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Quick update, got the primer on the parts this morning. Will need a little sanding, hopefully tomorrow, then on to my practice fender.

Additional photo.

Additional photos.

Hello, I have a mystery part that I'm trying to identify. I have no idea what it is. What I do know is it is a Chevrolet part and dates from maybe 1975-1990, judging by the GM logo. I also have a part number, maybe. It looks like 1-8010713, but it is very hard to read (Photo 1). It also came with about a dozen press-on clips that have barbs on them to secure whatever this is to whatever it fits (see additional posted photos). Piece appears to be black painted and chromed steel. One side has a large lip on it, as if it is supposed to slide over something else. It has a blue colored plastic trim that can slide on the back rolled portion of the piece. I can't find any mention of this part number, or anything close to it anywhere. Figured I'd try to ID it once more before I give up and recycle it.

Hello, I'm revisiting some old parts I have and I either need to find out what they are or they have to be recycled. First is obviously a spot-weld-in drip rail panel. There is no formal part number, but there is a hand-written number, #911659. A partial part # search on GM parts wiki shows a part number of 91165974, and shows a manual page and illustration of the side elevation of a Vega with probably this part on it, but the part number is not specifically mentioned on the page, so I'm not sure. Can anyone confirm that 911659 or 91165974 is a 1971-1977 Chevy Vega drip rail panel by checking any parts books you may have? Would like to try to find someone who needs it before I recycle it.

Jeff, yes, they are linked. Great tip, I will wrap and try to insulate them. I'll also make sure to not turn them on while painting.

Jeff, Thanks for the tips, but trying to work it as cheaply and quickly as possible. I did buy some 14 gauge wire to hang the larger parts (not insulated). Ended up using the painter's tape with staples. The plastic is very light when evenly distributed. My problem was that whatever section I was taping had to hold the weight of the rest of the plastic sheeting. Unless I had someone to hold everything up as I taped, the tape on the ceiling would just slowly fall off. The tape sticks like welding to the plastic, but not as much to the ceiling. Putting a medium duty staple in through the tape attached to the plastic seems to give it enough grip, especially when everything is up and the weight is evenly distributed. Here's the finished product (Photos 1 & 2). I'm still need to seal up a few small gaps so I don't get overspray into the other parts of the garage that will be closest to the painting. I also left a gap and a little more room for a workbench at the back right of the garage so I can prep the paint there. Jeff, I'll do a dry run, as you suggest and see how the logistics work out. I'll also be starting with unimportant parts, so messing it up would be no problem at all at the early stage. No primer spraying so far, as it's 95 degrees outside with a heat index of over 100, plus risk of thunderstorms, so going to wait. Maybe from about 6-9pm tonight...

I'm using painters tape so far, so that won't peel off the paint. Duct tape would almost definitely peel off the paint, so staying away from that.

Jeff, you sure do work fast and efficiently. How many hours a day are you able to work on the car?

Weathermen were WAY WAY off today, it was sunny and hot most of the day, no rain. Was able to sand the two pieces that I had to weld and add filler. Also got the body out, swept the floor again, and did some more sanding to the areas of the body I had primered a few weeks ago. I think the body will need additional sanding; there are quite a few areas where the primer is too rough. In the meantime, I continued building out my defacto paint booth. Hung a plastic sheet on the one wall (Photo 1) and started hanging one down the center of the garage (Photo 2), but the tape does not like to be hung from the ceiling and stick for very long, due to the weight of the rest of the sheeting as I move down the line. I'm going to try tape with a staple to see if I can get it to at least stay while I install it, then give it a couple days to see if it stays up there for the long term and see if I need more tape, more staples, etc. Once I hang he sheeting completely, I'll be ready to paint, as far as the paint booth is concerned. Setup of the other things, like fans, filters, fly paper, floor wetting, etc. should just take a few minutes. I still have to give my first round of lesser-important parts some more primer to fix various imperfections I've seen, but I think I can knock that out tomorrow and do a quick sanding soon after. Once that's done, I will start painting the practice fender first, and if that goes well and I can dial in my sprayer, I will move the body outside and start spraying the various brackets with color. Happy July 4th!!!

