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Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

LizzieMaine

Bartender
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Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Thanks for the replies on the paint vs interior question. I thought paint/body work first, but I wanted to hear from others just in case there were some things I hadn't considered. I'm excited to be able to move forward with this project.

Be sure you keep an eagle eye on the job while it's being done, no matter who does it. I had the headliner in my Plodge replaced this week -- and while tightening the windshield garnish screws they cracked one of the windshield panes. The guy doing the work didn't notice the crack until I pointed it out -- and if I hadn't dropped in to check, they'd have claimed I cracked it myself or something. As it is, they'll be replacing that windshield panel gratis. Or else.
 

Stanley Doble

Call Me a Cab
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2,808
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Yeah, the mechanics are the least careful of all those you mentioned. :p

It is not a matter of being careful. If you have to do a lot of work under the hood, leaning over fenders, it is nearly impossible to avoid scratching fresh paint no matter how careful you are.

You can remove the seats and door panels and let the upholsterer work on them while bodywork and paint is being done. This allows complete painting of door jams, door edges and sills without the danger of overspray on your fresh upholstery.
 

Stanley Doble

Call Me a Cab
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That is why they invented fender covers: No excuses. :p

Go ahead, try it. Paint your car first then rebuild your engine and see what your fresh paint looks like when you take off the fender covers.

I guarantee, the second one you do, the engine will get rebuilt before you do the paint job.
 

Guttersnipe

One Too Many
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That is why they invented fender covers . . .

Go ahead, try it. Paint your car first then rebuild your engine and see what your fresh paint looks like when you take off the fender covers.

I guarantee, the second one you do, the engine will get rebuilt before you do the paint job.

Honestly, any restorer worth their salt is going to remove the front quarter panels when dropping in an engine. That way you can either do mechanical and cosmetic work contemporaneously or separately, without worrying about damaging paint/body work.

Although, logically doing cosmetic work before mechanical work is counter intuitive to me; you can drive a car that needs paint/body work, but you cannot drive a shinny lemon. It's like framing the roof of a house before laying the foundation.

That said, fender covers are a must have for anyone doing home repairs on any car -- modern or classic!
 
Go ahead, try it. Paint your car first then rebuild your engine and see what your fresh paint looks like when you take off the fender covers.

I guarantee, the second one you do, the engine will get rebuilt before you do the paint job.
You got me wrong. I said do the mechanical first. However, when you get the car worked on thereafter then they should use those fender covers when leaning into the engine bay---if they are careful mechanics.
 

Big Man

My Mail is Forwarded Here
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3,781
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Nebo, NC
... you can drive a car that needs paint/body work, but you cannot drive a shinny lemon ...

That was my thinking and has been my approach to this project. I would have liked to have done it all at one time (in proper order, of course), but it cost me a bit (ok, a lot) more to get the car running good than I had anticipated.
 

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