Light at the end of the tunnel

[scogin918]

So my car has been in paint jail for a while now, but they have been making some progress. All of the pre-paint fab work with the exception of the exhaust is done and we are getting ready to spray the floor pans top and bottom with the Spectrum coating from Second Skin. I am hoiping to get the car back by the end of Feb/beginning of March so we can gang up and finish the soundproofing/thermal control, wiring, interior, and glass. It's been a while now - April of 2001. But when you can't afford to do it all at once but still want a nice result, this is what you have to do.


The picture of the nutserts in the basket was of the whole thing before I had to reduce the picture size. Sorry.

[Melman109]

Looks very nice.....keep up the good work :twothumbs, can't wait to see how it turns out. Do you have a color picked out for paint?

[scogin918]

:twothumbs Do you have a color picked out for paint?

Silver with red interior. The raised part of the L-88 hood and the rear tail panel will be black.

[Young Gun]

looks good!

[Second Skin Rep]

Can't wait to see how it all comes together!
Be sure to get a couple shops the the Spectrum application if you can.
I always love seeing customers cars in the making!

ANT

[Chevrolaine]

Love the color choices! Should be well worth the wait.

[GM_muscle]

looks good so far. if you need a hand with anything i am willin to help out.

[formula98]

I like the L88 hood. Progress looks great keep us posted on the Spectrum coating from Second Skin. I'd like to know how you are doing it. Are you going over paint or bare metal? I will be doing the same this spring.

[Young Gun]

i look at this thread over and over and just absolutely love it! its gonna be ana amazing machine when all is said and done!

[scogin918]

Ant at Second Skin said it would be best to go over the primer versus paint. So we will spray the Spectrum over the primer instead of rolling or brushing it. That's one of the only advantages to having a car torn down all the way. You can get in to all of the cracks and crevices without having to worry about getting it all over something you don't want covered. Ant said the Spectrum could go anywhere that wouldn't be seen after the interior was finished, so I intend to do just that. After the Spectrum, I'll probably use the Overkill Pro and leave it at that. I need to find a happy medium between weight and comfort.

Thanks for the compliments. I can't wait for it to be done, but I've got to be patient as we go through the last steps. I don't want to rush through anything just for the sake of saying "It's done!".

I just got the A/C controller from GP Superstore (among many other things) so I should have pics of the dash insert soon.

[scogin918]

If you guys remember, I had to bring the car home from the shop for several reasons explained in my "What to Do" thread in the Open Discussion. Well I've been working on it wiith the help of a Vern. I highly recommend everyone to have a Vern who can come over at least once a week to get you either unstuck or help do something with which you aren't comfortable. This is the same Vern that had his Monte Carlo SS stolen at Year One last year but managed to get it back.

So lately we've been concentrating on cleaning up the underneath and inside the car in preperation for laying down some Second Skin and some paint on the chassis pieces and firewall/inner fenders(John Deere Blitz Black for $30 a gal) and the interior metal (original red). We had to patch an area in the firewall that the previous shop created when they cut the old one out.

Here is a link to the pics:

http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii83/scogin918/

[GM_muscle]

lookin great. what all you have left to do on the car?

[Rybar]

Looks good man, glad you decided to keep and it and the wife is on the same page as you. It's a tough thing for them to understand.

I'm pretty sure you would have lost huge $$$ if you parted it out.

I had a few Verns help me out with my car. And you'd be surprised how much free work you can get done when you buy food and beer or even offer contra work from your profession.

[scogin918]

lookin great. what all you have left to do on the car?.

In some of the pictures you can see a rack or a room full fo parts. All that has to go back on the car once it is painted. I had a friend of ours that has painted a couple of my friends cars on the side come look at it. He's been giving me advice and telling me what products to use and how to use them until we get to a point where he has to take over. I asked him about the Satin Black vs a silver and he said that it didn't matter to him, he would charge the same no matter what. He gave me a quote of $3500, which is about $10k less than the previous guy. He does good work, especially for the price, so I'm not complaining. I'll put up some pics of some of the rides he has done so you can see. His shop happens to be in Summerville off of 78.

It's fun to be excited about it again. The only money I've spent so far is for some seam sealer here, cleaner/degreaser there. Nothing really for the wife to get upset about. Especially now that she can see what gets done on the car every time I go out there.