Thanks, those are my plans exactly. Having trouble, as it has been raining every day and I've been on an AACA tour for the last week, so zero progress. Need to do the touch up sanding and priming outside to keep the garage clean, but haven't been able to get outside yet. Still may have a lot of small-time work to do until I actually start spraying color.

The junkyard we pick has about 3 of these cars, there's a chance they may have them. I won't be going there for maybe 2 months, but wanted to at least throw a lead out there. If you live anywhere near northern Virginia you could go there yourself, but they don't do phone orders/requests. Keep in touch if you can't find it and I'll look for it next time I visit.

...and a photo of the backs of each.

Hello, What I think I have in the photos are NOS 1955, 1956, and 1957 Chevy passenger car hood latches, respective from left to right in the first photo. These were found in an NOS parts stash. The first one on the left is definitely a 1955 passenger car one, as I have the part number tag, 3723002 that was on it. The other two did not have a tag. When I googled a '56 and '57 hood latch, they did look like what I had in the photo, although the one in the middle either has the latch handle bent down a lot (as seen in photo), or it is from something different. Can anyone out there confirm that the one in the middle is a '56 and the one on the right is a '57, or maybe those are from Chevy trucks? Is the latch handle in the middle bent down, or is that normal for some other model or a truck? Thank for any help.

More photos...

For Sale- Three (3) used 4.75/5.00 x 19" whitewall tires. Two made by Denman, one made by Universal. Denman tires are date coded 305, which should be from 2005. Both have good tread, maybe 50% left. Universal tire does not have a date and is probably much older. Also has good tread, maybe 60% left. All tires will require tubes. No cracking or dry rotting, have always been stored indoors. Taken off my 1930 Plymouth, as what 1930 Plymouth originally had whitewalls? New ones are going for around $300 each, so asking $75 each or all three for $200, or best offer. Will ship; buyer pays shipping. Feel free to ask any questions.

Today, got out my junk Camaro fender, sanded some of it with 120 and shot some rattle-can primer (Photo 1). I'll hit it with some 400 grit sandpaper to simulate my actual MG panels, then use this fender as a test bed for establishing spray pattern and spray technique before I do any damage to the MG panels. Hope to have this step done by the end of the week. Also added body filler onto the two panels I had to weld yesterday. Will try to sand tomorrow. I'll hit all the small panels I have out at once with a little more primer, as I've found some thin spots, minor scrapes from previous test fittings, and some other minor imperfections that I'll correct before paint. Need to do one final dusting and sweeping of the one side of the garage that will be the paint booth before I put up any plastic sheeting and start to build up the actual paint booth. I'm also reading and re-reading the paint/clear tech sheets so I know exactly how to handle the paint products when the day comes.

I'll post some photos once I'm fully set up. Yes, the gouging on paint is insane. I don't know how it's legal. Someone is making windfall profits.

we have one for sale on ebay if anyone is interested... NOS 1973-77 Chevelle Station Wagon LUGGAGE RACK New Old Stock GM 331746 Rare | eBay

Slowly working towards getting started on painting. Found some time over the last two days. Tested my box fan in the back window of the garage, then made a fiberboard cover to block out the area of the open window that isn't covered by the fan. I'll tape it in place when it's ready to go. Next, I got out some of my ancillary pieces that mostly won't be seen (Photo 3). These are pieces that I practically can't mess up and will not require any clear coat. Should be a good way to start and see how the painting goes (I will paint a junk fender as the first thing I do to establish a good spray pattern and practice techniques). I am now going over these panels in great detail, and unfortunately, am finding a few minor problems. I found a crack in the lower front valance panel (Photo 1) and a bad weld on the door latch outer cover piece (Photo 2). These both required some quick welding and grinding. I then cleaned them and applied some rust inhibitor. I'll then need a small amount of body filler, then some touch up primer. I think the paint booth is ready to set up as soon as I'm finished with these first body panels. I really just need to staple up some plastic covering to encapsulate my "paint booth," then set up the filters, fan, lighting, and other minor steps and I should be ready to start. My plan is to do the not-seen parts first to see how it goes, then the inner portions of the fenders, hood, and trunk lid, then the body portions that are not the exterior of the body that show, then the interior parts, like the battery cover and the dash board, then the exterior body portions, then finish with the exterior portions of the fenders, doors, hood, and trunk. This should give me a good path where any major problems in my technique and prep should show up on the panels that matter the least. By the time I'm doing that pieces that count, I hope to be dialed in. Theoretically, I could paint the whole thing in a day, but I'm going to spread it out and take my time, since I'm an amateur. The goal is to have everything painted correctly by Sep 1st. After painting will be a long series of wet sanding and buffing the areas that matter. I hope to be able to leave the hidden areas with maybe 2-4 coats of paint, 4 coats being for the inner fenders that will see lots of road debris, and no clear coat.

