LAST UPDATE! 1970 CUTLASS 442! COMPLETED, HER BLING HAS ARRIVED!

As I told you last time, the chrome bumpers and eyebrows arrived over the weekend and she was sooooo beautiful in her new bling, I just had to run the pics!  So here for your enjoyment is the finished 1970 Cutlass 442 Convertible in all her "chrome bling"! To see the original vehicle, go to our post from November, 29th.

We also want to thank her owner for letting us show her off here! 

Many of you have asked about whether or not this great car is for sale!  As far as we know right now, she is going to be his driver for awhile.  We'll be sure to let you know if we hear anything about the car going up for sale!

We'd love to hear your comments and see some of our reader's projects!  Please let us know what you think AND send those pics in!  We'll publish them right here so we can all discuss these great cars!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Larry and Dee Blackman
LDJ Auto Body and Custom Shop

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1970 Cutlass 442 Convertible! The Finished Product!

I promised finished photos today, and here they are!  Unfortunately, due to a mishap with a shipping company, her bumpers did not arrive yet, but, because she turned out so beautifully, I decided to go ahead and post these anyway.

As we anticipated, the car turned out great.  She is shown here with a base coat /clear coat black mica metallic finish with a pearlized white 442 racing stripe configuration. 

The car took approximately 3 weeks to complete and came within budget.  So everyone is happy.  That's the way we like to see things go!  Her owner says the bumpers should be here within a couple days and that should put the finishing touches on this beauty.  She sits on 275R16 Goodrich tires mounted on aluminum alloy rims.  A look that we personally think is a very good one for this particular car.

As you can see from the above shots, the body on this car is just sheer perfection.  Congrats to Larry for the unbelievable straightening job on this one! 

A great big hand to Larry Blackman and Adam Stratton for another great job well done!

The next vehicle to go under Larry's hand will be a 2005 Mustang!  Look for it in about 2 weeks.  We'll be following that one through the steps too!

Thank you to everyone that watched this car go through her transformation.  We'd love to see your projects too!  Send your pics to Dee Blackman at ldjautobody@yahoo.com.  We'll post them here.  Please send us the story that goes with them.



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Cutlass 442 UPDATE! Pictures of the Paint Job!

Well, the 1970 Cutlass 442 project car that we have been working on here went into the paint booth yesterday!  It's always a great feeling of accomplishment when a project car reaches the paint booth.  Regardless of whether it was a complete, ground up restoration or just a new custom paint job, these older beauties are what it's all about.

Here's some pics of the 1970 Cutlass 442 as it went from primer to paint!  The final pics will be posted tomorrow.

Shown here with sealer in place, she's ready for paint.  As with most all of our custom jobs, this vehicle was finished using all DuPont products. 

We endorse and recommend DuPont products here at LDJ and have been using them for almost 30 years now.

After allowing the sealer to dry, she's ready for the first base coat.  The following pictures show the progress from base coat thru the application of the pearl white 442 racing stripes.

With the black base coat in place, it's time to start the racing stripe.  The stripe is taped off and sprayed using a tri-color pearl by starting with a white base coat and then the pearl.  The stripes on this car are the original configuration and included the two large hood panel accents.

With the stripes in place, the car is ready for the final clear coats.  The car was finished in DuPont Black Mica Metallic with a tri-color pearl white original 442 racing stripe.  The finished product will sport 6 coats of DuPont clear to protect the finish.

Check back tomorrow for the final shots of this beautiful car after wet sanding and buffing.  We'd like to thank the owner for allowing us to follow the work of this vehicle so we could take you through the steps of a custom paint job.  The finished car will have chrome 1970 Cutlass 442 bumpers which were fitted prior to the paint job.  

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UPDATE! 1970 Cutlass 442 is Now Ready for Paint!



