Great News! I have a short and sweet update on my 1964 Impala convertible project. Here goes…
I left off with some some freshly welded quarter panel action on Part 5 of the Impala project. From there, I went around the entire quarter panel and spot welded it just like they would have in 1964, except that I did it with a MIG welder (Hey, nobody is perfect amirite?). Once it was fully welded on, I decided that it was time for a drastic change in scenery. Yes. It was officially time to soda blast the entire car down to the bare metal, and give it a brand new, even, epoxy coat of primer. There were a million benefits to doing this, like having no more rust to deal with, a solid base for “real” body work, and it would be sealed properly from the elements around it. Yes, there would still be some metalwork here and there to do, but at least I would be working with clean metal from now on.
So last weekend was huge. I borrowed a soda blaster from my friend that owns Homestead Blast, and spent the day blasting my way through decades of mismatched primers and disgusting grossness. I used a few hundred pounds of soda, and a then several hundred pounds of sand. When all was said and done, my car was beautifully naked metal.
I then washed the whole car down with some metal-prep cleaner, and began mixing up some black epoxy primer. I did exactly as the directions told me, with a 2:1 ratio of paint to hardener, mixed it, filtered it, and turned the pressure down on the compressor. After a few questionable passes with the spray gun, I got it dialed in, and the primer began laying down smooth. It seemed to take forever to get the trunk, hood, Arizona born rust-free doors, and the body itself covered in two coats of the stuff, but at about 10pm, I had finally finished.
It is finally beginning to look like a legit vehicle again. Phew! I still need to clean up & prime both front fenders, and come up with a new passenger side hood hinge (mine is beat). I’m also going to splash some POR-15 on the insides of the doors, fenders, rockers, etc. The last time I used that stuff, it changed my world, and I need more of it in my life.
More to come…
In case you missed it:
1964 Impala Convertible Project Part 1
1964 Impala Convertible Project Part 5
POR15 is great, except when you get it on your bare skin.
Agreed. Done it. The POR-15 was all “Haha, I’m permanently on your hands! No really, I mean like…..forever…lollzz”. This was me 2 weeks later 😐
Yer shop is WAY to clean! Git more projects started so you can loose stuff and find it years later!
I’m eagerly looking forward to reading the next blog post on the ’64. It takes me back to a time, about the same time when the ’64 was new, when I would ride my bicycle to the drugstore to pick up the latest custom car magazines. How I loved to read about how people were putting Chevy tail lights on a Ford, and Ford grilles on a Chevy, chopping, channeling, etc.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks! I cannot wait too! I’m hoping that I can get the front end together in the weeks ahead. As you may have seen, the Nova project is turning a new page as well, so you may get to watch two vehicle builds unfold at once. It should be fairly exciting to say the least.
Great project! my 1st car was also a 64 Impala, 2door hard top. Still wish I had it. Looking forward to reading more about your “adventures” in restoring your Impala.
nice work you are building my confidence about replacing the quarters and tailpan on my rusty 64 impala! ive owned it since 96 and have had it in storage since 2000! im a steel fabricator by trade and have a shop full of welding and fabrication tools. never done any bodywork but im sure ill rock it! thanks for the motivation!
what’s the update on the 64 impala?
Great question Terry! I actually have a big improvement going on with it right now. I’ll write a blog post before this week is over. I think you’ll like it, I know I do!