Some pics of my 86 project stang

[PhillyBSVT]

Hello Fella's

New to the forum, happy to be here. Here are some gapped timeline pics starting with a few of the auction pics when I bought it.

Current status: Still sanding LOL. I'm a autobody noob but I'm getting better by the day.

eBay


eBay


First day Home, Thanksgiving eve which is historically a very bad night for me . It's entrance into it's new life was very painful. The car carrier guy was cool but kinda not good at his job. Pouring rain for about 3 hours to get it in my garage.

Wont let me attach pic ... I'll come back

Some of the wiring I dealt with ... So bad. Everything was bypassed and rigged up, awful! Had an on/off switch to start it, like for the starter itself lol.


Some interior work now done. Heater core replaced


On to body work and I'm trying to save everything I can. Front and Rear bumpers took me weeks and the rear should have been trash it was so bad.



I think I will post my Google photos album as it seems it may a lot easier then posting pics directly here.

Engine is currently at machine shop. I decided on a 347 stroker kit. I have juicy set of Edlebrock heads waiting to go on, can't wait!

As this project is literally a money pit, I'd imagine this thread to fairly active for at least another year.

[1982GLX]

Welcome to FEP... Looks like a nice project and looks like you doing pretty good with it. Good luck and keep up the pics..

[graphicdesigner80]

Neat '86! Looks like a solid foundation. Did you use the LMR seat reinforcement panel to fix those torn front seat mounts? Carpet looks nice!

[Broncojunkie]

PLEASE tell me you're keeping this the original color! It's one of my favorites! These cars look so good in light regatta blue! You're engine bay looks about like my 79 cobra, currently. You're actually a little further ahead than me. Can you tell me what you're using to sand it? Are you hand sanding or using a sander of some sort? I have electric and d/a sanders, but they're really too big to get into the small areas. I started hitting the really bad areas with a wire cup brush on a drill, but I'm at the point where I'm ready to start sanding. The car I'm working on is in really rough shape, though, so I really need to do some aggressive sanding.

[wraithracing]

PLEASE tell me you're keeping this the original color! It's one of my favorites! These cars look so good in light regatta blue! You're engine bay looks about like my 79 cobra, currently. You're actually a little further ahead than me. Can you tell me what you're using to sand it? Are you hand sanding or using a sander of some sort? I have electric and d/a sanders, but they're really too big to get into the small areas. I started hitting the really bad areas with a wire cup brush on a drill, but I'm at the point where I'm ready to start sanding. The car I'm working on is in really rough shape, though, so I really need to do some aggressive sanding.

MY .02 for what its worth. Rust areas need to either be sanded to bare clean metal or they need to be sanded slightly to remove major scale, etc and then coated with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator or POR15 (There are other options, but those two are widely known). Non rusted areas need to be sanded well to accept new paint. You need mechanical adhesion for the new paint to stick. General sanding can be done with 80 grit, although that might leave sand scratches that are visible. 120/150 will often work for the engine bay and leave a good surface for new paint. Hitting everything with a Direct To Metal Primer is best to cover any bare spots and get a good base surface for top coat. Then within the recoat window for your primer, spray your single stage or BC/CC top coat and you should be good.

Some tight areas that are diffcult to stand with regular sand paper, I will use a Red 3M Scotchbrite pad. They work very well and can even be used for the whole engine bay if the current surface is in good shape. Some of the tight areas can also be sprayed with Bulldog Adhesion Promoter before starting painting to help the new paint stick to areas that are hard to sand. Doesn't guarantee it, but it can help. Also make sure to completely degrease and clean the engine bay before starting any sanding. Also make sure to do a complete wipedown again with final prep before any paint work. Brake Fluid, Oil, Antifreeze, Grease do not help paint in any way. Good Luck!

[Broncojunkie]

MY .02 for what its worth. Rust areas need to either be sanded to bare clean metal or they need to be sanded slightly to remove major scale, etc and then coated with Eastwood Rust Encapsulator or POR15 (There are other options, but those two are widely known). Non rusted areas need to be sanded well to accept new paint. You need mechanical adhesion for the new paint to stick. General sanding can be done with 80 grit, although that might leave sand scratches that are visible. 120/150 will often work for the engine bay and leave a good surface for new paint. Hitting everything with a Direct To Metal Primer is best to cover any bare spots and get a good base surface for top coat. Then within the recoat window for your primer, spray your single stage or BC/CC top coat and you should be good.

Some tight areas that are diffcult to stand with regular sand paper, I will use a Red 3M Scotchbrite pad. They work very well and can even be used for the whole engine bay if the current surface is in good shape. Some of the tight areas can also be sprayed with Bulldog Adhesion Promoter before starting painting to help the new paint stick to areas that are hard to sand. Doesn't guarantee it, but it can help. Also make sure to completely degrease and clean the engine bay before starting any sanding. Also make sure to do a complete wipedown again with final prep before any paint work. Brake Fluid, Oil, Antifreeze, Grease do not help paint in any way. Good Luck!

I have every single product you listed! I figure I'll end up doing some combination of the above. I'm just dreading getting into all the tight spaces for prep work. Whatever method Philly is using seems to be working well. Of course, he most likely started with a better surface. My cobra is a basket case. Just various spots of surface rust, missing paint, and even a spot where the resin from the ignition box melted down into the frame rail area. I imagine my best bet is to just get as aggressive as I need to and then get it smooth with high-build primer. I'll start with a base of epoxy primer, of course. I don't envy folks who do this for a living. I do appreciate the tips. I picked up paint for the cobra today. That stuff sure isn't getting any cheaper.

[dapetik]

Welcome!