1960 MGA Restoration

[Luv2Wrench]

It sounds like you've done everything you can possibly do and are at a level way above the average paint-at-home guy, so congrats on that!  You can fix almost anything in the paint with some time so beyond trying to minimize what you have to correct, this stage isn't that critical.   With enough effort at the end your car will look way better than a professional spray job because 99% of those guys are not going to wet sand it and buff.

My biggest failures were not getting paint in some areas like blind spots, behind this or under that, etc, etc.  Most of those issues came from how I tried to hang/hold the piece being painted.  It is a pain to have to prep it and spray it again but not a huge issue.  I think I dropped something as well.

[hursst]

Over the last few days I've been prepping the body for paint.  It's going to be challenging, as it's just a giant dust trap.  I took it outside and gave it a good compressed air blasting, then a little more sanding in certain really rough textured areas, then another good air blasting.  This morning, I started an initial solvent prep to clean the surfaces.  I was able to complete solvent cleaning everything forward of the front cowl so far.  I'll be doing another round of detailed solvent cleaning with some lint-free cloths followed by the usual tack rag.  I also transferred the body from the dolly to stationary sawhorses, so I can more easily get under the car to get paint underneath.  I also have to pay attention to all the captive fastener threads and plug them with their respective fasteners, as not to get them gummed up with a thick layer of paint (Photo 1).  It will also be an advantage as most fasteners were painted body color anyway, so it serves two purposes.

 

My plan was to tape off all the really important outside areas of the body and spray those later, as I'm most likely going to have a particulate problem when sanding dust and who knows what else comes out of the nooks and crannies while I put the body.  I'm hoping that by painting the inside and exterior unseen areas, it will "lock in" most particulates so they won't be as bad when I spray the outside of the body.  Another reason is that I'm also a little nervous about having enough paint for the whole car.  I have 2/3 gallon left, and I'm guessing the interior body will take another 1/3 of that, leaving 1/3 left to paint the entire outside of the car.  I'll have to see where I land after this round of painting and it may be smart to take out a home equity line of credit loan so I can buy maybe another quart of paint, then mix that into the original gallon container so all paint will be consistent for the outside layer and to ensure I have enough paint.

[MjSieler]

Looks like a good setup. I love seeing the preventative bug catcher strips hanging near the body.

[Luv2Wrench]

Spraying the inside will trap dust so that's a great plan.   I used 1.5 gallons but that was due to goofs, I think it would've been done in 1 gallon.  I think the TD has more surface area than the MGA so I think you'll be fine.  On the other hand, getting a quart to be sure is also a good idea.  If you get it... you won't need it.   If you don't...  lol.

[hursst]

I painted the body this morning.  It was incredibly difficult!  Took about 5 hours off and on.  That's a lot of time to be in a full paint suit, gloves, and mask.  There are so many nooks and crannies and difficult areas to get into that it took a lot of extra time.  Very hot, humid, and messy getting on the wet floor to get underneath the body.   I was constantly having to rotate the spray pattern and also get enough paint in the reservoir where it wouldn't spill out the top weep hole, but wouldn't dry up with too little paint at the same time when I tilted the sprayer to try to gain access to difficult areas.  I ended up with a few small areas that I did not get enough paint coverage, so I'll have to double back for those.  

 

I was dead on with my paint prediction; I have about 1/3 of the gallon left, which won't quite be enough to finish the car.  I ended up buying another 1/2 gallon at $505(!) to ensure I have enough paint to make it thru.

 

I had a lot of problems with particulates in the paint as I expected with such a large surface area with so many nooks and crannies.  It seems I blew dust out of every orifice in the body when I painted it.  The front of the car isn't too bad, but the trunk is a mess, it looks like I painted it in a sandstorm (ok, not quite that bad).  All the grit that was trapped in dark corners came out.  I don't know what I could have done about it, really.  I'm going to attempt to de-nib it, and maybe re-clear it and see if it's any better.  The vertical surfaces turned out much better, so the particulates seem to be kicked up and landing on the horizontal surfaces.  Again, most of the body will not be seen, but the trunk and engine bay will be seen to an extent, so I'll have to try to clean those up.  I only clear coated the engine bay, the battery access areas in the cabin, the trunk, and the inner wheel wells, so probably 50% of the body.  I left the rest in just paint, as it won't be seen.  I may go back and clear some of the outside of the trunk that can probably be seen under the rear wheel wells.

