06001 Restoration

I didn't know "likes" were a thing here Garth...??? LOL... But..I'll take it..

Today I took on the LF fender. There were two areas of concern (aka derby damage ;-). The area where the Ghia badge mounts had been bent badly enough that the metal was stretched out. The previous repair guy simply popped the dent inward and filled it with a half gallon of body filler. The other area was the front side of the wheel arch was cave inward.

I tried to shrink the metal with a shrinking hammer, while it was much better, it didn't quite get there. It still oil canned badly and was still proud to the needed profile. So I used a quenching trick. I heated up the high spot, quickly hammered the area while dolly backing it, then quenched it with water. Only doing this once achieved the desired result. Then, I was able to hammer work it to the desired profile.

Again, I tried my best to show before/after shots...but it was difficult to capture the true essence of the issue. Hopefully it worked... The arrow shows the high/oil canning spot.















With that addressed, I moved to the wheel opening.









And that'll do it for today....

Thanks Rob for posting the pictures and step-by-step explanation of your progress. I find it all very interesting as I know nothing about body work and this is a great way for me to learn a little something about it

Plus it's fun to witness progress on a car I almost bought from you last year - I'm happy the car remains in your hands for a proper restoration.

Cheers & Happy Holidays!

Tim, glad you're finding the posts useful. And, especially glad I didn't sell her..

OK, so managed to get a couple days of work in over the holidays...

Found a good size dent under a bit of bondo on the front valence.....


I couldn't manage to swing a hammer inside the valance any way or in any direction I tried.. so ended up using a round tip air chisel to help massage the dent out from the inside.


Skim coat...sand...skim coat sand... Wow...I'm out of shape.






Fill coats/sanding done on all but the hood. I've lost 3 lbs and gained a bit of muscle tone back from years back










With any luck, I'll have the hood knocked out next weekend. It has some ripples in it due to ...wait for it... accident damage (imagine that!). The filler won't be thick, but I'm going to have to put a skim over a good portion of the hood due to some waves/ripples. Such a large area is a challenge, so I can't rush it. I use a long firm board for sanding to ensure no ripples when done. If I can get it done, then I'll shoot the primer.

so..getting the hood to my liking was admittedly a challenge. I think I put half a gallon a filler on the floor in the form of dust by the time it was all said and done. Very interested to see if I nailed it. Unfortunately, won't really know for sure until it has clear coat on it.

Prepped and ready...




Primer sealer applied...




Not sure if I will wet sand it or leave it as sprayed at the moment. Either way, the plan is for her to wear this "grunge" look until I do the full restoration. At that time, she'll go back to original red.

That's looking really awesome Rob! A perfect body.

What kind of primer is that? I'd like to put it on my build as soon as I'm ready.

Thanks David,
It's PPG JP377 2K Black Epoxy Primer:

Link

Product Info Sheet

That's looking really sweet there Rob!

The black primer is nice - does it only come in black or was black chosen for a particular reason to get a different depth in the final red coat?

Hi Michael,
Thanks man.
To be totally honest... black was chosen so I could drive it like this.
I've only seen this epoxy primer in gray or black. I had no interest in driving it in gray primer...so black it is. Plus, I used up the old stuff from 4042 before I cracked a new can. I do believe it will give a darker depth to the red once done, but I can't claim that was my primary reason.

Thinking of putting a red hash stripe on the LF fender, wheels in the same black. Going for the sinister look until it gets turned to arrest me red.

Thanks for the info and links Rob! That's perfect.

It'll be a while before we disassemble XXXX to actually finish and prep the body for paint. But I'll need to get her on the road for a while. I can't wait to see what she actually looks like in one color.

I'm assuming I can always go back and grind and fill more after this primer is on, right?

David,
My supplier actually insists that you can fill directly over this primer. I haven't had a need to do so before, but I will be doing this practice on 04042. We should compare notes...

quote:

My supplier actually insists that you can fill directly over this primer

I've been taught to do it like this and have done it on several cars. Epoxy primer FIRST. Then do your bodywork over that.

Epoxy prime first too keep moisture out while you do body work. It does harden so before you put filler or polyester primer it will need to be scuffed.

