1966 Chevelle Project

I feel the same way Grumpy.
I don't think I would have bought the car knowing how much HIDDEN repairs that needed to be done.
But.. like your friend, I am getting alot better with my welding skills by way of now knowing what temp
and wire setting are correct for a given two pieces of metal.

My Friend Fred (the body man ) always reminds me that he would never had taken on this car...and he does
this for a living. The best way I could explain it to him was "It's more of a love affair with the vintage cars.
It's something I don't need to hurry to turn a dollar."

The satisfaction of making things fit better than OEM is something ONLY another person who has done it
would appreciate.

I am no expert at all... But I do strive to do my best.
My secret to it all is to keep it fun and walk away when it's not.
 
yeah, the walk away and have a couple cups of coffee or a few beers when you get frustrated is important,
many times it allows you time to think of a new and better way to solve, avoid or get around frustrating issues,
or find options like buying a new part or component, or find someone with new skills and advice or knowledge you really need to proceed
 
or find someone with new skills and advice or knowledge you really need to proceed

That statement is what separates the men from the boys.!

Case in point.....I had thought that when I checked the frame for square with my "yo yo" it was spot on.

As reported in the thread....I could not get the trunk to square up on the frame with the front floor pan.

I repulled the body and took the frame to Fred's garage and hooked it to the frame straightener.
YEP.. It was out.

Swallowing Pride and asking for help is a hard thing to overcome...I believe it is learned over time.
But as you stated....sometimes it has to be done in order to move forward.

I have learned that I am more grateful than I am embarrassed asking for help.
 
I have learned to just suck it up as I get older and blinder, and asking for help is not cheap as all want a premium for their help. Not even the children and grandchildren have time to help as they are dealing with tuff times

I now work like Hell for maybe 30 minutes and have to rest for an hour just to get something done. Having disabilities sucks in your golden years but life is still good when I wake up every morning, then have a cup of coffee.,

You are doing great for building your wife's dream car. Every one that was special to me was always damaged by others that didn't appreciate what it took to get those special cars.
 
I talked with Eric over at Second Skin in Illinois today about the sound and heat products they have.

It was a great conversation, they been in business for 22 years.

I explained to him what my project was and what my thoughts were on how to use their products.
I had a couple installation procedures that were wrong. But he explained the correct way to apply
the products.

He recommended that I do NOT use the glue for the heat barrier on the roof skin. There is a waiting period
for the glue to set up and when it does...I need to have a few people to help hold it in place so it can set up
when installed above. Gravity works against us here.

Instead, he recommended that I use their 2 way tape on the back side of the "Heat Wave Pro pad".
It does not need to be 100% coverage when applied. Just go around the border and lay in a few
strips down the middle.

He said he has not seen the tape fail. It's the perfect choice for this application.

So... I got ahead of myself .

The first product I will be using is their "Spectrum Sound Deadening spray".
I have the absolute best situation to be using this product because I have
all the windows and such removed from the car.

I have access to the entire inside of the vehicle..inner quarters...wheel wells....dash is removed..ect...ect..

He said to spray it 1mill thick twice on the roof skin, and three coats on the rest of the car.

After it's dry I install the roof skin....Then I cut the Heat Wave mat to fit in between the roof bracing.

For the floor he recommended their Luxury Liner mat. It is a sound absorber and heat shield in one.

For today... I ordered 5 gallons of Spectrum, 24 sq.ft. of Heat Wave, some wire tape, and some pre taped plastic sheets.

That set me back $515 and should be here on Monday.

I did alot of research on this stuff before I called them.. It is on the pricier side...but I think this is an area
were you get what you pay for. I am thinking I will have between $13-1500 when all said and done with the sound and heat control.

I will definitely get pics when I install it.. I still have a bit of work to do on the roof structure before I am ready for the roof install.
But I wanted to get it sprayed and let completely dry before I am finished with the structure.
 
You keep on you will have to insure it for more than you have on you and your wife together!

Church on Sunday only!:)
 
Wow.. can't believe how long it's been..
I ran into some fitment issues that I could not figure out last May, and walked away from the car and the barn for that matter, until late November.
I studied the car for about 2 hours with my coffee in hand and finally found the issue that was bothering me in the spring time.

The driver side quarter panel was a 1/4" too low.
I called my buddy Fred to come over and confirm what I was seeing and he agreed. Lucky for me that I had only spot welded the
pinch weld on the door seem. What we found was that a tab on the top of the panel was snagged onto something not allowing it to raise any further under the roof skin. After some pushing and pulling it unsnagged and fell into place.
Now you would have thought that by doing this...it would have raised the bottom of the quarter panel off the rocker. But it didn't...We figure that
because the panel was snagged short of going home, it musta flexed (or bowed) the panel as I installed the bottom on the rocker last spring time.
Now it is relaxed and fits really well.

