33 Ford coupe bodywork and paint

[kb426]

I can't get excited about the firebird so I shall refrain from making any further comments about it.

[idrivejunk]

Just speak them into the nausea bag    

[chris spokes]

after seeing what Matt can do, this ponti may be the ugly duckling now but I think it will turn out OK    

[kb426]

Matt, I sure am glad you got primer over all those different colors on the 33. I thought we might have revisited 1969 for a little bit.

[UGLY OLDS]

I was going to point out the spot his missed on the drivers door ...   You can still see a red spot right in the middle ..... :oops:
 But Hey ....He' doin' LOTS better than I can.......

Bob...

[idrivejunk]

I have a couple confessions... I do like to experience that psychedelic feeling regularly. Pontiac style. Ha. I was 3 so '69 was good times! Seriously yeah I am sick of looking at topo maps but am still at it. And that red sore on the door... well I was trying out one of them newfangledy kinda whut they call them there spray drones. It was like trying to shoo a fly out an open window I tell ya.

[papastoyss]

Wet spot on the roof is an extra coat where I missed pinholes. Door gap doesn't look much better in primer but at least there is a gap all around. Less at the rocker. I just kinda held it shut with a finger for pics. I think I'll bolt the driver's door back on first thing tomorrow. Customer and boss want "zero gap" between the body and rear fenders but they have giant waves when bolts are tight. My only idea thus far has been to double the number of bolts, or run a row of closely spaced screws in addition to the bolts. Ideas?  I have a '40 coupe & it had clip nuts that slid into a slot in the 1/4 & held the fender out slightly, no problem w/ the welt. I did away w/the clip nuts , using bolts & nuts & made reinf. plates from 1/8 flat stock to keep the edge from warping. Hope this helps; I've really enjoyed your posts.

[idrivejunk]

Somebody caught me doing artistic research on the '33 owner's other car last fall...  I did not know it was his at the time.



I was actually just lost and trying to find the Pontiac aisle  

Here is some today pics, of fender stuff. The left rear was my choice to start with because I like to tackle the ugliest areas first. It had a whoop-ti-do in the wheel opening lip. A bend from a previous dent. Bent the lip straight mostly by hand, but there was a big dent hiding above it. Big lump in the pretty undercoat job on the backside. So of course it cracked. I dug it out some-



Yeah, Nifty, huh? Struck gold again! Look at yesterday's adventure. I started at the back and its a can of worms back there, too. But the front half blocked out nicer. However theres a large hidden rust hole where it meets the running board.    Can you also see how the gas tank cover panel is not long enough in the corners? Hmm.



I dug and cleaned some more, tapped around gently, then applied tuna fish-



Naw thats U-POL reinforced filler. As I've said, the filler sins ship sailed away a long time ago, on this job. But the painter likes this stuff over cracks and its very easy to use. In that pic, you can see that the gap tightened up nicely with the added bolts. The front is super-tight though, and I will probably yep put a little filler on the quarter's bottom edge to even that out. First I want the fenders smooth where they meet so thats where I'm headed...

[kb426]

I went to UPol's website. They have several fillers. Which are you using?

[idrivejunk]

I went to UPol's website. They have several fillers. Which are you using?

Fibral. Don't recall if its the "lite" or not. It spreads easy as tuna salad and doesn't load sandpaper, unlike other more popular reinforced fillers I have used.

[idrivejunk]

Yeah, I think its this:



I was digging in my archive for a pic but man I almost never use it.

Did find a pic of the polyester primer I am using, through an Iwata gun with a 2.0 tip-



We normally apply 2 coats per app but I have gone 4. We get good results with it.

[idrivejunk]

I got the fender shaped like I want, and moved on to closing up the fender to quarter gap. Don't think I'll get the whole gap as tight as it is at the front. Too much else is left to do, and I'm not fast enough so I'll have to spread myself awful thin over the rest of this. Needed a break from it back about when I finished the doors' metal work





We were talking about the hood on another thread... and I just remembered thinking that someone must have assembled it from two different hoods because the lower sections are in nice condition but the tops are awful. That could explain why it has two-handed latches perhaps.

[idrivejunk]

I'd like to have the actual seal that goes at the back of the hood for mock-up, too. Only just have camper tape up there now. I did mention the different hood latches, but not to the customer... yet.

However I have reached a point now, where I can proceed to beautification from the firewall forward...

This right rear fender was a breeze.  I was bleeding confidence over on that other side but am re-comfortable-ed now.

Added mounting bolts, bumped a couple spots down, ran over it with a block and all is as it should be with no gap work needed or major reshaping. I remember having help on one rear fender before primer. Must have been this one because I finished in half a day which seems more normal. Pretty much just DA-ed the rest of the fenders hurriedly in order to make them grey and get them bolted up.




I think they got all the barf and squirrel squeezins washed out of the Smog McFunk Pontiac. We're gonna tip it up from the rear with a forklift and turn that mobile blasting guy loose on it, the one that did the Chevelle. Mostly just to do underneath and jambs.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

33 looks good.  Pontiac may need some metal replaced?

[idrivejunk]

33 looks good.  Pontiac may need some metal replaced?

Thank ye. Yeah the quarters are flapping in the breeze. Getting both quarters, trunk drops, not sure what all else. I do know the toe board rotted loose from the floor in one place. If I get into it, you'll see it all.  

Started on a 33 front fender today. Dadgummit, more re-shaping. One of our ex-guys was working on one of these fronts while it was laying on a stand and added a bunch of fill near the rear. With it bolted up, I'm digging it away.    



By the way, the owner popped in to pay another chunk today, and we had the arm and a leg talk. Poor guy, between the first go-round and all this, he "could have walked into Barrett-Jackson and bought one for less". Of course he wouldn't likely know what was under the paint that way, but yeah. I assured him that we understand his position but that he would not be caught with messy bodywork at the shows. I am confident now that the storm has passed, labor-wise on my part. The voyage is far from over but theres no real tricky sailing from here on out, just regular 'ol paint work on a smallish car.

This is my 1930s car "outie" block, a scrap from under the shear. You can see I taped two paint sticks side by side also, thats for innies. Most is done with regular blocks, but contouring certain areas can confuse and confound even seasoned bodymen working without a tool such as these simple items.