Getting ready for epoxy
 

Prepping the body for epoxy.

Epoxy
 

Coat of epoxy...

Nice and clean! Waiting on the new tail pan? What rear suspension?

Thanks...the rear tail pan goes in next, then we will begin the mock up of the front and rear suspension...the rear setup is a 4 bar by Ridetech.

Love when they get brought back from the dead!!!! Keep the updates coming.

It looks nice all epoxied, what are you using to prep the metal?

We scuff all the surfaces, then treat it with wax & grease remover, then do a final wipe down before shooting the epoxy.

Tail pan install
 

Here we are installing the new tail pan.

Looks like a car now! Metal on the car looks to fit well...that's always nice!

Great to see the quality work going into this car....keep the updates coming!

Thanks a lot guys, we appreciate it...

Floors
 

The next big step was floors...we removed the seat risers, welded in the new floors sections, then put the original risers back in place.

Finished floors
 

Here are a few more pics...

Looks good and this is not a comment on your shop/work at all, but I've never understood the point of grinding down welds that will be covered in sound damping and carpet. For me personally I find grinding down welds to be extremely tedious and time consuming. Obviously required on things that get paint or Ridler contenders but always seemed so pointless on floors, especially considering you actually lose some theoretical strength.

Is that just considered part of the process of doing a quality job ? I mean there is no functional reason to grind down internal hidden welds is there ?

From my own standpoint I would say pride in knowing I did the job to what I would want it to be. Leaving them as is I would know they were not done a 100%. I know that nobody will ever see them but to me it's about craftsmanship/quality of your work.:welder: :thumbsup:

I agree with Mike. I actually had a friend stop by when I was installing my SFC's and raising the trans tunnel. He couldn't understand why I would dress all the welds if I was going to put carpet in. I just smiled and said why wouldn't I?

To me it's just a matter of knowing I did the best I could.

Sweet build, it's nice seeing another 'bird gettin' some love on here!

Very good question, and thanks everyone for the input...for us it is mostly a preference of wanting our work to look as clean as possible, and for the floors to look stock...if down the line someone pulls back the carpet and sees thick weld lines, it is obvious there was floor work performed...we'd prefer it not show...

Thanks a lot...your build is looking awesome!!!

Front stub
 

Here we are starting to mock up the Firebird's components...starting with the front stub.

The floor pans came out great ... I really like how you guys use your fork-lift a lot, man that must come in handy!

Michael

Yeah...ha ha...the ol forklift is a VERY useful tool around the shop.

Rear wheel mock up
 

Here we are mocking up the rear wheels/tires...we are liking this.

Frame connector
 

Here we are installing the passenger side frame connector. We also made the front stub "bolt in" in case the clip ever had to come back out.

Frame connector continued...
 

The finished passenger side...

Wheels look good and fill up the well nicely. Will you be rolling the fender lip as well?

No plans to roll the lip...we will have enough room with the mini-tubs to clear.

nice smooth welds

Frame connector...driver's side
 

And here is the driver's side...

Engine mock up
 

Time to mock up the Butler Performance engine and Tremec 5 spd.

Looks like it belongs in there.

What oil pan are you using on that engine? Looking really good!

The oil pan is from Canton...it came on the Butler Motor...looks sharp, fits great.

Mock up
 

Continued mock-up of the radiator and gas tank.

Custom gas door
 

Our customer wanted a custom gas door, so we fab'd up a mounting plate.

Rear suspension and rear end mock up
 

Mocking up the rear suspension and rear end.

Very nice fab work,I like that gas cap:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I agree, very nice.

Fab question -

Looking at pictures of that gas cap install, you show a picture of it welded in and sanded pretty heavily. At this point, you can still see the voids in the weld. This is what my metal work looks like after grinding/sanding. Then, in the next picture, it shows it completely sanded and smooth with no voids.

Was the first picture just an intermediate step, or do you go back in and weld it again to fill in the voids, and then do the final grinding to all smooth metal ?

Thanks for the question...yes, it was just an intermediate photo...