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My 65, another build to follow


RockinRiviDad

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David,

While you're at it, why don't you roll over here to eastern Kansas and put some of that talent to work on my car. :rolleyes:

Ed

Thx for the invite, I would love to come try my "beginners luck" in your huge air conditioned garage…half the stuff I've tried is on my driveway in the blistering heat lol

David

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Thx for the invite, I would love to come try my "beginners luck" in your huge air conditioned garage…half the stuff I've tried is on my driveway in the blistering heat lol David

Been there done that. The climate here seems to be either HOT or cold, nothing in between. That's why my car has been sitting unattended for so long. Luckily for me, the young man who is going to paint my car has the fully equipped body shop where my car is now. He allows me, and a couple of other customers, to do a lot of the grunt work involved in getting the car ready for paint. If it weren't for me being able to do a lot of that work myself, I wouldn't be able to afford the restoration. Oh, and his shop isn't air conditioned, but if you open the overhead door about six inches and turn on the exhaust fan, you can get a nice draft across the cement floor. Tolerable for the most part but I've yet to see what it will be like when the mercury gets into the upper 90's.

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David, car is coming along nicely. Keep up the good work, nice to see you're working again ;) we nearly hit 100 today here, so my times going to be coming to an end for the summer soon I think, or I suck up the electric bill and run the portable AC in the garage :(

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Thanks for all the positive feedback...it really helps with the overall experience.

 

@Ed,

I have a similar situation when the day comes for my paint & body work. My cousin's husband has a body shop & will charge me $4500 for work he usually gets $8000 for on classic cars. I don't have that kind of bread lying around so I got creative. This last time I visited his shop he pointed out his 65 Chevelle body sitting on a body cart with fresh paint. He explained its been sitting there waiting to get back together for 3 years...(light bulb)...I offered to help him put the Chevelle back together if he lets me use his spray booth, equipment & maybe a painter to work on & paint my car when the time comes...he agreed but I'll keep you guys posted

 

@Chris,

Thank you & glad you like it. I am trying to catch up to you...if the Vegas heat keeps you from working on your car maybe that will be my opportunity to really catch up lol....I was born in Vegas but moved away at an early age so I don't know what the nights are like there. Could you invest in some good fluorescent lighting, set up shop in the garage & work at night when it cools down?? May be cheaper than the AC & you could stay motivated by not taking a hiatus...

 

@Arnulfo,

Thank you too! Theres a bonus to having teeth like mine...I could eat corn on the cob thru a chain link fence lol

 

Edited by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)
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Guest Bustee

Hey Dave, can't wait to see the finished product ! Keep those pictures coming ! Thank You in advance for helping me with my 1964 Chevy C10 when you're done with the Rivi !! HAHAHA

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With your cousins guidance and your work ethic I'm sure you will end up with a nice product or killer paint job that is. Our friend Jose on Glenoaks is working on a custom under hood cowling or cladding for the engine bay, I told him at his leisure and keep track of his time, I'm about ready for the package tray so let me know!

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@Snake, I hope your right about ending up with a killer paint job. I'm sure it won't be anything as nice as yours. I don't even think I will try to compete with yours lol but thx for the vote of confidence.

I will drop by Jose's & check on your cowling lol

Ok, I will get on the horn for our package trays within the next couple of days.

David

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Still moving forward...today I sprayed my firewall with an Epoxy Primer (tan pix). My local paint supply store recommended a two part epoxy primer that came in a tricked out rattle can. You shake the can for two minutes, depress the button on the underside of the can which injects the hardener/activator (?) then shake for another two minutes. From that point you can spray away until empty or save some for later with a shelf life of four days....pretty slick if I do say so myself. I expected to see this epoxy primer lay out red in color (label was red too), like most of the pix I see you guys post, but this one is tan in color. Oh well

 

Then I used a cheapy Harbor Freight HVLP spray gun to spray on the Filler Primer (black/grey pix). Never used a spray gun before so I ended up with a few mistakes. Definitely, not a quality job like the ones I see you guys end up with, but I can live with this. I will prob try to flatten out the one run on the passenger side, paint it & call it good. I plan to paint the entire thing (including over the exposed factory paint) with the Rustoleum 7777 using the HVLP, which will also be the paint I use on the inner fenders and core support when I get to that stage.

