Letter Of The Month: Bravely Tackling Body And Paint
I thoroughly enjoyed Terry McGean’s column titled “The Evolution of Skills” in the November 2023 issue of HMM (#243) I have been doing most of the mechanical work on my cars since 1956. At the age of six, my father started teaching me mechanical skills on our 1953 Nash Ambassador four-door sedan family car. Since then, I have dabbled in light body and interior work, which I found to be intimidating.
I just finished my latest project–a 1963 Rambler Classic 770 two-door Club Sedan street machine made to look like a 1964 Ambassador 990. I swapped the six-cylinder automatic on the column to a 290-cu.in. V-8 four-speed on the floor with a fabricated four-link rear suspension.
When I priced replacing both quarter panels, stripping, and painting the whole car, I was floored by the $40,000 quote. I had learned metal fabrication, panel fitting, and welding, so I said to myself, “I can do this.” I fabricated two quarter panels from extra front fenders and welded them on. I stripped the entire car to bare metal by hand sanding; I just wanted to see if I could do it.
The neighbor, a retired professional 50-year body man, would take his daily walks and pass by my house just to see my daily progress. He stopped one day and asked me if I had the right materials to apply after all the welding and grinding. I told him I was starting to investigate that. He offered to get me all the right supplies wholesale, as he still had the right connections—it took me another year to finish all the welding, grinding, and block sanding to be able to hand over the painting portion to another semi-retired professional body man that my neighbor friend knew would enjoy doing the job.
When that body man came over and looked at my completed work he said, “Are you sure you have never done body work before?”? “Never, this is my first time at it.” He replied, “Your panels are absolutely straight and flawless.”
Wow, it felt good to hear that. Since the car was painted in November 2022, I have taken it to at least 10 car shows and have received a lot of praise for the finish. I have had no less than 6 pros compliment me on the smooth, straight surfaces of the entire car — 2 even offered me jobs at their shops.
The moral of my story is that I do believe that anyone who is mechanically inclined can learn to do good body work with enough practice. I did learn that you need two important traits to be successful, a lot of time and a lot of patience. I now understand why bodywork has always been expensive.
I am now in the process of doing all the body work on my original-owner 1974 Javelin/AMX 401 four-speed car — my son had an accident in way back in November 1999.
– Edrie J. Marquez, Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania
Our new Managing Editor, Jerry Pitt, related to your letter, Edrie: “As the son of a body man, I agree that time, patience, and a strong, sensible father provides all the skills one might need to successfully accomplish the task you have so successfully completed. Too bad I lacked time and patience. My dad tried.”
Impressive Induction
I had a 1966 Mustang GT that I restored/built in the early 1980s. The engine was a 302, and since aftermarket heads were not yet available for small-block Fords back then, I ported a set of 351 Windsor heads. A Crane cam and all the usual quality rebuild parts were used. I bought the Webers brand-new from Jim Inglese; tuning them was not a big problem after some back and forth with Jim and a few jet changes—then the carbs ran perfect! The sound of the unrestricted carbs was great when you got on it. The car was always a hit at car shows and cruises; back then, people always wanted to know if it was fuel injection. With a four-speed, 3.89 gears in a 9-inch, coupled with a soft launch due to the skinny tires, the car came on really strong at the top end turnings 13.9-14.0s at 100 mph in the quarter mile. A friend of mine now owns the car. He seldom drives it but says it still runs great.
I now have a pristine, low-mile ‘94 Mustang GT convertible and don’t understand why people even raise the hood on late-model cars when all you see are hoses, canisters, and things that you can’t even identify. Ugly!
– Lanny Liggett, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania
More Detroit Lore
I’m sure you don’t do follow-ups to follow-ups, but you might like to hear this regarding the Dave Wren ‘71 ‘Cuda featured in the September 2022 issue. I got an email from Larry Shepard, who was a race engineer at Chrysler and author of the original Direct Connection racing manuals. Larry has continued to write and publish since his retirement several years ago. It makes sense that he is also a reader of your fine magazine.
I didn’t know how the car got from Ken Brown Chrysler-Plymouth on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit to Dave Wren, so Larry filled in the blanks. Larry was asked by Dave Koffel (liaison for Chrysler’s sponsored drag racers and an accomplished racer himself) of the race group to pick Dave Wren up at Detroit Metro airport one afternoon in September of 1970.
Larry and Dave got to Ken Brown just as they were closing. Dave Wren put a set of plates on the convertible and headed straight through to Washington State. This was probably the longest trip the ‘Cuda made in its life. Dave prepped the car in his shop and soon was on his way to the World Finals in Dallas.
Thanks again for your great work!
– Tom Cunningham, via email
We’re always happy to get more of the backstory on any of the cars we feature, Tom, so please don’t hesitate to reach out with insights like the above. It’s kind of amazing to think of Dave Wren simply jumping in that ’Cuda and driving it all that way just before turning it into a successful racer. Thanks for sharing those details.
Beautiful Beasts
Enjoyed the article on “Engines as Art” in the September 2023 issue. But really, how many readers can afford these exotic engines? Here are a few photos of my two cars that I consider every day, regular-guy, engine art.
The first is my ‘57 Bel Air hardtop that has had a GM crate LS7 in it since I bought the engine new in 1983. I then added the cross ram with the two-fours and the Vertex magneto. The car is driven regularly and is enjoyed by many wherever it goes.
The second car is my ‘70 Maverick. It has a 347-cu.in. Ford small block with a “Twisted Torker” intake; it also has Vertex magneto. I have enjoyed your magazine since the very beginning, but it seems you’re getting away from things a regular guy can have and can afford.
– Anonymous, via email
We’re glad you enjoyed the piece on those engines, and while both seemed somewhat exotic, they were both the result of a lot of time and effort, rather than just dollars. As you’ve shown, great looking engines can still be assembled in home garages with the right elements and attention to detail.
Commercials Cooperation Advertisements:
(1) IT Teacher IT Freelance
立刻註冊及報名電腦補習課程吧!
电子计算机 -教育 -IT 電腦班” ( IT電腦補習 ) 提供一個方便的电子计算机 教育平台, 為大家配對信息技术, 電腦 老師, IT freelance 和 programming expert. 讓大家方便地就能找到合適的電腦補習, 電腦班, 家教, 私人老師.
We are a education and information platform which you can find a IT private tutorial teacher or freelance.
Also we provide different information about information technology, Computer, programming, mobile, Android, apple, game, movie, anime, animation…
(2) ITSec
www.ITSeceu.uk
Secure Your Computers from Cyber Threats and mitigate risks with professional services to defend Hackers.
ITSec provide IT Security and Compliance Services, including IT Compliance Services, Risk Assessment, IT Audit, Security Assessment and Audit, ISO 27001 Consulting and Certification, GDPR Compliance Services, Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), Penetration test, Ethical Hacking, Vulnerabilities scan, IT Consulting, Data Privacy Consulting, Data Protection Services, Information Security Consulting, Cyber Security Consulting, Network Security Audit, Security Awareness Training.
Contact us right away.
Email (Prefer using email to contact us):
SalesExecutive@ITSec.vip