Visit to the body shop - choosing paint!

We got to see the amazing progress on the Chevelle today and wow, what a difference a year makes!  We were stalled that long in the quest for the rear panel and that held up the rest of the build because everything aligns off of that panel--doors, deck lid, everything was at a standstill.  It is now on the rotisserie for finishing and we could see all areas up close.  

The firewall is nice and smooth and ready for the Vintage Air unit to be mocked up.  Jack showed us the graphite used to find any pinhole or imperfection in the primer.  I have always seen a guide coat of paint - Jack says if any of this is left it can lead to paint lifting later.  This method ensures that this will be the last time the car needs painted.  Ever. 

The rear panel looks amazing--even better than the factory one probably ever did! Jack says he looked at one of the new aftermarket parts just out this year, and it was one piece instead of three, 1/2" short on one side and 3/4" long on the other.  It may may be just as well (despite the expense!) that they built this piece from scratch.   I guess the community will still be waiting for a quality reproduction.

The entire inside and underneath are encapsulated in truck bed liner to prevent rust from ever rearing it's ugly head again.  No more rust or holes into the trunk!  Looks like a new car; actually better than new.

Nice new hood looks great after being worked and primed.

Deck lid is one of the few remaining original parts and it needed major help--it appeared to be useable to my eye but inspection revealed rust under the lower lip and the skin was peeled back, metal replaced and the skin laid back down--perfection.

New front fenders looking good and ready to go!

 Inside has a nice, hard coating of truck bedliner that should also help with noise control--once the Hushmat is in, it should be as quiet as a high end new car. Bedliner was even sprayed up into all of the corners to keep everything quiet.

Trunk looking better than it ever has, even when new.

You can barely see the widened tunnel under the bed liner.  Once the console is in all of this will be hidden and look like it was original to the Chevelle.

Looks like a brand new car - but you can still find where it was repaired from the dump truck accident in 1965.  Just enough to give it character!

It's alive and looks like a car again!

They even shrink-wrapped the frame and engine to keep the shop dust off of it!  It is really exciting to see it coming back to life. Make no mistakes, it was a bucket of cash to get to this stage, but it will all be worth it in the end.  We're making a one off car with every part better than new.  There is a 427 Camaro and an early 70's Camaro in the shop ready for assembly.

Update on the body work

Again it's been a long time since I've had an update on the Chevelle, but Jack at Specialized Collision has been making good progress.  I have been wondering if a sane person would have looked at the Chevelle two years ago and said it was too far gone to resurrect.  We're finding bad rust everywhere and replacing almost every part of the body.  The amazing part is that it is coming back together!  So, far all of you that watch the car restoration shows on TV, what you see there are cars in good shape, with an army of people and a trunk full of cash.  On a budget with a small team, it just takes time. I'm still really excited about having the Chevelle done, but it may take another year or two to put it together.  There isn't a single part or bolt that I can think of that won't be rebuilt, replaced, or repurposed.  The body shop has been affectionately calling it 'the dump truck' due to the accident back in '65.  I kind of like the name.  Maybe it will stick :)

The big holdup for us has been the rear tail panel.  This is the part that has both of the tail light buckets to either side of the deck lid, and that slim piece of metal you see connecting the two sides together along the bottom of the trunk.  It was rusted away, and every place we tried had parts cars with the same problem.  The only solution was for the body shop to make this piece from scratch.  It is small, but has lots of complex curves and sets the position of all of the body panels going forward.  So without this, we couldn't make any progress anywhere.  I think they did an amazing job building this part from scratch; you won't know it isn't original. 

I received a note about a month ago that this panel will start being reproduced in the spring of 2014.  So for those of you doing this job in the future, you won't have to start from scratch.  It looks like the tail light bezels are also going to be available, so I won't have to spend the cash to get mine rechromed.  That will help some.

For comparison, here is a before picture showing where we started.  Just rust holding things together:

With the trunk done, the new rear quarters and doors have been mounted and welded in place.  The door gaps are tight and even, and no more rust!  What is original you might ask?  The dash and a few bits of inner bracing, otherwise all new or replaced at some point in time.  The quarters are such a part of the lines that make the '65 it is good to see them back in place.

The deck lid is a nice example of where you can find rust and how every little part needs to be addressed.  The deck lid looked perfect to me, but they had to peel back the skin at the bottom (right next to that rusted part I talked about earlier), cut away a strip, and replace this before reforming the lip. You can't tell they have done anything here, and that is the point.  Jack is a perfectionist, and that is what you want when going to this level.

