In '04 I was contacted by a fellow who owns an old car museum here in town. He has about 20-30 antiques in his collection. He had 2 1961s that needed restoration. I did the frame-off thing and sandblasted the chassis and all that goes with that. It took me from August of '04 to June of '05 to finish the first one-a Starfire. The owner wanted it painted green rather than the original red metallic that was standard, so I obliged him and did so. I had to paint the entire interior, as well. In August of "05, I started the second one-a Dynamic 88. I have all the process pix of the restorations on disc, but there's too many to share here. I'll just post before and after pix. The Starfire was just a body shell on the frame to start with. I had to harvest all the body parts-and much more-from donor cars. The second one was more complete, but had been unprotected in the weather for 25 years. Here's some pix: The Starfire BEFORE: and after: The Dynamic BEFORE: and after:

Just a note: I was 68 years old in '04 and am 72 now. The man who owns the museum asked me today if I'd like to do another frame off restoration. I said, "SURE! When do I start?"

Cool story ! They look nice,but green ? all that work would of been worth more if it was an original color. its still fun to see.

Thanks for responding! I agree, the green machine is different. I wanted to go original, but the owner said no. The Dynamic is the original color. One of the most difficult operations was for one person to install the windshields and the convertible tops! I did about 95% of everything myself. I worked alone. During the restoration of those 2 cars, I sandwiched in a partial restoration of a '68 Chevy pickup truck. I can't believe this old man was capable of all that. I also repaired a few of the other antiques during that period of time as well.

wow ...wow wow............ gorgeous... what an artist you are!

Oh, my! (blushes) Thanks!! It was a lot of hard work, and I learned some things, too. I never figured I'd rebuild the hydraulic pumps that operated the tops, but I did, and sucessfully, too! Installing the tops themselves was very challenging for a person working alone......not impossible, but nearly so!

Great job!!
Did you take it down to sheet metal?
I am about to start my 64 convertible down to sheet metal and would like to get as much info as possible.

I'm also above 65.