1958 Corvette - Body
After disassembling the 1958 Corvette we removed the body with our A-frame body picker and safety straps to start the restoration process.
Under the windshield you can see the original Panama Yellow begging to be seen.
The body has been set down on a rolling cart so we can roll it in and out of the different shops. It is now time to take it to our plastic media shop to remove the old 20 coats of paint down to the gel coat.
Mike performs the blasting using barrel shaped plastic media with high volume low pressure equipment and the paint comes off with ease.
Once the paint is removed many stress cracks and holes are revealed. We then repair them using our patented methods to withstand the test of time.
The backside of the doors required extensive work as the early Vettes were not strong in this area. They had no steel reinforcement in the early years so cracks would dominate the landscape
The cowl, fire wall and quarters received the same treatment for M's Panama was as rough as you can get. She was begging for new life in the hands of our masterful crew. Once the repairs were made we primed her with high build slick sand.
Notice the outer edges are marked with tape and raw fiberglass, this is where the urethane adhesive will be applied once we install the new front clip, as the original front clip was completely wasted and not worth using.
As seen the new front clip is installed. Although it is much better then the original clip the new clip is still rough as the MFG's still do not have it down to a science and it takes a lot of slicing and dicing to remove every bulge and bad fit to take her to beyond her original showroom glory.
The drivers fender had to be sliced and re-fiber-glassed "on a brand new clip" To remove the bulge in their misaligned forms, this had to be done on many areas of the new front clip.
After all the repairs were made, we applied high build primer which seals and protects like a gel coat yet builds for imperfection removal during block sanding. There's a lot involved in the Corvette Restoration process!
Another look from the rear end show she is starting to take shape.
As mentioned before the door took many repairs to get her structurally sound to stand the test of time for many generations of enjoyment to come.
She is ready for yellow paint, Ms Panama likes this phase.
Spray me the right color for I long to fit in to my old clothes.
Yes Sir, she is starting to come to life.
White coves are sprayed.