one of these days it'll come down to some of that for my 68 GTO

Well, it's been way too long since I've made any progres on the car, so I decided to get cranked up again. I finally got the tail panel and passenger side quarter fit and screwed into place over the weekend. After I got into place, I pulled them off and sanded the inner side of both panels and prepped for epoxy primer. Tonight, I shot a coat of primer on both panels. Tomorrow, I'll tape of the areas that will be plug welded and undercoat the rest. More pictures tomorrow hopefully. Here's a few from tonight.

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Finally got the passenger side quarter and the tail panel welded in place during the week.

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Today, I was able to get both tulip panels fit and th lower cowl removed.

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can't wait to see how this thing turns out Chris. theres a lot of work going into this bad boy i dont think i'd be brave enough to tackle some of this stuff you've done.

It's not as bad as it looks. Well, it is, but easily achievable with some patience and common sense. Trust me, I can't believe I've done as much as I have. I would have loved to drop it off to someone to have all this done, but I just didn't have the money for that.

I hope it turns out nice, too! Still a ways to go, but the light is starting to shine a little bit.

yeah im going to do my floor pan and trunk pan myself but quarters scare me to much

Chris the car looks great and keep the pics coming..Im glad you got your wheels and trust me youll love em!!!!!!:thumbsup:

Steve

I am glad to see you doing this yourself. I am still affraid to try the quarters on my own. I may take it somewhere and try to help do it so I can on the next project (if there is a next project). Nice work and thanks for giving me some motivation too. It's been a tough week for that.:cheers:

Very nice Chris. Getting some work done on that bad boy.
Keep us posted.:thumbsup:

lovin this project!!!! Your doing a hell of a job man!! KEEP IT UP!!!

I was nervous about doing it myself, but after trying to find a bodyman that showed interest in this type of work, I gave up looking and decided to become that bodyman myself. The first guy that replaced the driver's side quarter, roof skin, and rear deck filler panel took 6 months for those three pieces. I had wanted him to do the tubs as well, but I got tired of waiting and went and picked up the car. I guess it was a blessing in disguise the way it happened, because I found so much more than I had originally anticipated once I got it back home.

Trust me, it's really not hard. Just keep fitting and tweaking until it can't get any better, then weld her up! It's more intimidating than anything for us rookies!

Thanks.

Thanks for the pics and updates, been a lot of fun watching you build this car, keep the pics coming. You are taking your time and doing it right. It will pay off in the end. :thumbsup:

gb

You are doing a heck of a job Chris!! :thumbsup:

I got the lower cowl and the outer tulip shells welded on on Labor Day. I just need to grind welds and sand the lower cowl then shoot a coat of epoxy primer on everything. I do plan to spray a rock guard type product inside the lower cowl and the tulip panels before I weld the outer tulip shells on. That should keep corrosion away at least while I'm still alive!

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Looking good Chris! Are there any other panels that need replaced?

This is looking great. Great job.

Nice progress

Hey chris are you going to shave the fire wall?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Nope. Everything is pretty much new. The front fenders are original, the firewall is original, rockers are original, frame rails, lower inner valnce behind the tail panel, and all the main structure was untouched. She's better than she was in 1968!!!

What a bummer! I was just getting on a role with this metal replacement.

Yeah, I'm putting the DSE plate on it. That's next!

Very cool. That will look good. Keep us posted Chris.:thumbsup:

I forgot to post a photo of the cowl jig I built for aligning the new cowl to the original cowl's location. I'm sure it can designed a million different ways, but here's what I did.

It uses the six fender bolt locations for alignment. It really took the guess work out of the replacement. Remove the old cowl, put the new one in place, and then bolt the jig to the fender bolt locations located on the door jamb areas. This locates the jig left and right. Then I just used the other four holes in the cowl and bolted the jig to them. This aligns the the cowl front to back and side to side. This ensured the bolt hole locations in the new cowl were in the same spot as the original.

This may help someone else doing the same replacement.

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The car looks geat, nice work..

Got all the welds ground down on the lower cowl and got it primed today. I also fit the new DSE firewall fill plate and did some seam sealing around the car.

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Looks great! I bet it just blows your neighbor's minds when the see what all you have done to that car!! :thumbsup:

They actually think I sold the car and bought a project car! Most of them think I'm crazy for doing what I did, but when I start showing them the pictures of what was lurking behind that pretty paint job, they start to understand.

While we are talking about neighbors....
 

You know good and understanding neighbors are great to have! We always thank our wifes, friends, L-g members, sponsors, ect....but the people that live close enough to hear all the grinding of welds and cutting of metal and never bitch or complain...well this ones for you! Thanks!! :thumbsup:

I have great neighbors and after 10 years of making noise (I stop by 9pm always) I have not once had one bitch about my noisy hobby! Well time to go make some more noise!! :lol:

Fortunately, I live on four acres with 620 ft. of road frontage, so my nearest neighbor on either side is about 100-150 yards. It's not the grinding in my case, it's the 2-stage 80 gallon Craftsman compressor located outside my shop! Talk about loud!!!

Finished up the DSE firewall plate and seam sealing on the firewall this evening.

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I'll finish up the outer tulip shells this week and then move on to the dash. She's finally looking like a car again!

Looks great Chris! :woot: :thumbsup:

I need to tweak the seam sealer a little. I wasn't completely happy with the way it turned out. It actually looks worse in the pictures than it does in person. There's a few spots that need a little more to make it more of an even look.

It looks good .

Hey Chris i started the tare down on my car and i think I'm going to just cut all the sheet metal off myself and have someone else reattach the new quarters trunk pan floor pan roof etc. To save some money i would do it myself but i don't wanna chance messing it up due to the fact I'm on a budget as is but i was wondering what tools work best for this job? and once i do gut this thing out would the skeleton of the car still be strong enough to drive up on a flat bed to haul to the body shop or would i need special bracing? I might even give you a call here in the next few days if your not to busy because i have a few other questions

If you're cutting all the metal off, and plan to haul it somewhere for metal replacement, I personally would build a body cart to put the car on and then brace the heck out of it. I even used 1" square tubing and welded from my cart to the rockers. Basically, my car is welded to the cart in 4 places (I think). You're gonna need to brace the heck out of it if you plan to move it. Call me anytime after 5:00pm CST. I'd be happy to talk to you about my learnings through this process. If you need my number, PM me.

Chris

Got the outer tulip shells welded on, welds ground, and epoxy primed. I also sandblasted the lower dash during the week and primed it as well. I hope to have the upper and lower dash welded completed over the weekend.

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Finished up the upper and lower dash this evening.

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That looks good Chris. Keep up the great work.:thumbsup:

fit and finish better than original. super nice work.