On the mend

Because of a small little mishap with a pole in the owners garage, we are fixing a dent in the left fender on this really nice GMC. As you can see we removed the headlight and dropped the bumper down on this side to perform a quality repair. The dent was metal worked out first thing this morning. Once that was satisfactory, we worked the final touches out with a little body filler. We then primed the area with urethane primer. Once the primer was dry, Paul took over. He blocked the primer out and sanded the rest of the panel. The truck was then washed and set out to dry. Just before quitting time, Paul pulled it into the booth and prepped it for the paint it will receive first thing in the morning.

Buggin

Today we switched gears and went back to the ’67 bug. A few weeks ago, we worked on this one getting the body off and cutting out the old luggage area and the rusty rear bumper mount. We ordered the parts needed to fix this then moved it over to get going on the Ghia project. Now, we are back on this one for a few weeks to keep both jobs moving forward. We took the afternoon to fit the luggage tray and once we were happy with the fit, we welded it in. In the last two pics, you can see Chris and I took it for a test drive.

Hey, its a truck again

Assembly day here at the shop on the ’52. Kelly Murphy brought the frame by this morning to start assembling the body panels. We started with the cab. New cab mounts and bushing were installed followed by the cab. We then moved to the inner fenders and radiator support. Once those were in the fenders were installed. Then the header panel and lower valence. Moving to the back, the bedsides were bolted in along with the head board then the rear fenders. This is where we stopped. Kelly will be taking the truck back to his place to finish up the plumbing, wiring, and all other finial assembly related operations. The hood and doors were left off to allow for more access and ease of assembly. Once he is ready for these parts we will get the to him for the final touches. After a good long while in fabrication and paint, this truck is turning out to be a real head turner. Especially in this bright red.

Rock on!

Today we kept plugging away on the Ghia. After a good week of progress, we put the finishing touches on the right side. With the adding of the lower quarter and fender skins, the side looks like a Ghia again. We still have a few little things to do before wrapping this side up, but for the most part this side is done like dinner.

CR-V update

Paint day on the CRV. Yesterday it was sanded and the prep for paint had been started so today we finished prepping it and color was sprayed. This one is ready for re-assembly. That will happen tomorrow.

Sandy

Yesterday and today was spent doing quite a bit of sanding on this Chevy truck. We still have a fair amount left to sand on it but this is showing some great progress. Its going to look a lot worse before it gets better.

Rocking the day away

Another productive day on the Ghia. Today we welded in the inner channel and the outer rocker skin after we made patches for the front inner structure. The door was fit first thing this morning, and fit quite well. We did have some manipulating to do, but all in all it was a good fit. After that I started welding while Chris made a few patch panels for the front. Tomorrow we will fit the outer lower quarter and outer lower fender and get those welded on. That will wrap up this side.

In the booth

While I was welding up the Ghia, Chris and Paul worked on the CR-V that is in the shop after a hunting trip for deer. Here you can see the new door skin on and the side of the car prepped and ready for paint. We will paint this one first thing in the morning so we can reassemble it on Friday.

Ghia repair

Lots of welding today on the Ghia. Yesterday we cut out all of the old rusty rockers and heater channels on the right side. Before those can be welded in, we had to be sure what they welded to, was structurally sound. So today thats what we focused on. The rear inner fender had several hole and thin metal that needed replacing. Unfortunately they dont make these patch panels so we had to make them. The first thing we welded in was the lower quarter backing plate. We could then use that as a guide on where all the other metal will meet up to. This is the grey part with the big hole in the center of it. Once that was in, the other bad metal was cut out and patch panels were made to match the old pieces. After the patches were completed in the back, we test fit the heater channel and outer rocker panel. These parts went in nicely. They are screwed in for the time being because tomorrow we will reinstall the door to make sure we have proper fitment. If that goes well, we will go ahead and weld up the new channel and rocker. We will have to make some patch panels for the front fender area like the ones we made in the rear but we will do that after the rockers are installed. Once all welds are done on this side, we will grid them down some to smooth them up. We will then paint these bare metal parts with PPG’s DP epoxy primer. We will then seam seal the welds up to keep all water from getting in there. This is a great preventative measure to keep this car from rusting in the future.

Deconstruction

Between yesterday and today, we have pretty much disassembled this ’86 Chevy truck. We will start the body work and sanding process later this week. Since the owner purchased this truck new, he really wanted to step up and make it nice again. With today’s paint technology, it will look fabulous once we get the body ready for paint.