 

Hope you like my shabby work (go easy, first timer remember?)

Thx

 

Oh...yes I got lazy & used my cheapy car cover to protect the car from overspray :) 

 

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Edited by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)
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Guest Bustee

Looks great Dave ! I must say, I did shed a tear when I saw you using your Costco car cover to handle the overspray.

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Looks great Dave ! I must say, I did shed a tear when I saw you using your Costco car cover to handle the overspray.

Thank you…but I am able to justify using my car cover:

1) I actually bought the wrong sized cover. It is way too small but will cover only the body without the fenders attached.

2) The 362 (we get 3 gloomy days a year) days of California sun deteriorates my covers so quick that at least I can say I got another use out of it.

David

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yesterdays progress: laid Rustoleum satin 7777 paint from a quart. I purchased the paint from Home Depot to try out my cheap HF HVLP spray gun. The paint instructions state to thin it out with 10% acetone, so I did & it laid nicely. I painted the firewall, cowl, rocker panels & my fuel tank. I plan to do the same with my inner fenders, core support & the underside of the hood.

 

One detail Chris Nolan shared was that the HVLP is usually not the weak link, its the inconsistent air supply that it lacks if you don't have the right compressor. So I replaced my little 20 gallon compressor with a better more efficient 60 gallon compressor & boy was he right.

Excuse the dirty car, I only cleaned & prepped what I was gonna paint.

 

Thanks Chris for all your help...sorry for all the questions via email

 

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Edited by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)
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devildog93 said:
Incredible job on the metal fab/welding on the firewall. I've been tackling that myself and wish mine looked that good, especially floorpans. Ah well, back to work on it.

 

"Incredible?" Wow, thats an ego booster lol I might start walking around with my chest all pumped up now lol. Thanks for the compliment.

 

I'm sure your floorpan welding is better than you think (still waiting on that thread you promised to post your welding pix lol). We tend to downgrade our own work more often than not. I am guilty of it too this is only my 5th attempt at welding (6th if you count my practice session on scrap) with a borrowed mig welder & grinding down my welds is what saved me lol. I have considered buying my own welder so that I can get familiar with one unit & get consistent results. But I only have one more trouble spot to cut out & weld (I know I'm lucky in not having a ton of rust).

 

alini said:
When Im ready to paint something else I'll call ya ;)

 

I followed your paint process & you deserve to be crowned "King of Paint" in my book. I have read your very detailed "paint tips" email over & over & I've learned a ton. But there is still lots to learn...so if & when you do call it will be for me to sit in as your apprentice on your next paint job lol I'll be the go-fer

 

arnulfo de l.a. said:
david,

looking at your pictures, and to me that paint job dont look bad at all.we both know it looks way better than mine! your door alinement looks good too.

arnulfo

 

I drove around with that paint job for many many years. It doesn't look as bad in the pictures as it really is. I would have to guess its an Earl Scheib like paint job sprayed over the original paint cuz its got overspray everywhere. I've also found tons of bondo on the car which is cracking & chipping off. I think the way your Riv sits with the original paint & original components is way better than my pieced together Frankenstein car lol. Nevertheless, I still enjoy my car (I'll enjoy her more once I can drive it again). Hit me up anytime your nearby to check it out in person. Otherwise, I will be stopping by your place as soon as I get her driving again...

Edited by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)
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  • 4 weeks later...

2-1/4" exhaust with resonator delete pipes finally home. Still waiting on my muffler.

 

I will be using these 3/8" exhaust hangers to tuck the exhaust up above the bottom of the frame. My car is lowered by 2" & I hope not to scrap exhaust pipes.

