58367 The $75 Junkyard Carrera coupe restoration

[JTR70]

With the work on the body pretty much completed it was time to start fitting the decklid to the body opening.

First couple of passes with a bead of weld to begin closing up that large lower corner gap. Also started grinding that left run back as well.

Will also have to shave the middle of this leading edge as well. It rubs the body as I open the lid. Always more to do then you plan for!

Lower corner pretty much shaped to my liking. Trimmed the left run back and rewelded it here.

Initial grinding and shaping here. The gap and contour are getting there.

Trimmed back most of the length of the leading edge so it would clear the body as I opened the lid. Welding it back together here.

Upper edge set and finished out. Its a touch wider up here but I had no choice. This was as tight as I could make it in relation with how the hinges articulate the lid.

After the top was set I saw that this left gap was still a bit too wide compared to the right. Had to make a second pass with the welder and build it up again. This is where I started to lose patients with it.

This second pass did the trick. All the gaps and contours are 90% there. I'll get that last 10% in the bodywork phase. This was a ton of work! There is maybe an inch or two of the edge of this lid that I did not have to grind and or weld.

Gt lid being preped for primer and paint. Lots of heavy surface rust and took several sessions in my acid bath to get it clean. About done here.


Decklid cleaned and in a tracer coat of primer and paint.

A very long road to get here but I now have good overall fitment and gaps to the body with it latched in position.

Will get it perfect in the bodywork phase but the welding and leadwork is finally complete! Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[JTR70]

Now that the metalwork stage is complete I wanted to get all the inner panels and substructure cleaned,prepped and behind a good coat of primer and paint. You know, all the surfaces most people never give a second thought to because its either covered over, "outa sight outa mind" or very hard to see.

Spent a solid session just removing old paint and glue. That pile on the floor is what was removed.

Metal now cleaned and ready for primer and paint.

Underside of roof now painted. Won't matter much once the headliner is in but I am satisfied in the knowledge that this area is sealed out with a good coat.

My next paint project was this rightside closing wall area. Decided to take it in small sections since all the lap joint provide perfect stop and start points.

Panel now in final paint.

This whole cabin was media blasted clean of all old surface rust, paint and tar paper in '99. It was immediately primered and painted way back then with a rough coat. There is no stripping needed here. its a good base that was put on correctly and has proved itself. What is required is lots of sanding and hand prep to get it ready. BTW the panels I have already sprayed get a venier of petrolium jelly to repell any overspray.This saves me time in remasking over and over.


Finished the rest of the back area off and is now ready for a final coat. You can see those drains in the corners of the back window I installed from page 10. Again once the headliner is in they cannot be detected.

Football shaped scar remains from the Corvair engine install attempt by the last owners. That hole below it is a bullet hole. Always been there as well. Wasn't hurting anything so I left it for fun.

Again Won't matter once the upholstry goes in but its sealed and looks clean for now. Floors and front area coming up next. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin,

Very nice work on those lids the gaps are super. Lucky mine are still very good too. The interior panel work looks really nic as well.

Roy

[admin]

Top quality workmanship all the way around . You are a great Inspiration to me as well as providing me some how to tips along the way. Thanks for the Great Post.
Bruce

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy! I am glad to hear that gaps are something you don't have to worry about on your car. its a pain!

Hi Bruce, Thank you for saying so! I am very happy to hear that this might help you in some way on your project. Looking forward to seeing pictures of it BTW. Thanks again! Justin

Front area paint prep.


Wet sanding this 12 year old primer and base color I shot on just after it was media blasted. water is quickly soaked up with my towel. I then follow it up with a scotch bright pad.

Floor is just about ready. Verticle walls and under dash are next.

These original floor pans are cherry! Only some surface rust under the old tar paper. Floors are not rust pitted or weak. Another gift from the desert.

Took a solid session just to prep this corner. Not much fun to say the least.

Another area that most will never see or care about is the underside cowl and dash rear face. Tough to paint with the car uprighted but with it on its side not so bad. Spent this afternoon sanding this area to get it ready for silver and black.

Toe-board area prep



Like before; spend enough time in these tiny areas and you'll find all sorts of things you'd easily overlook. Another fatigue crack right at the tunnel and diagonal joint. This was the third one I have found and repaired since I have been in here.

