Code name "STEALTH"

[gtzero]

Originally Posted by blancojp The first step after sand blasting is to protect the clean surface as quickly as you can. Metal oxidizes very fast and though you might see it shiny, rust is forming as we speak. So with that said, we give the body a first protecting coat right after the cleaning so rust has little chance to react and become evident. Fillers are not trully waterproof and tend to allow moisture penetration during the I have other stuff to do stage. Everyone has their own special method however if you like a suggestion, I would spray a thin first coat of Lab metal or self etching primer on the whole car. Then do the blend work with either filler or more Lab metal to continue and then a tintable epoxy primer. Like I said, everyone has a special formula that they believe in and follows. One of my gargoyles drives a '60 chevy truck which was sand blasted, all body work done fully by hand and all patch panels welded and smoothed to perfection without any fillers. Then they went drinking, a bet was made and the truck was painted with 22 aerosol cans of bargain town blue paint. It was done 5 years ago, they were completely drunk and they forgot to prime the car so they used the first coat of paint as primer. The surface preparation took over 300 hours, the paint however took 3 hours to do and a massive price tag of $61.85 (including tax) for the paint. This truck has won many awards including Best paint in show. Go figure!

It's all in the surface prep. Do that right and all that's left to worry about is runs in the paint.

[newman27]

FYI - I can't recall what the plan was for the convertible top on this project, but a vendor over on the Solstice forum has a Solstice top for sale for $850 plus shipping.

Matt

[blancojp]

Originally Posted by newman27 FYI - I can't recall what the plan was for the convertible top on this project, but a vendor over on the Solstice forum has a Solstice top for sale for $850 plus shipping. Matt

Thanks for the update but I will be using an Alfa top for this vehicle. I can get them for $300 complete with frame.

On another matter, I got news from gargoyle land on my car. The saga continues as all of the blasting has been completed. The car now has a light coat of Lab metal applied and now the body work has started. I received a full set of pics for the different stages but the smallest one is 3MB long.

The nose section has been completed and now the work has started on the tail section completing the rear deck. There is also a rear spoiler with a brake light which will also serve to hide the moulding that holds the convertible top rear seal.

They are going all out and a #10 status is what the ultimate goal is.

[gtzero]

You're killing me. I'm dying to see pics.

[blancojp]

Howdy All!
I took a trip to Gargoyle land and saw the progress being made on Stealth. I have to say, I like what I saw so far and the car is turning into a master piece. The rear deck was setup like a factory assembled car, sections were spot welded together and the rear lines were kept and fully defined.

The nose section was done to perfection to the extent that eventhough the bucket area was filled, the contour of the buckets still remain. All of the sheet metal repairs have been done and the Lab metal flows at stage three over the full car. Tinting of the stages allows for differentiation between coats until the last coat tinted black is applied.

Just got to say, my Gargoyles are the coolest dudes around when it comes to cars.

Enjoy!!

[blancojp]

Just a few additional pictures.......

Lab metal tinted yellow, stage two preparation. Also shown the innitial positioning of the rear spoiler and third brake light.

Car will be awsome when completed.

[gtzero]

Very impressive work. Thanks for the update.

[benncojr]

Looking very GOOD!

I can not beleive it is the same car!!

[blancojp]

Hello All!
Had to take a trip and on my return, I stopped by Gargoyle land to see the progress on Stealth. In reality I sold the place in Fla. and had to sign a few papers but was very happy to see my old dudes again.

The car is in final stages right now, got the final coats of Lab Metal and sanding started. The ritual will be to block sand the car to perfection, one coat of rust inhibitor, more sanding, one heavy coat of sealer, more sanding and the final coat of primer with the final dry/wet sanding.

Once the sanding has been done, three base coats of color will be applied. The color coat will be baked and the vehicle will be fully wet sanded to remove imperfections. Any and all problems will be resolved, another coat of color and re-sanded if required. Once the color base is perfect then comes the clear. Three coats of clear will be applied and the baking continues. The vehicle will then be wet sanded again and examined for imperfections. After any problems found are resolved, three additional coats of clear will be applied and baking will resume again. Once done, every square inch of the car will be color sanded up to 3K grit, buffed and polished. The above should take close to a month and the 375 total hours spent on the body will come to an end. If I was to hire bodyshop to do this type of work, the spendometer would be right at about $17,000 just for the body and paint. This does not include the 500 gallons of beer the Gargoyles drank while performing the work.

The good news is the car will be ready for the 542 mile trip home. The bad news is, the Gargoyles want me to open a shop here in Georgia so they are moving in with me until they get settled. There will be a beer shortage in Acworth starting next month.

This car will be very sweeeeeeeeeet when completed.

Enjoy the pics...