 Finally to the firewall, another example where I probably would have left more "character" behind.  We're using an aftermarket air conditioning system, so the big hole for the fan has been welded closed.  I'm also going with MSD ignition, so I won't need to run a big wiring harness through the firewall for the motor.  A close eye will note that they welded and filled the seam across the top of the firewall for a completely smooth look.  If I were doing this in my garage I wouldn't have gone to this level, but they are taking this to show car readiness.  You can't tell the tunnel was enlarged and significant work was done to eliminate all of the bolt holes and seams.  The pictures below give you a bit of an idea of what was changed.  In a couple weeks we will be talking final paint.  We're making progress!

Refinishing the deck lid - one original piece saved!

Fun week this week; I took the G to the drag strip for the first time, and for me the first time in probably ten years.  I managed to run a respectable 13.98, which counts as thirteens to me.  Pretty typical for a stock G I understand, and probably not bad for 20" rims with tires at stock pressure.  There was one LS2 powered GTO (~2005?) running low twelves.  I couldn't tell if it was stock or not, but that would be great if the Chevelle can run anywhere near twelves. Anyway, on to what most of you are hear to read about.

Everyone asks me if there are any original panels that will be left on the car.  Well, the answer is at least one.  The deck lid I believe to be original to the car, and until now still had factory paint on the underside.  I thought it was in perfect shape, but like everything else on the Chevelle, there are surprises waiting at every turn. From a distance it looks fine, but up close there were still a few pinholes of rust from where moisture gathered.  The first picture gives you an idea of the overall underside.

 Up close, you can see pitting from rust,

 and a few small holes along the bottom seam.

 From the outside, it looks fine, so that is one plus.  There are five different moldings that cover over the back panel.

 The sail panel between the roof and trunk looks to be in good shape.  These often rust out, but look okay.  I think all the moisture settled to low points, because that is where we are finding rust.

 And finally, the last three pictures are the deck lid back in primer sealer.  One original part ready to go back on the car.  I don't think anything else will be this easy.  I can see why people build rat rods.

Oh crap, that's going to hurt the pocketbook

 It's been a long while since I've had an update because the Chevelle is off to the body shop.  Thankfully, Chevelle fans, Jack stopped by tonight with a CD full of pictures.  So many pictures that I think I'll break them into three or four installments to fill the next few weeks.

Just to bring you up to speed, we dropped the body and frame back at the body shop about 4 months ago with the floor "done" and asked them to do the body work on the outside, with the instructions to do what it takes.  With Jack, it pretty much has to be this, since there is the right way, or don't bother asking him to work on your car.  You don't ask Rembrandt to paint impressionistic water lilies...

Mt first reaction was oh crap, this is going to cost a lot of money.  I guess that isn't anything new. It's just amazing to see how much rust is in every little crack and crevice.  I'm really not sure that the Chevelle was worth restoring, but it has great history, family value, is halfway there, and will be a really cool ride.  I'll be able to confidently say with care, it will be around to pass on to the next generation.

I suppose the alternative title for this blog could be beauty is skin deep.  I thought the doors were the one piece that was in perfect shape, just sand down and paint.  They didn't even have door dings.  Looks okay from the outside right?

Well, maybe not so much.  I wasn't expecting the door skins to come off, but it looks like it was a very good thing they did.  There appears to be all kinds of rust at the seams.  I guess this is what you get with a barn find car.  The surface looks good, but moisture must have been trapped in every seam and crevice over the years.  Every seam they open looks bad like you can see on the door inner below.  It makes me wonder how great those barn finds they show on TV really are.  I bet unless they are from somewhere dry, they all look like this. Not good.

Here is a close up of the rust at the seam.  You can't see this from the outside until you take the skin off the door, break it open, and expose the rust.  I had no clue.  It's a very good thing the body shop found this, or I'd be complaining about rust popping through in a couple years.  When I looked in between the skins, I saw all of the non-rusty parts.  Everywhere you see rust was in an area where two metal parts come together that made it not obvious.  Just looking at the inside of the outer door skin, without carefully looking at the edge made me think all was well with the doors.

The great part about metal though is you can repair it!  I pulled a few example pictures of the work done on the inner door skins to repair the damage.  A little cleaning to get rid of the rust, repair to the lower corners, and everything is like new.

Finally, new coating to prevent rust...

