ACOTE's 68 2000

[ACote]

The lead is oem

That's what I was wondering, Just seemed impossible to save. no trace of original paint in that area so I'm thinking it was repainted red after a rear hit where they took the worst spots down to bare metal. What have others done for these style lines?

[pebbles]

USC all-metal,
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ucp- ... gKOf_D_BwE
Or USC Duraglas,
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ucp- ... gKSuvD_BwE

[pebbles]

The lead is oem

Agreed. Quite a bit around the tail light area.
.
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AC42BD9A-78A5-49EE-9E0C-8ED41EF6E35E.jpeg

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=14185&start=135

[theunz]

I used the USC all- metal on the places of my car where there was an edge, or I just felt like it required more strength than bondo would provide. Some of it has been on for over 35 years and shows no sign of shrinkage or loss of adhesion, although the car has seen less than 10 miles since it was applied and has been stored indoors. It is much harder to sand than bondo, but I highly recommend it if your looking for extra strength.

[ACote]

Thanks guys. Both look like great options. Duraglass looks a little easier to work with. Tons of comparisons online to those so I'll do some research. I was able to keep most of the lead on the right side yesterday, for a good base/reference. Car is almost fully stripped then I can start full body work!

[ACote]

My buddy stopped by today so some more progress. 2x the beers and 1.5 the progress!


Passenger door:

Almost ready for fitment and body work!

[ACote]

Last bit of red coming off, Left fender is great, no dents and only a little skim of bondo over the flare. I'm glad lol It's already going to take a bit of time getting the rest perfect. Taking more time off at the last half of june, hoping to have most of it worked and primered before then!

This one wasn't a PO move... I bought the car at 19 years old and learned I need to be more careful rolling it down ramps by myself.
Tried to pull the e-brake after giving the car a push and it kept rolling, overextended the door and pulled the limiter out.

I think I'm getting better at this

Was able to drill out the old pin supports as the base metal was in terrible shape Turning out good!


Interior was wire brushed and sprayed with rust converter. I'll have to finish it up tomorrow

[ACote]

Finally a solid weld first try lol. Sprayed some paint to protect it while I work on the rest of the car. One more thing off the list!
My friend keeps coming over to help every weekend so we lined up the hood and fenders. Took way too long and still needs some tweaking but I'm pretty happy with it.


Also to do something fun I tested my ppg mix to ensure the color was right. To my relief it looks awesome! The code was very hard to find, and I didn't want it to be too yellow, I just love the off-white of the original 665 yellow. (hard to get the lighting right but it's perfect in person)

[ACote]

Want some opinions on getting the door gaps nice, I was able to get the rear and bottom very nice. But the fender has a big gap near the door. I'm going to take the door off and re-adjust this area again. What gap size have you guys seen that works with the side trim?

[2mAn]

Alex this is coming along so nicely! I dream of the day to remove the paint and go back to the original color. How exciting!

[pebbles]

Im not a big fan of evening gaps with filler as seen on tv lol.
I spent months getting all the gaps as even as I could.
Fender to cowl is where I started
Hood to fender
Fender to door
Door to 1/4
Door to sill.
And then side trim alignment.
Days and days and days......
Happy medium is your friend.
IIRC there was a 2x4 and a 6lbs hammer involved in contouring tecniques to achieve flushness requirements.

Your door to sill gap looks too tight. Moving the door upward 1/8” may reduce the door to fender gap.
If you are doing gaps now temp install your side trim.

[ACote]

I've been fiddling around with the rear end for a few hours almost everyday and it's coming along finally. Got the back panel smooth and the lower edge fixed on the right side, it was far from being an edge. Still have to do some shaping, rounding the edges, and drilling emblem holes out.

Trunk fitted

Trunk "horns" sculpted out of short strand fiberglass

curved edge coming along

Right one still a little off, left is better

[david premo]

Nice work Alex! Looking great.

[pebbles]

Nice work Alex! Looking great.

+1

[Linda]

Is that the Duraglass you are using? Looks great.
Linda