Arizona Hot Rod

[rapidray]

Well I am finally satisfied with the chassis portion of the build. Finished the final wiring installation and trunk carpeting. Could not decide what to do with the dash finish so decided to see what it looked like just covered like the waterfall. Have a guy that does work for us at the shop, so asked him what he thought, great guy picked it up covered it and delivered for free. Cannot complain about that and was happy with the look. Found the dash to be really flexible however so put my template behind it to stiffened it up. Also removed the covering for the rear pad that fits above the waterfall and installed snaps to hold it down worked real well. Made the windshield final adjustments and am finally satisfied with it. Now on the final body prep and paint. Here is the color I am going with. Also found these plastic wire grommets at my local ace hardware found they work much better than the rubber ones will just waterproof with silicone or some left over dyna-mat. Also covered the upper firewall with these decals that I found. Stay well Ray

[rapidray]

Thought I would post a small update! A little off the hot rod subject. I have also been for the last few years working on this 4 door 1966 Lincoln. We got it out of a backyard about 4 years ago in really bad shape. I installed a rebuilt stock motor and transmission and made sure the rest of the running gear was safe. I spent about 9 months on the body as it was really rough. I finally had a guy shoot it for me as I do not have access to a paint booth. It surprised me how well it came out. I am waiting for the air bag kit now and then will have the interior guy out so needless to say the hot rod is on hold. (You can see it in the background on the lift). The body work is almost done on it however and still hope to paint soon. Ray

[rapidray]

Finally finished the 66 Lincoln and resumed the hot rod project last Monday! Prepped the hood, trunk, doors and side panel for paint. Ended up sanding and priming numerous times along with spot putty to repair all the pin holes I found. Some panels were repaired six times until I was satisfied. I also flipped the body (don't laugh it worked) so I could repair the lower joints. I took care to use the minimum amount of filler in the wheel well areas to prevent the inevitable rock chips from appearing unusually large. I also removed the windshield from the frame for polish and drilled and tapped several more holes for mounting. I eliminated the angled studs from the window to prevent the cowl from cracking due to the movement of the window. The corner windshield studs were at such a angle that it is impossible to tighten the nuts without bending the studs as I discovered during the test fitting stage. After adding several more studs along with a metal reinforcing rod the windshield is nice and snug to the cowl. Hope to finish the prep Monday and then off to the booth for the final (Pull me over red) paint. I also tinted the paint sealer red to hide the rock chips as much as possible! Ray

[AJT '33]

Nice work on the car, like the front end! May I ask what door popper Solenoid or Actuator that you are using? I have Autoloc 35# solenoids that I am going to trash as one came completely apart (passenger door) and the other (driver side door) nearly caught fire when it seized and acted like an induction coil! Unfortunately the latter happened during the inspection at the DMV! (but they were cool and passed it anyways). Will not risk my car for that, I am looking at Actuators instead of solenoids to hopefully alleviate the fire issue, not sure how that will work out. I will also be adding a hidden manual release in case of catastrophic failure as a safeguard. Would appreciate knowing what your using, TY.

[rapidray]

Did not quite finish up the body as I was swamped with customer work this week. Just a little left to do prior to paint. I did however finally disassemble the windshield so I could polish the frame, what a difference! I never liked the way it came and did not desire to paint it so really glad I took the time to polish it. Took about 4 hours total so not to bad. Ty I am not running any solenoid door switches just the ones supplied with the kit. The enclosed pictures do not really reflect how well the frame polished so will take a few some other time. Ray

[sethmark]

Looks great. Sandpaper only?

