1978 MALIBU "PROJECT TUMMY TUCK"

[LSCustoms]

what up bro, your hard work will pay off! what brand "bondo" are you using and I do have to warn you that if not done right, it will shrink and crack (or chip off etc). also, take some 80 grit sand paper and see if the rust will sand out, if just surface rust... if so, treat the metal/hood for rust first, then etch prime it properly (only the bare metal parts)... make sure the bondo can go over bare metal, or over primer, etc... some can, some cant, it should say... after you etch prime the hood (only the bare metal parts)... its important to treat the bare metal if you break through to it too... once done, epoxy prime the entire hood and block it out, this will tell you where more filler/ or glaze is needed etc. (for any pin holes, etc)... after thats done, you should prime again and wetsand it, if you are going to be spraying any base, etc...

I only added input cause the hood is pretty important to get right, as far as rocks/debris hitting it, the heat from the motor and people manipulating it all the time, opening and closing... watch some good youtube videos on how to do this right, not the shabby videos and follow the steps, if so, you will turn out a great finished product...

a small compressor and da sander will work wonders in saving you time and a little pain, but its easier to over work the panel that way too, so either way is good as long as you have patience with it and try to follow all the steps.

take care...

 

[80ELCAMINOFLAKE]

Thanks Skip, good to hear from you 😛

Thats real real good info to know, ya the 80 grit will take off the surface rust, but when its down to metal, theres those little holes in the metal that concern me...To tell you the truth i just went to pepboys and grabbed an bucket of bondo...i guess the regular one...as for the epoxy prime what does that mean? is it like an epoxy bondo? and that goes on after its primed and block right? im sure i will figure it out... YouTube here i go....lol...thanks skip 😀 :wink:

 

[richp85elco]

x2 what skip said, i would let the shop do the body work on it bro if you don't prep it right and use good body filler that bondo will crack and cause cracks and chips in your paint and then you'll be paying to get it redone..remember your hood take a lot of punishment from opening and closing and gets hit with direct sunlight and gets real hot all the time.. no disrespect to your body work skills but sometimes it comes out cheaper to pay more to get things done by a pro right the first time then to have to do things twice..

 

[80ELCAMINOFLAKE]

x2 what skip said, i would let the shop do the body work on it bro if you don't prep it right and use good body filler that bondo will crack and cause cracks and chips in your paint and then you'll be paying to get it redone..remember your hood take a lot of punishment from opening and closing and gets hit with direct sunlight and gets real hot all the time.. no disrespect to your body work skills but sometimes it comes out cheaper to pay more to get things done by a pro right the first time then to have to do things twice..

Your so right...i mean i got it down to where i think it will hold for a bit, no doubt that im going to have them inspect it..im just going to try to get the rust down to metal with that poly brush that kris told me about since i got it already on my lunch...get it all smooth, which it already is,then just need to clean it right and spray a light primer so they can see the bondo areas so that they can see where i worked on it..then let them take care of the rest...Amen to that,.

 

[Bumpin1ohmSS]

Looking SWEEEEET fam!! That's the hood I want for mine as well. :wink: Spectre is looking mean! You got bit by the bug again I see. HAHA! Ive seen the wheel Chris speaks of hard at work. Takes all the crap off without harming the metal. EYE PROTECTION FAM!! :shock: Only cost a buck or two at H freight to save the eyes :wink: Keep up the great work!

Elco Warren 8)
80z

 

[jlcustomz]

harbor freight does have the wheelsI was referring to, saw one at work today. Epoxy primer is like the old standard (top dog) in a first recoating of raw metal, Other products such as most of evercoats fillers, etching primer followed by 2k primer may be good enough, but not the absolute best. Epoxy primer is nasty stuff to shoot at home. If you decide to step back & let bodymen do the job, I'd at leasttry to clean the rust off first. Naval jelly might be a thought here.
As far as parts store bondo brand products, the worst thing is they are notFRESH stock like most products from the real paint stores.
If you header panel needs just a little modification for the body lines, that's a pretty simple fix. I partly questioned it because I had no personal knowledge of the differences in fit. The best body alignment even on an original tweaked fit body is lightly skimming the whole thing & blocksanding off what you don,t need. Keep in mind the best done up showcars go through 10 to 20 gallons of filler. Course a gal is only 8/10ths of a gal, the bodyshop is wasteful since their chargin for it & sand most of it off.

 

[80ELCAMINOFLAKE]

Ok ok, so had my buddy come over and help me put the GN hood on, theres problems, seems like the front portion of the gh hood is slightly higher then our stock hoods... Regardless of the hood latch its still high... I made sure plently of time that it wasent hitting n e thing, i removed the hood latch, fender to core bars, rad top plate, side hood stoppers, etc etc.. And it is still riding high... Even if i take to the body guy hes really not going to due much.. LAX RATED mentioned that i would probley have to change hole frot end and header panel to a gn or monte.. If i would of know before paint i probley would of did it... So back to the stock hood and put this in storage...


[youtube]f2-zDp_OjA4[/youtube]

 

[jlcustomz]

By looking at it in your video, I,d say the sides of the Hood are a little lower than the fenders without the bumpers correctly installed. If it's not latching, the latch needs to be raised, which bumper & or latch adjustment is normal with ANY hood swap. The material the header is made out of is like a chopper gun sprayed fiberglass, which can be ground down & easily bonded to with several methods. It could just be built up with something like tiger hair stranded filler in a few layers, mostly by you & sanded & profiled pretty close, With or without a little floral foam or something in the center for a lightening filler. Or it can be done withfiberglass mat & either polyester or epoxy resin.
doing something custom doesn't mean it'll bolt on & just fit, it takes work. If you want people to look at he final product & say it's something different (where did I here that before ?) think twice about giving up. Think my camaro nose bolted up??? Or that I knew how to weld & fabricate with thermo elastomeric olefin plastic before I started?? Not sure what Ijust said.

Just sayin, if you're confident you got rid of the rust on the hood,I,d consider makin it work.

 

[LSCustoms]

Ok ok, so had my buddy come over and help me put the GN hood on, theres problems, seems like the front portion of the gh hood is slightly higher then our stock hoods... Regardless of the hood latch its still high... I made sure plently of time that it wasent hitting n e thing, i removed the hood latch, fender to core bars, rad top plate, side hood stoppers, etc etc.. And it is still riding high... Even if i take to the body guy hes really not going to due much.. LAX RATED mentioned that i would probley have to change hole frot end and header panel to a gn or monte.. If i would of know before paint i probley would of did it... So back to the stock hood and put this in storage...


[youtube]f2-zDp_OjA4[/youtube]

what up bro, do not beat yourself up, for one, you never know how or if something will work unless you try it... it kinda looks "too far" off to me, like something may not be correctly installed or adjusted, but....it will take some trimming and fabrication to match that header panel on the hood or header panel, or both, unless you change it, from what i see in the video, (hard to figure out over the net) ... mainly why its important to get all that out your system so to speak before paint... anyhow... let someone else pay for this learning experience, by selling the hood, it looks to be in better condition than when you first got it? so make a few bucks for yourself...you did a great job making that thing look nice! jlcustomz always has good advice when it comes to that stuff...

 

[80ELCAMINOFLAKE]

Jlcustomz & Skip, thanks for the great great info and respect...

But thanks to you big bro Skip Foose, u cheered me up... Making a couple buckets wont hurt huh?? Lol.. That sounds like a good idea and im all up for it.. GN hood for sale for all the cali guys.. Lol...

Stock hood back on and its all good.. I did put my rad hose on today..