1978 continental sedan project

[action]

As long as you don't get to far into that bottle in the back ground.
Then it may be next weekend.
>>>>>Action

[mz35z]

As long as you don't get to far into that bottle in the back ground.
Then it may be next weekend.
>>>>>Action

No way. Haha. Only a few beers during the repair. Well the gas tank is in! Very smooth. I see one potential problem though. The tail pipes at the very end are routed about 3/4" away from the tank right at the corner:

I've got a infrared gun I can spot test heat which may come in handy. I'm not really sure how much heat will be generated this far back.

[action]

That is close, just not that close to be a big issue. I would feel better with a 1"clearence. Gasoline ignition temperature is something around 500 degrees f. You are never going to see that temp at that location.
If you have an infrared gun and after a good run, the corner of the tank is not greater than 200 you should be good.

The scenario that might be an issue would be a very hot day that you are driving stop and go or lot of idling with a very low fuel level in the tank. All other times should be a non-issue.
And if you wanted, you could wrap that small section with exhaust wrap to contain the heat. Like this stuff

https://www.amazon.com/Design-Engineeri ... 3138&psc=1

And that may be over the top

>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[mz35z]

That is close, just not that close to be a big issue. I would feel better with a 1"clearence. Gasoline ignition temperature is something around 500 degrees f. You are never going to see that temp at that location.
If you have an infrared gun and after a good run, the corner of the tank is not greater than 200 you should be good.

The scenario that might be an issue would be a very hot day that you are driving stop and go or lot of idling with a very low fuel level in the tank. All other times should be a non-issue.
And if you wanted, you could wrap that small section with exhaust wrap to contain the heat. Like this stuff


https://www.amazon.com/Design-Engineeri ... 3138&psc=1

And that may be over the top

>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

That's good to know. I'll put that on my list of things to do right after my first drive. I do have some exhaust wrap handy that was used on an old motorcycle.

[mz35z]

Well I haven't done much over the winter, but I'm back at it. I did make a clock out of the old nylon timing set over the winter:


I'm now working on bodywork. Found someone locally that has been painting classic cars his whole life so I may check out his work. I wanted to get the rust body work prior to paint done myself first. Almost done exposing all the rust. I attempted to use a chemical stripper on the roof as there were many cracks with rust developing underneath. Well now I'm learning that the new chemical strippers are such a pain. The rest of the car was done with a grinder and a wire wheel. Took less time and cheaper than the stripper also.

In the meantime, I'll also be rebuilding the alternator and replacing the non thermal fan clutch.

Need to remind myself that the next car project should be done in a larger garage so I can do a complete tear down.

If anyone reads through this that repainted their continental, how close did you stick with the original paint color? My original was that dark caramel gold. I'd like to do a more modern very light metallic blue. Since this car will be far from original refurb, I just want to find a color that will look good on all this steel and a lighter color to hide any potential body flaws.

[rick]

Mz(35)z,

Enjoyed going back to the beginning and reading all the posts and photos of your work so far.

Rick

[mz35z]

Mz(35)z,

Enjoyed going back to the beginning and reading all the posts and photos of your work so far.

Rick

Thanks! Hopefully I'll have more posts soon of bodywork and paint with a vinyl top.

[mz35z]

I'm getting a lot done since this lockdown, only problem is waiting on bodywork supplies to show up in the mail. So in the mean time I decided to take the interior out and order new carpet to match the existing.
Squirrels lived in here and devoured about 300 pinecones. They also saturated the carpet in pee (at least that's what it smelled like)

I'm ordering a little more sound deadening material to place under the carpet also. I have some thin, dense memory foam I may place underneath also, not sure how that will work long term with the carpeting though.


While I (im)patiently wait for body work supplies to come, I took some light assemblies and trim in my basement to clean, polish, and store safely till the sanding and painting is all done in the garage.

[defrang]

Cool clock. I generally like the stock colors. I think because it reminds me of the decades when the cars were new. I am old enough to remember from the late 60s up through the time when all cars started to look the same. However, a light metallic blue would look good. Maybe get the color chart for 78 and there might be something there that would have been stock back in the day and would be modernized just by the excellent quality of current paint.

[RMAENV]

+1 on the clock also. Very Kool. Thinking about using my original timing chain and gears (plastic coated) and having one made.

[mz35z]

Thank you both! It was actually very easy to make and I love the patina of it.

