My GC Hardtop project

[A112H]

You can all have coupes, it is the hardtops that are hard to find

[Hotwire]

Looks fantastic Jason!!
Now get that sucker back together, then drive to my place to give me inspiration!!

[mstrrab1992]

first he's coming to paint my lancer

[A112H]

Cheers Lee, you have a deal.

And there will be no painting of Lancers on my watch.

[mstrrab1992]

You will if my keys and ur new paint job have anything to do with it

[A112H]

[mstrrab1992]

thats right, theyre premium cut keys to

[bruggz351]

You will if my keys and ur new paint job have anything to do with it

Sorry pal, but that comment doesn't come anywhere near, funny.

[geezer101]

You will if my keys and ur new paint job have anything to do with it

Ode to Pulp Fiction... "No trial, straight to execution...

[A112H]

Why can't anything just run smooth for once
So we have had a chilly start to the week and I wasn't comfortable painting. Tonight I have done the colour sand and I must say, WOOHOO a light going over with 320 then 1200 and it is glass
So tomorrow is going to be 26, so should be 30 or so is a closed shed thats now lined with plastic so pretty good for the final few quotes. But ..... I have dinner with the inlaws thats been planned for a week
I was planning on spending the weekend putting the interior back in but looks like I will be painting.

[Shifta]

Looking good Jase! I painted my Moke Californian in a similar way a few years back but have forgotten it all. Progress is looking good

[A112H]

Cheers Craig.

Okay, so I have just laid the final two coats with the super shine thinners and gave it a final blast over with straight thinners.
Looks excellent, it is nice and shiney so should come up a treat with a polish.
Talking about polishing, I bought myself a new Ryobi polisher/sander/grinder this morning, pretty cool thing. Has speed adjust from 1500rpm up to I think 5000 or 7500rpm. 7" wheel so should work a treat. I also got some Maguires cutting compound. All I gotta do now is wait till it dry's

[A112H]

LMAO, think I might have enough paint on the hardtop?
I just worked out that I not only used the full 4lt of colour but almost 7lt of thinners
11lt of colour has been blown over it, lol

[Shifta]

Nice work Jase! I have one of those Ryobi's too and I found out pretty quick that technique is the key - I sucked at it! Hope you have more luck than I did . Will have to drop in next time I'm up north for a look!

[orangelancer]

Talking about polishing, I bought myself a new Ryobi polisher/sander/grinder this morning, pretty cool thing. Has speed adjust from 1500rpm up to I think 5000 or 7500rpm. 7" wheel so should work a treat.

hey jase which one did you get. im looking at buying one soon.

ps throw some pics up of the car. you could be misleading us saying youve done the work. WE NEED EVIDENCE ;p

[A112H]

Cheers Craig, anytime mate. I have a plan to have it finished by the 12th as the shelter has a thing at Semophore I would like to take it to so might visit you
Can't remember the model number metry but it was from Bunnings, cost $139. Part number was 85125R or something like that. It is 850watt.

The front guards are not great but they will be replaced asap, I just really want it done and one colour so I bodged them up as best as I could be bothered and gave them enough white to blend. As soon as I get some sweet guards I have found a guy who builds steel panel hotrods and he will remove the indicators professionally, then I will paint them up and I will be done.
Tomorrow will be all about the mechanical parts, once I have finished the diff and fitted the gearbox I can turn my attention to the interior.

Okay so just for metry here are some pics, lol








And a sign of things to come

[orangelancer]

looks a million dollars mate. youve done a great job so far. (Y)

[webby]

It's still too high
Looking good mate, nice to see you're reasonably close to being somewhere near finished!

[A112H]

Cheers Guys,
Yeah It is a bit high webby but the coil overs are wound right up for when it went to the exhaust shop so it wouldn't hit on the hoist.

Progress pics of what I have been up to today.






As I said the guards are ugly but they will do for a few weeks.

[ghuphill]

those fender mirrors and badges ,including the taillights look awesome ,once it gets a nice cut back and buff im sure you will be satisfied ,especialy since its got plenty of paint it can be buffed /polished to perfection, have allways kept an eye on this build as there are certain things that i would also do to a hardtop if i was building one , top work jason.

[A112H]

Cheers ghuphill, I was really nervous but am happy with how it has come together. I was supposed to be doing the mechanical work today but the pretty stuff shows more progress, lol

[A112H]

Starting to look more like my signature now and looking very much like the end

[81GL]

Looks great .
Would you be able to grab a picture close up of the extractors too? interested to see how they were ran.

Just one thing... are you going to paint the wheel wells? having them totally black would help the neat appearance. Or will that be getting done with the new quarter guards?

[A112H]

I will get you a pic in a minute.
Yeah, it's getting there. All 4 wheel arches and rear springs will get a coat of paint soon. I still have to swap the diffs over and have nolothane bushes for the rear, so will do it hwen it is all apart.
Next weekend I am thinking, I am stuffed now, lol

[75wagon]

Are the stripes paint or vinyl?

Looking good BTW

Dave...

[orangelancer]

hey dave its vinyl mate

metry » Sun Oct 23, 2011 1:39 pm

looking good mate. i thought i could see some marks on the paint but it turned out my computer screen was dirty. just a quick question though, are you gonna do the red stripe down the side like in your signature?

Yeah, the stripe is vinyl and will go on last

[A112H]

Yeah, stripes are vinyl.
Hey Dave, how long should I leave it before I polish it??

Here are the pics 81GL






I took these when it first came back from the exhaust shop, if you need any more or different angles let me know.

[81GL]

Cheers for that Jason! Looks like old mate did a pretty nice job of them!

Will keep that in mind if I want any more pics, thanks for the offer.

[75wagon]

Hey Dave, how long should I leave it before I polish it??

The longer you leave it, the harder it will be (as the solvents fully dissolve out, and cure etc...).

Some people say wait a month, I am a little impatient, and start blocking down pretty much after it's done. By the time you've blocked the whole car down, it's probably gone near a week anyway. Just a panel 2 to each night. Spend the time or blocking each panel back, don't rely on the buffer doing the work for you. A bit of detergent in your water for lube, and rub back each panel till it's smooth as glass. Then cut back polish, and wax.

Acrylic Lacquer's finish is all in the rubbing back.
Go through the grades of wet and dry, light even pressure, you'll be surprised how good it can look.

Dave...

[astronturbo77]

Probably let it cure for a week or two! looking very good mate, nice no see some big progress. I love the jap rear lights