Blackhawk Jig

[seafeye]

Had a couple days to sand more and apply some filler to cover some imperfections. Not much. But enough to smooth out some weld marks and factory imperfections. This project has given me a new appreciation of how hard painters and body men work. I won’t be complaining about my job anymore. I can see how paint restoration projects can cost upwards of $50k. The labor involved is incredible.














Steering rack area cleaned and satin black applied.

[Tom '74 911]

That is looking so incredibly good... I'm not sure I could drive it after all that work. The first rock chip is going to be soul crushing! Still - amazing work.
Tom

[seafeye]

Thank you, I’m not sure I’m going to be too worried. But time will tell. I’m working for the next week. So working on it will be on the back burner till then.

[911Cabrio]

incredible work. Very thorough. The sweat equity makes it even better.

[seafeye]

Thank you,

Things feel like they are moving slow. But I’ve been busy sanding still. After I painted the floor black it showed minor imperfections that I wasn’t happy with. If I was going to put back on undercoating I would have left it alone. But because this is the final finish I wanted it to be perfect. At least for the first time it leaves the shop. There were slight grinding marks that I wanted gone. So I sanded the entire bottom again. Used a touch of filler to fill the grind marks then sanded that off. Next week I’ll scotch bright the whole car and sealer primer the bottom then do black again.
Then off the rotisserie and onto a dolly to install the front end and get the bumpers to fit. Then sand again to get the whole thing in primer. Really hope this hard work pays off.

[jjeffries]

Seafeye, what incredible work. Tough to imagine exactly how much effort and toil must be involved. Best, John

[seafeye]

Was time to pass the car off to the pros. High build primer was put on the roof, rockers and quarters. Still need to spray the bare metal parts with epoxy primer. One day at a time...

[heliolps2]

Wow !!

[seafeye]

Bit of a break but now back on the project. Taking time to put the front on and then off then on...
Seems a long process to get the fenders and hood and doors to all line up. The doors were a bit wavy so had some gel coat put on. Then sanded smooth. They are about 80% there. Once the fenders are in the correct position I’ll start to figure out how to mount an early fiberglass front bumper to a battery box chassis.

[seafeye]

Front bumper is attached. Had some brackets made up that mount a early swb bumper to lwb mounting points. Front bumper is 80% good fit. But will need some massaging.

Rear bumper on the other hand fit horribly. Had to enlarge the mounting holes to slide it closer to the car. Then the flares had to be cut off and the bumper shortened. And the curve wasn’t right so it needed cuts made to bend the bumper inwards.
Now just using gel coat to smooth out the lines. Now it fits somewhat good and will need finess to get it to look right.

[seafeye]

Wanted to give a small update to the fiberglass work. The bumpers both needed some work to get to my liking. Still need a lot more but you can see what I’ve done. The flare from the front fender doesn’t extend down to the bumper. So we are modifying the edges so it blends better. Added some fiberglass then put a layer of gel coat. Will still need lots more sanding and shaping. On a completely different subject... my twin plug dizzy came in from JB Racing. So I’ve been busy cutting the wire leads and making sure it’s installed correctly. I hope it is...

[seafeye]

You get a better idea of the flare edge with this picture...

[jjeffries]

Exceptional...totally admire your work. John / CT.

[seafeye]

More fiddling with the fiberglass panels. We used a 3mm spacer to squeeze into the door gaps so some gel coat can be applied. Then everything sanded smooth. I’m happy with the bumpers and the flares just a bit more sanding to get them right. Should be getting a coat of primer this week.

[jjeffries]

What's the white material you're brushing onto the gelcoat? Best, John

[lateapex911]

Cool thread. I was wondering that myself....the white stuff?
Also, will you seam seal your lap joints?

[seafeye]

The White is just more gel coat. It’s harder than filler/bondo, sands nice and smooth. For non structural. I’ll be mixing up black gel coat and putting that on the inside of the bumpers. Should be more durable than black paint. The original gel coat on the fiberglass panels was really thin. I don’t want to sand too much into that. The paint color will be more consistent if sprayed over the same material. A bid was added to around the gaps so when I sand the doors flat they should line up with the fenders. Using a spacer in the gaps helps keep the gap consistent.

[seafeye]

What do you do when you are sick of sanding? You sand some more... and how many times can the bumpers be taken off and put back on?
I’m finally happy with the bumper flare and the door gaps are looking great. Now just making sure the panels aren’t wavy.

[Rodney Nelson]

Awesome! How many hours a week have you been spending on your rebuild?

[seafeye]

Lately not too much. Perhaps 2-4hours a day. Now that it’s gone to the paint shop. I’ll be hands off. But once the paint is done. It will be a panic to assemble. I’m moving at the end of July to complicate everything. My goal is to have it finished/assembled by the end of Aug.