 

Last, I re-sprayed the hood and trunk latches, where I was a little light on paint, plus I sprayed the hood and trunk hinges.

 

I think I will end up hanging the rest of the parts vertically to try to mitigate the particulate problem I have.  I think it would be easier to lay them horizontally, but I think the pieces would be covered in particulates if I did that.  I can't wait until the painting is complete, it's been a very frustrating process with the particulate issue.  I'm hoping I don't have too many problems with the exterior panels.

 

Have a great weekend!

Edited August 25, 2023 by hursst (see edit history)

[hursst]

I completed a post-mortem on the body paint job today.  First, I re-painted parts of the trunk and hood drainage channels that I missed on the first round, then cleared them.  I also de-nibbed a large piece of old stringy paint that blew thru my sprayer and onto my front inner fender well, then repainted and re-cleared.

 

I noticed that the particulates were bad only in horizontal planes.  As much as I tried to clean the body beforehand, there was just too much grit and junk from sandblasting, sanding, grinding, welding, and old grime that was out of reach and found its way out during the painting process.  I would say in the trunk there are about 3 particulates every 1.5" x 1.5" area.  In the very front header panel by the grille opening, it's about 3 particulates every 2.5" x 2.5" area.  On the cowl panel shelf, in the middle of the car, where there are relatively less nooks and crannies, it's about 3 particulates every 3.5" x 3.5".  When I do the same comparison on the vertical surfaces, like all four inner wheel wells, I find about 3 particulates every 2' x 2' area, which is a huge difference and a negligible amount; almost zero.  It's clear that it's not a problem with my paint or paint gun, but just too much junk trapped in the body and some junk that's just always in the garage floating around.  I think I can live with what I have, as the front area is largely concealed by the grille and air intake tubing, the middle cowl area is covered with tons of junk like the brake booster, heater box, tubes, wires, blanking, plates, etc. and the trunk is about 60% covered by the spare tire and cover.  I did de-nib these areas and will probably do another run to try to do even better, so again, I think we'll call it good enough.

 

Since I want to minimize all the grit in the garage for the final, most important paint work on the car, I'm going to blow up the whole garage and start fresh with a thorough cleaning and new plastic from the ceilings, as they are now covered in fine paint and clear dust.  I may also try to do even more sealing of the garage, then I think I will have done all I can do get the best paint job possible.  I know I won't be able to prevent all the grit from showing up, but I'll need it as low as possible.

[hursst]

I decided since I'm pretty much at the fun part now, and there are some parts that are easier to put on now than after the body is on the chassis. I'm deciding to "build back better" now and finish some things off.

 

I put in the original "VIN tag" and the original patent plate (Photos 1 & 2), the windshield washer blanking plate (Photo 2), and the hood support bumpers (Photo 3).  The original tags cleaned up nicely, but are not perfect.  I'd rather have the decent originals than repros with these things.  The hood support bumpers, which are Moss repro parts, are absolute garbage and will probably need replacement within 100 miles.  They are made from the cheapest plastic you could image, they are not even rubber.  They were literally wet when I took them out of the back, as all the oils in the plastic seeped out.  They are also too big, so I had to bend some of the drain channels to get them to fit.  Of course, they were still too big, so ended up with some very minor damage to the paint, which I can easily touch up.  Also, the tightly fit ones cracked, as there is no give in them.  Moss is hit or miss, as I've said before.  Well, these pieces are absolute trash.  If I can find some better rubber ones, I'll replace them.  For now, these will have to do.

 

Next step is a another thorough garage clean and redo, then I'm going to paint the rest of the body so I can call it complete.

Edited August 26, 2023 by hursst (see edit history)

[STEVE POLLARD]

Chris - I really like that color !! Your doing an excellent job !!