My guy stated the same ..about the general concern for moisture. He stated however that this is dependent upon what type of filler you use. Some are more prone to concerns than others. So folks should be aware of what they are buying. Cheaper aint always better.... Since the stuff that I use does not have moisture/corrosion concern to metal, I have always chosen to apply directly to the metal. I have always been concerned about adhesion, and don't really like the "idea" of a layer of paint between the filler and the metal. Who knows which is really better. My guy tells me not to worry either way. I'm using good quality materials and will be fine which ever way I do it. ????

I would also say clean clean clean; meaning don't touch your primed surface with your hand, no open engine or transmission work or anything at all with oil or hydrogen fluid till paint is done.

Drives me nuts when I see a car show and everyone is touching or hanging on a car in primer.

Just my $0.02. I'm using SPI (Southern Polyurethanes) epoxy primer. They recommend the first coat of epoxy over super clean bare metal, then filler as needed, then an epoxy over coat.

OK, so knocked out the lighting today. Headlight doors and all lights on all corners are now functional. Found quite a bit of white corrosion in the fuse panel. Many of the gremlins may have been tackled simply by taking the panel out, giving it a good cleaning and using dielectric grease at all the contacts on re-assembly. I still have to figure out why the turn signals and hazards aren't working...

Great job rob!! It's coming along nicely

Thanks Tajon.

So...took a break from paint work due to it being bloody cold out. Venting the garage would be a bit painful. So, decided to go through the brakes. I guess I took a break for brakes... sorry..couldn't pass it up... The pads/rotors look quite nice, but the calipers drag so badly that the car is almost impossible to roll around the shop (skates were somewhat mandatory ;-). Ran into a bit of a challenge, in that on both front calipers the small pistons were seized in position. I used the traditional air pressure trick, and managed to blow one of the two out on each. But, each still had one totally locked. In the past I have used the vehicle's hydraulic system to push a piston out, by reconnecting it to the brake hose and pumping it out. However, I had these fully disassembled and split. Didn't like the idea of backing up so much to put them back on the car. So, came up with the idea to mount a zerk fitting and use the grease gun. It worked..super smooth. Thought I'd share it..









Need to work a bit more on the bleeding, but brakes are almost off the list....

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Borruso:... came up with the idea to mount a zerk fitting and use the grease gun. It worked..super smooth. Thought I'd share it...

I have a collection of differnt thread zerks I was using for "dust plugs" for my brake connections as I gather pieces up. Good to know it might be useful latter on

Brakes are on my list this year. Gotta get to it

So, with brake bleeding all done, I tackled painting some of the bits I overlooked doing when I was squirting the rest of the car... grills, wiper cover grills, rear quarter trim panels and the wheels. Man... I hate masking off wheels with tires on them... I've seem some paper masks..need to get some in inventory I think... Re-shot the hood and fender tops while I was at it, as I didn't like the finish. The head light tops had a different color/finish than the fenders after they were re-assembled to the car.



Anyway.. here's what I've got going on...
Painted the wheels.... (same paint as everything else)



Here's the look I'm going for...




And here is the next step.... I will paint a red pin stripe around the face of the wheel... Photo shopped version here...

A stealth-mobile!

Cool!

Rocky

PS> Where did you get those cool wheels? They look good.

I love the matt finish.

Hey guys.... yep full on "stealth mode"

The wheels/tires were actually on 4042 when I got her. They are simply Mustang Cobra R wheels, 7s and 10s. The center caps are coincidentally the same diameter as the campi centers, so they will fit perfectly onto the cobra caps.

I've been following your builds. Really nice inspiring work Rob. By chance, did you get 6001 from NC? I think I almost bought this car before you. I have a few question though, so I'm sending you a PM so as not to hijack this thread.

I saw a Lambo Aventador last year in that color.

I'm going to try it on my bumpers and see if I like it?

It takes getting used to and I will categorize it as "interesting"?

It looks medium gray in the bright sun but it is definitely "hot rod flat black".

Thanks trstno1. Yep, from NC.

Doug...my first time trying it. Since this is only chapter 1 for this car, and it will ultimately go back to its original Red, I figured..might as well give it a try.

Spent most of today spinning knobs on the lathe. Realized on Sat that the rear wheels were contacting the lower control arms as well as the brake lines. So machined up some wheel spacers. I didn't like how the late model wheels didn't pilot on the hubs either...so another reason to do so...