AS for the immediate future, I have to seam seal between the cowl and the firewall, remove the front clip so I can clean it up and have access to the firewall and then get to painting. I'll try to keep the pics coming.

Rybar, I'd love to have your engine package. Once I get the bugs worked out and am actually driving the car, I may go the same route.

[Turbo67camaro]

If it helps, my shop quoted me $3,500 for a base color / clear paint job on my car also. I need to clarify it, but I believe that includes priming and sanding as well. That is with a car that is very straight, has no dings, etc.. The guy doing priming and sanding prep has over 30 years experience though. I'm not sure which person there does the actual painting, but I've seen their completed paint jobs, and the work looks excellent.

I'm guessing $3,500 is a fair price for a quality job with quality paint.

Sweet project. Nice color choices. I'm considering silver with black as one of my top choices also.

Finish it ! Go, go, go !

I started my project about 18 years ago, worked on it 2 years, set it aside for 16 years, and resurrected it recently. My wife is very outspoken, and I've endured more ridicule over the years than you can imagine for procrastination. She has a message for you - Get 'er dun !

[scogin918]

Turbo67, tell your wife thanks. My wife and I appreciate it.

[GM_muscle]

one of these days i would love to look at your car in person

[scogin918]

Some progress to report:

We welded up and smoothed out the bottom as best we could and addressed any rust issues before applying Second Skin to both sides of the floor pans and the inside of both firewalls (front and rear). I have a new appreciation for taping off areas as I found the Second Skin everywhere after spraying. Having said that, spraying it was way easier than trying to roll it on. I then sprayed the chassis parts and fuels cell basket a satin black. Then, after sanding and cleaning, followed by more priming then sanding and cleaning again, it came time to spray the interior and related pieces. It is a Sherwin Williams
2nd Dimension 5.0 Acrylic Enamel with a flattening agent. I was looking for a low gloss, but I think I ended up with somewhere in between a semi-gloss and a satin. Since the car will be satin black for a while, I think it will make for a good combination. The DSE insert looks like it needs some work, but the face will get painted with the satin black to break up the red.

All of it was done yesterday in the garage. I tried to clean the area as best I could and how I didn't end up with more trash in the paint escapes me. I was responsible for the sanding and cleaning while my more able(and shorter, which came in handy for painting the cage) friend Vern did the actual spraying. After these storms decide what they want to do, I'll clean the garage and the car again, tape off the interior and begin the final sanding on the body with various Dura-Blocks and some 400 dry sandpaper. I've already purchased the black SW paint (thanks Dad for the employee price hookup) and will make a final decison on how much flattening agent to go with on the body. It calls for 2:1 for satin and 3:1 for semi-gloss, but i may go with something in between.


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/09/DSC01450-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/09/DSC01442-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/09/DSC01445-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/09/DSC01447-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/09/DSC01448-1.jpg


here's the link for the rest of the pics:
http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii83/scogin918/

[Motown 454]

scongin918 Nice work you must be siked to be this close. I think its a good idea , about haveing a Vern to help you get unstuck. Do you rent out your Vern to fellow PTers. You will probably be close todone when my car is at that stage. I'll get in touch with you when I'm ready to pick my car up from MCC in York. It should be close enough to swing by and get Vern. I'll keep in touch. lol I love the hood you have I had one on my 69 Z28 back in 1972, it will look sweet on there.

[GM_muscle]

sounds like the car is coming together we need to meet up so i can see this car

[scogin918]

Motown - I'll let Vern know. He's been helping me in between working on his own cars, but I think he can pencil you in. As long as you have an extra bed and some Bud Light.

[Motown 454]

No problem My cousin works for a beer distributor They sell Bud Light

[datsbad]

[quote=Turbo67camaro]

I'm guessing $3,500 is a fair price for a quality job with quality paint.

quote]

You think ? Last car we just painted cost $1700 in materials. Crazy how people work for free.

[Second Skin Rep]

The Spectrum looks good.
How much did you end up using?

ANT

[scogin918]

The Spectrum looks good.
How much did you end up using?

ANT

I've got a little over 4 gallons in what is pictured. I checked underneath and there are a few spots that need some touch up. You can already tell a difference when you close the doors. A real solid sound.