[rapidray]

Sethmark, I actually tried to just water sand it at first but found that there were too many deep scratches. Ended up taking 400 on a orbital sander and then water sanding starting with 400 ending with 2000 grit. Then finished with Mothers aluminum polish. Ray

[JOP33]

Sethmark, I actually tried to just water sand it at first but found that there were too many deep scratches. Ended up taking 400 on a orbital sander and then water sanding starting with 400 ending with 2000 grit. Then finished with Mothers aluminum polish. Ray

Looks great! I did something similar on mine...I started with 180 (I had some pretty good scratches in it), then 320 and 600 dry. From there I went wet (with wd-40 in lieu of water) 1000, then 3000 & finished with Meguiar's Motorcycle Polish and 5000 (3k & 5K were soft pads). I continue to use the 5k when I clean weekly.

Construction - 324 - Roadster Windshield.jpg

Construction - 322 - Roadster Windshield.jpg

Construction - 323 - Roadster Windshield.jpg

[JimLev]

Thanks for the polishing tips, I need to do it to my grille too.
Bet the last seconds of the Cowboys game put a smile on your face.

[sethmark]

Thanks for the info. I have gotten so lazy with the hot rod of late. Driven lots worked on zero. Too many cars and projects getting in the way of last mile stuff. Looking forward to seeing yours complete!

[JOP33]

Thanks for the polishing tips, I need to do it to my grille too.
Bet the last seconds of the Cowboys game put a smile on your face.

Nice ending...shouldn't have put themselves in that position though. I know better, little too earlier to be frustrated or excited - just enjoying having football to watch!

[rapidray]

Banner day! Finally am satisfied with the body work! Now just a final wash and then to paint. Will seal first and then plan on 3 coats of base followed with 5 coats of clear. Had to redesign my body dolly so I could paint the bottom. Again plan on painting the underside of the hood and deck lid with single stage paint prior to painting the rest of the car so I do not have to worry about hanging or flipping them. Cheers Ray

[33fromSD]

looking great

[rapidray]

Had a pretty productive week! Monday I jammed the hood and deck lid with a single stage acrylic enamel so I did not have to worry about flipping them in the booth. Rented the paint booth on DMAFB Wednesday for the rest of the job. Pretty good facility, old but clean although I thought it is small. How much can I complain though for the $55.00 fee! Well worth it, tried to spray it as wet as possible so I would minimize the cut and buff portion of the job. Had so many parts spread all over the place that I found it impossible to do. It came out well however and the total cost will be less than $1500 so nothing to worry about. I like to let the paint cure for at least a week or two before polish so will start the 3 week (hopefully) assembly process Monday. Here are some shots of it. It looks kind of orange in the booth but trust me it is bright red! Cheers Ray

[JOP33]

Had a pretty productive week! Monday I jammed the hood and deck lid with a single stage acrylic enamel so I did not have to worry about flipping them in the booth. Rented the paint booth on DMAFB Wednesday for the rest of the job. Pretty good facility, old but clean although I thought it is small. How much can I complain though for the $55.00 fee! Well worth it, tried to spray it as wet as possible so I would minimize the cut and buff portion of the job. Had so many parts spread all over the place that I found it impossible to do. It came out well however and the total cost will be less than $1500 so nothing to worry about. I like to let the paint cure for at least a week or two before polish so will start the 3 week (hopefully) assembly process Monday. Here are some shots of it. It looks kind of orange in the booth but trust me it is bright red! Cheers Ray

Kudos to ya'll that do ALL the body work and painting yourselves, just truly another level of the build I just didn't want to take on (which is weird because I was a body/paint tech growing up)...you guys ROCK!

[rapidray]

Had another good week! I was really apprehensive about the reassembly process, carefully marked and photographed every piece during disassembly. Everything went together real well with only slight adjustments here and there. Did not tackle the doors as they both require another coat of base and clear. Seems the way I hung them in the booth was really stupid and I did not get enough paint on the lower inside jam. No real big deal as I can do this at the shop. I redesigned the body stand so I could hang the doors right side up. Live and learn. Still cutting and buffing the car but much easier with it assembled. Had to drive it partially done as its been so long! Cheers Ray

[rapidray]

Sethmark, for your info! Thanks Ray

[sethmark]

Ray, is the bolt for the panhard on the drivers side (frame bolt) hitting the rear end bracket???