 

Steve

[hursst]

Thanks Steve, I appreciate the kind words.  So far so good.

[Luv2Wrench]

Looking great Chris!  You're right, it gets easier from here and is the most enjoyable part.

[Andy J]

I can sympathize with you on the particulates in/on your paint. I vacuumed,blew out,and wiped my car every time I finished working on it everyday.I had my car stripped down to the bare body shell like you have. I painted it in my friend's paint booth,which was a very nice booth,and still got some dust,dirt,or whatever on it. I read somewhere recently that most of the particulates come off of your clothes. I never even thought about that,but it makes sense.  

 

My biggest problem however,was not making sure everything fit together well before I painted it. I just assumed that I could just bolt all the sheet metal back on like it came off. Big Mistake! I got it all back together,but I wasn't too happy with some of it. It was my first restoration and I learned a lot. That won't ever happen again.

[Laughing Coyote]

Chris, painting a car is a BIG undertaking, even if it's a small car. It takes a lot of work as you know just to get to that stage. Keep it up, you're closing in on finishing the car. Keeping everything clean from your gun to the booth your spraying in all helps in the finish. It's a pain to keep doing it, but in the end it will all be worth it. 

[MjSieler]

Thanks for sharing both the good and the challenging aspects of what is looking like great paint work. Good luck with the final coats.

[Luv2Wrench]

At risk of a thread hijack, I might mention that I ended up buying a DeKUPs system for my spray gun.  One of the several advantages to this system is that you can spray in any gun position, including upside down.  I think most gun manufacturers have similar systems.  The system includes a hard plastic "cup" and disposable liners.  When you start to spray you turn the gun upside down and the air is sucked out of the liner and after that it is all paint regardless of angle.  For me it was definitely worth the extra cost just for the ability to spray at any angle though I originally bought it to save from having to clean the cup each time.

[hursst]

If I ever do another restoration, I will definitely look into this.  That was a big problem with painting this car's body internals.

[hursst]

Quite a frustrating day, but pressing ahead.  First, trying to deal with my '74 Camaro and plug fouling issues.  Of course it could be any number of things causing it and my great old-school mechanic retired about 2 years ago, so I'm mostly on my own.  It's draining a huge amount of my time as I test this, change that, learn this.  Also, while driving my 2000 Jaguar XK8 Friday, the front upper shock mounts decided to finally give up the ghost.  The car is undrivable at the moment.  Of course, the only real way to fix it is have a custom set of mounts made, but the guy needs cores before he can make them, so that car will be down for a long time.  Photo 1 is how the current mounts look.  Looks like miracle grow powder for tomatoes.

 

Ok, back to the MGA.  Tried to make up for wasted time this morning.  First, had to do some more touch up on the body due to the damage caused by those awful Moss hood bumpers.  Also touched up my hood and trunk release rods, then painted some of my hood and trunk mounting bolts + some misc (Photo 2).  I then installed the trunk (Photo 3) and hood (Photo 4) release rods, as well as the hood and trunk hinges (Photo 5).

 

Next, I tore down all the plastic sheeting in my "paint booth" and started cleaning up a little.  Tomorrow will be a thorough cleaning, followed by fresh plastic sheeting, if I feel up to it.  Next, I think I will paint the rocker panels, then I'll have to transfer the body back to my dolly, then I will have to place it on some lowered mounting of some sort, to get the body low enough where it's easy to paint the top surfaces in order to complete the rest of the body.  Trying to get all the painting finished before Nov 1st now, but will be a challenge as I have a 2-week vacation, then 2-weeks of consulting-type work, then Hershey week, so not much time for the MGA.  I also have a few minor issues in the bodywork on the main panels I have to correct.  

 

Last, I attempted to start putting back the firewall grommets. Four of them were super easy, but I tried five other ones that have small holes to put in grommets with wide flanges.  Impossible without two people.  I did manage to get two small ones in, but damaged one, destroyed another, then I gave up.  I don't know how they could have gotten these in on the assembly line.  I spent over an hour to put in two small grommets!  I'm going to wait until I can get some help before I continue on those.