As mentioned, I made the ID pilot to the factory hub, and the snout pilot the late model wheels. I spaced the wheel out by 0.215" to give the necessary clearance.






The orange arrow is the OE pilot, the black in my spacer's pilot, and the red is the wheel.


All clearances look good....




I think I'll make some up for the front too, just so they will be hub-centric.

Lastly, I glued some black "T" wheel centers onto the center caps.
They were a perfect fit..sometimes..things just work out...

Check out the air cleaner assembly I'm going to go with. It's a vintage Cal-Custom piece I found on Ebay. I will spin it around and use it backwards. I still need to figure out base spacing etc...to get it to sit at the right height. But...I think the angles work perfectly with the back of the Pantera. I'll make a replacement screen, so the scoop fits to a hole in it. Whatya think...? cool or fool?

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Borruso:
Check out the air cleaner assembly I'm going to go with. It's a vintage Cal-Custom piece I found on Ebay. I will spin it around and use it backwards. I still need to figure out base spacing etc...to get it to sit at the right height. But...I think the angles work perfectly with the back of the Pantera. I'll make a replacement screen, so the scoop fits to a hole in it. Whatya think...? cool or fool?.

COOL! matter of fact, could you provide better photo and details as that is what I was thinking for the air cleaner. (I was actually looking at replica "shaker"

No fool...lots of cool.

Very cool!

I need to get you to come out to Australia for say a couple of weeks to do all this magic you do on mine!

Thanks for the confirmation boys.

JFB, the cleaner assembly is Cal Custom "competition air scoop". They are a bit hard to get your hands on. There is one on Ebay right now for $440. ebay link

Not sure how long that link will be relevant...but it works today..

If you really do want one, and are willing to put in a little elbow grease, I'd be willing to sell you the one in my post for $100 less than that ebay listing (I have two of them). Just needs some clean up and buffing. If interested, drop me a PM and I can mail you some pics.

Whoohoo Michael... I've never been down under.

Over the weekend I spent quite a bit of time hunting down electrical gremlins. All items working with exception of the blower motor. It's fubared. It did not work at all. I spun it with my fingers while powering it...nothing. I then said WTF...and squirted WD-40 into the motor...spun it a few time with my fingers and put juice to it. Whatya know...it fired up. I've run it for about 15 mins now, but it is not sounding good. So, looks like I'll have to R&R the HVAC to swap out the motor. Anyone have a preferred source for those things?

The interior is almost fully back together now. I have the new steering wheel mounted up as well. I was able to file down a wheel center cap to use for the hub. Still need to buy some small speakers to fill the door holes... The other big interior project will be seats. I'm not so crazy about the ones in the car now. Will be trying some vintage Mustang seats I think. We'll see....





Oh...btw..I need a nut for one of these babies...anyone got one they would want to sell?

Rob,


I should have a used blower that I can donate. I also think that I have a perfect set of speakers for you!
I'll check on the dimmer nut.


ROn

Cool Ron. Thanks...

Rob alpine makes a factory replacement speaker that sounds really good for about $70. The grills are extra though. I have them in my car and am happy with them. I'll get the model number if you are interested

Hi Rob, looking awesome. I'm working through electricals on mine as well...

I like the new wheel though. what sort is it? I might see if I can hunt one down here.

Thanks Tajon, no real need. I'm not much of a stereo guy in my cool cars. My daily driver is premium sound with sub and all, but the cool cars...the radio never get turned on. I'd rather be listening to the music the right foot makes. So, I just need it functional.

Michael, the wheel is a Nardi Personal knock off, model was the Torino. Adapter hub base is also needed.
Here is the high rent version of it; Nardi wheel

Ron, Please check PMs

Hey guys.... finally finished the wiring bits, dropped her on her feet and annoyed the shit outa the neighbors...

To take the load off the OE wiring and Ignition switch, I set up relays and used the OE wiper and washer switches for ignition and starter. Check it out... LINK

Walk around: LINK

And...lastly a quick clip of sounds to annoy the neighbors... (unfortunately I made an oops and was in second, so had to down shift. Didn't want to push my luck with another take): LINK

Looks and Sounds are pure evil and demonic! Love it


The switch start is cool. Does the key run do anything now?