[scogin918]

Painted the firewall, inner fenderwells, and trunk last night. The inner fenderwells have Second Skin Spectrum on the underneath. Paint is Sherwin Williams Dimensions 5.0 Acrylic Enamel w/ Flattening agent. This is the same system I plan on using for the outside of the car for right now.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/10/DSC01458-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/10/DSC01459-1.jpg


The trunk needs a little touch up. It's hard to spray a trunk with a gravity feed cup gun and you better make sure you blow it out REAL good before you start spraying. Lessons learned.

[NvrDun71]

Are the firewall seams welded or seam sealed? Looks great!

[Motown 454]

Looks great , just the right amount of flattening agent.

[SatisTraction]

looks good. i would go ahead and paint the car the color that you want. even if the paint job is poor it will be easier to redo it the same color then to change it later.

[scogin918]

Are the firewall seams welded or seam sealed? Looks great!

A new Firewall was welded on because the old one was toast. Then it was seam sealed and had the necessary prep done before paint.


looks good. i would go ahead and paint the car the color that you want. even if the paint job is poor it will be easier to redo it the same color then to change it later.

That's a good point that I hadn't really thought about.

[NvrDun71]

A new Firewall was welded on because the old one was toast. Then it was seam sealed and had the necessary prep done before paint.


looks good. i would go ahead and paint the car the color that you want. even if the paint job is poor it will be easier to redo it the same color then to change it later.

That's a good point that I hadn't really thought about.

Do you remember what brand seam sealer was used and the technique used to apply it? TIA-

[scogin918]

Some more recent pics of the car. It is jambed out; interior, firewall and trunk are painted as well. Rear suspension is going in now as if it were the final time and the front subframe has been mounted up. We'll go through the front suspension with a fine tooth comb next, followed by the steering, plumbing, driveshaft and exhaust. The goal is to get it moving under its own power before final fitment of front end sheet metal and final blocking before paint. The silver paint is 2007 Mercedes Bright Silver in the Ultra 7000 line from Sherwin Williams. A little more expensive, but boy is it worth it. It covers great!

I do like how the rear wheels fit inside the wheel wells
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/12/DSC01488-1.jpg

Cleaning the original glass
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/12/DSC01489-1.jpg

Installing the rear suspension pieces
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/12/DSC01492-1.jpg

Another shot of the rear. The bolts attaching the truck arm to the crossmember are a bit too short once you add washers to both sides.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2008/12/DSC01491-1.jpg

[icebird84]

looking good

[scogin918]

Well after getting laid off, having a baby the next day and then finding a job two months after that, I've finally found time to get some work done on the car. Now I should be able to post updates a little more frequently now that the kids are a little more manageable and the work situation has stabilized.
Tail Panel
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/IMG_3197-1.jpg
It always helps to have an extra set of hands around the shop.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/IMG_3203-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/IMG_3204-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/IMG_3205-1.jpg

A little lower on the tail panel so you can see the fuel cell from the back.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/IMG_3195-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/IMG_3198-1.jpg
Luxury Liner Pro
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/IMG_3199-1.jpg
Starting to show signs of life underneath the dash. I need to touch up the Second Skin where it is a little thin.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/10/IMG_3206-1.jpg

[Motown 454]

The car is looking good. Glad things are better for you now.

[Part Time]

Looking good. I'm glad to hear that things are slowly working out. I know at one point you were thinking about selling. I'll bet if feels awesome to see it coming together.

[scogin918]

Wiring up the gauges in the DSE instrument cluster.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC01515-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2009/11/DSC01512-1.jpg

[SatisTraction]

the car looks great!!

[Motown 454]

Nice job on the dash. The cars looking nice.

[BossaNova]

Looking good!

[scogin918]

Back from the dead! But now I need some help. After all of the trouble I've had with the previous shop we have found someone new to take on the car and help finish it. What I need now is a budget to finish it.

So here's the challenge. Based on the pictures in this thread(the car hasn't changed much in the past year), what would it realistically take for a shop to finish it completely in a cost efficient manner. That's wiring, plumbing, paint, and interior. I've provided the wiring harness, the interior is pretty much stock, the only thing left to paint is the very outside of the car. Plumbing means brake, fuel,and A/C lines. All I'm looking for is a rough #. So what do you think? $20k? Can it be done for less? Maybe between $10-$15K? Be honest. My wife is finally comfortable with working on the car but she's very structured (she's a comptroller by day) and wants a # to be able to point to. It's unfair to ask the shop to come up with a hard number, but it is easier for them to know what they're working with. With the wealth of experience on this site, we should be able to come up with a roundabout figure that I can feel comfortable presenting to her.

