Paint complete!

So, assembly continued on the painted body.  All of the removed panels needed fitting.  The front fenders were the most difficult.  Considering that the front drivers fender was new to the car, many of the installation holes needed to be messaged with a small grinder so the bolts would fit.  It was back and fourth with moving the fender, adjusting the front of the drivers door, aligning the hood, etc.  After a few hours of delicately moving the freshly painted fender around with shims, it was done well enough for me. 

passenger side fender, wet sanded and ready for buffing

I went through miles of tape and clear plastic.

after the initial high-speed buffing

Once the painted panels were installed, the entire car was buffed.  It was a messy job as the buffer flung compound paste all over the garage.  No real problems, just time consuming (what isn't with a paint job I guess??).  I burned through the paint in a couple sharp edges.  I'll touch them up someday when I mix up paint again.

after 1st round of buffing.

after second round of finer buffing.  Only polish remains.

Next step was to glue on the vinyl fabric between the dash and the windshield.  I reused the original piece after looking for a replacement piece of vinyl and not being able to find a piece that looked correct or was the correct thickness for molding to the scuttle it would be glued to.  I just taped off the area, sanded the new paint to give the glue some tooth, and attached the vinyl.

sanded and ready for glue

installed and ready for the windshield.

Next up was the fun part- installing ALL of the rest of the bits- chrome trim, bumpers, mirrors, top fasteners, door components, etc.  Enjoyable tasks, but slow because of working around new paint.  Sure, I may have scratched it a couple times, but who cares?  As each piece is attached, it starts to look more and more like a car.

installing original VIN tag with rivets prior to windshield install

windshield installed

door latch pieces

Coming along.  I covered over the windshield because I still had some buffing to do.

tail lights, gas filler, etc

new stainless trim clips.  I had to make sure these would align correctly as I installed the fender.  This trim goes down the entire length of the car, on three different body panels. 

here are the trim pieces installed- look pretty straight I guess?

front end almost finished

grill added- sorry it's a bit blurry.  So was I by this time, so it's only fair.

Ready for the road!!

The final step for now was to install a dash cap my brother gave me for Christmas 7 months earlier! It covers over the cracked and split original vinyl dash top.  Looks really great.  A before and after:

 

old cracked dash- with some gorilla tape I put on cover the BIG cracks

new cap- sorry I don't have a photo without the towel.  The towel is there to hold it in place while the glue dries.



 

 And finally- on the road!!

It was a ton of work, but certainly worth it, and I had a blast doing it... now that it over.

 Next post in the New Year will be new seat covers.  Happy Holidays everyone!