There comes a time in the restoration process, where the whole mess starts to resemble the machine you were expecting to see . . . that time is getting very close!

The guards are mounted and adjusted for gaps, I helped Martin get the bonnett in place and lined up.




There are a heap of little bits that need finished sanding and painting, still to be done. eg the beaver panels, the rear corner bits and blinker retainers. That will slow the job down some.

The next job is to position and drill the holes for the bonnett pin latches.

The red with pearlescent is an interesting paint job. Looking at the under surface of the bonnett, which has paint applied, the paint just looks dark red, the gold fleck is virtually invisible without direct sunlight.
Have a go at this rear quarter and compare it to the shots of the original "repair". The panel is very straight and back in the correct shape.

This is a credit to the skills of Martin the panel beater.

He tells me that tomorrow, paint will be applied!!

Woohoo!

Colouring my ride

Okay, the door shuts across the back and the front cowl has copped some colour. The pearlescent paint looks amazing!

When you see the without direct sunlight, the colour looks like a strong dark red.

Not the hot rod red that it used to be painted in, but in Rover Red, a juicy scarlet.

A high gloss coat or two over the top really sets it off!



Here's the way the gold fleck appears when the sun hits the car then hits your eye.

Man, I can't wait to see the whole thing covered in the glossy coat.


There is still a bit of work to go on the fiddly bits, around the lights etc.

The bonnet has received a lot of attention and is looking outstanding, even in primer.

Look at the way the scoop works into the lid, doesn't it look great? The bonnet is like the visual entrance to the look of the car and so has to be perfect.

I have a set of bonnet pin latches with billet aluminium bases that will set this off nicely.

Austang is in her prime (well. . . so to speak)

The Austang is starting to look more like a gorgeous beast again! Panels are being put in place and the bonnet scoop is getting the right shape.

The Shelby shape is starting to work wonders for Mustang's lines. Now I am wondering if I should put a chin scoop across the front.

Taking a look down the left side, it is easy to see the value of paying attention to the shape of the wheel arches!

The car looks sensational just in grey primer, am getting excited now about seeing it in glorious candy apple red.

Still got a fair way to go, may have paint on it in a couple of weeks.

Martin lent me a pile of swatch books, from which I have to somehow pick a red.
Man there are so many!

Sooo close!

Ooh baby! it's getting closer to being finished!
A bit of work to be done on a door and the guards.




The beaver panels are geting a good going over, removing the excess bog and repairing the old dents properly.







The bonnet will be getting some more atention too, lots of plastic required to build up the butchered scoop.

There are a few dips and uneven spots that need to come out.

Beneath the skin

The torture test was quite successful on restoring the door gaps and getting some of the bulge out of the rear left guard. Now it is a matter of shrink, hammer and file. It is getting straight but still needs a heap of work. Looking at how the car sits, I may have to get the springs reset again to level out the rear end.

The metal is a bit thin but it will be straight and have a much better finish than that which the previous panel-slapper provided (hey, triple alliteration).





A fair bit of work is going into this quarter.

Still a way to go!