BUILD THREAD 86 MCSS - Rejuvenation Project

[ed1948]

It looks the same but the body panels fit nicer. I've become a self taught (not)expert on header panel, hood, bumper and headlight adjusting and aligning. If body panel fitting was my occupation, I'd be bankrupt. But it sure is fun. Below is the hood latch back up release cable - crude but it works.

A little tweaking is still needed. The rad intake top was touching the header panel leaving a bump as it was when I got the car(below - bump visible above driver's side high beam.

. Off goes the nose to tweak the rad intake. Apparently the nose flange(header panel) is only to touch the air intake where it's fastened. The area above the grille is 'floating'. Here I realized the bump was still there.

Hardly any difference in the before and after pic.

 

[Texas82GP]

Ed, I admire your attention to detail. That's a really nice car. Keep up the great work.

 

[motorheadmike]

Getting closer...

 

[ed1948]

Glued the warped top lip of the filler panel, holding it with speaker magnets.

 

[ed1948]

Before pic from Oct 2016

Hundreds of hours, sweatin' and cursin', hundreds of dollars spent...
and it looks the same as when I started!!!!!!! Only a trained eye can spot the differences. Better pics to follow once it's detailed and waxed.

Hint: top, first pic is before.
I just realized if you left click, it zooms in on the cursor....this might help to spot changes.
.......

 

[Injectedcutty]

Great job Ed, looks good! Now get out there and enjoy that SS after all the hard work to freshen it up.

 

[ed1948]

Coupla quickie answers as to what appears different
-wheels are a slightly different color and raised detail have been polished, edges rounded for better reflection
-door lines match rear quarter lines and door gaps appear more pleasing
-header panel: all sorts of alignment to adjacent body parts and is actually 1/8" lower than original height(original rad supp shims eliminated)
-body sits 1/8th" higher due to poly body mounts{yes, I know it's not logical to raise the body and lower the nose -but remember, this is 80's GM build quality.
-fender filler panels de-warped
-wow, the interior turned out really well and after cleaning does not look anywhere near it's age...pics soon

 

[ed1948]

Last pic o' the season

 

[axisg]

Looks great Ed. Are you putting it away already ? Shows are pretty well done but its the perfect time of year for cruising.

 

[ed1948]

Looks great Ed. Are you putting it away already ? Shows are pretty well done but its the perfect time of year for cruising.

I'll enjoy cruising for as long as I can roll down the window while driving - weather will be a balmy high 10's ( 60's F) later this week. There's a long list of minor items to work on once the weather turns finger numbing cold.