[keiser31]

I would bet that the new rubber/neoprene bumpers are a lot harder than the original MGA bumpers.

[hursst]

Ha!  If only they were rubber or neoprene!  They are cheap plastic.  Two of them cracked due to them being too large for the drain channel.  The originals, which I still have, were rubber (they are in deplorable condition, otherwise I'd reuse them).

[keiser31]

8 hours ago, hursst said:

Ha!  If only they were rubber or neoprene!  They are cheap plastic.  Two of them cracked due to them being too large for the drain channel.  The originals, which I still have, were rubber (they are in deplorable condition, otherwise I'd reuse them).

Something here may fit. Some look like they could be the same as the MGA items....

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=560603692&channel=fen&q=rubber+bumper&tbm=isch&source=univ&fir=phrLebDAGyzHjM%2CIwOUrC9gIry7cM%2C_%3BwFnbvyJkqMOQQM%2CFPKdZyE4NlGf_M%2C_%3Bp4apjrhyn44o9M%2ChFLwWU7Wpj2d4M%2C_%3BSvfWBtjyEWRUZM%2C3XAe7XbR9tFCnM%2C_%3Br23hM6GOTr2gbM%2CQSY2fY-YDy_27M%2C_%3Bg3_50pPWM_jbgM%2CTCSO6tmo5A7-aM%2C_%3BkUQiBfTtxX2D0M%2CE8vWF9BYFq4CKM%2C_%3B6nYfWx-anAd3sM%2CzCpCW2kO6wANfM%2C_%3BAzkP6xOrvTujQM%2C7EBm3B_hCWCdHM%2C_%3B1HZ-1uoeIx5ioM%2CrVNz0BHTJ1fpBM%2C_%3BzM3dOswyZNy4GM%2CiGi7OJ4XuQ0VSM%2C_%3B_oL7QWPTDcNq0M%2CfAylI0ejFg2JgM%2C_%3BNzcYUv01-xIoQM%2CkvDW0hkvqjP2PM%2C_%3BvZ_Gda2CChvdcM%2Cl68aFzFWc7POXM%2C_%3BGlNNQDkRT9Yg1M%2ChlymUXKdK1t4yM%2C_&usg=AI4_-kSqRndkJZovYrdU3y_KpZ4HFBJp9g&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-6bTM2f6AAxW1JkQIHXzGDAAQjJkEegQIKRAC&biw=1920&bih=899&dpr=1

[hursst]

Thanks.  They do look exactly the same, but I'll have to check the sizes.  Some appear to be 1", which is too large.  There must be other supplier out there that provides a QUALITY part, I would think.

[hursst]

Trying to keep the momentum going.  Took down all the sheeting, transferred the body to my dolly so I could move it out of the garage, cleaned the garage, then took my '30 Plymouth for a drive, as it's been entombed within my "paint booth," as I was unable to open the left side garage door because of the sheeting.  Gave it a reasonable exercise.  That car will be getting an engine teardown and rebuild once the paint on the MG is complete and the MG body is back on the chassis, so I'll have room.

 

I then put up all new sheeting, which hopefully will somewhat limit the dust in the air.  I peeled off the tape and paper on the body to reveal the areas I have left.  I did have a few minor problems where the paint/clear got a little under the edge of the tape, so had to do some minor sanding.  I also had a few small areas on the passenger upper rocker where the tape took off the primer, right down to bare metal. although the largest patch was only about 3/16".  Must have had some grime under it in those particular areas that didn't allow perfect adhesion of the primer.  I had to sand down those areas and touch up with primer.  I'll have to re-sand the primer to get it smooth again.

 

Plan is for tomorrow to re-sand the touched up areas, then get the body back in tape and paper so I'll be ready to paint the rest of the body.  One more cleaning of the body, some more prep solvent and tack rags, and I'm hoping to paint on Wednesday.  Have to go out of town Thursday, then back Mon-Wed, then off on vacation for 2+ weeks, so no MG work during that time.  Will be a real challenge now to meet my proposed deadline of having the whole car painted by Nov 1st.  I think I could switch to the medium-grade paint basemaker (roughly 70 degrees), heat up the garage with a portable heater (then remove it from the area) and get the garage warm enough to continue painting into Nov if I need to. 

