'83 Cutlass Cruiser Build Thread

[Blake442]

that looks like a '63 off to the side of the picture... no?

Good eye! It pops into frame every now and then... it's a '63 1-ton Chev, been kind of in limbo for a while...

Today I buzzed down the hoods to get the remaining paint off.
A tiny bit of prepping left and the 442 hood is ready for primer. No filler needed
I'll try and get that taken care of on Thursday and then get started on the filler work for the wagon hood.
I think I'm going to try using panel bonding adhesive again to fill the molding holes down the center of the wagon hood.
I was happy with how my patches on the roof turned out, so I'll give the hood a go too...

 

[Longroof79]

Blake,
I like the idea of using the panel adhesive rather than welding and the risk of warping the hood. Besides, the metal is so thin.

 

[HAFROD]

I'm gone for a few months and still no paint??? Lol. It is gonna be awesome Blake

 

[Blake442]

Thanks hafrod! Glad to see you pop back for a visit. I've been following your progress on your '55... looks great!
I don't work as quickly as you do! Or maybe I take too many breaks? lol
Progress has been slow, but steady. Only a couple hiccups to get in the way but nothing major.
The roof and doors are all done, so once the hood is in primer it's just a matter of blocking the front clip and 1/4's, reprime the front clip, 1/4's and gate, then block again and I should be ready to spray some color.
I've come up with a decent plan for how I'm going to paint it in out on the farm with hopefully not shitty results.
There's just too much surface to cover to try and do the whole car at once by myself. I can already see the 18+ hour day it would turn into.
Instead I plan on painting the door jambs first, followed by the roof and finally the rest of the body.
It should be much more manageable this way, and I can do the bumper fillers later.
My goal is to have the car painted by the end of October, then I can turn my attention to the engine compartment and reassembly over the winter.
As long as I don't do something stupid like convince myself that I need to build another motor, the car should be back on the road in the spring.

 

[HAFROD]

It sounds like you got a good plan. I hope your still thinking about the wood grain look vinyl. That would really set it apart.

 

[liquidh8]

Blake, is your phone number the same? I sent you some pics, of some bumper fillers that I got from Kevin that I'm not using.

 

[Blake442]

I hope your still thinking about the wood grain look vinyl. That would really set it apart.

Yep, definitely putting the woodgrain on once the car is painted.

Thursday I finished getting the 442 and wagon hoods stripped as far as I want them.
I'll order up some base and clear for the 442 hood and shoot that in the next week or two hopefully.
I wanted to get started on the filler work for the wagon hood today, but I had to fix some stuff on the stupid Buick instead.
I'll start scratching away at the hood on Tuesday and order up some adhesive...

 

[liquidh8]

Keep truckin!

 

[Blake442]

Today I got most of the filler work on the hood squared away.
A few spots need one more swipe and I should be good to go.
I ordered up another thing of panel bonding adhesive so I can fill the holes down the center.
A little more filler to finish those off and I should be ready to spray some primer.

 

[Blake442]

Time for a few updates...

Last Thursday I did more filler work on the hood, and my glue arrived in the mail when I got home.

Saturday I glued up the 5 holes down the center of the hood.
I cannibalized one of my old door belt-line moldings that I'm not re-using to make some patches.
It had a nice bend that I was able to utilize, that when hammered down a bit fit the peak of the hood quite nicely.
I ground the anodizing off my patches, cleaned up the underside of the hood and glued them all in place.
Very happy with how they turned out. Definitely a great alternative when a TIG welder isn't available.
I finished the holes off with some Duraglass to fill in the rest on the topside.

The hood still isn't 100%, but it's really tough for me to see/feel the straightness between the filled spots and the aluminum...
So today I shot some primer on it so that I can get a better idea of what I have to work with.
Once I got that finished up I started blocking out the 1/4 panels and got the passenger side mostly done.
I'll get the other side done and touch up my some spots and I'll be able to re-prime the 1/4's and tailgate.







And a big thanks to Jim for hooking me up with the front bumper fillers that I needed!