1966 Impala Super Sport Restoration Project Update!

As promised, here is the update on the 1966 Impala Super Sport restoration.  The car is comming along beautifully.  With only a couple of minor setbacks, we should be right on track with her finish date of February 14th.

As you can see in the updated photos, the removal of the existing paint is coming along nicely.  The acrylic enamel that was on the vehicle is a thick, tough, single stage paint and the sanding takes a little longer than usual.  However, the body work that was previously done on the car was exceptional and she is still very straight in her lines. 

As shown in the pictures to the right, the car did need some welded patches which have been taken care of.   The first patch was the one shown here in the top of the drivers side fender.  Some small holes just below the window line required a small metal patch which has been finished in this photo. 

The next problem area was the drivers side quarter panel, which also required a couple of small metal patches to fill in the area along the extreme lower rear area of the quarter.  An area notoriously noted for this type of problem in a car of this age.

The next two problems to be addresed in this vehicle will be the nose and the gutters in the trunk area which collect any water that seeps through the deck lid. The pictures below show these two problem areas. 

The trunk gutters will most likely be removed from another vehicle or replaced with an aftermarket trunk lining.  In either case, they will be welded in after removing the rotted metal of the existing gutters.  Although this problem looks worse than it really is, most vehicles of this age are stricken with this problem simply because of the purpose of the gutters themselves!  We all know that water and metal make rust and this type of damage is common.

The nose of the vehicle had previously been repaired and you can see that the previous damage was extensive.  This piece will be replaced with original equipement taken from another vehicle.

The final portion of this vehicle we want to point out in this update is the work done on the door jams.  In these final photos, you can see the doors were removed to repair the damage in the jam area.  We can't stress enough the care you need to take in this area of the vehicle.  The cars of this era have extremely heavy doors.  For this reason, the door jam areas and hinges must be extensively inspected for any weak areas and any rusted metal removed completely and metal patches be welded in place.  The following photos show the doors removed and the repair work done to the jam and hinge areas.

We'll be posting the next update next Monday, so be sure to check back to see the progress in our next report.  Remember, our technicians are always here to answer any questions you may have on your own project.  You can reach us at (813) 644-4497 from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time, Monday thru Friday.

Register now for our newest "do-it-yourself" body repair articles comming in February!  Great articles written by our technicians for those of you who do your own project work!  Our techs describe the repairs in detail and give a list of materials necessary for the repairs.  A must have for the do-it-yourself library!

Till next time,

Dee Blackman

LDJ Auto Body and Custom Shop

ldjautobody@yahoo.com

More about → 1966 Impala Super Sport Restoration Project Update!

Restoration Project 1966 Impala Super Sport! Watch Her Makeover Here!

Our newest restoration project is a 1966 Impala Super Sport.  She will be getting a complete makeover here at LDJ!  The restoration will be done using all original parts as she is in pretty good condition for her age!  This car should bring back some memories for a lot of our readers!  She is wearing the traditional Chevrolet "aqua blue" here!  A favorite of the '60's era.  When finished, she'll be done in a "mico metal-flake black". 

This great car along with most of her counter-parts for that era is constructed of heavy gauge steel, and we do mean "heavy"!  She has some rust in the usual places for a car of this age and the main concern will be removing all traces of that rust in the lower doors, rocker panels and the lower quarters.  As you can see in the pictures, she has been preserved remarkably well and the rust is at a minimum!  All rust holes will be patched with heavy gauge metal welded to cover the holes.

The car was brought in with all of the mouldings, door handles, bumpers most of the emblems in place.  A real blessing for a vehicle this age as finding some of those items can be a real chore.  The window glass is also in great shape, again saving a lot of footwork trying to find original glass for a car of this vintage.  However, window glass can be made by most glass companies to fit vehicles like these, so if your project is missing any glass work, you can call any large auto glass company and get something to fit the bill if you're not having any luck on the Internet.  Original mouldings and emblems are usually available on the Internet.  However, there are some aftermarket suppliers that can provide you with substitues.  A list of these suppliers will be posted in our next article.

The tail lamps, head lamps and even the marker lights are still on the vehicle, again saving a lot of time in having to procure them elsewhere.  But, once again, although finding these parts as originals can be somewhat of an exhausting search, replacements are available through some suppliers, so don't give up if you're having some trouble locating what you need.  We'll be supplying some links here that should prove useful if you're looking for some hard to find parts for your own project.

The hood of our project is one piece that will need some extra attention.  It is an extremely heavy hood and it contains rust holes that will cause a problem in the finished project.  This is due to the fact that the hood is extremely flat and filling or patching the holes and maintaining the perfectly flat surface may take more time and labor than replacing the hood itself.  You can also see that the hood itself has sprung slightly and bending a hood of this gauge is difficult and sometimes not possible.  We'll be running a compelte article on this and other problems you might encounter with your project soon, so be sure to check back often or register now if you haven't already done so. 

This will be the first of our tutorials on restoration projects in 2012.  Register now for automatic updates and don't miss out on some great information to help you with your own project!  You'll get great information on products, techniques and much more with pictures that will let you see exactly what happens along with an explanation from our technicians.

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to check out our Google page at https://www.sites.google.com/site/ldjautobodyandcustomshop/.  You'll find contact information and a list of our other web sites to help you out with everything from cars, trucks AND motorcycles!

Larry and Dee Blackman

LDJ Auto Body and Custom Shop

ldjautobody@yahoo.com

More about → Restoration Project 1966 Impala Super Sport! Watch Her Makeover Here!