Two questions

Peter Coomaraswamy

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I finally have an appointment for Monday to bring in my car for paint and since I'm pretty close to the paint shop I will post some "in progress pictures". In the meanwhile I'll be rebuilding all the little parts that will eventually go back on the car so..

I rebuilt the headlamp holders and am wondering what is the very best-performance wise- type of headlamps to use that will fit with no modifications?

Next, my fuel filler neck rubber (the piece that goes around the neck and fits to the body of the car) has a substantial tear. Is there a particular glue that would work on this or can a new one be sourced easily.

Thanks, and I can't wait to post some "paint" pictures. The ones you guys put up here are really beautiful!
 

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Thanks Steve

I will be using that site for lighting information, sounds like a knowledgeable chap. On another note, looking through some of the recent threads it's amazing how many times some of these cars have been "rebuilt" all with varying degrees of care and attention. It looks like the people who own them now realize there is only one way to do the job! I'm working on the tail lights now and she's going in for paint today so I'm finally seeing some light in the tunnel.
 
sad state

The shop that was going to do the work called and said "we don't have time". That's after I dropped it off and they had two days to look at it. Although disappointed, I liked these people, they had experience with these cars and have a very solid reputation. I can find my way around mechanicals and electricals but body and paint are WAY out of my league, I asked for other recommendations and some people told me that it would be very hard to find a shop willing to do the work because insurance work is much more profitable. I finally came upon a shop that specializes in "classic restorations" they had some pretty high-end Mach 1's and a Boss 302 they were just finishing. I know these are very different car types, but the owner assured me that the work would be done properly, though not quickly. He told me to expect it to be finished in 4 months and that I could come up and visit her any time so I dropped her off on Friday and will be posting pics as work gets done, the shop is about 25 miles from my home, but only 10 from work so I know where I'll be spending lots of lunch hours. Also all the interior pieces are being re-done so I'll post some pics of that stuff while in process. Thanks for asking!
 
Frustrating but maybe actually better off done slowly instead of cranked out between 2 insurance jobs.

The shop that was going to do the work called and said "we don't have time". That's after I dropped it off and they had two days to look at it. Although disappointed, I liked these people, they had experience with these cars and have a very solid reputation. I can find my way around mechanicals and electricals but body and paint are WAY out of my league, I asked for other recommendations and some people told me that it would be very hard to find a shop willing to do the work because insurance work is much more profitable. I finally came upon a shop that specializes in "classic restorations" they had some pretty high-end Mach 1's and a Boss 302 they were just finishing. I know these are very different car types, but the owner assured me that the work would be done properly, though not quickly. He told me to expect it to be finished in 4 months and that I could come up and visit her any time so I dropped her off on Friday and will be posting pics as work gets done, the shop is about 25 miles from my home, but only 10 from work so I know where I'll be spending lots of lunch hours. Also all the interior pieces are being re-done so I'll post some pics of that stuff while in process. Thanks for asking!
 
That has always been the problem with restoration work and quality paint jobs, the profits just aren’t there compared to collision work :-( and the problem has become much worse since paint & body shop material costs have sky-rocketed :-(:-(. Complete paint jobs just eat up materials compared to a collision job where you might only be working on 1 or 2 panels. Another problem is employee dissatisfaction. If you want to get rid of an employee put him on blocking out a car for 2 or 3 weeks, it’s just dusty, boring & slow work that will wear down the patience of most people because you feel like you’re never going to get done. From what I’ve seen probably less than 50% of the guys in the business have much of a chance getting the faint mid-body horizontal peak lines right, they either just can’t do it or they will not spend the time. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is. ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
nervous

These are the things going through my little mind! I think I did things in proper order- if there is such a thing- The underside is correct and very solid. All rust irradiated, every bushing new, all new suspension, engine gone through sealed, carbs rebuilt, etc, etc, Now just time to paint it. John, the "second belt line" as I have been calling it is a concern, I have easy access to the car so I'll be visiting it on lunch hour almost daily and plan on bringing pictures for the guys at the shop. These folks do about 50/50 insurance and restorations and I think they are very knowledgeable with the processes of restorations but are not familiar with the E9. The owner and the employees seem to be very interested in the car and before I even got a chance to drop off the first check they started working on it. I thought it might be fun to post some pics as I visit- they won't be dramatic, but might be fun to follow the tedious process to completion.
 

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