[rapidray]

I don't think so. If you look at the second picture above it looks fine. I will definitely look at the car Monday when I get to the shop. I think I will disconnect the shocks and use a couple of pole jacks while the car is lifted to check for any rear suspension binding issues I might have. I will let you know what I find. Thank you Ray

[sethmark]

Ray,
It does look fine at full droop, but if you look closely the bolt through the pan hard on the frame bracket points towards the front of the car. I bet you it’s catching on the axle bracket at ride height. I’d be willing to bet that it’s causing your binding.

I’m sure it seems absurd, but the axle is going to move up in that bracket is going to get in the way when you put the car on its weight. It’s my best guess with two pictures and several thousand miles away.

[rapidray]

I will turn the bolt around tomorrow when I am at the shop and will let you know if it solves the problem. Thanks for your help! It was nice talking to you. Ray

[rapidray]

First a huge shout out to Seth! His suggestion did indeed fix my ride problem. I also repainted the doors and installed them. Cannot believe how easy it all went together! Was very surprised and relieved to say the least. Now just need to finish the cut and buff. Am still waiting for the waterfall upholstery guy. I also was happy with the gaskets I used from the 66 Lincoln door hinges it hid the square holes and made it look finished. Ray

[sethmark]

Man that car looks great. Nice.

[FF33rod]

Looks fantastic, you must be very pleased! thanks for the tip on the Lincoln hinge seals

[33fromSD]

Beautiful....yes, awesome tip on the Lincoln hinge seals

[rapidray]

Thanks all for your comments. I actually am satisfied with the progress so far. Of course it could always be better. Now that I am in the final assembly process I have a few quick questions. Are arm rests furnished with the kit? I have the aluminum pattern and I am assuming that's if you want to get them made? Also there is a piece of aluminum that goes somehow on top of the door hinge area. No matter what I do I cannot get it to fit. I have a gen 2 kit and my frame rail is different that the manual picture shows. Thanks Ray

[JimLev]

My Gen 1 came with arm rests for the doors.

[RoadRacer]

My Gen 1 came with arm rests for the doors.

Me too, fully upholstered.

[rapidray]

Contacted Dave he is going to send me a set. Thanks Ray

[e36m3]

Ray, the car looks great!
Seth and Ray, thanks for pointing out the bolt through the pan hard hitting the frame bracket. Mine is doing the same thing, saved me some head scratching later on when setting the ride height.

[rapidray]

You are most welcome! But trust me Seth deserves all the praise! Ray

[JimLev]

Thanks all for your comments. I actually am satisfied with the progress so far. Of course it could always be better. Now that I am in the final assembly process I have a few quick questions. Are arm rests furnished with the kit? I have the aluminum pattern and I am assuming that's if you want to get them made? Also there is a piece of aluminum that goes somehow on top of the door hinge area. No matter what I do I cannot get it to fit. I have a gen 2 kit and my frame rail is different that the manual picture shows. Thanks Ray

Ray, how much different is your Gen 2 chassis in the door hinge area?
Here's my Gen 1, that aluminum slides right in.
All the black is sound deadening insulation.

DSCN4555.JPG

[rapidray]

Jim, way different. The Gen 2 hinge bracket is several inches above the down bar as you can see here. Ray

[rapidray]

On another note I did start the cut and buff process this week. What a difference it really makes. The pictures here are not that good but the car looks fantastic. I did the hood, side panels and cowl. Will start on the doors Monday I hope. Ray

[rapidray]

Had a pretty productive week! About 95% complete. However as you all probably know a project like this is never completely done! I estimate that it took me about 8 1/2 to 9 months from start to end. The car is solid and drives like a dream. I can honestly say that I did 99% of the work including the paint and body. Overall I am really happy with the car. Thanks for everybody's advice I really appreciate it. Ray