Today I installed a plastic double water/oil filter at the end of my spray house. Now I have a water trap right off my compressor and this water/oil filter combo at the end of the hose, right before the spray gun. Repaired that large scrape on my inner fender in the engine bay today (Photo 1 (before), Photo 2(after)). Had to sand it down to the green primer, luckily it didn't go thru to bare metal. Resprayed it after a long struggle with my spray gun needle getting jammed due to too much primer build up inside. Just about time for a new primer gun, but probably won't need it for a while for any big jobs. Will have to take note of this when installing the body after paint to remove offending bracket completely so this doesn't happen when freshly painted. Slowly building up to the actual paint work. The paint I bought has no instructions or sheet that I assume they would usually provide, so will have to research online to figure out the paint to basemaker ratio and the clear to reducer ratios. Next on the list is to place a box fan in the window and make some type of covering for both sides to create a seal. Will be doing a little travelling over the next 4 weeks, so probably won't make too much progress, but will shoot for mid-July to begin painting with some dialing in, test runs, and the back portions of some of the panels that won't be seen.

Went paint shopping over the last two days. I wasn't surprised. The PPG store Paint, Clear Coat, and Reducers were about $1,250. The paint itself was $1,037/gallon! The DuPont Store was about $1,140. The paint itself was $815/gallon. I could get much cheaper stuff, around $450 for everything, but I'm sure it would fail within about a year. There must be collusion between paint manufacturers, there's no way a gallon of paint should cost ~$900 on average. Inflation on paint and paint supplies in the last 4 years must be around 180% or so, which means they are gouging big time. Anyway, haven't placed the order yet, but will go with the DuPont stuff. In the meantime, I've been continuing to set up the de facto paint booth and prep the car. After a compressed air session and some prep solvent, I gave the body panels that will be exposed a quick once-over with 400 grit to knock down some of the fine contaminants that were on top of the primer that accumulated over the last two years or so I've been priming. Then gave it another prep sol run, and came out as smooth as it was before. Did notice a few very minor sand-throughs as I went in detail over the body, so will have to fix those before I'm ready to spray. Final detailing on the exposed body panels will be more prep sol and a tack rag to ensure it gets as clean and smooth as possible. I taped off the front and rear body sections that will be exposed and will need the best quality spray job (Photos 1 & 2). I'll first paint the inner fenders, underbody, trunk, and engine bay, as most of this area will not be seen. I did notice some major scratches on the fender well in the engine compartment where the body rubbed against an engine accessory bracket, so this area will need sanded down to almost bare metal and re-primered. I'll also give the rest of the inner body surfaces another once over to make sure that the areas that will be seen are smooth enough. Once the body is ready, I'll do the same process to the fenders, hood, and trunk, and I'll be starting by just spraying the inner parts of the fenders and panels that mostly won't be seen. Once I get paint, I'll do some practice runs outside on a junk Camaro fender I have to see if I can lay down a smooth coat with no runs, dial in a spray pattern, and make sure everything seems to work correctly.

Jeff, I'll think about it, but the shipping costs and uncertainty of getting the right thing and having to ship it back may not be worth it. I'm going to price it out locally first. Thanks either way!

For Sale- NOS 1963 Oldsmobile 88 98 Jetstar Starfire Left Front Fender Extension, #586927. Excellent condition. $30 + shipping from Woodbridge, VA.

I'm going with the original color, Old English White. I am expecting to be fully gouged and ripped off from the paint costs, but it is nowhere near the gouging and rip-off if I were to hire someone else to do it. Down here, mechanics and machine shops average $140/hr. I should be buying paint within the next two weeks. I'll share the prices in a future post so everyone can have a good laugh.