79 cobra gets a makeover......in progress

[7t9cobra]

well some of you met me at the NW foureyed BBQ, or have talked to me in the 2.3 section. i have a 79 cobra that was faded flat black, with dents bondo and panels that werent aligned. so i conned my dad into letting me use a stall in his shop. he decided to give me a large lighted area in exchange for a 40x20 ft. tarp.
THE PLAN: get a near showroom quality paint job, with absolutely no dents or dings, using very little bondo. im taking it to bare metal and etching it with phosphoric acid. it will be gloss black. below the door trim (all the way around the car) will be satin black. around the window trim, sail panels, headlight buckets grill and louvers, will all be satin black. to finish it off will be a thick stripe of ford blue in the middle of the moulding around the car, and blue 79 cobra hood graphics.
SO FAR: i have the majority of it stripped to bare metal (the exposed panels only) me and my buddy alex cut out a section behind the door because it was crunched and covered with bondo. i sectioned a piece out of a friends parts car, and fitted it to my car. my buddy alex tacked it in place, and i finished the welding today. i ground most of them out. tomorrow i will start using the slight amount of bondo to finish it off. so far this project has made quite a bit of progress for the little time i can put into it after work everyday. im 19 and hopefully someday i can use some of these pics and previous pics to land a job in the body shop at the car dealership where i work, or at any body shop for that matter. well enough typing...here are the pics. i cant get my camera phone pics on yet (dont know how) but when i do ill have pics of the huge hole with the missing panel. enjoy

[02Z06]

Very cool! Sounds like it should be a cool color combo too, can't wait to see more progress pictures.

[la.fraude]

looking good.

For you cameraphone pics,
a) if it can connect to your computer do that, or
B)if you can picture message someone put in your email address in the place where you put a number or name or w/e. That should work. USe the highes resolution your phone can take.

[Hissing Cobra]

This is what I like! Progress pic's. Keep on going with the work and don't give up. I want to see that thing gleaming!

[la.fraude]

So what are you priming it with? Rattle can or using a gun, if so what kind of primer are you using?

[Ken86stang]

Hey, good luck!

[2manycars]

Just a word of caution - cover or remove the windows so the welding spatter and grinding sparks don't etch into them. Don't ask me how I found out about that part of body work.

On the other hand, looks good so far. Keep us updated.

[SchoolBoy]

Woh you were abel to get the wax and oil smoke off the car too!

[7t9cobra]

thats the other side nelson! lol i use a gas wire feed so there is no spatter. grinding is another issue. didnt think about that. if it etched it, its not a big deal. its just the quarter window. i have a spare anyway. im done welding on the panel. im priming it with auto paint through a gun. im ordering gloss black, satin black, clear coat and primer from work. i get it at cost. they said about $80 for a gallon of paint. i sent the pics to my e-mail but didnt get them. hopefully my car will look at sharp as petes, or atleast close to. a little off topic but i just bought an 87 grand wagoneer today for $200 it has a/c power seats power sunroof, power everything and runs great!! the tranny slips a little but other than that everything is nice. good paint, brakes, tires. new filters dist. cap and fresh oil change. a friend i know needed to get rid of it and knew im into jeeps. he called me up and told me to make an offer lol just thought i would share.
jeff

[fred414141]

windows? to hell with the windows! kid,where are your safety glasses/goggles???? your work means nothing without your eyesight!!!! grinding without eye protection is THE stupidest thing you can do. great project you have going,and keep us up on the progress,but your next post should be the 'see me use my goggles' pics.

[ujslost]

windows? to hell with the windows! kid,where are your safety glasses/goggles???? your work means nothing without your eyesight!!!! grinding without eye protection is THE stupidest thing you can do. great project you have going,and keep us up on the progress,but your next post should be the 'see me use my goggles' pics.

IF you dont pay attention to any other post on this board you better pay attention to what FRED said. I was doing the same thing your doing only on floor pans and I had my glasses resting up on my head. Spent the next week going back and forth to the eye DR to get some metal removed from my eye. Sux big time.

[digitalrailroader]

thats the other side nelson! lol i use a gas wire feed so there is no spatter. grinding is another issue. didnt think about that. if it etched it, its not a big deal. its just the quarter window. i have a spare anyway. im done welding on the panel. im priming it with auto paint through a gun. im ordering gloss black, satin black, clear coat and primer from work. i get it at cost. they said about $80 for a gallon of paint. i sent the pics to my e-mail but didnt get them. hopefully my car will look at sharp as petes, or atleast close to. a little off topic but i just bought an 87 grand wagoneer today for $200 it has a/c power seats power sunroof, power everything and runs great!! the tranny slips a little but other than that everything is nice. good paint, brakes, tires. new filters dist. cap and fresh oil change. a friend i know needed to get rid of it and knew im into jeeps. he called me up and told me to make an offer lol just thought i would share.
jeff

Who do you work for? I'm trying to find a job for Ford at my Local dealer, but they aren't Hiring.

