What order to approach bodywork?

[AndyB]

I need some help deciding how to approach building my 64 Malibu. My plan is to mini-tub the rear and to setup a three link rear suspension. The car needs quarters, floors, a trunk pan, and a tail panel. The question I have is, in what order should I approach this job?

This is my current plan;

1. Remove body from frame. (I am just about at this point)
2. Do all modifications to frame, paint everything, fully assemble suspension, brake lines fuel lines etc.
3. Bolt the body onto the frame, do all sheet metal replacement and all modifications to firewall.
4. Remove body from frame, put body on rotisserie, seal and paint underside of car, apply spray on sound deadener to inside of car.
5. Bolt the body back on frame for final time, hang all sheet metal on the car and do all needed bodywork.
6. Remove front clip, doors and trunk and paint everything separately.
7. Reassemble

This is my first attempt at a job this large, so if any one has any ideas on how I should approach this, they would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy

p.s. I remember reading a thread about this subject some time ago, but I could not find it with the search feature. If someone could post up a link to the old thread, that would be great too.

[Travis B]

we mock up everthing first

build the entire car in bare steel

tear car apart do all needed body work

prime everything

assemble car again, all body panels on and tight

check fit

tear down and paint

color sand and buff

reassemble

[astroracer]

Doing it the way Travis suggested is difficult for most of us "little guys".
Yes, it is the professional way to do it but the man power AND the man hours is something I know I don't have.
Andy, your approach will work fine but I would recommend doing all of your body panel replacement and bodywork BEFORE you take the car apart. This will help in aligning the new panels with the old chassis and it will keep you from messing up a nicely cleaned and painted chassis during the body build.
Get all of your metalwork done and the car into epoxy then take her apart. Do the chassis and underbody work while it's apart so all that's left when you marry them back together is the final paint. You will still get the chassis dusty but at least you won't be marking it up with cutting and welding slag.
Mark

[AndyB]

Thanks for the information guys.

It makes sense to do the sheet metal work before cleaning up the frame; it will be much less complicated to put the body back on the frame once instead of twice.

How do you guys strip to bare metal? I used a chemical stripper on my corvette and it worked very well, I would not mind doing it that way again
if this is a good way to go with metal.

Andy

[Travis B]

chemical stripper works well unless the paint is real thick then it is a pain.....I used a mudbuster on most of my chevelle the rest was sandblasted(jams,interior,pillars). My next build will be media blasted!

[derekf]

mudbuster?

[68protouring454]

mudhog









8 inch geared sander

[Travis B]

mudhog

8 inch geared sander

thanks jake

edit*

sorry derek just what I have always called it

[derekf]

Thanks, Jake. Hadn't ever heard the term before.

[ProdigyCustoms]

Bondo eater!

[AndyB]

I had to look up what a mudbuster was, that thing looks like it will tear up some paint in a hurry. Now I have an excuse to buy another tool!

This is what I found.
Matco Mud Buster

Travis, I agree with you on the media blasting, that seems to be the way to go, I need to see if someone local to me does that kind of work.

[Travis B]

yup that is it.....mine is a ingersol and rand (spelling ) but they are all the same