Rusty.....you're doing a GREAT job and one that many including me are envious of. I only wish I had the skill, time, and motivation you are showing on this :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU:
Rusty, I'm wondering... is all of this work that you're doing on this car and your customer's cars self-taught, or are you a licensed bodyman? It's really amazing work! I was especially impressed with the rear window patch that you made, and the right front lower brace for the fender! I've done some bodywork before, but it has always been so daunting for me to approach it. You make it look so easy! Seeing the progress on this car is certainly giving me some inspiration to try and replace some rust on my cars! Awesome work Rusty!
HI Everyone,Thanks for the compliaments.I am not a schooled licensed bodyman unless the school of hard knocks counts.About the time I turned 15 I began to get interested in learning to do bodywork,started out painting farm tractors then to cars and trucks.You can learn a wealth of info by watching a skilled worker and that is how I learned most of what I know about bodywork.I do believe where there is a will there is a way so keep at it,ask questions,have patience.
Back in the shop Hi everyone I have not posted anything in a while so I thought I would fill everyone in.The Skylark was put on the back burner for a while but I got it moved back into the shop a few days back.My son and I cut out the winshield and cracked it on the last two inches of removal !! Also found a real bad rust out section after removal of windshield;so looks like I will have to build a two foot section of the windshield channel. Not happy about that but glad I do have a welder! I just came back from the junkyard this morning and while there I scored a real nice set of 4 Buick 14" chrome rally wheels with excellant chrome for $40.00 including I new tire on one of the rims!!!!
Welcome back little 'ol lady car! Congrats on your junkyard score. It does appear you have some work there. Keep those pictures coming as you bring her to life!:grin:
I can not seem to get any time in on the car the last couple of weeks since getting it back in the shop.Working on my taxes now and as soon as that is finished I am going to put some time in on the car.All filler work on the panels I welded in is done. As soon as I get around the front windshield repaired car will be ready for fill primer and block sanding.Bumpers are back from the chrome shop and they look great! I also have all the supplies to paint the car with already.
Back to work! Well I finally got back to work on the Skylark.Can't believe where time goes sometimes, but it is good to have the Skylark back in the shop and spend some time on her.Made a channel to weld in the windshield area that was rusted out.Took the metal to a friends shop and bent it on his sheetmetal brake.Because the channel had a slight bend or curve to it I hade to heat it with a torch as I welded to get it to bend.The repaired patch channel is one piece 22 inches long so it should not have any leaks after solid welding in place.After some grinding welds and test fitting moldings I will weld studs on to attach the moulding clips to;This is the final welding on body before sealing again and fill primer to block.YEE HAW!!!!!!!!
side shot Needs a little primer and block sanding.My 12 yr[almost 13 yr]son is in the background working on his 1970 GS350 hood.Got to bring'em up right ya know!!!!!!!!!
I am so jealous, I have a 20 year old who cares nothing about cars. Girls is his kraze. Keep up the good work, I am learning alot from the pics.
Man i should've done that to my car, now its ditched in some Pep Boys parking lot waiting to be parted out. Looks awesome!:TU: :beer
This is an awesome post!:grin: I'm 22 and have a dad that doesn't care about cars at all. He likes TV. Anyhow, I have just about no experience with body work (other than bondo) and my dad isn't a car guy. I'm going to take a welding class this fall, and hopefully learn how to do it right. I messed around with a cutting torch in the army, but that's about all. Keep up the good work!:TU: -Romy
How have I overlooked this thread? Rusty, this is an awesome thread! Your welding is really something! Wait till you have the car on the road and can tell everyone that you paid $500 for it! I have two sons 12 and 8. The 8 year old loves old cars. The 12 year old just recently caught the bug.... prefers computers and video games and says my GS needs help from "Pimp My Ride". Your son is a lucky kid. Dad has a GSX, a shop and some awesome skills to pass on. Wish I could come over and wetsand for a few hours. Please keep the updates coming.
good day today HI,A wet sanding party sounds pretty good!! This week I have managed to get in some time on the car.Got all the filler work finished;so today moved the car up to the house and wet sanded her down for a coat of epoxy primer to seal everything down and after that a couple coats of high build primer to block with.Here she is after wet sanding.Looks kinda bad with different color primer,body filler,and bare metal spots right now.But lots of hard work behind us now.
prime time Here she is with a coat of DP90 epoxy primer.I think she looks good in black!!! surprising how a coat of solid color helps the looks department so much.
block sand away After waiting a hour I put a couple coats of filler primer on.After that I guide coated the filler primer with some flat black aerosol paint to help find any low spots while block sanding.My son did quite a bit of the guide coating.He is getting excited about the car getting closer to paint time.
Update I thought I would give everyone a update on the car's progress.I block sanded the filler primer coat down and found the car to be fairly straight;just a few places that the guide coating showed some more work needed.I used some catalyst spot putty to fill those areas and then applied some roll on primer over those areas.The roll on primer came in with the free materials I got from the body shop that closed;it worked very well.For guys who do not have a shop or lots of tools the roll on primer can allow you to work on your car.This weekend I sprayed the final fill primer coat and the outside of car is ready for paint.I still need to weld in a section of the trunk floor and weld in one of Mike's radiator repair kits.I also have talked myself into pulling the engine to detail it and sandblast frame and floorpans of the car.I would post some pics but my home computer is still down at this time and I cannot post from work.I also have repaired and primed several of my son's 70 GS350 body panels with his help.Progress has been slower than I hoped for but has been done at a "as time allows pace" and between other paying jobs as well.This thing will see paint someday I hope.
Well my car has been in the shed since my last post.I have been busy with some side jobs to make some extra money.My son and I have worked on some of his 70 GS 350 car parts at the same time.Today it was warm enough to prime his hood and I let him do the priming.I thought he did a nice job.Hope to get back on my car soon.
This is the greatest thread Rusty, you're a credit to both gearheads and parents. Keep up the AMAZING work. My first Buick was a 72 Skylark Custom. Those cars have soul and obviously so do you.
Takes a longtime doesn't it? I should post the pictures of a car i'm doing but it's not a Buick and i'd probably get tossed off the board.