Original pic of this project as it appeared when it arrived



It's always exciting when a project car nears it's final stages!  Regardless of how long the car has been in preparation, it always seem as though it's taking forever....especially to the owner, who is patiently waiting on the side lines.  But, sooner or later, that time arrives.  Point in case....our latest and newest project vehicle....a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 Convertible.  You can see the car as it was brought in for straightening and primer in our last update which was published on Sunday, November 13, 2011. 

  

As you can see in the pictures below, the guys have been hard at work getting the lines straightened and the doors and hood lined up.  She is shown here complete and ready for the primer to be blocked for the final time prior to painting.

 

This wonderful classic, muscle car has always been one of my favorites.  Probably because it was one of the most popular cars around during my younger years.  The distinguishing "442 racing stripe" has become an icon even for the newer race cars and cafe' street racers you see today.  As one of the original and strongest members of the "classic muscle car" era, the Cutlass 442 shows us unrivaled beauty AND brawn from it's rather heafty and necessary hood area housing one of the largest cubic inch motors of it's time to the finer lines of it's more sleek, rear area.  This particular car is even more unique with it's convertible top.  A rarity for the 442, this exquisite "ragtop" specimen makes it even more desireable to the collector.

For those of you following this project, you can see the great lines that have been developed after fixing the lower fender areas and re-inforcing the fender to allow for the alignment of the "huge" 442 doors.  For any of you do-it-yourselfer's out there that are working on either the older Oldsmobile Cutlass specimens or the older Chevy Monte Carlo or Pontiac Grand Prix type vehicles, remember the weight of the doors!  Almost all of these vehicles will definitely require complete hinge kits on restoration.  The age of the vehicles and the massive weight of the doors almost always requires replacement of these hinges and the newer, modified hinge kits are re-inforced making them last much longer under the stress and weight of these enormous doors.  The new hinges also make it much easier to align the doors and put far less stress on the fenders of these type of vehicles. 

Hope you enjoyed the update on this great car!  She is now ready for paint and should be finished some time in the next two weeks!  The color scheme chosen for this particular car is exquisite.  A deep black with fine mica flake will definitely bring out the best in her gorgeous, beefy lines.  And the pearlized white (blended to match the color of the ragtop) will surely add the finishing touches to this classic beauty.  Check back soon to see the finished product! 

And, as always, we love seeing your projects too!  Send us the pics and we'll post them here!

Larry and Dee Blackman

LDJ Auto Body and Customs

ldjautobody@yahoo.com

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Our Newest Project Car Will Delight Muscle Car Fans!

HERE'S THE NEWEST ADDITION TO OUR PROJECTS

1970 CUTLASS 442 CONVERTIBLE - COMPLETE RESTORATION!

The Cutlass 442 is a favorite of every muscle car enthusiast!  It's distinguishing stripes allow for great color combinations in a variety of paint colors.  This 1970 Cutlass 442 Convertible is a fine specimen of the ragtop version. 

This car came to us with most of the body work finished and our job was to correct the body work flaws and complete the job with a custom paint job.  She'll be finished using a  tiny silver "mica" flake infused in an "Infinity" based black paint with a custom pearl white "original design" 442 racing stripe!

This car will no doubt be a "head turner" when finished.  The following pictures show the car as it arrived to us.  We'll be posting regular updates by the week so check back often.  The proposed finish date will be around the third week of November!

This car is owned by a regular customer of our's and as far as we know, the car will be a driver and currently is not for sale.  Many of you have inquired about this vehicle and rest assured, we will let you know if the status of this vehicle changes.

This car has a beautifully re-done interior to match the soon to be spectacular exterior!  Don't forget to check out our affilliates for great prices on all YOUR interior and exterior accessories and parts!  Try the link below for some awesome prices from Auto Parts Warehouse!  The Cyber Monday prices will blow you away!



The Cyber Monday Blowout pricing ends November 30th, so act quickly to take advantage of this great deal.  Remember, you can have your order shipped directly to us and we'll call you to let you know when it's arrived to schedule the installation of any of your accessories!

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