Ready, Set, Resto!

I know, I broke the cardinal rule of not taking a second car apart before the first one is reassembled.

Anyway, that little sheep of yours is a ball of fire and I don't think the Riv will be apart very long. The engine bay is painted (except for exposed frame- need to POR-15) and now it's time to start swapping out suspension and steering parts (all on hand). Lucky I'm on vacation these next two weeks and it hasn't rained much here! :Smarty:

Of course Nick asked me to come down Thursday and bring a sawsall to make room in his garage for my frame (cutting into my Riv time). Time to start a thread in the Parts For sale section, "Parting Wagon, All Parts Must Go Fast and Cheap, Need Room". :moonu:

 

This is next to fix Ken hurry up !!

 

OK. Nick Serwo at Ivyland Collision has been working like mad on Ken's GSX. Nick is a serious perfectionist and has redone work when the results aren't to his liking. While he wants to have Ken's completed chassis in Ohio, he will not compromise his results by putting out a product "just to have it there".

Here are some shots of the work in progress...

Engine ready to be painted and garnished with accessories.
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Parts ready to be installed:
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Chassis Detail:
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Body Work:
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The bolts you see in the close-up shot are only there temporarily until Ken's original bolts arrive back from the plater. They will have all the correct markings on them.

 

Oh, and the gent with the mask and grinder in the above pictures is actually Dennis Kirban's nephew. He is a really nice guy and an EXCELLENT bodyman. Kudos to you, Kenny.

Nick also has a young-gun helping him named Keith. His dad has a 70 GS455 and Keith is also an EXCELLENT bodyman.

 

Good Stuff!! :TU: A loong time coming!!! Later,Tony.

 

Thanks for posting those, Yards! And yes, Tony, it has been a long time coming- something like 28 years! Nick is a perfectionist and thus far any part I previously restored he's rejected and redone to make it even better! :laugh: I have zero problem with that. It's unnerving to see the body being cut and welded, sanded, etc- but that last quarter picture where you can clearly see the "eyebrow" line over the wheel arch trailing back to the back of the car looks fantastic! That and seeing other cars Nick has done has left me no worries as to the outcome. Details, details, details..... That's where the devil lies, and Nick and his team are doing a great job of taking car of those little details!

I'm not sure what will be at the BPG Nats, but I suspect it will be a completed rolling chassis with a rear wing bolted on it somewhere. I wish I had the funds to start this a year ago, but timing is everything. And I'm not willing to push what I've been waiting a quarter century to do and have less than a perfect job (And neither is Nick). At least something that rolls will be there and that's quite an accomplishment considering the time lapse since we first pulled the motor for a valve job and engine bay freshen up! ou:

 

Ken & Nick,
Whatever you guys get finished and bring to the show will be greatly appreciated.

If you have it there on Friday maybe we can use it as a display for the Restoration Clinic. I am hoping to have a before, during, and after example of car restorations.:laugh:
Duane

 

If all goes according to the timeline as I see it, it should be a nearly 100% complete concours restored rolling chassis. Not sure if he'll have time to swap in the "correct" bolts for the ones he's using now to hold it together. But if not, that would be a good example of what wouldn't qualify as concours.

 

:kodak:

Looking great!

 

Subscribing! Loving seeing step by step pictures. :TU:

 

Just stopped by the shop again. Kenny has been long-boarding the driver's quarterpanel for 2 days now. When finished, this will be one straight ride.

 

Duane, that sounds like a great idea! I'd love it if you did that with my chassis. Besides being educational for anyone else out there, it'd be great if Nick and I could learn what potential "non-conformances" might be there before we finish it. Ok, before Nick finishes it! :TU:

 

Ken, tell Nick to pack the enclosed trailer with ALL your parts and we can do all three on your car ... a day for each phase of resto :idea2:

 

I just hope it's not too windy when we do a rattle can spray job. ou: :laugh:

 

he told me your car is wayyy to nice for a rattle can job ... he's got some nice course bristle brushes set aside that only got used once to POR15 your engine o No:

 

Think we can get Yardley to paint the stripes once he's done with his Gin and Tonics over at Ruby Tuesday's?:bglasses:

 

OK.... whew. Got home at 2AM. Wow. We kicked butt. Today all that is left is to install the bellhousing, trans and driveshaft.

Here you go...
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All I see is a naked chick poster on the back wall....:TU:

But seriously that looks fantastic. Gonna be nice!