Thanks for the info, Richard.
Regards, Doug
Nice looking repairs. That extra area you added should make the body stronger as well. Makes me itchy just thinking about working with fiberglass though.
Brian
thanks Brian. I’m not itching so much anymore. Don’t know if I’m getting use to it or the primers have sealed most loose glass. Yesterday we completed the initial skim coat/blocking activity.
Now I’m focused on changing the hood pins/receivers to ‘60 style ones. This will result in the hood release cables routed in the interior under the dash and not dangling under the hood. Naturally, they aren’t located in the same body bolt holes.
Richard works on Sue's '59 Corvette every day, but today i went over and assisted him install nut plates under the fiberglass to retain '1960 style' hood retention latches to the body. Richard liked the 1960 style better than the '59, probably due to the way the cable releases are routed. Richard had already made some minor fiberglass mods to the firewall to facilitate this mod, and had also made some 1/4" thick steel nutplates for retaining them.
Here are a few photos:
1) The nutplates
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These would be mounted under/behind the fiberglass retained by steel rivets and bonding cement as shown in this photo:
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We installed the screws to hold the plates in place while the cement cures and also while installing the rivets. Afterwards Dick had to grind off the short piece of rivet stem which didn't pop out; here he is doing that...
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and shown here are the pretty chrome 1960 latch plates that will be installed after paint.
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PS. It reached nearly 75F here today.. been a beautiful week and supposed to continue thru Saturday before a little rain chance on Sunday! (Spring is coming!)
Last edited by BamaNomad; 03-02-2022 at 07:35 PM.
It's been a while since I've updated progress, so this post will cover a number of activities.
We fixed another approximately 30 more cracks, mostly on the underside of the body. Seems like everywhere I looked was another crack! Then, we sanded the underside, trunk, interior area and front inner fenders with 180 grit. These areas are now ready for final sealing and painting, which will be done after color is applied to the body. These areas were blown off, taped off and papered over to prevent overspray getting on them from the hi build. Given the time it took to prep the areas, we didn't want to sand them again!
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After this, we went into the paint booth and applied another 2 coats of epoxy sealer to the body, in preparation for the hi build primer. It was easier to apply the epoxy to the entire surface, that to just the bare fiberglass exposed while blocking.
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The SPI epoxy instructions say to let it cure for at least 48 hours before applying paint over it, but it must be sprayed within 7 days, or it needs to be sanded with 180 grit. So, we waited out the 48 hours, and went back in the booth and applied 2 coats of Evercoat hi build. The primer we used goes on pink and turns gray when sanded, making it easier to see low spots.
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The polyester hi build dries within a couple hours, so we were able to move the Corvette out of the paint booth and onto the lift. We removed the body from the rotisserie/h-frame and set it down on the chassis, and bolted it down. Now we are ready to bolt on the hinges for the doors, trunk lid, deck lid and hood to work the seams and merge the lines.
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Along the way, we decided to change to door handles out for a pair that are 1970 Jag XJS-vintage handles. They are more streamlined and offer a cleaner appearance, at least we think so. It turns out they are almost bolt-on. The mechanism is the same as the originals, just need to extend the rod that connects the handle to the mechanism.
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Now we're on to fitting the doors, etc.
Good update Richard!
I LIKE the pink primer! Since Sue hasn't decided on a color as yet, maybe she should consider 'Panther pink'??
Just amazing!
Hi Richard,
That is an amazing build and should be a real jewel when all done!
Regards, Doug
Thanks guys, putting hinges on now. Shouldn’t be long and we’ll see how everything fits. Hopefully we’re not too far off.