63 Carolina Coupe Restoration

jdoug · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 6:26 pm Post subject: 63 Carolina Coupe Restoration

So I decided to do a full body off restoration of my 1963 Coupe.

The car was originally bought in Wilmington North Carolina. I believe it's been in North Carolina since it was new.

I had it running pretty well. New brakes, tie rod ends, etc. Ran okay but the motor leaked like a sieve.

The car looked good from 20 feet away but up close all the paint was bubbled, the chrome pitted, the bumpers were nasty, the interior smelled like an old boat and the seats left you sitting on the floor.

Here's how it looked

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

The first thing I did was build one of these dollies you see here. Very easy to do and really really useful.

I got some friends over to lift a body off after I removed all the bolts. This really is quite easy as well.

So this is what my chassis looked like when I removed the body. The car was one sprayed and you can see the overspray on some of it.

Popped the motor out.

Followed by the transmission.

Next I stripped the chassis clean to get ready to be acid dipped.

I chose acid dipping because of two reasons. One is I really couldn't find a good blaster and two is I wanted to minimize cleanup for me afterwards.

Here's a shot of the chassis after it was acid dipped.

That's it for now. I've done more. But I'll post more later.

John Miller · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 6:35 pm Post subject:

Wow! You don't mess around.

Are you keeping the green/white combo?
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jdoug · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 6:40 pm Post subject:

Yep. I'm keeping the green/white 2 tone. I want to keep it looking original and vintage. But, it will have some modern upgrades to hopefully make it a fun driver.

motorhead364 · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 6:41 pm Post subject:

Awesome. I think that's what my 63 looked like long long ago.

Keep up the good work.
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jdoug · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 8:45 pm Post subject:

So when I picked up my chassis from acid dip place I dropped off my body to also be dipped. And, have since retrieved it and trailered it to the body shop on my trusty dolly. Plenty of pics between the two of course of which I'll post a few later.

But, I have an immediate question. Do I leave or do I remove the original lead body filler as seen here.

I was talking to a guy at the body shop (not the owner, just one of the workers, but experienced body guy) who said it needed to be removed due to modern paints. True?

motorhead364 · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 8:55 pm Post subject:

I melted mine out with a torch, on the advice of a body man as well. His thoughts were that you don't know what's under it. Rust, or in my case a crack in the steel. Modern sealers will make a good barrier between the lead/pewter so that you can paint with no worries. If I had it to do over again. I would melt out the lead at the roof connections and at the hood corners and leave the lead in the door jambs. My thoughts are those are the places most prone to cracks. Door jambs should be ok.
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didget69 · Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 9:43 pm Post subject:

Nice work thus far! Would you be willing to share details on the cost of the acid dipping?

bryan
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Karly · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 12:04 am Post subject:

How do you neutralize all the acid afterwards otherwise would it interfere with bonding of paint?

Good progress! Looks like a really good base - any rusty surprises crop up after the dipping?
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jdoug · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 2:26 am Post subject:

Was ~2K in cost for chassis and body. I know it's more than I would have paid for blasting if I could have found someone. I also worried about warpage which I know some people have had troubles with after blasting.

After it is done in the acid it is rinsed multiple times in a base solution.

jdoug · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 2:39 am Post subject:

After the chassis was dipped I trailered it to Hicks VW in Durham who replaced my pans.

From there I took it to powder coating place which is < 2 miles from my house. I stopped by yesterday and found they just finished. One of the kids that works there is going to deliver my chassis today with his truck which saves me the hassle of borrowing a truck and renting a trailer.

Here's how I found it over at the powder coating place.

Got other stuff done too like spring plates.

They even did my fresh air intake screens.

So I'm excited to get this stuff back today as I'm ready to reconstruct the chassis.

Price was $400 for chassis and $150 to blast and coat 34 misc. pieces.

Angus Dowrie · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 3:19 am Post subject:

Great to see another '63 on the mend! Seems like a really good base car, hasn't been messed with and all the bits there. You are sure getting a move on!

So what do 'modern upgrades' entail, or is that still a thought bubble. Sounds like we are doing similar things, doing it stock with some minor variations along the way.
Make sure you have a really good look at the sills after dipping, it just seems to be the perfect environment for rust there.

jdoug · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 4:23 am Post subject:

I plan to upgrade to 12V, add a big turnkey motor, rebuilt trans, disc brakes.

Except for some rust in the lower rear fenders (which I've ordered patch panels for) the body looks excellent. No sign of damage.

Here's before and after pics of body.

jdoug · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 4:38 am Post subject:

I have a question about seam sealing the body. I really didn't find any seam sealer in the body as I did on the chassis. Did I miss it?

There was this big ropelike piece of putty that seals the top of the firewall.

What do people use to replace that caulk on the firewall? Why did the factory use the putty instead of seam sealant?

c21darrel · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 11:13 am Post subject:

You can use dum-dum aka, permagum aka strip caulking....
Seam sealer is used all over the car. Maybe the acid dip ate it away.
If you do a search "seam seal" in that little box up and to the right....you will get loads of info/pics...
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jdoug · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 4:00 pm Post subject:

Gone from this

to this

motorhead364 · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 4:33 pm Post subject:

You're thread is like déjà vu for me. At a much faster pace however.
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jdoug · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 5:21 pm Post subject:

jdoug · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 5:27 pm Post subject:

kheberling · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 5:50 pm Post subject: Ghia Restoration

Hi, I am restoring a 62 vert and would like to upgrade to a later trans and beefier motor like yourself. What are your plans for your upgrade and how is it done. I.e. fitting a later IRS trans to an early swing axle setup? Any advice is appreciated.

Keith.

jdoug · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 5:57 pm Post subject:

It turns out the kid that dropped my stuff off from the powder coater is the owner's son. He's young but seems mature for his age. He wants to expand his Dad's business to do more restoration and custom work. Including chrome plating. It's Topcpat in Raleigh for any of you in the area. If you go there ask for Hunter. His Dad is cool, but be prepared to negotiate price up front with him.


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