[Luv2Wrench]

It'll get done when it gets done and you'll have forever to enjoy it.

[hursst]

Had a long day of other things going on today, so didn't even make it to the garage until 3:30pm.  Got about 3 hours in.  Was able to remove the old tape and tape up about 60% of the car (Photo 1).  Still needs the engine bay, interior, and trunk taped off.  Will try to complete it tomorrow.

 

I also re-fillered, sanded, and primed the driver's side door latch pilar cover to get it ready for repainting after I dropped and damaged it.

 

Had a small set back over the last couple days.  Two days ago, as I was moving the body outside, the dolly came to a slightly abrupt stop on an outside uneven surface.  I put the rear of the body on bubble wrap to keep it protected, but unfortunately, the body slid backward about 8" when this happened and the front of the trunk area caught on the back horizontal board of the dolly where the body contour there goes up about 1", so this area fell about 1" onto the board.  Of course, this was the weakest part of the trunk where I did the most (poor) welding, so this small shock pushed on the uneven welding from below and transferred it to above, where it cracked the filler and therefore paint in three areas of about 1" - 2" each (Photo 2).  Not too worried as this area will be covered by the spare wheel and tire cover, but I'm going to have to see how bad it is underneath and hopefully just sand down, re-filler, prime, and paint the damaged areas.  Another lesson learned. 

[keiser31]

Oh, MAN! I HATE when things like that happen.

[Luv2Wrench]

It happens Chris.  I had about the same thing happened but it was a smaller part so I was able to sand it down and start over.  If that area is covered by the spare tire you've caught a break.   

[hursst]

This morning, I got my '74 Camaro A/C charged for a 6th (not a typo), 6th attempt at getting my A/C system working.  Two previous attempts, the front seal blew out, the other 3 attempts, the front seal leaked badly and threw oil all over the engine bay.  6th time is the charm, they say?  So far it works, great to have A/C again.  I think I have about $3,700 into that A/C system, but that's what happens when there is really only one shop in the country that can do the work and it's in Florida.

 

The stars aligned today and turned out to be a perfect day for painting and I forced myself to make some time to get this work done before vacation.  Yesterday, I did a lot of prep on the body and garage to try to get ahead.  Today, by the time the temperature cooled down enough, it was about 3:30pm before I hit the garage.  I did about 2 1/2 more hours of prep in an attempt to mitigate the particulates in the garage and get the best paint I could.  I pressed ahead and was able to lay down two coats of paint and three coats of clear.  Didn't wrap up until 8pm, after dark.  I then had to race to shut down and close up shop before all the insects found their way into the lighted garage.  Had the usual amount of particulates for "clean" panels, so it wasn't too bad.  Had to do some de-nibbing after paint, then a little more after the first coat of clear.  Of course, there will be the usual few areas that need more de-nibbing, maybe some touch up, but for all intents and purposes, the body is done! (Photos 1 & 2). For reference, I went back in my archives and here's a photo of the rusted-out pile of rubbish I started with (Photo 3).  I'll take a better look tomorrow, but from what I saw, it's the best round of painting yet, which is good as these are the areas that really count.  I've been working on the body for over 4 years, but it looks like my work is finally paying off.  Body is nice and straight (just don't look under the trunk at my bad welding!).

 

Now time to go on two vacations and take a long break until I start on the remaining panels.

[Laughing Coyote]

You've come a long way. Enjoy your time off.

[keiser31]

AWESOME work! You are gonna LOVE the way that car handles.

 

[Luv2Wrench]

OUTSTANDING!!  Have a great vacation!  I think you'll have a difficult time convincing people (outside of this forum) that the car in the before picture is what you actually started with.

[hursst]

Had three days at home before my next trip, so made the best of it.  Got the front lower valance, the hood, and the trunk lid painted today (Photos 1 & 2).  I also was able to finally redo the one door pilar cover plate I had dropped and messed up earlier.  Ended up with the usual particulates.  On these pieces, I'm doing 3 color coats and 3 clear coats to try to eliminate poor coverage/tiger stripes and to give me plenty of material to wet sand when I'm ready for that step.  I'm hoping that between de-nibbing the particulates and sanding, I'll be able to either get them all out, or at least make a smooth surface.

