Search results for query: *

Wow! I forgot about this thread. I'll have to update it. The car is basically done and we just got back from Carlisle where it won a celebrity award from Geoff Stunkard.

Oh, hey! Some stuff happened recently that was worth posting about. Big thanks to Mike's Classic Car Shop for doing a fantastic job on the final spray. The bodywork was almost entirely done by a friend, my wife, and yours truly. There was a small dent that showed up right before painting that...

Finished fixing all the damage I did drilling the spotlights, applied the sound deadening paint, and coated the frame rails with encapsulator last night. I now have a ton of nasty green paint(?) or whatever was in that frame rail encapsulator can that won't come off my arms to show for it...

Got the rest of the body holes drilled and did some quick test fits. Everything looks like it will work, and I've taken it all back off. Now it's back to sanding filler. *sigh*

Well, this made a huge mess, but I got them in. Turns out, Valiants weren't really designed to have spotlights, despite how easy the instructions made it look. Even the slightest wobble either way will kick through either the door frame or the windshield frame. There's also a third piece of...

Also, here's some shots of the seams and one particularly interesting drill spot.

So...It's been a while... Big progress report though: Got the filler done and we're actively prepping for high build primer now. Got the seam sealer underway and thank you to Rice Nuker for sending me a PDF guide so I can finish it off. I'm also trying this Lizard Skin alternative that I've...

Ugh. Grinding a straight line is hard. Really hard. Not thrilled at all with how this turned out, and it's really ugly underneath. Gonna take bit of filler to fix the underside, and I'll probably have to fill the other side to balance it out. We'll see. Ran out of time tonight, but I'll try to...

Yeah, I should stock up on ibuprofen now. Dashboard downgrade successful. No fancy trim in this V-100. I am disappointed with how banged up this thing was on closer inspection. It's going to take some serious filling and sanding. I need to go back and time and punch younger me for chopping up...

This is what I got done last night. I know it looks like there's a few pinholes, but there's no light getting through, and since I was an idiot and decided to weld the patch on the actual corner, this was a very long and ugly process of eliminating holes, so those few dimples are staying. I'm...

So I thought I'd get clever about that tire clearance problem I was having before I took the car apart. I'd seen notching done before, but my buddy Ben suggested I try something clever, and it seems to have worked well. What do you think?

Not much going on this month. Holidays and blah blah blah. Anyway, here's the pictures. Mostly patching and valance work. Oh yeah, and one test fit for fun. Mad props to Ben again for help with the fender patch. That thing was a bear. Also, Ben gave me some...

I think old Chrysler products naturally resist alignment. Even with all the alignment holes we drilled, getting the panels straight is no easy task. The wife and I got things pretty well aligned for now. Should be enough to get the rest of the body work underway. Also got the sandblaster working...

Yikes. That's good to know. I had no idea there was lead in these cars. There was probably asbestos in all that insulation I pulled out too. I didn't see a seam below where I made my cutouts, so hopefully the exposure was minimal. I'll keep that in mind for the rest of my cowl repairs though...

Got some more patching done last night. Not super pretty, but everything's recessed at least, so it will be easy to fill. Definitely not thrilled with how the cowl turned out, but it was really thin up there, and kept disintegrating on me.

Thanks! I have some touch ups to do tomorrow, but it came together well for my first time using a spray gun.

Undercoating today. The wife was instrumental in masking and mixing. I was instrumental in getting really sticky.

Lots of cleaning the garage this past weekend and the week following. The valiant took its first trip outdoors in over a year...and a large branch immediately fell on it. Bad sign. Nothing damaged though. Anyway, the garage looks way better and I'm taking a little time to recharge and...

So, this looks like it should be a suspension post, but it isn't, because almost none of this assembly is going into the final suspension. Yup, it's the old 7.25 and 4 leafs bolted to a couple of air holders so we can move the shell out to the driveway for undercoating. The only "new" piece is a...

Thanks for the advice on the subframe. So, yeah. Couple hours of sanding and I'm still less than halfway done on the bottom of the car, but some progress is better than no progress.

Mine were the same way on disassembly. What didn't crumble in my hand during the strip down was disintegrated by the media blasting. Good to know these parts still exist. I was tempted to make my own out of hobby foam if need be. The looked exactly like those, although I know that's not very...

Ha! Thanks for the flashback. Yeah, welding with gas is amazing, although I miss being able to weld with my giant fan blowing on me. Kind of a Florida necessity to keep the mugginess at bay. After I get the inner fender reconnected, I'm probably done welding for a little bit until we get the...

Got the floor topside sanded last with Carolyn's help. Also got the cowl area filled and ground down again. I'm calling that done now. We'll see how much more we can get done this week.

I love coming home to new car parts and vintage tools, and today is no exception. Behold! The entire rear suspension upgrade (minus shocks), and my sweet new/used vice. It is a thing of beauty. Poly bushings, shackles, bolts, and six (6!!) leaf springs shipped from the nice people at Espo...

Thanks, gents. I appreciate the kind words. I'm trying to be better about updating. Having other people watch the build is good motivation to keep going.:blob: This has been a fascinating journey for me. Before starting on this project, I'd never really done any significant mechanical work on...

Thanks, guys. I really like your '64 too, Rockerdude. I'm jealous of your rear wheel openings on that wagon. ;)

Ground down and pinhole patched. Much better handle on the gas this time. Ran out of time for another grind down. I'll hit it later.

Thanks for the thoughts, gents. Started welding with gas today. It's tricky. Had to stop and help my aunt get her car started, but grinding will resume tomorrow. Used some welding magnets and a sheet metal screw on the side to pull the side back into place.

Yeah, wagon wheels are tough to find. I wish I could graft some on my car. I got them from Layson's Restorations. I know a can of worms gets opened every time their name gets mentioned, but they were helpful over the phone and the fit wasn't bad at all. The floor pans I got from them are...

I am really bad at updating this. So...what have I been up to since early February? 02/16/13: Carolyn helps with pan #1 and the trunk gets a cut. 02/18/13: Trunk pan 02/24/13: Driver's floor pan! 02/28/13: Jeep Comanche officially becomes the parts runner for Project Valiant...