Cool clock. I generally like the stock colors. I think because it reminds me of the decades when the cars were new. I am old enough to remember from the late 60s up through the time when all cars started to look the same. However, a light metallic blue would look good. Maybe get the color chart for 78 and there might be something there that would have been stock back in the day and would be modernized just by the excellent quality of current paint.

I was looking up the stock color, and everytime I see it, I like it more and more. I know it would be easier to paint this color also because I wouldn't have to paint door jams etc. It would also match with the interior carmel colored leather and would look nice with a brown or black vinyl top.

[mz35z]

Well I got the sound deadening in, carpet in and trimmed and the front seats in. Can't put the rear seats in yet as the interior trim needs to go in first, cant put that in cause the weather stripping needs to go in first.... cant put that in cause I'm waiting on bodywork supplies in the mail. Haha.

I wanted to wait to do all interior work till it was painted, but I'll need the seat in to drive it and get it painted. I'll just have to cover the interior up really well beforehand.

I've decided to go with the original body color (as close as I can get). I sanded down the primer the previous owner put on, and the Medium Chamois Metallic is really showing now. I think it looks good.

Sound deadened foam in.


Carpet and front seats in. Now another coat of neatsfoot oil on them. Maybe it will darken them up a bit to match up with the carpet a bit more. Seeing the seats in makes me think either A) the seats have gotten sunbleached over the years or B) I found the wrong color carpet...

[mz35z]

New (rebuilt) alternator is in. Identical to the original just looks much better.

I've been doing a lot of body work. Most panels I can just take off the first couple layers of paint down to the e-coat, but most of the horizontal surfaces I'm taking all the way to bare metal. Trunk, roof, hood, and the tops of the doors (right before the trim) just to be sure all the rust specks are gone. I may just take the whole body down to bare metal if it doesnt get around 70° here in the next few weeks. It's a very lengthy process. Primer, (from prior owner) clear, top coat, primer and e-coat all take a while to get through.

If anyone reads through this that has done bodywork before, any tips would be very welcome. I've done a lot of reading and youtubing, and a lot of trial and error. So far the most efficient way has been a DA sander with 80 grit and a wire wheel on the bondo spots.

I've also learned a few things about Ospho. I only got it to treat all the small rust spots on the bare metal. I'll be cleaning the metal like crazy before doing any primer. Well I wiped some ospho on a panel and continued onto sand the next. Turns out, paint dust interacts with the acid and makes a glue like substance on the surface.

Well a very long post, but my current plan for covering the metal is:
Ospho on rust
Epoxy primer
Featherfill
Bondo (if needed)
Thinned epoxy primer
Urethane base coat/clear

I happened to see a dark green late 60s continental out in Royal Oak today, very cool. Makes me want to get out in the garage even more.

[mz35z]

Tomorrow I will be priming with epoxy and topping it with featherfill. I've got my respirator in, old furnace blower motor set up to pull the fumes out and the car is all prepped (besides a final pre-paint wipe down and tack cloth)

I spent some time doing research on refurbishing my trim.for now, I just tapped out the few dents here and there. Around the end of summer or this coming winter, I'll have to pull it back off and Sodium hydroxide it to remove the anodized "coating". From there I can sand out the scratches and get it anodized or clear it with some very good clear.

I also ordered the vinyl top from newstalgiaparts.com after looking up reviews and finding their ebay page for extra reviews. They had great prices, elk texture and the perfect color. To "match" or compliment the paint color.

Very nervous/ excited to prime tomorrow, but I've painted one car before and a motorcycle and have watched countless hours of youtube videos (for whatever that's worth). My prior car turned out very well but it was an oil based tractor paint so it was very forgiving.

I'll be posting some pictures soon if all goes well!
I hope everyone's projects are going well this spring.

[rick]

Hi mz35z - I'd never heard of newstalgiaparts.com. Thanks for the tip. I went to their site and noticed they have new replacement sun visors! Mine are ok..... but just. But for $169.95 a pop I may ask for a pair of new ones as a Fathers Day Gift. I realize that I'll need to transfer the pins (not an easy job) but I guess nothing good comes easy.

Good luck with your priming!

mz35z - One tip with the tack cloth that some may not agree with here, but just my opinion. After using the tack cloth, re-wipe the car down with a microfibre cloth that has been soaked with Isopropyl alcohol (also known as rubbing alcohol). I'm in the semi-conductor clean room business and we use tack cloths as an important part of the cleaning procedure but the tack cloth will leave a residue of it's own even as it picks up larger particles. The ISA will generally dissolve this residue and your cloth will pick it up.

Rick