[lt1chevelle]

paint and body work can be 10k and up depending on what is left to be done, you could save some money and run fuel lines and all the small stuff yourself, remember most shops charge by the hr so those little time consuming things really add up. but i guess it just depends on how wild u wannna go. i think 20k is a good rough # but will prolly be less.

[Gitter Dun]

Just caught this today. love the truck arm set up. You say just painting the outside so I assume its already jammed? Is exterior body work complete or is there much prep left before paint? Who's throwing the bumpers, grill, etc. on after paint?

I got the exterior of my car painted for $3500 less jamming. I installed bumpers, grill, etc..

[GM_muscle]

anything i can help you with let me know.

[scogin918]

The cars already jambed out along with the firewall, trunk, interior and the backs of all the panels already painted. The car has been blocked once. And most of the painters I know would prefer to be the last one to actually sand the car before they paint it. The shop I'm talking to charges $90/hr for mechanical and $60/hr for body. As I said before I've got a friend that can paint it in his own booth for next to nothing so that will save me on the paint side. After talking with the shop today he's afraid that the wiring, plumbing and exhaust could get to the $10k summit with wiring being the big part of it. We did the rear harness and the instrument cluster ourselves, but that still leaves the rest of the dash, engine and front of the car to deal with. The truck arms down make for that simple of an exhaust either.

As far as emblems, bumpers and such that would be me in order to save some coin. The only custom touches on the interior would be the dash pad(needs notches for down bars) and the carpet(the rear foot recess were cut out for truck arm travel). Everything else would be stock with no console.

[Gitter Dun]

Brake lines and fuel lines shouldn't take to long. Depending on how experienced the shop is I'm thinking roughly 10-12 Hrs? Wiring for dash, engine and front of car........16-20 hrs? Exhaust is a tough one with the truck arms.........roughly 16 Hrs? AC plumbing.......8 Hrs? Thats 56 Hrs x $90 right there.
Not sure what dash pad would take. Other than that I imagine a custom carpet.....not sure their.....I imagine you could due the rest of the interior.

I could be way off.......................But I dont see it going over 10K.......maybe......

I would try and get a rough estimate with a not to exceed from your shop. Hope this helps in some way or another.

[scogin918]

Talked with the shop yesterday and had a good talk with him regarding a budget. He threw out $30-35k for him to finsih the car from here on out. Of course, that number freaked the wife out so now the goal is to try to find different ways to acieve a similar result but with less cash outlay. The shop is going to continue to perform some of the work I need done. We have identified the wiring and the plumbing as areas that would be better for them to take on. Once they get the car to a point where it can fire up and move under its own power, then we'll see where we are how best to proceed. The number he gave me included them painring the car which he guessed would be around $10k. I've got a friend who is a painter by day and has seen the car. He has offered to paint it for much less. The interior and re-assemblt are other ares where I can save a little money as well. I am feeling pretty good about being able to finish the rest of what has to be done for hopefully between $15-20k. Wish me luck.

I do appreciate the shop throwing out a number like they did as I know how hard it is to estimate the cost of doing a project like this. I He admitted his number was in the high side but he would rather us be happy that he met or came in under budget than upset that he went over. I couldn't really hold it against him if he went a little over anyway. There are cases out there of abuse, but for the most part it is an educated guess at best.

In case you were wondering this is the shop where the car currently resides:

http://www.jamisoncustomcorvette.com/

Great group of guys.

[GM_muscle]

good people at jamisons. hope everything works out. you going to the food lion auto fair? or going to be at the trident car show?

[craigs73]

i would do the plumbing atleast that would save you some $ cant wait to see it done whats the timeframe on the car being done

[mjds]

Paint can be a pain but when its done right its worth every penny, then when you put that first coat a wax on it gets even better!

[scogin918]

good people at jamisons. hope everything works out. you going to the food lion auto fair? or going to be at the trident car show?

I'll more than likely be at the Trident car show with the boys. It's close and they like looking at the cars. Plus the wife gets to enjoy a little alone time.

