I could have sent it for blasting and been done with it, but decided to tackle it myself. Oh yea, if you use plastic wrap when stripping paint, be sure to put it back by the end of the day for fear of upsetting the 'complicated one'.
Nice work so far! Question, I dont know if I mised it or not,but I am curious, what are you doing with the paint underneath the panels, for example bottom side of the hood, and bottom side of the trunk lid,etc?
Did you paint the 64 goat yourself? Any pics of the finished product? I will be stripping and refinishing under hood/trunk door sills etc. Engine bay and trunk detail will wait til this job is done. In the grande scheme, it would make more sense to do it all at once, but the likelyhood of being on the road by May would be a long shot, and that is priority #1. If I can, I certainly will do it this winter.
Good news and bad news on the ongoing job, but considering the price, and no way of knowing for sure what I would find when I stripped it, I have to be pleased that there is no rust, and a very solid base to work from should I go that route. If new panel are virgins, then these little sluts have been around the block. All steel everywhere under mounds of filler. Only a few dings here and there, but serious patchwork has been done the the rear fender above the wheel. I assume the passenger side is the same. I will find out tomorrow, as I am close but stopped at the bondo. When I was removing bondo I expected to find holes, but there are no holes or weak spots. I'm not sure if its my optimism, but I expected the worst being that the car has been on the east coast for its whole life. I'd love to hear any thoughts on what to do with the fenders. I dont imagine that I would find fenders very easy or would I like the price.
Did you paint the 64 goat yourself? Any pics of the finished product? I will be stripping and refinishing under hood/trunk door sills etc. Engine bay and trunk detail will wait til this job is done. In the grande scheme, it would make more sense to do it all at once, but the likelyhood of being on the road by May would be a long shot, and that is priority #1. If I can, I certainly will do it this winter.
Good news and bad news on the ongoing job, but considering the price, and no way of knowing for sure what I would find when I stripped it, I have to be pleased that there is no rust, and a very solid base to work from should I go that route. If new panel are virgins, then these little sluts have been around the block. All steel everywhere under mounds of filler. Only a few dings here and there, but serious patchwork has been done the the rear fender above the wheel. I assume the passenger side is the same. I will find out tomorrow, as I am close but stopped at the bondo. When I was removing bondo I expected to find holes, but there are no holes or weak spots. I'm not sure if its my optimism, but I expected the worst being that the car has been on the east coast for its whole life. I'd love to hear any thoughts on what to do with the fenders. I dont imagine that I would find fenders very easy or would I like the price.
I love how you said in the "grande" (not sure if the "e" was intentional or not!) scheme!
Anyway, not to discourage you but I gave up on the car. I lifted the body, did the mounts, fixed some minor rust behind each wheel, redid the whole chassis and powertrain but I got so bogged down on body work that I sold the car to a buddy. He paid someone to paint it and it looks gorgeous. He is re-assembling it now. Hopefully it sees the road next year.
I like your idea. Do one step at a time. It may be a bit more time to do it but you can do all your detailing after the car is painted. Most will disagree with me likely but that is the best way to not get overwhelmed. Get the paint and body done, get it on the road and do the rest as you can.
That thing is in pretty nice shape considering it's age. You have a great project there.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
yea the 'e' was intentional, but I didnt expect anyone but me to see it. Couldnt sneak it past you! Cool.
I dont have a fleet of 'cool' cars, in fact I have a mini-van and a neon besides the GP. So it is important that she is ready to go in the spring. My determination and ignorance will take me a long way to have it all ready to go. I would rather have to re-do some work that drive the neon all summer. I got kind of used to people in their expensive new cars looking and listening at me go by with envy. The average joes on the street around here are easily impressed with classics as there seem to be few around. I wont win any shows, but she already has moistened a panty or two when I go by the bingo hall. I expect it will appeal to a younger group as well when I am done, but I dont expect to impress too many here. If I am impressed with the end result, thats all that matters. (off to the garage...). Thanks Carl, hopefully this great project will be my great driver for years to come.
The metel on that car sure looks rust free. Your doing good work. Every hour you work on that car is a hour your not paying some one else. So keep on saving money.
"moistened a panty or two when I go by the bingo hall."
Classic line! Can i borrow it?
My best comment so far on the demographic we tend to attract is "the problem with old guys fixing up old cars is you can only attract old women" Not nearly as to the point as yours.
Put the stands up, removed bumpers, antenna, mirror, wheels, trunk lid, etc. Most of the hours are spent stripping the hard to reach areas. The end of stripping is in sight. Looking for a bargain on high-build primer. Plenty of patches found, but no rust. I found some body stamps if anyone knows their sinificance. I know what the 76857 is, but not the K5(just above the trunk weatherstrip channel) or the 2657Z4(beside trunk weatherstrip channel near PS hinge)..Let the games begin.
lookin good and love the panty line!! LOL I kept the money in my pocket as well and spray-painted it!! Thats why im going with the rat-rod look, i cant afford a "real" resto plus i cant get alot of parts for the 59 anyways, nobody makes em! I drive a pt cruiser which is the same platform as the neon so i cant wait for the summer also!! I must admit though, i have the turbo cruiser and its damn fast!!
I havent decided on how much to spend on paint yet. That'll probably depend on how good I can get it with primer. I'm willing to wet sand for 200 hours if necessary. That 59 looks awesome. There is a 59 caddie near me, I've always eyed.
Thanks John....cant wait to get back at it tomorrow.
The project is still full steam ahead, I just dont use the computer much anymore, so here is an update with some random pictures. I'll save the main body pics for next post. I have managed to work on the car everyday since I started(even xmas day). Not always full days, but always getting another goal met. The hood and trunk are complete to primer, they took me 2 1/2 weeks to strip, seal, and prime. The flat black primer looks like glass from all the sanding, but lots of sanding left. The hood hinges took me 2 days to restore, I dont imagine they'll ever even be noticed, but I do now. The tail light housings are quite a robust setup, and cleaned up great. The had hardened roofing tar all around the edges, it was a hell of a mess to get clean and they are in excellent condition. My camera lens is obviously dirty and EVERYTHING in my shop is coated in dust so the pics arent the greatest. The body will be completely primed by the end of the month (hopefully) I have bought complete sets of rubber bumpers, seals etc. New weatherstripping and various other minor cosmetic parts. I ordered hideawa bushing kit. Shock and springs being replaced too. Still no decision on color. I will need rims by spring. I am on track to finish ahead of schedule and may have time for the trunk and engine bay this winter. Thanks again for the pointers, info and comments
Very cool and a great inspiration! I'm a East Coaster also. I just bought a "new" car that I've been doing little things to ... can't wait to get into it full on like you. Keep up the great work!!!
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Looks great I was just thinking about your car a couple days ago and was wondering if you had lost interest. Great to see you didn't and thing are ahead of schedule
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1957 Pathfinder deluxe 4 door wagon 1961 Pontiac Parisienne bubble top Traded for a Harley sorry guys.