Small area but lots of surfaces to sand. While this car sat idle at my old friends shop a pack-rat had taken up residence in here. While sanding this area I thought about what a great house this must have been for him. Those two large holes so he could go from one room to the next etc. When I discovered its nest (in the tunnel) I found my marker pens, paper notes, bolts, two hinge pins etc. so wierd he was collecting hardware and packing them into the tunnel. Took a while but I got it all out; Little critters.

Front area now in final primer and paint.


Completed sanding and cleaning. Masked the rubber unions on the defroster vents and covered all the holes I needed to; Wiped everything down with wax/grease remover and shot epoxy primer on all exposed metal. Here it is ready for final color.

In final color on a Saturday session.

Dropped the paint back to single stage enamel for this job. No sense wasting money and clear coat for an area eventually covered in sound deadener, carpet and rubber mats.

Here is where I left it late Saturday night. Footwells and under dash are ready for paint Sunday morning.

Area now in final coat of correct semi-gloss this morning. I planned this whole shoot so I could get the black on within 12 hours saving me the hassle of more sanding and scuff prep.

Did not go crazy under here. Just replicated the the factory oversprayed look.

This are was a bear to prep and paint but I am so glad that I took the time to do it.

The dash face is not in final paint. I want it perfect so I'll have to back mask everything and shoot it seperately. Its been over 20 years since I pulled this car apart and I could not remember where the black ended on the kick panels but its close enough. Everything above the carpet line is in black so its not going to matter once I get it glued in. trunk compartment next. Thanks for looking! Justin

[JTR70]

Preping the trunk for final paint.
Nothing fun, just wet sanding what seemed like many miles of corrigated surface. Had to stay aware not to cut my finger tips on sharp edges or old spot weld slag. Its happend many times before. nothing worse then sliting three finger tips open with one swipe! While preping the the area around the front stamped VIN plate I rembered this strange part of its history. About half way through the restoration in '88 we finally noticed that something was not quite right about this VIN plate. It was just a patch plate that was cruedly gas welded on either side and did not match the door or data tags either. Everything happens just as it should at times. It was during this period that my Guru Greg Parker came into our lives. He was a 30 year tow truck driver and ran the impound yard for the CHP. He was well versed in the legalities of all this. We on the other hand knew nothing about it or how serious it was. Ignorance is bliss! He came by the house one evening for a visit and we asked him about it. He took one look at that plate shook his head and told us we needed to get it corrected as soon as possible! He went on to say that the basic rule is this: any ID # that shows evidence of being removed or tampered with is automatically assumed stolen! The car gets impounded and the owner goes to jail. He did not have to say that twice! Fortunately enough he generously offered his help to make it right. He explained that he would flat-bed it over to his shop, have his lein sale agent Mr. Becker start the paperwork on the original #'s and finally have a CHP officer drop by and verify everything. About 2 months later it was done and everything came back clean! His lein sale agent thought that this fake number might have been issued by the DMV. He explained that they would not issue title if the original number already existed in thier files to another vehicle. looking back on it this does not make sense since most of those old titles went by the engine #. Oh well this will always be an unsolved mystery. I remember shortly after this when I went to the DMV with all my paper to finally get title on this original # I almost hit a snag. This number called back to a travel-trailer that was already in the system. Fortunately she was able to override it being they were two entirely different vehicles. Anyway a happy ending with a disaster averted. Thanks for reading all of this! Justin


Preping trunk for paint. removed the grey primer from my battery floor repair in favor of my DP40 primer. Stock gas tank loops have been hammered over flat and will only need to be stood up to go back to stock.

Here is that bogus tag. Just quickly gas welded at either end. A couple of holes were blown in it from the heat.

Thankfully the original number was right underneath! Greg and a CHP friend of his suggested I not mess with this area any further. "don't try to weld those holes shut and hide anything" Just carry the old plate in the glove compartment and explain the situation if I ever have to. So I'm sticking to that advice.

Original data plate undisturbed. recently removed the surface rust with acid then black oxided it and a thin coat of clear.

No attempt was made to hide its original chassis # because this tag was still in the door. Obviously the easiest to remove. This is why the lein seller thought it was probably a DMV issued #.

