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Restoration nearing completion!

Hi all

So after going EFI and installing my new exhaust system and repairing and replacing my long list of items on my Betty, I decided to give her a full repaint. The respray she was given some years ago by the previous owner was cheaply done to the extent that there were a lot of bumps and bubbles on the body and some paint came off when the mechanics working on my car removed the protective film that they had temporary put on the side fenders while working on the engine bay.

I kept the same color (Rangoon Red) they were able to match it perfectly, and now did the job right with sanding, primer, base coat, clear coat - about 3-4 layers, water based paint. I haven't driven her since 1 Feb and I'm due to get her back at the end of this week hopefully, can't wait!

I've also had all the chrome taken off the car including the badges and having them all redone.

Said I'll share some progress pix and will share the finished product when ready!

JB

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Sorry mods, meant to post this in general discussion, guess I did so in the wrong section by mistake.

Could you kindly move the thread?

Thanks! JB

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Seems to be a big body shop ?
It's huge, not only a body shop but mechanics as well. State of the art facility, they work on modern supercars, classics, race cars, etc etc... You gotta pay top dollar for the peace of mind though but it's worth it for me because they are good.

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Having a porsche , bentley ferrari , you can buy peace of mind ....easely. Won't you ? :rolleyes: ;)
 
Looks like they also actually do the work when you deliver the car too. Over here it can be months or even longer of an ordeal waiting for a car to be painted. This likely more than cost is why so many guys paint their cars at home in their garages. I know it was in my case.

At this point you have basically done almost a complete restoration on your recently purchased restored car. At least now it is to your liking and standard.
 
Looks like they also actually do the work when you deliver the car too. Over here it can be months or even longer of an ordeal waiting for a car to be painted. This likely more than cost is why so many guys paint their cars at home in their garages. I know it was in my case.

At this point you have basically done almost a complete restoration on your recently purchased restored car. At least now it is to your liking and standard.
Pretty much. Thing is, all of these things that I'm doing to the car are not necessary, car ran perfectly but I'm really excited about turning this lady into a show car that I can use pretty much daily, hence the EFI, disc brakes, paint work, etc...

Things that were necessary which I had done were upgrading the radiator, changing my fuel sending unit, changing my water temp sending unit, installing hazard light switch, changing the bulbs behind the dials, and fixing a few leaks and other minor things. Everything else was a luxury.

I just did the restoration all at once rather than doing things bit by bit, but hopefully this is the end of it with just a bi-annual routine service (fingers crossed). Either way, good thing about these cars is that they will only appreciate in value if looked after. I've still got all original parts so everything I'm doing is totally reversible.

Overall with parts and labor (including painting), I've spent approx $16,500 on all the work done over and above the purchase price, but then i did very little work myself, mostly done at the shop. But no I ordered all the parts from PonyParts and Summit, then took an appointment and took the car to them with all the parts that I wanted changed and a detailed to-do list, so I made their lives easier. Only issue is the speed of work, I took the car there on 1 Feb and I'm expecting her hopefully back by the end of this week, so it's been a while since I've driven her, which was tough! But all's well that ends well, hopefully all will be good come the weekend.

JB



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Almost there now!

Installing the magnaflows and then putting back some parts I had rechromed and we are done! I've also decided to change the speedo cable as a fix for the wobbly needle.

Can't wait to drive her again! I'm due to collect her this evening hopefully.
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I gotta say, what a pain in the backside fixing the MFs 15815 on the convertible. Wow. They said slight modification, but it's been quite drastic from where I'm standing

All's well that ends well I guess...

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Right well, took her out tonight for her maiden voyage after we did all the restoration work on the car... Few snags remain that I'll take her in to the shop next week for, among them is my retrosounds radio doesn't switch on, and my speedo stopped working, including my reverse lights.... must be some wiring that got loose in the process, so they have to fix it, and didn't have time today because I was in a hurry to take the car to use over the weekend.

Also, I noticed a leak again even after we checked and fixed all the connections haha guess this is super common on the 289 motor. Pix attached. Ahhh the joys of classic motoring never ends does it! At least many other things that didn't work before now work perfectly and the EFI system works like a dream thank god.

Hope my trip to the shop for these minor electrical issues is my last trip!
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Also, the MF 15815 is plenty. Sounds great, and definitely I'm glad I cancelled my LT headers order. This is loud enough for me and provides plenty of rumble! Love it

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