71' Gran Coup Gen III

[Katfish]

Thx, enjoy seeing the impressive results

[YellowThumper]

Don't envy the necessity. But do enjoy the progress.

[CudaA39]

Got the driver side lower quarter cut out just below the body line.  I trimmed the new panel to just above the body , and scribed the line to get everything lined up.  That's right around the time I realized the new panel had the body line about an inch too high.  When I placed the donor panel body line over the original panel, the seam at the rear valence was way way off.  So I had to cut the seam at the valence, take a 1" wedge out, then weld the seam back on.  It actually turned out almost perfect, and should be even better with a little filler.  I finished welding the panel on this morning, I'm happy how it turned out.

On the passenger side, I found evidence of rear impact.  There is a small panel that connects the trunk extension to the rear tail light panel and locates the rear valence.  This piece, with the trunk extension, was smashed in pretty good and hidden under a giant glob of seam sealer.  With the quarter panel off, it was the perfect time to fix it.  Was able to get the trunk extension lined out, and fixed it with a new panel significantly better than it was.  Did some test fits of the rear valence and was very happy with it.  Now I just have to fit the quarter and wait for a warm day to paint before it gets welded.

[usraptor]

Nice work!      Looking good!

[CudaA39]

It's been <20* for the past few weeks so I've been limited on progress.  Today was in the 50s so I did the final fitting of the quarter panel and applied the inner undercoating.  I kicked around the idea of just painting it now, but I have to do some other touchups in the trunk anyway, so I'm gonna wait till it's welded on.  I hope to get everything finished (minus paint) by the end of the weekend.  Fingers crossed this is the last of the nightmares before I can start on bodywork.

[CudaA39]

Got the quarter mounted and welded in.  The Dutchman panel welds were tough, had to lay in the trunk and rely on one eye, but everything went fairly smooth.  Leading kit on its way to re-lead the seams.  Going to strip the EMC, hit the entire thing with 120 grit, and get it into epoxy primer before the next phase of body work. 

[Katfish]

Looking good, keep'em coming

[CudaA39]

Stripped the e coat from the quarter panel and got 4/6 seams leaded in.  I struggled with the leading, getting temp right without overheating the roof area.  Didn't help it was 35* in my garage when I was doing it, but may not have made that much difference. 

Hit it with some 80 grit after using the file.  Good enough for a vinyl top car after some bondo.  Just hoping I kept it clean enough.

Without a rotisserie, the bottom seams are gonna be a challenge.  I'm gonna put half the car in my cribbing blocks and see if that helps at all.

[daaboots]

Lead work looks good! I gotta do this job on mine soon.

[CudaA39]

Cleaned the car up the best I could and re seam-sealed a few places.  Got the entire car in 40grit and did several wipe downs with wax n grease remover.  Really unfortunate having to do it piecemeal like this due to the engine/trunk already in green but I have no choice given previous surprises.  Put on two coats of Sherwin Williams epoxy primer and really glad to not see bare metal any longer.  My next move is to prep the hood, trunk, and fenders so I can single stage the undersides.  This will let me mount them, and proceed with the filler work.

[daaboots]

Must be a great feeling seeing the primer on it! I'm getting really close to that step as well.

[CudaA39]

Sandblasted the backside of th trunk and hood followed by epoxy and color.  Fully painted the rears of the front and rear valence, wasn't sure what is typically done but figured green is as good as anything.  Paint laid down really nice though.

This weekend I'll strip the new front fenders of the EDP, prime, and then hopefully undercoat.  Maybe the doors as well, but I don't have enough stands to hold everything. 

[Katfish]

Looking sweet, nice progress!

[CudaA39]

I disassembled the original sway bar and swapped the worn out bushings with new polys that I discovered from a thread on here.  Fit like a glove aside from being a little tall and needing ground down slightly.  I added grease fittings and rewelded everything back down.  Got the bar in casr grey and did the brackets in gloss black single stage. 

Got the front inside fenders stripped down, epoxy primered, and then undercoated.  I'm not entirely sure what was "factory" but my original fenders were a rusty mess so this should help and protect against rock kickups.

Got the doors in epoxy primer as well.  Prior to remounting I tore the hinges apart and rebuilt them with a kit from Napa for around $20.  The bushings in the kit were a lot taller than the ones you can buy in the baggies and everything fit really well.  My original pins were well worn and one was bent, so I'm glad I did it. 

My next step is to get the fenders and doors mounted and aligned to start the necessary body work which I'm absolutely dreading.

[larry4406]

Nice work!

On the grease fittings you added to the sway bar links, did you drill a matching hole in the bushing so the grease gets to the bar or is just greasing the bushing to link?