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Blue 64 another restoration. This little guy came in with needing quarters but as we all know too well how a job can grow. After seeing condition of interior hull I knew it was better to strip down and flip over.
Some surprises but nothing unusual. Tunnel is all bent up and will be repaired. Blue engine will return to a more original look. Rust in floors will be resolved. Exterior paint will be complete. Marks in metal are from shrinking hammer. There was a large dent in front hull. Most is now removed by using shrink hammer and dolly.
One surprise was amount of sand/slug build up under trans. This was unique because of depth and amount. It shows this car had lots of river flowing through it. Hull before and after.
A few more parts need to be removed and car will be ready to roll over.
Assorted
door pics. First look, I thought excellent a near perfect door. After paint
removal and gunk from inside, I see a small discoloration. I poke with pick.
Ultimately bottom couple of inches had to be replaced.
Engine cover very good with just dents. I have found it is better to be easy
with engine cover dents. The covers are very distorted because of louvers and
holes. I try to get dents out and blend the waves that are in all engine covers.
On hood is a different story. If waves and distortions are left, they really
show up. Hoods need a lot of blocking. This part to appeared to be rust free
till paint was removed. For almost a day my shelves were empty. I set up a
specific group of shelves per car. It makes it easy to see what is left and what
needs to be done.
Just making big holes. Battery tray looked nice but revealed what would be a big problem. Right quarter looked not too bad then hole just gets bigger. Still an above average Amphi in many ways.
The
rusty drivers door. I needed to make bottom and door skin. Hugh has a skin but I
do not like its fit or gauge.
After bottom is made door fit needs to be checked and rechecked. I used car itself as template. Every Amphi is different. Now the repaired door fits as well as it did from factory. Too many times they "stick out". I sprayed door in and out with a vynil etch primer, then a coat of epoxy.
I was coming across to many rusty spots under paint I was removing. So next logical move was to have entire car media blasted. This removes paint and rust with out destroying good metal. Bad news is that there was a lot more weak spots (holes) than first thought. Good news is better now than during first swim.
The car looks pretty cool in all silver. I am using an acid etch primer which
has excellent adhesion and corrosion prevention properties. Jack points need to
be cut off and floors rebuilt. Joints at rockers and cowl I had blasted.
Lead joints have been breaking and cracking. So I had lead removed to re
weld joints.
Picking at small holes reveals the rusty truth. Jack plate had to be removed. Now floor section can be replaced. What happened is previous owner used seam sealer. The sealer was not good enough to keep water out but was excellent at keeping water in. In thinking about letting water out I add holes to car. I put in frame, holes near front and in back. Water does collect in large tube frame and can not get out, now it can. Under rear seat area I cut large slit. This allows debris such as leaves to get out of rear quarter area. Plus allows water to escape. Front floor brace I pull back to clean and paint. I will put back and weld back in. I will put in small drain hole in middle of brace. To help drain dirt that collects there. Front area primed with acid etch primer. Since front is clean, I will be painting before doing other repairs. It is easier to tape off than to re clean. Plus seeing some blue keeps me very motivated! Finding new big rust holes can be disappointing. But if I were to weld just the pin holes, in a year or so tiny leaks would start. There will probably be some small leaks after time but at least I know I did all I could.
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