Location: [Home Page] [Project Page] [Corvette Project] [Body Restoration & Re-Assembly]
Source: Dave Hagen
8 Aug 20
We have separated the body from the chassis, completely rebuilt the chassis, re-installed the drive train and re-worked the underside of the body. Now we’re dropping the body back onto the chassis and completing the re-connection, start-up and tuning.
This documents the body work, re-assembly and body finishing to get the car back onto its tires and then to finish the cosmetic body work, painting and restoration. The rebuilding of the chassis is shown on the previous page.
We painted the Vette with a Water-Based Acrylic Polyurethane Enamel. The process steps were 1) Gel Coat for body repair and smoothing 2) Primer for bonding and levelling, which is Wet-Sanded 3)Multi-Level Base Coat to 100 microns thick, Enamel so no buffing required 4) Urethane Clear Coat: Glossy, Transparent, UV & Scratch Resistant. It was finely buffed to shine & protect.
We re-assembled the car enough to drive it for assurance that we’ve got it totally right (it wasn’t street legal, but I drove only on ‘Private” roads. After enough reassurance, we finished the build and took her home for good.