Old title from 1980. registered under that phony VIN Plate. OOPS! We really did not legally own this car at the time! Scary! if my dad would have been pulled over by the CHP and had a cop see that tampered vin late with this corresponding title it would have been impounded and we probably would have lost the car!

[merbesfield]

Justin, that story reminds me of a similar nail biter, sort of. When I went to register my 73 911S, someone a long time ago had keyed in the VIN with one wrong digit on the title and it did not match the BOS, VIN plates and warranty cards. I had to get some special form filled out requesting the title be corrected and then wait til it returned to me corrected. In the end no big deal, but you are always worried that some stupid government employee will stop the whole process with some BS rule and make life hell.

[JTR70]

Hi Mark, Yes, its very scary deal when the ownership paperwork is in question. I'm glad to hear yours worked out too. Justin

Upper trunk area prep

getting the last bits of old tar from under this overhang/gutter. Then onto hand sanding this area

Again Having the ability to turn this body on its side allows me to see, prep and get paint on these blind areas that most will never take notice of once its back on wheels

Just about done sanding and cleaning. ID tag and batterybox break point are all taped-off. I had painted the battery box seperate to ensure good coverage. It made the task of painting this are alot easier in stages.
Trunk now in final paint.

Just have shoot some semi-gloss black on the tank strap leads and down the throat of each hinge mount. Done painting in here otherwise.


Really looking forward to getting the big tank in here but the steering box and handbrake assembly will have to be in first. A standard tank could have gone in now but the access cover is in for good with a GT tank configuration.

Really excited to see all the small detail stuff coming together like the ID tags I restored several months prior.

As you can see I just flattened the standard tank strap loops. If and when the day comes to bring it back to its original tank it will be a simple task. Final paint for Bottom side of rear seat pan and fender wells up next. Thanks for reading this! Justin

[JTR70]

Paint prepping the rear chassis area.



Many teadious hours spent with paint remover and a rag to get all the last bits of old tar, rocker shootz down in between the seat pan and torsion tube. Then followed up with lots of hand sanding. glad this is about done.


Pan area just about ready for primer. Also completed most of the final trimming and shaping on the tunnel bulkhead to make way for the 901 5-speed going in.


Since the original tunnel bulkhead was chopped out in the 60's this was not a difficult modification to make. I have my new donor repair panel pictured here ready to go when the day comes to bring it back to a stock 356 transaxle.


Keeping with my long running theme on this car; "another redo!" I had to strip the engine compartment back down to metal again! What a pain! I must have screwed up with the catalyst in my clear coat because I could not get this area to kick and harden up properly. After almost 4 months of sitting the finish still remained soft and almost tacky feeling. I finally gave up on it and started cleaning it off.


A miserable, guey, sticky mess to remove but its all clean again and ready for another try. Biggest danger was those metal harness tangs. You can cut yourself up pretty badly without even realizing it. I'm sure alot of you are very familiar; On to primer.


Seat pan and torsion tube area finally in a coat of epoxy primer.


Spend enough time preping an area and you'll soon notice all the small details. While sanding and preping this corner of the seatpan I'll be god damned if there wasn't another tiny rust hole I missed!! My first impulse was to weld it shut but on second thought water was obviously pooling here so I grabbed my drill instead. This tiny pinhole became a new drain hole.


No rust holes on this side but I drilled it to match. Future moisture cannot pool in these corners again


Engine compartment also primered and ready to try it again!

[JTR70]

Its taken several sessions to get all the nooks and cranies in the rear fender wells prepped and cleaned. Just finishing up the last of this grunt work.


Lots of time and elbow grease removing the last remains of old tar & rocker shootz in every corner and crevis; then onto sanding the spot surface rust that had grown back since it was media blasted 12 years ago.


Again lots of time spent cleaning and sanding all areas in and around the fender brace and frame runners.


With the ability to turn this shell up on its side I am able to address small deep down details like this blind corner and pinch flange up at the decklid opening. Areas most people will never see or care about but I wanted it nice up in here just the same.


rear frame and fenderwells clean and ready for primer.



Rolled wired lip is sealed with heavy drip check. Primered again then painted.


Complete back half of the underside of the car is primered and ready.


Applied a builder coat of paint to my repaired areas to make sure I'd be happy with the final painted result. I can also feather these areas a little better with some wet sanding.


