May 31, 2013: Checking In

As the title suggests I went up to see Carlos to check how things are coming along.

From last visit to this visit even more work has been done! I gotta say that it was very exciting.

The quarter panel that was welded onto the body now looks flush and clean. The right side of the car is taking shape. All the hours needed to make to fit and look right have paid off. 

The quarter looks good BUT we're not done with it yet. The quarter panel extension (the part that is a different gray and has the hand on it) doesn't fit quite right. Now Carlos has to spend time to get it the correct shape as the left half AND fit the new quarter panel and trunk lid area. 

We spent of the time talking about the trunk area. He is very focused on making the gaps straight and perfect. The body guys who fixed the car many years ago didn't care about that kind of thing so now it's up to Carlos to make it right. 

Also the interior of the trunk is area is sealed. It makes the trunk look good to me and I have the satisfaction in knowing that the trunk will not be problem ever again.

ONE more thing... the door is fixed!! I forgot to take a photo of that one. Next time!!

May 4, 2013: Checking in After my Semester in Rome

Now that I'm back in the USA I need to check out the Mustang. I head up to see Carlos with the family so we can all see how far along the car has come.

On a side note: For Carlos, doing body work or fixing classic cars is a hobby and a pleasure to him. So he takes his time and enjoys the ride. Unlike other body shops where it is all business, the body work for the Mustang is more fun oriented.

The Mustang has seen huge improvements since I saw it last. The replacement quarter panel I purchased is now installed on the car and the entire trunk area looks better.

The problem with all aftermarket body parts is that they NEVER fit perfectly. The quarter panel is no exception. It took some serious time to get the panel to shape up right and align with the rest of the body. 

NOW it looks great and the car finally looks like a fastback Mustang!

The trunk area is as big of a mess as the quarter panel. When the car got hit in the past the whole trunk area was distorted and was not straight. A vast majority of time spent on the body has been in the rear. 

At the time of these photos the trunk is rust free and appears to be done. To Carlos it's not done yet. He wants to seal the trunk area. This means putting some kind of paste on all the points where one piece of metal makes contact with another. This prevents any moisture from getting in those area and have them rust again. 

One more thing... the Right Door. The lower front corner of the door had rusted out. This is common rust spot for Mustangs. The only solution to this rust problem is to remove the affected area and replace it with fresh metal.

The piece has to be replaced and sealed. Carlos is also going to clean the inside of the door just to eliminate any further rust growth.

Things are going really well.

December 29, 2012: I Want a Perfect Body

During our last meeting with Carlos, he told us about this trick Mustang he saw at a car show. He told us that this Mustang had some paint features (stripes I think) that would be present in certain angles of light. He mentioned that I should do that with my car so it doesn't look like another run of the mill Mustang. More importantly he said that he could and wants to do it. I guess he likes my car.

Over the course of the week, my Dad and I were looking for different ideas.
Picture this: the majority of the body is painted Black. Now picture one stripe going up the middle of the car that has a thicker diameter, the stripe would go around the whole body. The stripe would grow from the front valence, over the hood, over the roof, over the trunk, through the rear tail panel, and finally to the rear lower valence. The stripe would itself be a deep red that would be present at a certain angle. The dark red to not only match the interior but to create a subtle difference in the paint. I'm going for a definite double take look.

HOWEVER, that goal is pretty far away from the current situation. I have a car in pieces and it needs to be put back together before we can even think of paint.

After buying those parts needed for the fender, it was back to Carlos'. Between our last meeting, the car already had some more progress done to it.

The surface rust above the wheel well was already taken care of! It looked so much better.
Also...

The new tail panel was already put on! It's coming together pice by piece!

After hanging out for a bit, it was decided that we wanted the rust removed, make sure the car is straight, and put the body panels on. Once all that is done, we can talk paint.

P.S. When Carlos was taking the car apart, he discovered that the gas tank was NOT bolted down to anything. It was just sitting there and staying in place because of gravity. This car is just full of surprises.

Just before Christmas 2012

Just wrapped up my first semester of senior year and I can't wait to see what the car looks like now.

Upon arrival at Carlos' shop I saw that my car was even more naked than it was before! No fenders and the entire rear of the car was missing! All that's there is a hood, roof, one quarter panel, and two doors!

Carlos redirects my Dad and I to the back of the car. That's where we see it... RUST!! I sank.
Remember how I mentioned that the right rear quarter panel was going to be a problem it is! That entire area is a mess. Not only with rust but with bad welding from the past body guys.

Two areas of interest: 1) The top sheet metal, just above the wheel well, only has surface rust which can be taken care of quite easily.
2) Notice the area, that has the tools laying on it. That is the problem area... that is where most of the bad body work is and has the most rust. We were told that the rust made the metal so weak that if the car got rear ended while driving it would have folded up like tissue paper!

Not to worry too much. It can be fixed but it will take so time.

Then we are redirected to the front area of the car.

And we see this. That looks terrible! Once again, we were told that it is just more surface rust and can be repaired. However, the rubber lining (the gray strip that surrounds the rusted area) needed to be replaced.
That just means more shopping.
Then we will come back with the parts and a battle plan for the future.