 

I will be eliminating the heat riser & using this exhaust flange gasket to replace it. This setup mimics the exhaust ROA member Dave "Gee Rydes" used on his Facebook Rivi Build. He gave thanks to a friend of his named "Ed" for helping him find the right sized exhaust flange. I could be wrong…but I'm pretty sure that guy "Ed" is our Ole Faithful Ed Raner…thanks Ed & thanks Dave for the Facebook photos

 

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Edited by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)
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  • 4 weeks later...

Finally, decided to purchase aftermarket wheels for my project. Restoring my road wheels was way too expensive. But I will hold on to them in case someone in the future wants to offer a suitcase full of money for my Riv & wants the road wheels on it.

 

Hope Mitch doesn't bash me too haha

 

18x8, Eagle Alloy, Boss 338

 

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Edited by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)
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Guest Kaber

That's a nice looking wheel, and it still kinda has the 5 spoke road wheel vibe! Those Disc's will look great thru there.

Tim

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Kaber said:
That's a nice looking wheel, and it still kinda has the 5 spoke road wheel vibe! Those Disc's will look great thru there.

Tim

 

Thanks for the compliment. I've had a Hot Rod theme going in my own sick head with this build & the 5 spoke wheel has stood the test of time. I hope they accent my build well

 

devildog93 said:
I'm pretty interested to see what those wheels will look like. I think they will look great and still pay homage to the road wheels a bit. What is the model name on those?

 

I'm hoping your right too lol...Eagle Alloy, Boss 338, +2” offset, 4.5” BS

 

arnulfo de l.a. said:
I like um!

arnulfo

 

Glad you like um too :)

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Guest clamshells

Light a fire under that project son The Ghost is getting close to exhaust I want to know how the resonator delete sounds before I order my next Waldron system.

:cool:

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Here is the exhaust finally installed. Well not quite haha. It’s all just tack welded in place for now. My buddy convinced me to leave it tacked for now in case we need to shift it around when we place the body on.

 

This exhaust system did not fit as advertised & the vendor NEVER returned my calls/emails to make things right. If u missed my thread about where NOT to buy exhaust systems from just follow the links below & read on. Please contact me via PM for the vendors name who does NOT deserve our forums business. Moderators won’t allow the company name to be posted. 

 

On the other hand, the muffler (only) is the Mild Imposter from Waldron's. I have not fired up the rebuilt motor yet to break it in. This exhaust was the last piece of the puzzle. As Clamshells said, I will be lighting a fire under this project soon (not literally lol)

 

 

http://forums.aaca.org/showthread.php?t=377044

 

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Edited by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)
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Here is my wheels & tires mounted & ready to roll. I'm not sure I chose the right sidewall profile…235/55r 18's. I did want to fill in the wheel wells but my first impression of my tire selection was that they are too big. My buddy said the tires will take on a whole new look once the body is on.

 

I don't like skinny rubber band tires but I wanted "some" meat for tires. Combined with my Bilstein's, new rubber bushings all around, Gran Sport springs & meaty tires that should be a recipe for a comfortable ride.

 

If I haven't mentioned (don't shoot me), I have a Hot Rod theme playing out in my head during this build. If anything I can always multiple my burn outs to get these tires down to the right size lol

 

Side note: is it just me or do these wheels dwarf my disk brake rotors? :( live & learn

 

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Here is my latest work. I pulled the windshield out & tore the headliner off. Most of the exterior stainless & interior chrome trim is off. My buddy let me borrow a double handled windshield razor knife that made cutting the butyl ribbon a breeze (impressive tool).

 

The windshield trim was another story…those damn clips did not wanna release my windshield trim. Luckily the trim survived & I was able to move forward.

 

In the preliminary cleaning of my windshield track I see a BB size rust hole at the top of the A post…weird place for it. I suspect the rear window track will not be as kind. I will not be removing the door & quarter window glass it's in great shape. But I plan on cleaning & lubing the tracks up real good.

 

I will have to take the advise from the forum about powering my windows with a 12v drill battery to get them to roll down into their cavities. Wish me luck, hope I don't burn up any window motors haha

 

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Edited by RockinRiviDad (see edit history)
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