Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Well the past two months have seen little progress; first I was busy racing my Camaro, then I went with the wife on a two-week Panama Canal cruise (which was awesome!). Then upon my return I immediately got sick. But I have finally gotten back to work on the Chevelle the past couple of weeks.

At this point I finally finished up the left door (what a bear that was!) and the only panel left is the right quarter panel. I say "only", but it has eleven dents! One of which is a crease over a foot long. In fact the only major panel on this car that wasn't damaged was the trunk lid, the rest of the car averages about four dents per panel. Was this thing in a demolition derby? Not only that, but there's evidence to suggest that it hasn't been on the street since the mid-70s! That would mean the car took on about three dents per year on average! Was it driven by Mr. Magoo?

Other than the last panel left it all seems pretty good now, though I know I may get some unpleasant surprises when I see it with shiny paint. I keep reminding myself though that I'm pretty sure the win light never comes on in the other guy's lane because his car is prettier.

Anyway, it's looking good at this point for me to spray the car the week between Christmas and New Year's as planned. Then I'll be off to pick up the engine and transmission.

Here's what the finished side looks like, not that it's very good looking, what with mismatched primer spots and horribly mis-aligned panels in this temporary assembly I did:

http://i.imgur.com/La5JoU1.jpg

And here's that pesky quarter panel:

http://i.imgur.com/hc9E47q.jpg

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Little bit of a set-back here...

I was happy that I was 2/3 done with the quarter panel already, but then I took a close look at the right door. I really thought I had looked that over before. But it seems I just noticed one little dent up top as I walked by and decided to fix it then. But I never did check out the rest. Turns out the bottom part of the door has six more dents.

Fortunately my work situation changed a bit and my week off has been pushed back to the first week in January, so I have an extra week to play catch up. Plus the more I do this work, the faster I get.

http://i.imgur.com/ZxM4qXn.jpg

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

David, Thanks, but instead of reaching for the camera, you ought reach for the cheese grater!
Save yourself some work that way.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

I did that just after taking the picture. It helps a bit, but the initial sanding goes pretty fast anyway. When I get aggressive filing it it sometimes takes a little too much out of it.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Happy Birthday Dave!

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Thanks Rob! I spent most of it doing (what else?) body work on the Chevelle. All done now except for some minor spots here and there.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Well, I thought body work was done, but I kept finding more issues here and there. I'm really not good at seeing this stuff without the aid of shiny paint. The total count of dents continued to climb right to the end of the year. But I have a new theory on how a car can pick up so many dents. The formula goes like this:

Pissed off wife + Big hammer = Many dents

Who knows, it could be. Anyway I finally got to the point of spraying 2K primer on it. Here it is just before:

http://i.imgur.com/xeU8xTY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OoBr0xD.jpg

And here it is after:

http://i.imgur.com/wx7BXYL.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yvei6mu.jpg

Tomorrow I'll be block sanding then disassembling it to paint the fenders, doors, hood and trunk separately.

I can see a variety of imperfections but most of the body work looks good. I've been held up some by cold, wet weather though. This el nino seems to be for real. But I hope to get the main body painted this weekend, fenders, doors etc. next weekend.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

When I painted my Cougar I kept chasing a low spot in the hood. Don't know how many times I would glaze it, prime it, sand it, looks high, looks low. Finally said screw it sanded it to metal, prime & paint, cant find a thing.

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

Looking good, Dave

Re: '66 Malibu N/SA
 

All I can say is the guys that do quality bodywork and paint for a living earn every dollar they charge!

You can drive yourself crazy chasing imperfections, but that is the time to make it right, not after you get color on it. I have not priced paint since 2008 when I finished my car, but the petroleum based basecoat had doubled in cost over a 2 year period of time. People get sticker shock when they are told $10k + for a paint job, time is money and materials are not cheap!

Keep up the progress!

Sean