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Stopped in to check out some of the smoothing process Sprayed out for color check on the hood and trunk lid...

Completed assembly of the E21 250 mm brakes. Also picked up the powder coated diff cover to close up my LSD. And picked up some chrome work (7-10-15) Checked out some of the welding going on (8-4-15)

Body work is still coming along... ! From bare metal, they are doing some more measuring and they finally prepared the car with the first coat of primer on some places.... Gotta get that body right and tight!

Well.... after being so emotionally hurt with whole court fiasco, I ended up just focusing on getting Tesoro ready for Brisbane. But then..... as with all restorations, there happens to be surprises! (I think I have mentioned before that I HATE surprises!) Surprises = set backs! Le Tran at 2002garagewerks has been working overtime diligently, sometimes til 3A with his excellent CSI/Archaeologist master body repair shop to get Tesoro's WHOLE body straight! We found additional issues with previous bondo repairs and shady work from the previous owners, that we decided to go bare metal now.

So this started as a California Car.....then I moved to Michigan. That sweet California patina turned into some good 'ole fashioned Michigan Rust. I wasn't planning to do any bodywork yet - but I already had the interior out (see other post), so I figured I'd nip it in the but while it was easily accessed. The rust isn't too bad - no holes, and it's upper body rust (Cali style) instead of ground- up. The rust is along the rear driver's side window. STEPS Prep area - Unscrew the window (there's two areas it's held in place), pop it out. - carefully take the window seal off the body (I stress carefully, if you don't want to spend $50 on another seal) - Use Needle-nose pliers to press (carefully) welding rivets on the chrome plate (on the flat area, where the metal isn't shiney, under the window) - take out the chrome - Mask off any areas you don't want to mess us (if you drip bondo somewhere you don't want). I'd at least mask off remaining chrome bits on door) Remove Rust - First, I sanded all the surface areas that had rust, by hand. Make sure you use something stiff under the sanding paper so you don't get low-spots in your surface. The removed the looser rust and dust. - The next level, I used a small wheel to gently grind the rusted areas, again, working to keep the surface even. - Most of the rust is removed at this point - aside from the parts that are deeper into the surface (like tiny potholes) - I used a small dremel with a sanding tip to get the remaining rusty bits. No more rust should be visible. - Lastly, I used a rust-eating gel on the exposed metal. This is really gentle, and didn't seem to do that much - but should get any remaining dots of dust left behind. Bondo and Primer Prep -Mix Bondo (I generally aim for a light pink color so it dries slower) - Use a plastic bondo speader to apply the bondo to the surface. Aim to have the least amount of bondo possible, while still covering the areas. Use the speader along the surface so the surface of the bondo matches your car. - When cured, mask off edges with thick painters tape, and sand to the edge, then switch masking and sanding sides. This makes sure you don't loose any edges on the surface of the car. - Sand the bondo, in diagonal cross-strokes across the surface. Make sure to use something stiff under the sanding paper to maintain a smooth surface. I think I used 300 grit. - Mask off all the areas that don't have bondo. Cover as much as the car as you can. Leave an inch or so room around the bondo area for primer feathering Primer - Use a catalyzed Primer. There's two parts - the primer, and hardener. Mix carefully. - I used a gravity-feed spray gun, and an air compressor to use the gun. Use a breathing mask and safety glasses when you spray. - Spay a thin coat at first. even and long diagonal strokes. - Allow primer a few minutes between each coat. Just long enough for it to not be shiny anymore. - Let cure. Sand - Use flexible pro-painters tape (you can find it at Finish Masters). It's thicker plastic, and bends around edges, and is water resistant. - Use the tape to maintain any edges as you sand. Take the tape off any re-apply to opposite areas as you move around - Wet- with something stiff behind the paper, in cross-diagonal strokes. Sand evenly around the surface to avoid lows. - Start with 400-ish grit. End at 1,000 grit. Use water to check surfaces (make sure the reflections are lined up smoothly. Huge plus if you have overhead florescent lights to check surface continuity.) ...haven't painted surface yet, but that would be the next step. For now, I'm leaving the primer, since I'll be painting the entire car down the road. End result should be a smooth, rust-free surface!

After 6+ months at the paint shop, I finally brought the car home in the pouring rain and began reassembly right away. I'm really happy with the color and work. I thought I would be able to put it all back together and have it running within a week but thats not the case. While everything is disassembled, I keep finding new things to fix before I put it all back together which is taking me down multiple rabbit holes. Some of the things that have held me up is replacing the sunroof drain tubes. What a pain and i found out that the paint and body guys drilled through the tubes when they put the door seals on so that's why I spend days trying to yank the tubes out with no success. I'm also finding new electrical issues I didn't have before paint and body. And the brakes are rock solid so I need to replace the brake hoses. I am really happy with how the interior I made is looking in the car and the cheater trim I put on. I also really like the mix of old badges with the new paint. I think it gives the car character. I do need to figure out something with these bumpers.