[opelspyder]

Okay, I finally have to say something here, are you 4ft 2" ? If so it looks like you will be fine, but I'm afraid that rollbar is just way too forward. Factory seats lean back past the door jamb, and your rollbar is pretty much there, doesn't fit well for a tall guy, I just think it should have been relocated-looks way to forward. I guess I hope they thought about fitting the seats prior to that modification.
Keith

[blancojp]

Originally Posted by opelspyder Okay, I finally have to say something here, are you 4ft 2" ? If so it looks like you will be fine, but I'm afraid that rollbar is just way too forward. Factory seats lean back past the door jamb, and your rollbar is pretty much there, doesn't fit well for a tall guy, I just think it should have been relocated-looks way to forward. I guess I hope they thought about fitting the seats prior to that modification. Keith

No, I am 5' 8" tall and my favorite color is red.

Of course we fitted the seats and everything else prior to doing this. The roll bar had to be moved 2" from the original position due to the seats we are using. This car is being built like a hotrod and most people can't visualize what that is all about.

[blancojp]

After a slow down, work is starting back up on the car.

The latest steps taken are:

1) We looked into the A/C area and made provisions to install a custom heat/cool unit in the original factory space. The existing vents will be reused but the outside air holes for the side vents have been closed.

2) An integral lip was created for the lower bottom side of the belly pan. A small flare on this area make the car look great.

3) We started fitting the two stage convertible top. The original idea worked great and the removable roll bar worked better than we hoped. We should have a full working top in the next few days.

4) Power window motors and hardware came in today. I will start converting the Opel window center channel for power operation.

5) The power steering rack (Yes the famous Chevette Scooter unit) arrived today, was dissassembled and the body sent to power coating. I will post individual steps when the time comes.

6) Engine and tranny are out of the car for paint and detailing. The engine and lower inside body will get two coats of armour shield and two coats of bedliner paint. This will help insulate the car from those harmfull attacking heat waves.

Other than that, all other parts are in and we are ready to fully assemble the car in our (soon to be) Georgia Restoration shop. That is if the Gargoyles get sober enough to figure out they are in Tennesee and return to Georgia.

[benncojr]

Originally Posted by blancojp ... if the Gargoyles get sober enough to figure out they are in Tennesee and return to Georgia.

I am sure they will fiqure it out when they run out of $.

Looking good! I would of never of figured that the car I had would ever look this good! You and your gargyles have done a great job!!

[blancojp]

Hello All!
The body work on Stealth continues and it should come to an end in the next few days or so. All of the body problems and modifications have been done and all that is left is to trial fit all of the parts prior to the paint process.

The car will now be painted Opel Green Mist Poly which is the color my wife picked out. It also happens to be the original color of the car before it got painted Red. So the end result will be a green vehicle with Bronze GT stripes, a Tan top and Tan interior.

All of the parts for the build are in and once the car comes back to the shop, we will start assembly of all interior components starting with the dash pad.

[Skyline GTR]

great job! any pictures of the finished project?

[blancojp]

Originally Posted by Skyline GTR great job! any pictures of the finished project?

It looks like the body and paint will be finished at the end of the month. I will post a full set of pics when I get it back home.

[blancojp]

Hello All!
Just got the news that my baby is comming home very soon.

The final paint preparations have been started and the first coat of base has been sprayed. The paint sequence is time consuming but very effective.

The first step is to spray the base coat after all of the preparation has been completed. A very light coat of clear will be sprayed and all areas of the car will be examined for defects. Once that is complete and all questionable areas are resolved, the preparation will continue and three coats of base will be sprayed, wet sanding each coat before the next. There will be one coat of Black base and two coats of Green mist poly. The black base is for the Lemans style stripes and the other two will be the actual color of the car. This method blends the stripes and color perfectly prior to the clear stage. The clear stage however will be done differently and will ensure a perfect finish when completed. Of course the final stage will be to color sand, buff, drink beer and polish in the well known Gargoyle tradition.

Overall, the painting process will add another 145 hours to the already 345 hours spent on the body. So hopefully next week I will be able to post the before and after photos of the car as it will be back in my garage.

The fun will start trying to put the car back together. I received the A/C evaporator unit and most of the other parts so I can get most of it done prior to the trip to the upholstery shop. With the addition of the belt driven supercharger, I do have a space problem which I need to resolve.

[opelspyder]

I've never heard of anyone actually painting and clearing the car to find defects, this is usually done with proper block sanding and guide coats. The sealer will reveal any issues before painting would commense to catch those problems. Also with stripes, only one color of base should be applied and then an intercoat clear should be used to seal the base coat. Once that is dried, it can be wetsanded and the stripes can safely be laid out and painted with the other color base. Then the whole car is cleared with a finishing clear so there are no sharp lines in the stripes. If you spray a base down, and then tape off for stripes, you risk peeling up the other color base when you pull your tape or masking material...thats why they make intercoat clear. Not just from my experience, but from sources such as off shelf books "How to Custom Paint Your Car" by JoAnn Bortles. Does a lot of custom work for SATA. I don't know what the Gargoyles are drinking when they are telling you what they are doing, but it sounds like they are telling you the world here?

[benncojr]

Could it be by doing this process (granted a long one) will give the paint a depth that it would not have when it is shot in the "traditional" method?

With all of the sanding and shoting of paint I am sure it will end up being very "sharp" and will look very GOOD!.