[scogin918]

i would do the plumbing atleast that would save you some $ cant wait to see it done whats the timeframe on the car being done

My wife asked me that last night. Jamison's has been working on it for about a week and a half now so their part won't take too long. It's the paint that I'm not too sure about. I need call my painter friend and let him know it won't be too long so I can get a spot. I'd like to be done by the end of the year or , dare I say, Turkey Rod Run. But we'll see. The faster you want to go the more expensive it gets.

[GM_muscle]

i going to be at the show with the 2 gto

[GM_muscle]

i been trying to finish the paint work on my pro touring s10 for 2 years now. i have two firebirds next on the list to do.

[scogin918]

i going to be at the show with the 2 gto

I'll keep a look out for ya!

[GM_muscle]

you should check out carolinahorsepower.com bunch of local car guys

[67SSDan]

Nice work man! The car is definitely coming together now.

I tell ya, the whole estimate thing is something that has driven me crazy since day one. I get that car shop guys generally aren't accountants as well (even though they usually also perfom those duties)... but good grief... you've done this a million times already, surely you can give me a guestimate! I guess, like this guy said, they just don't want to throw a number out there and end up being WAY off base because of some unforeseen issue. It can be like pulling teeth to get that number though, and I'm like you... I can't just hand over a blank check.

Best of luck on finishing out the build!

Dan

[scogin918]

So here are some updates: The A/C is almost done. Jamison's happen to be a Vintage air dealer so they had no problem with this and actually helped to simplify the installation. The engine/chassis harness along with the sending units for the respective gauges are complete as well. The fuel line is supposed to be here today and we are hoping to crank her up for real (no flower vase full of fuel hanging off the side) the 1st of next week. This is so awesome and completely made my day when I stopped by. I've been trying not to stop by too often because of my experiences in the past and becaue I don't want to be a nuisance the guys in the shop.

Here are a couple of pics:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/Camaro2-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/Camaro1-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/04/Camaro3-1.jpg

It may not look like much now, but she has come a long way.

[Machwon]

Looks great. I'm actually in charleston as well. I delivered parts to Jamison's a few times for hendricks. Good to see someone else is really into a PT car around here.

[scogin918]

2 more pictures from underneath. New driveshaft and fuel lines are in! Instrument cluster is in as well, just waiting on new rag joint from Ididit to put steering column and wheel in. After this it's just brake lines and exhaust.

And while we are on the subject of exhaust, you can see from the pictures my options are limited. I need a round muffler that has a 12" case with a 2.5" opening on both ends. Any suggestions?


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/getattachmentaspx1-1.jpg


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/05/getattachmentaspx-1.jpg

[Machwon]

I'd run magnapacks from magnaflow. And I recognize the 65/66 fastback. I bought my transmission from him.

[scogin918]

It runs!!! I can actually start it with the key now. No more crossing wires and running fuel from a flower vase. All of the plumbing is complete as is a majority of the wiring. the only wiring left are the front lights and the wiper motor. THe mufflers are installed but I still need to run the rest of the exhaust out to the side. Now onto paint and interior. WooHoo!!

_c1a4q9ge08

[Ron.in.SoCal]

Congrats Robert!! :cheers:

[CruizinKev]

congrats! looks great so far! :twothumbs

[scogin918]

Brought the car back home a couple of weeks ago. I can actually drive it down the street. I wish I would have painted the window channels when we jambed the car out. I could've gone ahead and put the headliner and glass in. But now I'm just putting anything that goes on the outside on to make sure of the fit before paint. Emblems, side marker lights, door handles and mirrors. The biggest thing left though is the front grill alignment and wiring the headlights.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/Camaro4-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/06/Camaro5-1.jpg

[scogin918]

Back from the dead...
After bringing the car home and working on it here and there, it was decided that the time had come for someone to finally paint it. So now the car is back home from the paint shop and the final assembly/punch list process is underway. I have the carpet and seats left to do and the door panels are on the way. So we walked the car from front to back and made a list of all the things left to be done. There is a lot of little things here and there when you are trying to finish a car let me tell you. Adn it sure gets annoying when you think you have the "list" and your friend walks over and says, "Hey, you need to fix this here" or "Hey, this piece is supposed to go this way".

Anyway here are a few pics...


https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/02/getattachmentaspx2-1.jpeg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/02/getattachment1aspx-1.jpeg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/02/getattachment3aspx-1.jpeg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/02/getattachment2aspx-1.jpeg