 

It will be hard to find any time for the next month, but next round I will try the driver's side front fender, door, and rear fender, then the last round will be the opposite side, and that should be it.  Will have plenty of time after Hershey, so I hope to have all the major painting finished by late October.  I'm sure there are some brackets or latches and definitely some bolts I didn't get to, but those will be easy no-brainers that I could just spray outside since they are so small.  I'll start wet sanding as soon as the paint has cured enough or late October, whichever works out.

 

Last, I bought some new hood bumpers from England.  They fit, they are rubber, and not a complete piece of trash like Moss is selling.  I'll install them later, as they will get grimy if I put them on and then wet sand around them.

Edited September 6, 2023 by hursst (see edit history)

[hursst]

Back in the country and now back to the MG again.  This weekend is a "tropical storm" in my area, which the newscasters claim is an epic disaster and government has called a state of emergency here in Virginia.  Of course, we all know, this means just light rain, which is what I planned for and what we got.  Some folks have said painting when there's rain outside keeps down a lot of the outside dirt and dust, so seemed like a good time to paint in order to keep my deadline of Nov 1st, which I think I will easily make at this point.

 

This round was both doors and the passenger side rear fender (Photos 1 & 2).  I decided to hang the doors, as they are so light and have easy holes on top from which to hang them.  There was no garbage in the vertical portions of any of the painting I did, but the usual amount of particulates in the horizontal portions.  I should have painted everything on a vertical plane, but that wasn't practical for my situation.

 

After this round, there is only one more round of painting with the driver's side rear fender and both front fenders.  After that, I think there are a few misc brackets and fasteners that will need paint, but otherwise, that will finish it.  My next step after that is to mount the body on the chassis for the final time, then I will start wet sanding the body in order to complete the paint process.  Unfortunately, there are two stress cracks in the body filler that showed up on one of the front fenders and on the remaining rear fender when I had to flex the panels to make them fit the body properly. I'll have to grind and dig out the filler, then maybe try to tie the lower portions of these parts to the upper portions to make a stress simulation, then refinish it before paint.  Hopefully I can get it to stay nice thru the paint and installation process.  If not, I may have to repaint parts of these fenders on the car while everything is properly stressed.

 

I'm also now at the point where I think I can get tires, so I will attempt to get new tires and tubes and get them mounted on my new wheels at the Carlisle, PA swap meet later this coming week.

[keiser31]

VERY NICE!

[hursst]

Today is by far the greatest day of this whole restoration process.  I was able to complete the paint today, and on top of that, I finished before Hershey starts this coming week.

 

I needed to try to paint these panels vertically, as I get much better results as the particulates settle on the horizontal surfaces in my garage.  I don't have much room in the garage nor many places to hang panels, so I hung the two fenders from the garage door rails on each side.  I then got another cable and connected the two fenders in the middle so that the fenders would tilt out towards the center of the garage so they would be vertical enough that I could paint underneath them okay (Photos 1 & 3).  Had a few minor problems like some more garbage stringy paint being sprayed out, but I was able to simply razor blade those off in between paint coats.  Here are some of the fenders as completed (Photos 2 & 4).

 

I feel like a huge weight has lifted off my shoulders now, as this is a huge step, I beat the cold weather, and I can just relax at Hershey knowing this major step is out of the way.

 

Hope to see some of you at Hershey.  Taking my '97 Saab 900 to DPC this year, as well as walking the ~26 miles of parts all week.

[hursst]

Back from Hershey.  Still unpacking and dealing with all the things I need to catch up on over being away for a week.  STILL have a lot of catching up to do!  Of course, doesn't help that I got my one car fixed and out of the shop, only to have the check engine light go on and a "Restricted Mode" warning as I pulled into my driveway, so that car is down and out again.  It's a huge money pit.  Still working on my severely fouled plugs on my Camaro, and that's a real disaster, having to figure out the cause on my own.  Trying everything I can think of before I give up and take it to a far-away shop, as there are no old-school mechanics around me anymore.

