive my ignorance from a non-body man, but do you straightin up the front fenders after it's painted?
This looks like a tip, and a good tip at that...

[Thumpin455]

IM not a body man either.. I just set them on the car and held them on with one bolt so I could shoot them. Didnt have anywhere else to put them, but I wanted to be able to get around behind the jambs and stuff. They will get bolted down before I start the wet sanding.. which will be after the engine/trans/ and mechanicals are in it.

Once the mist settles I will go shoot another pic of it.

[Thumpin455]

Better pics.