69 Z/28 Day II Project (Air Force Brat)

[NorCam]

OK, now that the car is back home where it belongs, here's a bit of an update that explains the hiatus as of late. With the front end taken apart, I was talking to my painter about the fitment of the driver's door and fender which I really wanted to dial in better. He said to bring it out to him and he would take care of anything it needed to ensure I was 100% happy with the fit. Upon seeing what the driver's side needed to bring it up another level, he then asked me to bring the front end parts out so he could install the clip, align the door and fender gaps, and get it all dialed into where I wanted it.

To first ensure everything was spot on, he set up his frame gauges and began to measure out the car, the suspension, and the entire chassis from front to back to make sure it was all square. With everything spot-on from front to back, he then installed the front end sheet metal and got the driver's door dialed in nicely. There were also a couple of small spots that needed some more work on the car and he corrected those concerns before starting onto the fiberglass hood. The timing of the hood was perfect as he already had the car in his shop so test fitting the hood was easy.

With all of the fiberglass repairs taken care of on the hood, he then sprayed the hood, striped it to match the car, and mounted it all up when it was done. Needless to say, Ron took care of my wish list, got everything dialed in nicely, and did another round of cut and polish to have the car ready for the final push.


Rear suspension being checked for alignment using old school frame gauges


We set up 5 gauges to measure the car front to back and everything was dead-on straight and aligned perfectly.


The car back on the ground and ready for the front clip to be assembled at the end of March.


The front end back together and the car being used to test fit the fiberglass hood as it was repaired in mid April.


After Ron reworked the doors and fenders to get the right fit, the entire front end was sanded and re-cleared at the same time as the hood.


Stinger Hood is looking great with the black stripes and fresh paint. Re-clearing the front clip also allowed us to address some minor concerns with the header panel fitment.


Here's the first look at it coming out of the booth earlier today. It really popped when the sunlight hit it.


Here's the final fit on the right-side door to the rear quarter. The other side is identical to this.


And here's a look at the left side after getting it home and back onto my lift earlier today. I'm very happy with the fit and finish now.


And a rear end shot with the door open with the sunlight shining in. It really plays with the colors when the light hits it like this.

And with all that being said, you now know why there was such a hush over the past several weeks. The car went back to Ron at the end of March and didn't come home until it was finished earlier today. That kind of took away a lot of momentum, but it won't take me long to get this back on track now. Stay tuned....