I hated the brakes and since they had contributed to the accident, we decided to replace the GM 11" disc brakes with a larger size. But that meant other changes as well.
|
A 13" replacement kit was purchased from Wilwood and installed.
|
The line lock was hidden on the back of the inner fender.
|
The vacuum canister was installed, along with the original master cylinder. The brake lines were redone in stainless in the engine bay, complete with a new proportioning valve.
|
We borrowed a tire from our friend's Chevelle to check the new look for the front end as we were not sure about the center cap.
|
New 15" all aluminum Crager rims were purchased since the old 14" ones no longer fit over the new brakes. New tires were purchased as the old no longer fit and had uneven wear.
|
With the Ranchero off to the professional painter at our son's work, the garage was available to tackle the dusty body work. The chipped paint on the passenger front door and fender will need to be feathered out. Feathering is the easy part.
|
With all the incorrect fitment issues, the hood had gouged the rear channel. More feathering will be needed here.
|
I will not be able to feather the paint chips on the front of the valance. This will have to be stripped to bare metal again and reworked.
|
There is a dent just above the body line in addition to the scratches to repair.
|
The passenger fender had a long crack through the paint and fill work down to steel. This will be removed and the fender will be sanded to match the new hood.
|
The front of the passenger fender needs a bit more hammer and dolly work.
|
This area on the top of the passenger fender will be pulled out and straightened, since our metal working skills have improved.
|
The driver fender has chippend paint and one small dent left to fix.
|
We used sharpie on top of the paint to give me an indication of the highs and lows.
|
More chipped paint to feather on the back edge of the driver fender.
|
While I started working on the body work, a debate raged on how to paint her. Then our son noticed light color and clear on the rocker panels. With the timing in the weather and the dirtier conditions of the garage, coupled with the fantastic paint job on the Ranchero, we made the hard decision to let a pro spray the color. We talked to the new painter, Shaun, at our son's work. If we prepped the body work as we had for the Ranchero, he would spray the color. A complete respray would mean more work, but a much better finished product.
|
Another area that would need feathering down.
|
A complete respray meant that all the side stainless had to come off - all 50+ pieces - and all glass had to come out. This process uncovered chipped paint from the installation and caused a few minor chips.
|
All these minor chips will be fixed. But we can make sure this notch for the driver mirror fits better this time.
|
The passenger door was first panel sanded down to find any imperfections other than the dent, in preparation for the complete respray. There is a low spot in the upper front corner that will be addressed.
|
Now the dent on the driver fender is visible, along with a high area.
|
Putty was used to smooth out the bumps in the passenger front fender.
|
Putty was used to smooth out the small pulled area on the top of the passenger fender.
|
As I sanded the driver front fender, I noticed a large shallow dent in the new hood. This did not take much putty at all to level it with the fender.
|
The driver fender repair is done.
|
The driver fender looks good.
|
There were a few minor issues to address inside the headlight area as well.
|
The passenger fender took a lot more work than the driver fender. That paint crack ran several inches down the edge. The removal of the crack back to steel caused a large shallow area that needed to be filled.
|
Although there were fewer issues to address inside the headlight area.
|
The side of the passenger fender had a minor dent on the corner that had to be fixed.
|
Once I was satisfied with panel alignment, the fenders were removed to a dolly to prep for the complete respray. These will be sprayed off the car again.
|
Being on the dolly allowed me easier access to address the spot welds and other minor issues that had nagged at me on the edge in the engine bay.
|
The driver headlight is done.
|
The passenger headlight is done as well.
|
You can see the extent of the large shallow area caused by the removal of the cracked paint.
|
I also addressed a few minor dings and the spot welds on the fender lips.
|
The body work on the passenger door was completed in a very short amount of time and was the first panel sanded to 800 in preparation for the respray.
|
