Bodywork started...

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I'm finally getting to the bodywork on my 69E restoration. I'm starting with the hood and decklid and wheels (roof and cowl too), which will be Light Ivory, rest of the car Aga Blue.

Because the car is relatively rust free and only has one very thin respray, I'm blocking it down with 180, then 400, then primer sealer and finally paint. I've got some rust here and there to address and some bare metal which will get hit with etching primer, then filled, blocked, sealed, painted.

Found some rust on the decklid



Even after cleaning it up, I found it necessary to pull the gun out of the blast cabinet to really get every bit of cancer out. Note: If you do this, WEAR GOGGLES. I'm finding it a little hard to see today after just 5 seconds of blasting and getting bounceback in my eyes.



Tools. the green flexible block (with steel rods to increase/decrease stiffness) is from Eastwood. Don't do a hood without one. Small flexiblock is great for hood edge, just make sure you flex it slightly when sticking on the paper so it better conforms to the curve.



What I love about blocking: low spots. here's an odd one, even after a fair amount of sanding.




Getting everything else ready for bolt-on, maybe mid-June.

[rvanderpyl]

Love the room full of clean parts. It just feels like everything will go together so smooth looking at it.

[MattAlpha]

Shaun,

Did you break down the trailing too? Everything looks outstanding. Thank you for the tips on the flexible blocks.

I'm looking forward to seeing it in mid-June,
Matt

[DelPico]

Looking good Shaun. Thanks for your help with the horn yesterday.

David

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally posted by MattAlpha
Shaun,

Did you break down the trailing too? Everything looks outstanding. Thank you for the tips on the flexible blocks.

I'm looking forward to seeing it in mid-June,
Matt

Rear trailing arms? Yes. they are down to unique components. I need a new E90133156100 "Cover" for the one side. Sourced, all pieces will be blasted, painted with POR15, then reassembled with new bearings.

My plan is to assemble systems (e.g. front strut-hub-caliper) as much as possible on the bench and then plug those units into the car on rebuild.

[Jim Richards]

Looks great, Shawn.

[SP2]

Very nice Shawn. Awesome!

[scottbooth]

Looks good Shawn.

According to my master plan I would be at about this stage with my 78 by now. But I have been working on my plan for about 5 months now and I seem to already be about a year behind.

Keep up the good work.

Scott

[dweymer]

Shaun,
you may want to hit it all with something in between the 180 and 400, like 320. Ditto on the clean room

[cbeers]

Looks FANTASTIC Shaun!

You will be grinning a mile wide when you are all done

You must be working 24/7 with this AND launching a business !!!!

Congrats.

-Chris

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

James, what's happening with your bare metal 69?

Scott, you are ahead of me! My master plan is 2 years old now.

Donnie, thanks for the tip on 320. I've got a lot of sanding now! But I can see it now as the 180 is nicely aggressive, perfect for taking off the top later of paint, but I can see where a middleground would be helpful to give a good finish for the sealer primer. BTW, silver all scuffed up has a very cool pearl effect, tempted to leave it.

Chris, this is truly an addiction. the trip to India really set me back, and I shouldn't even be looking at this car with production in process and 5 lines to create for Spring 05, but it just calls out and doesn't help that it's on office premises. And yes, as soon as the body is done, engine/suspension and windshield are in, it's going to be an awesome day.

Looking forward to meeting you later this summer driving out to the West Coast with it.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Rear trailing arm bearing cover needed

[dweymer]

Originally posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Donnie, thanks for the tip on 320. I've got a lot of sanding now!

The 400 may not remove all the 180 scratches, and as I have just found out, blending is pain!

Body & Paint started

[Gene Wilkes]

Keep up the good work!

[SP2]

Shaun, how is the restoration coming along? Anything new with the bodywork? Your photo of all the parts cleaned and painted is very awe inspiring.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally posted by SP2
Shaun, how is the restoration coming along? Anything new with the bodywork? Your photo of all the parts cleaned and painted is very awe inspiring.

hi James, thanks for checking in. Unfortunately work has taken up all my time recently, so long term projects like bodywork are on hold until I can free up some time to dedicate at least 2 days straight to the hood, decklid and wheels. I just, minutes ago, applied the second coat of POR15 to my trailing arms which will get new bearings this weekend. Wish I had some Xylene, stuff is just too thick for detail work. Quick pic below. So that's a long way of saying progress is slooooooow.

What's happening with your car? Do tell!

[SP2]

Those arms look awesome. I need to remove my right arm, as you know. Can you tell me the rough order of what I need to do to disassemble them from the car?

I updated my post recently. The paint work is all done, but none of it is assembled. My car is now happily in my garage. I took your advice to the letter and ordered my bead blasting cabinet. I think I found an unused "new" 5yo compressor. I want to remove the hinges for the hood and maybe the rear deck lid so I can sand blast then POR 15 them. I am glad you mentioned how thick the Por 15 is. I am thinking I will spraypaint my arms with silver brake caliper paint. It looks good on my SC calipers.

My front hood has been worked over three times. Conrad has done lots of block sanding to the primer, then to the thin skim of bondo, then to the paint and resprayed it. He wants it perfect. If I might suggest, based on what I have gone through, I would prime your stuff then bondo, then let it dry for a week. The problem is that the filler shrinks when it dries, leaving you unsatisfied if you block sand it to early.

Cheers!

[yel911]

Shaun, good to see you working on your car!!! Nice job!!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Thanks Moe. What are you doing on Sunday? Janus and I will be at Chris'. Would love to see your 3.2 Beastie!

James, trailing arms are pretty easy.

Get the car on jack stands.
disconnect brake lines
place a jack under the arm (on rotor) and support it with a 1/4 pump
remove shock (you can leave the top of the shock connected)
remove jack and let arm swing down
pull off rotor and remove handbrake cable (first small cotter pin, then 10mm nut)
Remove 4 springplate bolts (use a gun)
Remove torsion bar tube bolt (24mm I think). Use a 6 inch 3/8 inch drive extension to drive the bolt out

that's pretty much it.

Please send me a link of your new postings.

[yel911]

What's Chris doing Sunday? What time will you be there? I'll try to swing by, considering it's a mile from my house!!