My '71 02 PROJECT

[jerry]

here's a few photos to mark my progress. i've been doing a bit of bondo and sanding in the evenings. i'm getting the hang of it. i installed the doors and fenders today inorder to visualize the whole car as i continue to block it. i will remove these to paint door jambs, inside fenders, etc..

can't wait to shoot the color....

[jerry]

i've spent the past 6 weeks trying to make perfect a reasonably straight car. bodywork is incredibly boring work. most of my effort is on weekends. i finally learned what i think is the appropriate technique and that is to skim the entire surface with a THIN layer of bondo and block it down till the underlying finish just becomes visible. this leaves about a 1/16 inch thick layer of bondo over the entire car. this will be sealed again with another coat of epoxy sealer before i use a high-build 2K primer for final smoothing before paint.

i am starting to understand why bodywork is soooo expensive. i'm sure the pros can do this stuff MUCH faster than i'm able to do.

[Pinepig]

I feel you pian. Sanding SUCKS.

I just painted mine and I bet I have 100 hours easy in sanding.

Looking good.

[jerry]

I am OFFICIALLY through with blocking this car. thank god.

i decided i'd post a couple photos to show that i have been diligently working on this car. the past three months have been nothing but BONDO, Sand, BONDO, Sand, BONDO, Sand etc. etc. etc.

i've gone through nearly 3 gallons of bondo (actually some other brand, evercoat or something. i should know by now). but before you think this is a plastic car, 95% of the bondo is sanded off.

i was surprised at how difficult it was to get the front hood correct. i worked it for nearly 2.5 days, and it wasn't in an accident. the rear and front panels are hard just because they are uncomfortable to work.

Next Up: preparing my shed for the 2nd spraying of epoxy sealer and then i'm on to spraying the primer.

oh yea, i have intentionally kept my work on the roof panel to the bare minimum. i want to see if all this work was really necessary. i will have it as a comparison.

[jerry]

car has finally been primered and ready for final block sand at 400grit before paint. i bought the paint today, malaga (or a close match). i put a final epoxy sealer then chip guard, then primer. can't wait to see the color on this car.

the chip guard is not as thick as original, oh well. don't bother with SEM brand sprayable chip guard. it's worthless shit at $17/can. like spraying egg whites on your car.

update: just got in for the night after sanding the primer. it looks like i'll have to put one more coat of primer on the roof and sides and perhaps the tail end. i don't know if it's my primer gun, smallish compressor or what, but my primer does not lay smooth after spray. i'm using a SATA KLC gun with 1.7 mm tip. the texture necessitates that i go over it with 300-400grit to get a smooth surface. oh well, i still consider this whole project training wheels for my 73tii.

[Armond]

Wow! great progress Jerry. I envy your patience.

[Harv]

Looks really great.

John

[jerry]

took the day off from my real job because the weather is absolutely perfect and i don't know how many more days like this i'll have. i bought some more undercoater for the wheel wells and front fenders. it delayed me a little but i want this car to be as protected from rust as possible.

i was gonna just spray the inner door sides, hood and trunk underside then decided to do the engine bay and trunk as well. i figured i'd just do that part outside.

i am having fits trying to spray into the nooks and crannies with a full sized gun. my cheapo detail gun wasn't much help either today. oh well, did the best i could with the nosepiece and i MUST move on.

next up: final sand with 400grit on the exterior. need to spray the doors and trunk lid with a final coat of primer too. then it time for completing this paintjob.

i will need to do some rubbing in the engine bay due to some orangepeel. i think it had more to do with the gun setting. not too impressed with this particular gun. would like to get another Accuspray for final coat but won't at this time. next car, maybe.

[H_Krix]

awesome, someone going back to Malaga (spelling?) I've always liked that colour... but then again, i also like Siennabrun.

Its refreshing to know that we'll have a good colour pallette of surviving, restored cars!

[TMK-001]

Are you going to leave a gap in your front wings where they join the nose? Are you not going to join them like factory?

Hopefully my car is primed tomorrow, sanded early next week, jammed up mid week and painted later in the week...

Todd

[jerry]

Are you going to leave a gap in your front wings where they join the nose? Are you not going to join them like factory?

i've been debating this for several months and i don't have a perfect answer. i did not tack weld these fenders in place beforehand because i am most concerned with getting thorough paint coverage on ALL surfaces, including the boltup flanges. i have decided to just bolt them up with a tarlike gasket between fender and body and will use either a metal-filled bondo or a flexible bondo for the seam. if this cracks in the future i can address it at that time; perhaps sanding, tackwelding and solder at that time. but for this car, i'll pass. maybe on the next one...

[jerry]

i've taken the past three days off from work to take advantage of the perfect weather in the bay area currently. i hope it holds out for two more days. i spent all day blocking the primer on the car. it's really looking better now. i'm using 320 grit and it still has a somewhat polished appearance.

in addition, it seems that the splotchy color in the engine bay and trunk has taken a more uniform appearance and looks a fair bit better than the other day. at that time, i was a little disappointed with my effort but i think i know how to compensate for an improved job. i'm gonna use my epoxy gun (Accuspray) this time around.

[jerry]

i figured i might as well post these photos of my paintjob. these were taken the following day if i remember. it's been about 2 weeks now and i haven't been able to work on it since. i've deferred real work around the yard while struggling to get paint on this car.

up next is colorsanding up to 2000 grit followed by polishing. i really didn't have the paint gun set up properly, but now i know for the next time.

i'm calling this color "paint-clerk Malaga" it's a variation of the Malaga i actually wanted. it has darkened somewhat but it's still not a true match. fortunately, the only remaining 'real malaga' will be under the dash.

[jerry]

i've spent several hours color sanding this car. i spend the most time with 800 grit, then 1000 grit, 1200 grit and finally 2000 grit. the time spent with each sucessive grit decreases until i'm merely swiping it a few passes with the 2000 grit.

after the wet sand i hand-rub rubbing compound. that's where the real satisfaction comes out. it's a real joy to see all this effort come to fruition. so far i've been VERY pleased with how straight my panels have been. i'm typically my own worst critic and was wondering just whether all the blocking and feathersanding/bodywork was for nothing.

However, having said this, my one true regret is not putting down another 1-2 coats of base before clear-coat. the paint looks thin. oh well. i know better for next time. i am considering having the car professionally sprayed AFTER it's all put together. i just can't stomach the thought of doing it again myself. i figure it needs the clearcoat sanded down and resprayed with basecoat then clearcoat. i will, however, be willing to do this all over again, on a DIFFERENT car.

i have the passenger side, front and trunk lid yet to do. i'll probably work alittle in the engine bay as well.

[jerry]

got a couple photos of work i did to convert to a 5 speed. i'm making 2 sets while i'm at it. last week a took a oxy-acetylene torch to some flat steel and hammered out two sets of transmission mount tabs. they're slightly crud but they should work. one set looks alittle less stout than the other so i only bolted it in place just in case i have to replace/repair it down the road. the other set will be welded in place cuz it's strong.

i made a little fixture to align the shift rod accurately. i copied the dimensions from some conversion parts i had on hand from a scrap car.

i am making progress, bit by bit.