[Slvr85gt]

Good luck with the build and keep us informed. I'm anxious to see how it turns out with the satin vs gloss. I was planning on doing that when I painted mine black. The headlight buckets, GT insignia in the quarter moldings and the chin spoiler were going to be flat cleared and everything else regular clear. I was told that if you got wax on it it would start to shine so I decided against it. I was trying to find a way to do it but didn't have any luck. So let me know how you make out and post some pics.

[ujslost]

Why do ya want to work for ford? Make sure you find a good place, the one I work at, we have an asshole for a boss. Dont want to invest in his techs and makes promises he doesn't keep. Wish you could read the ford technicians forums . LMAO always some techs on their bitchin. Working for ford isnt all its cut out to be.

[7t9cobra]

i work at 5 star dealerships un aberdeen, WA. i work at the chevy store as a used car lot manager. basically im manager of the lot attendants lol i get used cars ready for the shops, and find out what stays and what goes. i put the glasses on right after that pic was taken. my girl made me. LOL im using actual satin paint, and clearcoating only the gloss black. thanks for the comments. ill be on vacation for the weekend, so ill update you on monday when i make some more progress. i should have more pics.
later
jeff

[f4fntm]

Ambitious project, Jeff. You're setting your sights extraordinarily high if you want to match the quality of Pete's car. Best of luck - I'm sure many will be watching your progress with interest.

[Ken86stang]

Why do ya want to work for ford? Make sure you find a good place, the one I work at, we have an asshole for a boss. Dont want to invest in his techs and makes promises he doesn't keep. Wish you could read the ford technicians forums . LMAO always some techs on their bitchin. Working for ford isnt all its cut out to be.

Sounds like my job!

[tman1257]

Why do ya want to work for ford? Make sure you find a good place, the one I work at, we have an asshole for a boss. Dont want to invest in his techs and makes promises he doesn't keep. Wish you could read the ford technicians forums . LMAO always some techs on their bitchin. Working for ford isnt all its cut out to be.

Hopefully the a-hole boss doesnt read these forums. Could be in for a really bad day if he does.

[ujslost]

I already told him!

[7t9cobra]

well i only got about an hours worth of work in it last night. i need to borrow my girls camera. my phone wont send the pics to my e-mail. so last night i worked on straightening my drivers side door. it was in a couple of crashes. the drivers side has a small but violent dent towards the bottom and front of the door, its pushed in around the handle, and the lip was bent out of shape. i straightened out the edge so it lines up perfect with the new quarter piece. also from the first wreck on the back side of the rear fender lip is dented but the body lines arent dented so its an easy fix. then right at the top back coner of the drivers side, just above the taillight is dented in on and around the corner, but its very close to being fixed. theres no way it will match petes cobra, but it should be close. i wont let the car leave until it looks awesome. if i get something like orange peel or anything, ill sand it off and do it until it looks good. im in no hurry, other than im anxious to see how it turns out. ill be ordering my paint tomorrow or thursday. unless i can get my phone to send pics youll have to wait a day or two for pics.
jeff

[02Z06]

Can't wait to see the progress!

[82mustang]

call me a party pooper but i say you should get it running before the body work..and after this you cant set tools on the paint anymore..and BTW i've never seen jeff use safety glasses, but neither do i..i rely on my reflexes to blink .00005456743 milliseconds before a red hot shard of steel pierces my eyeball

~Mark~

[7t9cobra]

well i need to get it painted before the nasty weather starts. i can get it running in any weather. im sure its the hose anyway. yes i use safety glasses when grinding (unless its on a bench grinder) mark just isnt out there enough to know. the drivers door is going to take a lot of straightening out. it looks like it was hit on the handle so its pushed in all around. some more hammering and a little bit of bondo should do the trick. well ill take some pics tonight and work on the panel some more.
thanks for the comments
jeff

[7t9cobra]

wahoo! i ordered the paint today..........drum roll...........................................$34 2.34 i happened to have $342.32 on me. luckily they didnt care about the 2 pennies lol so i ordered 1 gallon of gloss black, 1/2 gallon of primer, 1/2 gallon of satin and all of the reducer and hardeners ect. pre-mixed and ready to spray. tomorrow ill be working on the car as much as possible. ive been putting it aside for a few days now. well im falling asleep so its bed time
later
jeff

[82mustang]

i ordered 1 gallon of gloss black, 1/2 gallon of primer, 1/2 gallon of satin and all of the reducer and hardeners ect. pre-mixed and ready to spray.

so you ordered paint, and reducer/hardener, but it's pre-mixed and ready to spray? sounds like you bought too many things

~Mark~