The car has been at the bodyshop for over 2 moths and is now down to bare metal. There were a lot of things hiding underneath all the bondo on the car. Not a straight panel on the car but I find comfort in the fact that this car is getting the proper bodywork done after 40 years of shitty paint jobs and bad bodywork. As you can see from the pictures, there is a lot of hammering to be done. While the car has been at the body shop these last 2 months, I've been getting more and more anxious to get it back so I decided to make some door panels from scratch with the help of my bad ass Mom who can pretty much make anything and knows how to sew. All the materials for the vinyl door panels cost less than $100. I'm using basic plywood for the door cards. I also found some BBS RA (15x6 ET33) wheels on craigslist. They need some work and repainting but I thought it was a pretty good deal for $200. The guy that I bought them from originally had them on a VW and the wheels had been sitting in his garage for 15 years. Does anyone know if these wheels for sure fit on the car without longer studs or a spacer?

I recently sent the car off to get bodywork and paint done. I got a good deal here in Phoenix through a friend. I would love to have done a bit more of the bodywork and paint myself but I don't have a garage. It needs some rocker panel work and we're filling the lower trim holes as well as the front side reflector holes. I'm gonna keep the holes for the big bumpers cause I'm planning on driving this car a lot and Phoenix drivers are some of the worst. The car has been repainted a number of times so when the body work guy sent me some photos of what it looked like after they sanded it down, I was amazed at how crazy all the colors look. There really isn't much left of the original color after I did quite a bit of welding inside and in the trunk so I don't think Im going to paint it the original green color again. Sorry guys. I think I'm going to paint it Riviera Blue. I really don't like blue cars but this blue is perfect for this car and it will go perfectly with the custom interior Im making. Hope you enjoy the pics.

If this were a free for all dolly / tiptiserrie for use by any and all members, would it get passed around? Another member plans to pick up within the next couple of weeks and when he’s done.. Would like to see how far away it could get. Location NorCal Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Slow going but nice to see some progress this winter. Fabrication now complete and essentially ready for prep work (filler, block sand process, etc) prior to paint. Photos don't do these guys any real justice...

I need some advice on the mount location on the hood that I have. As you can see from the photos the metal is cracked in that area and I am not sure with my novice welding skills if I could repair it and have it still shut and line up properly.. and yes the bolt for the hinge is stuck.

Hey guys, I am getting the passenger rear quarter sheet metal patch panel in place and I'm a little hesitant to tack it in right now. It seems like the W&N panel does not have the same body contour as the original. Does anyone have any suggestions for lining it up or rolling it out? I would like to get the contour correct - or close to it - before welding it up. I'm trying to minimize the amount of body filler needed. You can see in the pictures how the replacement kind of flattens out the contour. Gimme some hints! Thanks, Pete

Hello everyone! I was fitting my new front fenders and noticed that the lower section on the drivers side was sticking out maybe 1/4 inch passed the nose cone.. upon further investigation I found that it had been pushed in about 1/4in on that side.. however upon further investigation there is some tweaked metal as shown in the pictures and I was wondering how I should attack straightening it out. some of the photos are of the passenger side for reference

Hey guys! Cleaned out the garage this weekend and came across this. I've been trying to find info on how to identify exactly what year this is for. It came with my car when I bought it about 5 years ago. Just looking at it , it appears to be for an older model 2002. Anybody have any ideas about the year this would fit? They may be all the same. No idea so far. Also This is for sale, just don't have enough info on it to list in classifieds yet. From what I remember it was mounted on a car and not days later car was rear-ended so they took it back off. That explains the un-neat edges. It is still good and useable! Just a little dirty. As you can see lights and horn hookups already installed. Thanks! Isaac

Hey Gang, any recommendations for a welder and painter in St Paul/Minneapolis MN or close to? I have a floor pan to replace on the driver side (so far...haven't pulled up the rest of the carpet yet and its a '76). It's been tough finding quality and affordable services in these parts (I'm from Los Angeles originally). Also-does anyone have any thoughts on what to replace the old insulation on the floors with? (I work at 3M so I'm hoping its one of those products!) Thanks!

This popped up from a new Facebook friend, Stefan Ries from Germany. https://www.facebook.com/stefan.ries.923?__tn__=%2CdC-R-R&eid=ARC5t1d8rTsO_wNB1nnvQ__xcUvHWv0Ni5uaoob0lyXnN3b0-c3XhdRVZcE3nlh-EroFrFgdtTLH7dUj&hc_ref=ARQbERjrMQK5x5oKTteCyl20lYBIwNO68c0iT3gQ_41jegHljILbTEszXphfSlGMfsY&fref=nf This is a pleasant surprise. Price shown in another post was 898 Euros. Produktion der Frontmaske ist in vollem Gange Ab Mitte Januar sind sie dann lieferbar. Production of nose panel runs! From middle of january they will be available! Production of the front mask is in full swing They are available from mid-January. Production of nose panel runs! From middle of january they will be available! · Rate this translation