 

Anyway, I did have time to buy 5 new tires for the MGA and I got them mounted yesterday.  They look great.  I should have them on the chassis within a week or two.  Wanted to get the tires on now so when I put the body on, everything will be even and balanced.  Previously, I had to constantly put air in 3 of the 4 57 year-old tires and the 4th tire has the valve blown out, so had to stack some wood under it to make it level.  I will probably put the chassis up on blocks once I get the body on to avoid flat spots.

[hursst]

Wasn't able to do anything with the wheels today, because everything in the garage is locked in like Jenga and it was raining all day, so couldn't move anything outside.

 

Did some more baby steps today instead.  Started by cleaning up much of the garage from being a paint booth.  Next, did a rough fit of the door pilar cover plates.  These pieces were a nightmare to finish, as the rocker panel repro is slightly too tall due to the incorrect arc of the piece, which results in the rocker being slightly higher than it should at the outside of the rocker.  Even though I had to cut and increase the arc of the cover plate, then weld it back, the piece still does not fit that well due to the above problem.  Since it worked during my test fitting, it still worked now, it just wasn't that easy to get lined up with all the screw holes.  It still needs two holes drilled thru the rocker panel (there are extant holes in the cover panel) in order to secure the bottom of the cover plate.  The cover plate is just in loose for now as it will undoubtedly need adjustment when I do the final door hang (Photo 1).  

 

Next, I glued in the two felt protective pieces into the trunk, so the spare tire can rest on them so it will only do minimal damage to the trunk (Photo 2). 

 

Last, I think I finished installing all the requisite hole plugs in the firewall/shelf (Photo 3).  This would have been much more difficult with the body installed, as you really need access to both sides at the same time, as the plugs have wide internal channels that are tough to seat properly.

 

Assuming the rain stops tomorrow or Monday, should be able to roll out the body, drive out the '30 Plymouth, roll the chassis to where the body used to be, install the new wheels/tires, move the chassis out, move the body back in and put it back on sawhorses, drive the Plymouth back in, then roll the chassis under the body.  This, of course, after I move the three other cars out of the driveway in front of the garage.  I'll then see if I can get a couple friends over in the next couple weeks to help me lower the body on the chassis without damaging the new paint job.  I'll be taping/papering off the trunk, engine bay, and interior and wet sanding the body on the chassis.  I can't wait to get all of that space back and clean up/reconfigure the garage again!

[STEVE POLLARD]

Looks great Chris!!

[hursst]

It stopped raining early this morning, so out to the garage.  Was able to make my multiple shuffles and get everything situated.  Removed the old original junk wheels and tires and installed the new ones.  Yes, this car came originally fitted with white walls (Photo 1). 

 

Next, I positioned the body and slid the rolling chassis under the body (Photo 2).  Amazing how easy it is to push the chassis around now without a flat and shredded tire.  Next step is to hopefully get some friends over in a reasonable amount of time to help me install the body.  Problem is, those guys are even busier than I, so we'll see.

[1957Birdman]

Looking good Chris. Enjoyed meeting you at Hershey. Keep up the good work.

Lew Bachman

1957 Thunderbird

[hursst]

Lew, nice to meet you and your Triumph friend as well!  Thanks for hunting me down.  Good timing, as I spent 90% of my time looking at others' cars.  I hope your friend is able to press on with his restoration; it sounds quite ambitious, but he seemed very committed.

 

-Chris

[hursst]

One week out until I can get the body dropped, so working on adding parts that don't add any, or very little weight.  Realized that I never bought any door weatherstripping, so ordered some original-style ones from Scarborough Faire.  Was able to get one installed (Photo 1) and was able to clean up the original end-caps as well (Photo 2).  Stainless steel is very easy to clean up!  Am trying to clean up some rusty original screws to attach the end caps, but some may be too far gone and may need to be replaced.  All hardware in is loosely, as I'll need to make many adjustments when adding the rear fenders and doors.

Edited October 21, 2023 by hursst (see edit history)