christophe
Jedi Trainee
Offline
Correction: 1960
Long story short, my father bought this car at auction in 2010 for my mother. The builder was supposed to be reputable. He told my father that the car was in great condition and that he had just driven it up and down the coast of California, so it was ready to be enjoyed. DISCLAIMER: I did not inspect the car!!! The Austin Healey arrived a week later via reliable transport and it would not start, so we were forced to push it out of the 18 wheeler onto my trailer. I tuned the carbs to the best of my ability and after letting the flooded cylinders air out for a day, i got the engine running again. We took it for a ride and the steering started to lock up about half way through left hand turns, which is quite frightening, especially when turning in front of oncoming traffic. My father took the car to a local shop and they aligned the car, but couldn't find what was wrong with the steering. That was 3 years ago and the car has been sitting ever since. Since we have owned the car, the paint has started to crack and looks very lumpy when viewed from the side. Basically, this reputable builder sprayed on some fresh paint, got the car running ok, then took it to auction. The term "polished turd" comes to mind.
I started stripping the paint recently and it has at least 6 layers of paint and primer, as much as 8 in other places. Yesterday i found filler over top of red paint that wasn't even scuffed and the amount of filler they used was extreme and not necessary, at least in this particular location.
The good news is that the wiring is new and all of the suspension is in good working order. However, the body is a bit of a mess as far as fitment is concerned and its going to take a lot of work to get it ready for its new paint.
Anyway, here she is. I was spraying guide coat before i realized that there was no way to simply respray the body in its current condition. The front fender has a patch, which was done somewhat correctly, but then someone built the area up with a ton of crappy filler over top of red paint without even scuffing it.
Aftermarket antenna hole in passenger fender. They drilled 6 holes in the passenger interior panel so they could tighten the nut and hook up the coaxial cable. Unbelievable!
Just a few layers of primer and paint.
Hood Before. The car was sitting under a 64 corvette that had a radiator and power steering leak, so that is why the it is so dirty in this picture.
Hood after paint removal. I had to work a lot of dents out of the hood and patch a rust hole, which had previously been filled with bondo. Im surprised the rust hole wasnt visible through the paint, especially when sitting out in the sun.
So, one panel half way finished and 8 to go. I already have about 8 hours in the hood. I plan on trying to work one panel into the schedule per week. Once that is done and they are all in epoxy primer, i will fit them to the car, then disassemble the entire body and chassis, take the motor to the machine shop, and start prepping the superstructure for paint.
Long story short, my father bought this car at auction in 2010 for my mother. The builder was supposed to be reputable. He told my father that the car was in great condition and that he had just driven it up and down the coast of California, so it was ready to be enjoyed. DISCLAIMER: I did not inspect the car!!! The Austin Healey arrived a week later via reliable transport and it would not start, so we were forced to push it out of the 18 wheeler onto my trailer. I tuned the carbs to the best of my ability and after letting the flooded cylinders air out for a day, i got the engine running again. We took it for a ride and the steering started to lock up about half way through left hand turns, which is quite frightening, especially when turning in front of oncoming traffic. My father took the car to a local shop and they aligned the car, but couldn't find what was wrong with the steering. That was 3 years ago and the car has been sitting ever since. Since we have owned the car, the paint has started to crack and looks very lumpy when viewed from the side. Basically, this reputable builder sprayed on some fresh paint, got the car running ok, then took it to auction. The term "polished turd" comes to mind.
I started stripping the paint recently and it has at least 6 layers of paint and primer, as much as 8 in other places. Yesterday i found filler over top of red paint that wasn't even scuffed and the amount of filler they used was extreme and not necessary, at least in this particular location.
The good news is that the wiring is new and all of the suspension is in good working order. However, the body is a bit of a mess as far as fitment is concerned and its going to take a lot of work to get it ready for its new paint.
Anyway, here she is. I was spraying guide coat before i realized that there was no way to simply respray the body in its current condition. The front fender has a patch, which was done somewhat correctly, but then someone built the area up with a ton of crappy filler over top of red paint without even scuffing it.
Aftermarket antenna hole in passenger fender. They drilled 6 holes in the passenger interior panel so they could tighten the nut and hook up the coaxial cable. Unbelievable!
Just a few layers of primer and paint.
Hood Before. The car was sitting under a 64 corvette that had a radiator and power steering leak, so that is why the it is so dirty in this picture.
Hood after paint removal. I had to work a lot of dents out of the hood and patch a rust hole, which had previously been filled with bondo. Im surprised the rust hole wasnt visible through the paint, especially when sitting out in the sun.
So, one panel half way finished and 8 to go. I already have about 8 hours in the hood. I plan on trying to work one panel into the schedule per week. Once that is done and they are all in epoxy primer, i will fit them to the car, then disassemble the entire body and chassis, take the motor to the machine shop, and start prepping the superstructure for paint.
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