Let the Body Work Begin!

[Steve]

This is a good sign! Filler is going in the engine compartment!
All the other stuff to date has been metal work.

I have the bottom and inside prepped for Zero Rust, but I ordered the new "form fitting" frame connectors from John as US Car Tool and I'm going to weld those in before priming the underside. Soooo, in the meantime, I'm smooting out the pits in the engine compartment with glass reinforced filler. Over that will go DP40. Hopefully, I'll have that done sooner than later. The roof and underside got POR15 epoxy putty to fill in the pin-holes. The roof will get glass reinforced fillers to fill in the pits, then I'll lay down Zero Rust on the roof (it's going back to vinyl).

If all goes well, I'll have the frame connectors in, the engine compartment in epoxy primer, zero rust on the topside, inside, and underside. I also got talked in to putting truck bed coating on the underside, which will then get topcoated with the dip-gray zero rust primer.

[70Cuda]

Looks good.  At this point, you might want to consider something they said on last weeks Dream Car Garage which was to do the body work between coats of primer.  Meaning, prime first, do body work, prime again before painting.

[Steve]

That's been a long debate. PPG changed their recommended procedures, saying to lay down epoxy primer first...BUT, there is evidence to suggest that fillers actually bond better to bare steel than to epoxy primer. In my case, the filler you see is Evercoat short-strand glass reinforced filler. I will lay DP40 on top of that, then high-build primer, then fine fillers, then more primer, block sand, then seal with extra reduced DP40. I'm also able to get zero rust on the back side of all the metal, meaning that the metal is sealed on both sides. So, theoretically, the metal is completely sealed off from oxygen.

Trust me, with some much conflicting advice out there, I'm nervous! But, I've seen so many old timers recommend "heavy" filler direct to metal that I feel like it's likely not a problem.

[RUSTY Cuda]

Sounds like a plan, mine was so rusty everywhere I went por 15 on almost everything, one thing I added in was to try it OVER the filler that went on bare metal, the filler soaked it right in & became had as a rock, what i'm hoping for is that moisture will never get through the filler to the welded spots underneath, por tec reps really had no answer, nobody tried it before, so only time will tell, it will either be 98% rust proof (where I'm sure I hit everything)or my paint will be littering the hiway first time I get on it!  Rich.

[Steve]

OK...I picked up my epoxy primer and high-build primer from a local PPG distributor. As 70cuda pointed out, the PPG distributor strongly recommended sealing off the freshly blasted surface with epoxy primer BEFORE filler. So, I'm going to go that route.

Now, the debate over this is long standing and there are lots of guys who swear you should put "heavy" fillers down on bare metal. So, check with someone you trust prior to going either way.

[Carlwalski]

Great stuff Steve! I love seeing MoPars (E-Bodies) getting their just deserts. 

[Steve]

Thanks NZ!

OK...Did some Zero Rust yesterday. More to do today! This is Resto Rick's Dip Gray Zero Rust. A little dark, but I did lay down some black Zero Rust first since I need to use up some of that.

[Carlwalski]

That looks sick mate! Very nice indeed.

Are you going for an all out concur or just a solid restored driver with personal touches?
Just curious as I know you're going to get a Harms Tilt-Pistol grip for the bracket. 


NZ440R/T

[sadil340]

You're quite a bit ahead of me - I'm just stripping my 70 Cuda 340 now. This will be my first go-around with an E-body. Any tips?

[Carlwalski]

You're quite a bit ahead of me - I'm just stripping my 70 Cuda 340 now. This will be my first go-around with an E-body. Any tips?

Be prepared to spend a bit of money on parts. 

Welcome to the board you should officially introduce yourself in the "Newbies" forum. 

If I was moderator I would adjust your photo, it's HUGE!! lol 
One will be along soon to do it for you.


Cheers,
NZ440R/T

[Steve]

NZ...Thanks!
It's just a daily driver. I don't ever want to see rust again, hence the zero rust. I figured I might as well go with Rick's dip gray. BTW, I would encourage anyone doing a restoration to check out Rick's site (www.restorick.com) for tips and information on restoration. I have emailed him questions and he has been very helpful. Yes, I plan to get the pistol grip handle for the shifter!

For Sadil, I recommend reading and researching e-bodies voraciously. Also, I recommend really thinking through your goals prior to starting. If you plan to go full-tilt on a concours restoration, there's a lot of research to be done and your strategy will be different than if you're doing a general restoration. My general advice is to take the car completely down to bare metal, fix all the rot, and put it back together better than new. These cars were built poorly and the fit and finish was garbage. You will find that few of the panels are square to each other and you'll find a lot of welding slag and thick layers of seam sealer. Get a rotiserrie and go to town. Tag and bag everything and keep an inventory list so you can find the parts later. Most, if not all of the hardware is available in reproduction, though these fasteners may not be suitable for a concourse restoration. Get everything off and out of the car, store everything in a safe place, get the car on the rotiserrie, and have it media blastic at a shop specializing in cars.

Does this help? Good luck and welcome!

[Carlwalski]

Yes, I plan to get the pistol grip handle for the shifter!

Awesome stuff Steve, you know what your doing so that car is going to be kick-ar$e and solid. 
One suggestion, you should look at ordering you www.harmsauto.com grip pretty soon as I have emailed the guy Scott a few times and he isn't sure how much longer these grips (custom are no longer) will be going for......

Cheers,
NZ440R/T

[Steve]

OK...got the underside and the roof done in Zero Rust. I now have to wait a couple of weeks for the coating to harden properly, then I can get undercoating on the underside and DP40 the rest of the car.

[RUSTY Cuda]

Lookin Good! Your  Rich.

[miketyler]

Looking good Steve! You are going to undercoat that baby? If my car looked that nice underneath I would go with body color and Dynamat the inside for sound deadener.  Did you get your dutchman/trunk lid alignment issues resolved?