Body done...where to begin rebuild

- The welding is done.

- Where do I begin the rebuild?

- Front suspension is done but steering linkage has not been reinstalled.

- Engine and tranny are out of the car.

- H-pipe has a pinhole. I'd rather not replace entire exhaust system.

- Wiring is in a box.

- Welding is complete but plenty to do sealing/applying mud to wheel wells,         quarter/sail transition and various others.  

well...
i am taking without looking at your prior posts.. that you have either replaced quarter panels or the floor pan .. or both...

are you going to paint the car...

is any thing custom?? or different than OEM...

trial fitting everything..  to make sure it all lines up...  drilling the hinges so an alignment can set and held... allowing you to take it apart and paint everything then

what don't you take a look at what went into a gto body paint job...

it will take you a while to go through..

http://forums.highperformancepontiac.com/70/9272733/body-paint-upgrade/my-first-gto-job/  

Whatchasee:
- The welding is done.

- Where do I begin the rebuild?

- Front suspension is done but steering linkage has not been reinstalled.

- Engine and tranny are out of the car.

- H-pipe has a pinhole. I'd rather not replace entire exhaust system.

- Wiring is in a box.

- Welding is complete but plenty to do sealing/applying mud to wheel wells,         quarter/sail transition and various others.

Personally, I'd keep on the body work until you're completed to plan. Then pick another section and so on. If you get too many things going on at once, you may never finish any of them.  

I'm a firm believer in stripping a car to the bare shell, do the metal repairs and body work and then paint it. Now you have a freshly painted body just like on the assembly line to start building off of. Get your suspension and brakes back on it and on the ground. Then do your wiring and interior and the last thing I do is shove the engine and trans in.

HTH...
Mark  
Mark Houlahan
Technical Editor for:
-Modified Mustangs & Fords Magazine
-Mustang Monthly Magazine

1965 FFR Roadster 427W/TKO-600 5-speed
1966 Mustang 289-4V/C4 Auto
1968 Mustang 4.6L Three-Valve/5R55S Auto
1990 Mustang 306/AOD
2001 Ranger SuperCab 4x4 3.0L V-6/5R44E Auto
2002 Explorer Sport Trac 4.0L V-6/5R55 Auto

Thanks.

No resto-mod work on this car (my 1st project).

The car is a bare shell, if it can be removed, it has been. I've replaced the 1/4s, trunk and lid, hood, new fenders. Basically the top/sails/cowl/firewall/L framerail and rockers are orig, everything else was replaced.


Can I do body filler work in 40 degree temps?  

40 is a bit low. Do you have a garage or workspace heater? I've done it before, but I've used a space heater or even a heat gun to keep the panel warm and help to cure the filler...

HTH...
Mark  
Mark Houlahan
Technical Editor for:
-Modified Mustangs & Fords Magazine
-Mustang Monthly Magazine

1965 FFR Roadster 427W/TKO-600 5-speed
1966 Mustang 289-4V/C4 Auto
1968 Mustang 4.6L Three-Valve/5R55S Auto
1990 Mustang 306/AOD
2001 Ranger SuperCab 4x4 3.0L V-6/5R44E Auto
2002 Explorer Sport Trac 4.0L V-6/5R55 Auto

well if its too cold outside, you can always restore all the small parts inside, or  get things cleaned up and painted ready fot the painted shell, i just finished re skinning two doors, last night going to prep them maybe today, and madia blast the inside panel of the 65's doors  

No media blasting for me...all sandpaper.

I have done some things in the house. Giving the inside of the new parts a coat of Por15. (Fenders and door skins)

OK so, as I understand it:
Remove all contaminants
Spray with an epoxy primer
Apply filler in thin coats (how thick is too thick?...specifically for the sail to Qtr transition)
Sand, repeat.

Also, do ALL body panels need a skim-coat?
When sanding,what grit sandpaper do you recommend?  

In my opinion-

Any bare steel areas you intend to spray with epoxy primer should be sanded with 40-80 grit, on a DA where possible, then wetted with wax and grease remover then wiped dry, usually a couple times until the rags stay clean and there are no streaks.

If your epoxy primer states an "induction period" in the instructions, don't ignore that.

If applying filler over epoxy, at least two coats are recommended. Once dried, sand lightly with 80 DA and smooth any featheredges with 180, removing as little epoxy as possible but sanding every inch. You can finish up with a red scuff pad to help avoid sanding through so much on the edges. If you care to skim over the panels first with a sanding block and 180 grit, you will quickly expose the dents and can see if any panels need to be wiped head to toe. Some do, some don't. Some just need mud in spots and glaze over the whole thing. I don't recommend using the stuff in 40s temps, 55-up or the products just don't work right.

Try to apply the filler a half inch thick where you need lots of fill. Just one layer if you can get enough on there. More can be added after sanding. Limit final sanded filler depth to 3/8" MAXIMUM, shoot for 1/8" or less. Its not so much the thickness that gets ya, its how abrupt the change in filler depth is, as far as visible shrinking or swelling later on. It'll stay stuck unless you crack it.

Start sanding filler with 40 grit and stay away from the edges. Just flatten the surface without digging. Then shape it with 80 grit and a block, finish and featheredge with 180, apply primer-filler.

Polyester primer-surfacer fills like crazy and can help avoid multiple re-priming with urethane primer-surfacer when used over wavy areas. Fills a lot more pinholes, too. I like taking all panels to the polyester primer stage then test fitting all of it. This allows you to then block sand the car with all the panels aligned, really helps your edges line up nice. After all the block sanding and shaping of that, then disassemble and apply urethane primer that corresponds to the paint system you'll use. Then you can sand that out nicely with your final grit before paint.

Just some suggestions ...
I'm doing a 70 Mach1 right now, just finished the floor / qtrs, chopping off front structure stuff tomorrow.    

the sail panel from the roof to the rear quarter will need a thicker coat of filler, for a first coat i would use lead if you can even if it just enough to cover the seam, then use a short strand filler over that, then a thin coat of the light weight filler to skim it, my seams around the windshield i brazed all the seams to make sure no water could wick through under you really should not need much filler if all the metal work is good under the fill.  

Another option on the windshield post seams is to weld patches over them.  

You cant really weld patches over the seam, or the lip will become too thick for the  rubber seal for the windshield to fit proper. the braze was used a bit originally where the cowel meets the dash, and the roof piller, it can then be ground down and gives a nice surface for the rubber to seal against.  

Very true, packman. I should have been more clear. Definitely can't alter the thickness of the sealing surface, but the thick bondo spot can be avoided by patching over the exposed face of the joint, after clearing away the lead and braze with a burr where you need to weld then epoxy priming. These pics kind of explain but the weld pic sucks, wrong side and kinda sloppy. I went just past the edge of the face and trimmed it there before welding:

(yes I also ended up patching that other brazed-up hole where a molding stud rusted off and had been "fixed")











The quarter seams are a different story. If the lead has to be removed, I have had best results using a dried and sanded layer of panel bonding adhesive to seal the seam and provide some fill before the bondo. Withstands hail pretty well! After that, the bondo is usually enough but I have never dug that seam out on a Mustang. Carry on, gents.    

like where you covered the outer part with metal is ok, but where the windshield molding and weather strip goes braze works really good to fill it in nice.

you can see the dark spots on the top of this quarter, Porsche put in spray foam under it, which causes this under

after a new plate was made


and then another quarter plate welded over it.