That was enough to start a fire under me and continue on with the build.!!

Fred and I install the new roof skin ( about 10 times) and got the front and rear windshields to fit really nice. The trim showed me that I need to reshape a corner (a small amount) on the roof skin to fit with no gap.

A week later...a pair of drip rails and the driver side outer A-piller showed up that I ordered and forgot about. Yep...I had to remove the roof skin again so I could weld them in. That was a bigger job than I thought fitting it in...(another chevelle owner let me take a couple measurements
to verify the height of the rail.)
I reinstalled the roof and continued on.

I figured I would tackle the firewall at this point. I decided to go for the smooth look so I welded all the holes and removed the caulk
in the seam and welded the seam solid. Then I skimmed it with Duraglass and finished it out with a thin cover of Rage Ultra body filler.
I went this route because I was not comfortable with installing another panel (that they sell) over the firewall. I can see warping and rattles
appearing down the road ..not to mention possible rust forming between the panels going that route.

After I finished the firewall I started on the lower repair to the fenders.. They make a nice lower patch panel for this area.. I cut the rotted stuff out and butt welded the new patch in. The right side was flawless.. The driver side is giving me fits...I am still working on that one as of now...
but I walked away to install the new dash and outer A-piller.

Then our new hood arrived so we took a saturday and drove to NPD to pick it up, and swung by the kids place to say Hi.
They are a couple hours aways from us and NPD is about 15-20 minutes from them. Win Win for us to see the grandkids while buying car parts!!!!

I installed the hood to check the gaps and such because it all comes apart for epoxy and paint. Mainley because Alesia wanted a pic of the car.
She is very excited now. We are within 18 months of completion.

Back on the driver fender...I found that the door skin was dented and creased. This is what was causing my issues with the fender.
So I stripped the door down to its shell then sand blasted the bottom half to reviel more rust.
I am currently fabbing up the structure so I can reinstall the shell only and fit it to the car. Pics of the door fix are about a week out.

This has been a long road so far.. But We are hoping to be done with ALL the metal work in 3 weeks and pet the first coat of epoxy
primer on the car.

Here are some pics of the progress.


IMG_2255.JPGIMG_2252.JPGIMG_2253.JPGIMG_2254.JPGIMG_2282.JPGIMG_2283.JPGIMG_2303.JPGIMG_2306.JPG

This is another item we amassed over the summer. It has been alot of fun and something Alesia can drive.
IMG_2173.JPG
 
wow! thats an impressive post!
it sure reminded me of several projects I was deeply involved with ,
and where I learned a great deal.
 
Wow, that sure looks like a lot of work !!! Guess you will be opening a body shop when you get done? LOL!

Surely you are going to go with some Tubular Control Arms and get ride of those ugly OEM versions !
 
Thank you Men, It sure is a great feeling to show the progress to people who have been there, and can see beyond the (paint)
if you will, and understand how much work is involved.
A perfect example is the door... It took me a couple half a day just to disassemble the guts and sandblast the lower half of the shell.
I will have about 12-15 hours just fabbing up the pieces needed to repair the rusted area's that get cut out. Then a few hours fitting the
shell back on the car and reshaping it so it is straight and sitting just shy of being flush with the surrounding panels, so that when I
install the new skin...it will lay flush with the quarter ,rocker and fender panels. Installing the skin will take me prolly and hour by the time
I hammer and dolly the seam all the way around.
And that is just ONE door.
Yea....after all that work is done, the only thing people will see is a new door panel on the car.

Surely you are going to go with some Tubular Control Arms and get ride of those ugly OEM versions !

Yes... Not because they are ugly, but because the tubulars correct the BAD geometry the A body cars were known for.
The Arms along with taller ball-joints help with castor and camber and bump steer.

I am also looking into coil over shocks for the front.
But all that will be another chapter of the build.

My goal is to keep focused on getting all the metal work done first so I can get the car into epoxy primer.
Then I want to get the body all blocked out....but not sealed yet, because I will be removing the body and
storing it on a body cart I purchased.

This will allow me to start on the frame and suspension.

Frame is to be sent out and sand blasted and put into epoxy. When I get it back I plan on filling any voids and pockets
on the frame so it is as smooth as a babies butt...then re-prime and paint.

Then it is all about bolting new parts onto the frame,install engine and drive train and exhaust.

When that is done...we will re-address the body and get it into paint and then marry them together.

We are hoping to have the car complete LESS the interior by September of this year!

The Interior costs went through the roof!!! It is now....for what we want, $15,000 complete.

I told Alesia that I could bolt down a milk crate if she REALLY wanted to drive it this fall,
but she declined.

I 'll keep you posted on the progress.
 
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