The Austin Healey was loaded onto a friend's trailer to be taken to Artistic Body Shop to be sandblasted. Most likely this will be the only work I outsource.
After five days and eight hours of labor, the car came back with a new and different look!
Sandblasting takes the frame and sub-frame down to bare metal and remove any rust, truly exposing the areas that need to be repaired.
Overall, the frame and sub-frame was in the condition we expected, and, thankfully, the sandblasting process didn't expose any problem areas we didn't already knew existed.
Since the car is down to bare metal, it has to be primed with an epoxy primer immediately. A bare metal frame and sub-frame can easy rust. Even a fingerprint can cause damage. So George and I spent the afternoon applying an epoxy primer to the frame and sub-frame.
Now that the frame and sub-frame have been primed, we will now move onto the next step: repairing the frame!
It's been a long time since you posted an update. Any progress?
ReplyDeleteWhy did you epoxy primer before welding? My chassis is stripped down to bare metal right now but I am terrified that if I epoxy primer then I need to sand every square inch before paint. There are nooks and crannies that I can not possible get to and so I worry about adhesion problems. Do you have the same fears or do you know something I don't? I'm an amateur so I don't pretend to know the right way to do this and would love some guidance.
Also, if there is any possible way I would encourage you to put the correct engine in the car. $10-15k for an engine sounds like a silly price. I think you could spend a fraction on that if you are a careful shopper. I have seen entire engines on ebay for way less than that. You have a lot of chassis work ahead of you so you should have some time to be patient.
Chris
Sorry, it has been awhile since I've posted. I was in the process of moving and had to put the project on the back burner until the move was complete. I'm now getting back to the car. Another reason is that the process to restore the frame is a lengthy one, and I figured it best to update the blog when that was done.
DeleteThanks for your questions! The reason I epoxy primered the Healey before the welding was done was to protect the frame and subframe. Once the car is down to bare metal it is susceptible to rust. Even touching the bare metal would cause rust. I'm not worried about adhesion problems because the paint, when that time comes, will attach well the the frame and subframe. There were places that were hard to reach for both sandblasting and primering; however, I made sure those areas were covered, even if I had to hand brush the epoxy primer on. Once the new pieces have been welded on, I will brush on epoxy primer on the welding joints.
Since I began looking last summer, I have only seen four or so engines for sale. All of them were about the same price, about 6k for an engine in need of rebuild. I did see an engine on the east coast that was rebuilt that sold for about 9k on eBay a few months back. Still, I agree with you, I will be patient and look for the right deal.
What car are you restoring? A Healey?
My '54 100/4 will require the same level of effort (if not more) body-wise, so I'm also looking forward to updates about your project. Good luck getting back to it!
ReplyDelete