Weld the skin to the inner, and you have a brand new door!

 and back on the car! Well, very temporarily back on the car.  There is a lot more work to do on the quarters, firewall, and I'm sure lots of other little bits I don't know about.  At least the new door is 100% rust free and should be good for a very long time.  Keep your eye on that dash, I think it is going to be the only 100% original part left when we are done!  Next week I'll share the quarters, or maybe the roof.  I have a week to decide...

Dash updating

 With the body off to the shop, there's not a lot more to do other than order more parts.  One of the challenges troubling me is how to connect up the new motor to old gauges.  Everything in the original set is manual, whereas the LS motor is all electronic.  I love the original dash look, and don't want to cut it up to put in aftermarket gauge pods.  I found Dakota Digital is now making analog gauges with all of the electronics behind them to hook up modern motors.  This solves that pesky problem of how to convert an electronic speedometer to a non-electronic gauge. There is a solution that runs a little motor behind the dash, but I hear that is noisy, and costs half as much as the whole DD system.

They offer a few different colors and styles, I got mine with the gray face and red backlighting.  I thought the red goes more with the GTO theme, since red is what Pontiac used the last few years.  The new cluster fits perfectly to the original style bezel with just four screws.  If I wanted to be freakishly anal, they send phillips screws instead of 1/4" hex head screws.  Oh well. I left the original in the top picture so you can see the difference in style.  I have to admit I love the styling of the '65 gauges, and am a little disappointed the DD looks so plain beside it.  It would have been just too much trouble to get the originals to work.  Perhaps they are worth something, since I have the more rare SS package with the center tach.  For those taking apart a dash, take a look around for help on how to remove the switches. There is a special tool for all of them; I used a pair of snap ring pliers for the headlight and wiper switches that worked very well.  For the ignition switch, use a small screwdriver, turn the key to accessory, push in the screwdriver in the small hole until it goes in a long way (not just pushing down what feels like a spring) and the lock mechanism pops out.  This is the only way to remove the retainer ring.  They are expensive to replace if you choose, so don't get frustrated like I get and take out the channel locks!

And then there is the electronics to make this all work.  In '65 there were no simple computers - now I have one to run the engine, the two below to run the dash and ignition switch, and there will be a couple more under the seats for the heaters.  More computing power than Apollo, as a friend put it.  I'm more than a little scared about hooking this up, but hopefully one wire at a time and I will get there.  The starter kit is from Advanced Keys, right now I just have the push button.  I still need to get the RFID system added so no one can jump in and start up the car without a key.  Not a big deal, but it is another system to wire in!

The final product is below with everything installed (except the radio).  I used the original switched and am hoping they are all in good working order. You can get replacements for the headlights and lighter, but I couldn't find anything for the wipers.  They all cleaned up very nicely with a little polish and elbow grease.  I still need to either polish the key guard or get a new one.  For the start button, I had to use a rotary tool and grind away almost all of the opening behind the dash (out to ~34mm).  The switch is 40 mm in diameter and barely fits in the opening, if you try this be forwarned you will need to start cutting into the outer bezel ring on the dash just ever so slightly.  I really like how it all turned out.  The push button switch is extra, but I love not having a key for my Infiniti.  I haven't found a radio I like yet, so I'm hoping that in the next year someone comes out with something a little nicer that will fit without cutting.

My biggest challenge, was getting a good bezel.  The first one I ordered from OPGI came with many scratches to the surface.  The packaging was perfect, so it came from the manufacturer that way.  The second also had a few scratches you can see on either edge, but better than the first so I decided to keep it.  The mold lines are not as crisp as the original dash.  If I wasn't dead set on the chrome look, I would paint the original silver and chrome leaf the outer edge.

I'll leave with one last picture we found from 1965. Take a careful look if you miss it - the Chevelle is in this picture!  You can see the motor behind John, and the body with the doors, fenders, hood, and the ROOF missing.  Absolutely incredible to me.  If you count the factory, my restoration will be the third time this car has been built from the ground up with almost all new parts.

Sending the kid off to college...

Yesterday was a big step forward for the restoration - the crew from the body shop came by and picked up the Chevelle to get started on the final body work.  I've been looking forward to this day, because it means that all of the metal work for me is finished and I will be getting an assembled and painted car when it comes back.  Just to preview, they will be replacing the passenger side rocker (damaged), part of the drivers side rocker (a little rust), stripping the body down to bare metal, fixing/creating the missing filler piece between the taillight panel and trunk, and fixing rust in the quarters.  I'm hoping they save the original quarters, but it will depend on what they look like once they get through the paint.  Of course it will still need plumbing, wiring, interior, weatherstripping, moldings, etc, when it comes home, but it will look more like a car again. It also means big bills coming since someone else will be doing the work.  

