Off to the Sandblaster

[markandson]

Can't believe it, but I finally got my shell sent to the sandblaster yesterday.
, hope to have it back in about 3 weeks.

[jlthunder]

Congrats. Looking Good. Can't wait until it comes back. I know this will be an excellent finished product.

Jeff

[caramiciu]

Good luck,Looks good,
I sent my car to the blaster for some serioous cleaning a few weeks ago.I had a visit the other day..LOLA looks good.Can't wait to get her back

[namba209]

That's really neat Jeff, I sometimes wish I had done that to Willit? Here's a heads up for you when it gets back. No matter how much they try to remove the blasting media, there will always be some hiding in the nooks and crannies of the shell. I found this out when I had the front suspension done on Willit?. It took a couple of hours to remove the media from the inside of the hubs, even though they were completly taped off. Vacuum cleaner, high pressure air, high pressure vapor blaster and then just plain old washing it out by hand fnally got it all cleaned up. HTH.

[markandson]

Thanks for the tip I will check it over well when it comes back. I am concerned about the rockers filling up with media since there seems to be places where it could enter. Then it would cause future rust because moisture could stay in there. The rotissiere belongs to the body shop where I have my work done.

[jerseyopel]

Well that should give you just under 200 days or so to finish it. How about a race to completion between you and Jerseydave for carlisle...

[N61WP]

Jeff,

What type of media are they using? I have heard good things about the baking soda media, but have no first hand knowledge.

James

[markandson]

They are using aluminum oxide, like 60 grit which will remove all the rust but not stretch the metal. About Carlisle............well, if you all remember, I was SUPPOSED to make this past Carlisle, which I did not even come close to. I have almost everything ready to go into the car. Remaining items are gas tank, which I worked on today..the cover is made and installed, I will be posting pics when done..the gas pickups still need to be installed. The front bumper needs re-chrome, the rear pop outs need the trim cleaned up. I have to install the electric mirrors on the doors, and the spal electric window kit. There are other minor items, like Finish the 2.2 motor, but I will probably install a 1.9 just to get it on the road. I worked on the MegaSquirt yesterday for 10 hours, it is about 90% done. I couldn't take it anymore so I worked on the tank today. Bottom line--I sure want to make next Carlisle, but it is still up to the body guy to finish, which is my road block. Anyway, rambling too much...later everyone.

[weatherman]

I had mine blasted and my blaster uses triple aught sand....works wonders. I was impressed when i got it back, found SO MANY rust holes. I am so glad it was done. Threw a light coat of primer on it and dad has been working on it here and there. Can't wait to get it done...looks like it'll be a while. He just got an American bulldog puppy, so my car lost his attention and it all went to the dog.

[markandson]

Got the crap scared out of me today... ...rotisserie fell apart on the way back from the blaster and the car almost fell off of the flatbed. I think everything turned out OK, but I won't really be able to tell until I try and put the whole car back together. I sure hope it didn't bend the front end of the shell.

[namba209]

Darn Jeff, that's gotta be some kinda scary. Glad to here it didn't fall off the truck, that woulda been really bad. Hope any damage is minimal.

[markandson]

Turned out that the car stayed attached to the front of the rotis. and the back dropped onto the middle tube. It put a dent right between the two exhaust cutouts in the rear panel. Over the last two days the body guy finally got back on the car. The bottom is now totally welded up, no holes and all small dents were filled in sanded smooth. He then shot it with self etching primer, rubberized undercoat and then semi-gloss black. It looks sweet. I will post some pics next week, forgot the camera today. It will be coming off the rotis. this week and put on a temporary suspension set so he can roll it around easier.

[markandson]

Bottom is done, now if I can only get him to finish the top . Coated with self etching primer, rubberized stone guard, and then semi-gloss black.

[opelspyder]

What was the cause of the rotisserie failure? Was the body damaged?
Keith

[jeff denton]

For an interesting read, check out this month's (April 07, actually) Hot Rod Magazines "Project F-Bomb" bodywork story. So the rage now is to powdercoat the blasted shell. And then do the bodywork. Sounds kind of strange, but they ended up with a pristine, mummified body.

[markandson]

Originally Posted by opelspyder What was the cause of the rotisserie failure? Was the body damaged? Keith

The blaster guys had to loosen the bolts that allow the car to rotate, naturally. Well the fools never tightened them all the way and with them loose and the whole thing rockin' and rollin' down the highway the bottom tube bolt could not take the load so the whole thing just sort of fell in half, but it was still attached to the car, so the car held it together, sort of. Damage was only the small dent between the tail pipe cutouts on the bottom

[Tru-Craft]

Jeff, that under body looks great!
You are doing your GT right, not rushing it, and not trying to do everything yourself!
The rotating fixture is too easy! You missed all the fun of laying on your back with rust and grit falling on your face.
So what color is it going to be?
Lyle

[markandson]

Lyle,
The car is going to be gold and black. The black will actually have gold underneath so it will look black for the most part, but when the sun hits it you will be able to see gold fleck through it. The tail will be blacked out and I am thinking of some other "black highlights". The gold will also have a slight silver fleck under it so it twinkles in the sun. My wheels are already done in the black, I tried to post a picture of it a long time ago, but you really can't see the result too well in pictures. I was also considering a stripe, but I'm just not too sure. There is an air brush guy down the street from me who does awesome work, you never know....

[Tru-Craft]

Sounds like a cool color, black looks great on a GT.
So are you going to have the chrome parts blacked out also?

My GT is running really good, I haven't done anything but drive it!
The paint is about 7 years old and have some bubbles popping up from old bodywork. The GT body has so many areas that trap moisture, then it rusts from the inside out!

Have you looked into dipping the body in a zinc primer bath?
It etches the metal also.
I would think that it would seal everything and slow the rust process down.
Something to look in to.
Lyle

[jackcartwright]

When I first built my race GT in 1974, I convinced the local sandblaster to let me do the job myself on a weekend using all of his equipment (I leased him all of his cars and trucks.) I did a pretty god job, but it was the dirtiest I have even been. Even wiith a full suit and facemask, I had sand in the wrinkles of my eyelids. I am glad I did it, but I would not try to do it myself again.

[markandson]

All the chrome is going to stay chrome, I love chrome. All the chrome is also being re-done. Plus I am added a few chrome things to the engine compartment. I still have the door handles and the front bumper to do. I was going to cheat and not do the handles, but I just can't do it, it all has to be as perfect as I can get it.

[markandson]

The sandblasting revealed holes in the roof, due to rust. This was my really good CA. GT that I got from OPELS Unreachable...yeah right . Yesterday and today the body shop cut the roof off and is replacing it with a roof that I obtained from another member. Pics to follow.

[markandson]

Roof skin off and self etching primer applied. The way they did it the structural part of the car was not touched so no way the door fitment will be a problem in the future. They are going to check the fitment of the front and rear glass this coming week.

[markandson]

More progress, the front is primed and sprayed with guide coat for final sanding. The rest of the pictures sort of speak for themselves. Spoke to the artistic guy who does the air brushing yesterday too. I am thinking of a sort of "fogged" blitz on the hood that would morph into a single wide stripe down the middle of the roof to the rear, which would be black with gold under it. Any opinions? Also, can anyone tell me if there is supposed to be vertical lines in the body at the front and/or rear of the rocker panel at the door opening.

[jlthunder]

Can't answer your questions directly but look at this thread

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/introdu...lian-here.html

post # 11, first picture

It is an original GT, never repainted, side view.