A bit rough around the repair panel (page 2) but I can live with it. Miles ahead of that old section of VW fender we had in there in '87.

Final paint

Nasty area to clean and detail. tricky as well to get even coverage into all those little places.


Repaired area scars softened up a bit more. I can live with it. Theres the bullet hole from way back when. Again Not hurting anything so I just left alone.


Another section done. Wheel houses next. Thanks for reading this! justin

[JTR70]

Wheel houses in final paint.


Perimeter masked-off. rear seatpan and torsion tube coated in petrolium jelly for overspray protection.


getting my spray gun up in here to get coverage was tricky at times. Just a whisper of that patch repair I had to redo.


Left wheel house skin now complete.

Right wheel house skin painted.

So rewarding to see these nasty detail areas behind a coat of final color. Engine compartment firewall next which will finish off my painting duties on the back end.


Done!

A very long trip to get here but I am now finally done back here! Thanks for looking! Justin

[merbesfield]

Nice work Justin. There wheel wells are a bitch, and mines not on a rotisserie. I sand blasted the front, which worked great, but created a huge mess. Having trouble convincing myself to do it again in the rear, but the results are so nice. Thanks for posting.

[JTR70]

Hi Mark,
Thank you! I know what you're talking about; I originally hand scraped some of the underside in the begining. I didn't last long and went onto sandblasting it. The section I am posting below was the same story. though it was blasted and painted years ago there was still a lot of clean up and detail to do. I look at your progress photos and its my same story. I really admire your staying power! Nothing more unpleasant than underside cleaning by hand and on your back no less!!Whatever you decide just don't quit. Thanks again! Justin


Preping the front torsion compartment area for final paint.

This area was blasted 90% clean in '88 but we missed alot of old caked on grease and oil down in the frame rails and cross member. I had the pleasure of cleaning it up with engine degreaser and also sanding and preping all the areas we painted years ago.


This will be the toughest to paint evenly. lots of tight spaces and blind corners but I'll cover it as best as I can.


After several sessions of engine degreaser, then wet sanding with soapy water and finally a scotch brite pad soaked in wax and grease remover followed with a dry rag; I finally got this area ready to go for some primer and a work coat. Glad to have the toughest area to work in almost finished.


epoxy primered and now ready for a work coat.


Work coat of grey will make a perfect base for the silver color coat and make its application alot less stressful


Will sand this work coat one more time with 400 to smooth the surface out just a little better.


By far the toughest area to get coverage. Had to flip the car over several times and come at it from all angle and accesses. Had to also set the gun to a jet and hit some areas from a far. Gets tricky; easy to get runs in it. There was a ton of them from the old paint job from '88.



Final wet sanding next.

Area in final paint.

Done! Super hard to get smooth even coverage all at once but i can live with it.


A little grainy in spots but it looks clean and will hold the rust down. Going to look slick in here when all the black steering and suspensions components are installed.


V-reinforcement brace now painted making this area finally complete.

Nice to have this one finished! Front wheel houses coming up next.
Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[merbesfield]

Quitting is not an option, not in the DNA. Though this one is not on a rotisserie, at least it is on a Four post lift. There is no way in hell I would work on my back to do a project of this size or any thing larger than a basic oil change. Too old for that. Hope to post update tomorrow.

[JTR70]

A four point lift sounds like the next best thing to a rotisserie Mark. I could not imagine doing any of this on jack stands! Look forward to your update! Justin

Left front wheel house

the chassis and trunk closing panels have been in final paint for months now. All I had to do was finish preping the fender , bucket and brace. Most of the heavy prep was done months ago too.


primered and in silver base here. Virgin fender! The only one of its kind on this old beater!


The outer splash panel was in final paint long ago with the chassis but it had several burns in it from welding so I back taped it and shot it again.


Splash pan and fender now in final color.


Finished in here! I get obsessed with imperfections and I have to constantly remind myself that this is the bottom and will be subject to alot of abuse; so dont get carried away!


Now that I am in total paint mode its really becoming clear as to how much more extra work I have created for myself going this route. I could have had the entire bottom in undercoating in an afternoon. But I'm really liking it so far and I think the extra effort will be worth it in the end. Right fender up next. Thanks for stopping by! Justin