I was not expecting was the other emotions that came with sending the Chevelle off; this must be what it's like to send a child off to school.  When will it come back?  Will they do a good job without me around?  How will others feel about the work I did (car guys are the biggest critics in the world!)?  For the past year the Chevelle has been a constant fixture in the garage, and something I could usually go out and work on when I needed to do something with my hands.  I guess it's time to clean up the garage while there is space.  Perhaps finish powdercoating and sandblasting, and sell off the stove and blast cabinet? What do car guys do while their project is off at the body shop?  Enjoy time with the family?

If you have been following my blog, then you know that with some help, I replaced the front half of the floor pan, the trunk pan, and fabricated a tunnel to fit over the T56 transmission.  The frame was painted, a used LS1 fit along with accessories, and all new suspension and brakes installed.  Everything is stripped off so it is pretty much bare for the body shop to start.

Over the next few weeks and months we'll be stopping by the body shop taking pictures of the progress to keep everyone updated.  I have no idea what the timeline will be; I'm hoping for 4-6 months but have no idea if that is too long or too short.

BTW, I've had a lot of people ask about the wheels.  They are loaners from the body shop, made from 1/2" plate steel and weigh about ~100 lbs each.  The wheels do look strange, but have worked quite well.  The large openings and skinny size allow great access to the suspension and were very easy to work around.  Pretty useful, even if they do look more than a little odd!

Reupholstered rear seats

This week's blog is going to be more pictures than writing, and you get to see a little preview of where I'm headed with the final project.  When we picked up the Chevelle, the interior was pretty destroyed from years of moisture and being closed up.  Everything was covered in white mold or mildew.  We were really hoping to save the seats, since they were in such good condition.  We went over the seats with bleach solution and Febreeze, and tried setting them in the sun, bagged with coffee grounds and drier sheets.  Nothing worked to get rid of the musty smell.  We decided a few months back the interior wasn't salvageable, but were hoping to wait until the car was painted to get anything recovered.  Last week we decided we had enough of the smell in our basement and decided to go ahead and get the rear seats recovered.  I had purchased front seats from a 2008 Ford Taurus because I liked the boxy style, plus they were heated and full power.  Seats from a sedan do not have the lever to flip the back forward to get into the rear seat, but this is a small price to pay for modern seats.  The original '65 seats don't even have a lock to hold the back in place, so they can flip forward at every stop.  I'd rather have fixed backs and headrests.

Rather than recover the backs with factory covers that would be a different style, I decided to try to get custom covers made to match the Taurus seats.  The fronts also have nice silver stitching as an extra detail.  We found a local shop, Mark's Upholstery, and gave them a call. He immediately pointed out the seats are black, but a dark charcoal.  I hadn't noticed this since we didn't have them next to a true black.  I really like the dark charcoal, and I think it will look really sharp with the stock black door cards and carpet.  They were able to find a charcoal that is a perfect match, including the perforated center sections.

Here is what the seat looked like when we started - all covered in mildew:

I was surprised to hear back after just a week that the seats were done and ready to pick up.  I think the mildew smell had them motived, or maybe Mark's is just that good.  They did say they smelled the mildew every time they walked by the rear seat in the shop.  The replaced all of the burlap and cotton padding, so the smell is completely gone.  This was the last bit of soft material left, so everything inside will be new or refurbished.  No worries about mildew any longer. Here is the final product back from upholstery, next to the front seat for comparison.  The center vinyl is perforated just like the fronts, with silver stitching around the edges.  The sizes of the panels matches perfectly, like both seats were meant to go together. 

I took a few pictures of the rear seat sitting in the car.  It's amazing how much it transforms the car just having interior sitting in it, you really get the feel of what it will look like.  It's a different style that looks more modern to me without being out of place.  I've seen lots of examples of new seats people fit in from GTO's that I'm sure are very comfortable, but the wrap around buckets just look out of place.  I'm sure it's partly because it's my car, but I think this looks updated without looking out of place with the boxy style of the '65.  I took a few pictures without the headrest so you can get a little comparison how it would look like compared to the factory look.  They may be Ford fronts, but Chevy would have built it like this if they had more technology back in the day.