caprice total redo

i did some paint work today. had to push my camaro out and clean the garage 1st. it took longer than i thought. primered the lower fender. the front bumper i was originally going to get a new chrome strip but then figured the rear roll pan does not have it and the sides of the wagon i removed it from and it made no sense to use it on the front. i ordered a new impala ss strip. today i primed it and test fitted it. the strip to me should be a little longer it barely  goes into the end of the bumper. if you push it all the way in it will be short on the other side. i scratched the primer on the end test fitting it. so i sprayed some primer on the ends then put the strip on the bumper and then noticed the 1 end the primer is bubbled up so i will have to resand it tomorrow before i paint it.dont know why it bubbled up. its a shame i wanted to paint it today my neighbors where out all day. the paint really stinks. so here are some pics.

2 steps forward & 1 back. Looks good though.

i got some work done today, went well. i have a harbor freight touch up gun and used it to paint my parts. painted the bumper strip and the bottom of the fender. i did not realize  that i do not have clear so just got the color down. i also painted part of my wagon model.

John, I just HAVE to mention this.... Make sure you get a mask when painting!!!! HF has them cheap. You need the P95 ones.

The clear hardener contains isocyanide and this stuff WILL mess you up (I have built up a sensitivity to it and can't even smell the stuff. sicker than a dog, 104 fever, dizziness, lungs don't process oxygen....)

thanks robert. i do have one although i did not use it today. i will make sure to dig it out for the clear. i am always in a hurry and forget stuff like that when i am doing work that i have never done before. i will talk to jerrod to see what clear he used when he did the other parts of the bumper

Looks good John Very good.

Very nice!!

i have not had any time to work on the wagon. i have been working alot, worked today (sat}. i have done some work on the little wagon.






still needs to be clear coated

worked on the wagon and the model. sat i shot some clear on the fender and the bumper cover and the model. took the parts up to my dads today. hope to get them on next weekend. it cost me some money trying to get this done. i rented a heater at home depot to heat my friends shop so i could paint. i filled it with 5 gallons then took it to his shop turned it on then drained the oil and engine oil and rear diff in my van figured it could drain as i painted. i then masked the parts up and the heater ran out of fuel. so i had to work on the van so i could go get more fuel. then i went to where i got the kero and they where out then went somewhere else and got some. the weird thing is the second batch of kero lasted alot longer still had alot when i took it back. i was wondering if the 1st place i got it from short changed me since i went back and they where out. anyway painted the parts but the one paint gun i had was clogged. it would spray paint then it would only be putting air out. i had a backup harbor frieght gun with me and finished with that. i am happy with the out come, could have been better but i sometimes get to pickey. i will put some pics to follow.

pics of model on the lift kids thought that was funny






fender


bumper strip

Looks slick! You do great paintwork! Lol on the "lift" pic!

Looks good John.

I love what you are doing to your car! Thanks for the inspiration... I really like to see a thread like this, you seems to be a multi-skilled man, and i love the finish you get on all the things you do !

thanks everyone. i did mess up alittle on the fender but i think i can fix it

i finally got some stuff done on wagon. the weather was nice this week end so i could get the wagon outside so i could put the fenders on it. here are some pics

i also have been working on the model wagon it is almost done, i did not tint the windows so you can see the inter. i cant find 1 of the wheels hopefully i can get one.

Lookin' good John. WagonFest NY?

Looks like a sedan exhaust on the wagon model? Needs to be fixed...

mike i plan on making wf ny. already booked it. the exhaust hangs low i am going to tuck it up a little. i used a imp ss kit to build it and some of a caprice taxi kit

Looks great, so glad we painted the whole side that day. John

well i have been doing some work again on the wagon cleaned up the front bumper shocks and painted them with por 15. also i had some parts powder coated. i did not have time to powder coat them myself

Looking factory fresh...

i have decided to stop modifing everything. i have alot of things i wanted to do but now i am just putting it back together to get it up and running. i figure next winter i can do some more getting it up and running is more important. i worked on it sat. and sun, on it here are some pics.

rad is in all hoses are hooked up








a/c hoses are hooked up and got the fuel fill up tube hooked up still need to work on wires around the rad and where they come out from the fire wall but getting there.

It will be going to WF, correct John?

Tom

thats the plan. how you doin tom

I'm hoping to help him out on any things needed to finish it up when I visit him. Looks dam good

mtrhead79 wrote:

thats the plan. how you doin tom

I'm doing well! Looking forward to seeing your wagon this year.

Tom

I've always felt that everything you've done to your wagon was modifying it to make it more special/unique!You have essentially rebuilt your wagon to your own specifications and I truly hate you for that!  Hope to someday see it and the other wagons at wagonfest when the situation permits.

thanks jim. i also wanted to say the power steering hose to the reservoir was replaced. i was using a heater hose for 2 yrs and it turned to mush. i got one from gates that the guys at the impala ss forum got them to make it fits nice and rockauto carries it for less than $10.00

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=4373922&cc=1037461

i got alot done today. i did not go in work for over time. i got the trans cooler in. i had put a rad support from a tbi car and the rad support did not have 1 hole for the cooler so i had to drill it. also put the steel front bumper on and test fit the bumper cover but took it back off untill i replace the hoses to the charcoal canister they where in real bad shape. also put the drive shaft and the i guess you can call it a drive shaft safety loop in. i had to free up some fuel line it was about 1'' short but i reran the line a little different to free up some more line it worked out. hooked up the battery for the 1st time since i started the rebuild went ok .did a bunch of little things also. here are some pics.

looks dam good.

thanks jarrod. i am going to try and post a pic tomorrow aimed at you. you will like it

Very clean under there,be afraid to take it out of the garage and get it dirty!Looks better than new!

was working on it all day today. i got it to run. the optima battery is dead had it on charge last week it will not turn it over. if i put the charger on start it will start. so looks like i will need a battery. put a new shifter cable in. i kinda remember it getting hung up when i lifted the body up off the frame. did some wireing and put the front corner lights in with new bulbs and i added the corner lights that come on when the turn signals are on. the one new bulb lasted a whole day. at end of the day i was rechecking everything and one of the bulbs was out already. i hope to go work on it tomorrow but will have to see if wife has plans for me. i will post some pics tomorrow but they are no biggie just of front end and the kids helping

john hook a regular lead acid battery in parallel with the optima, then charge both,.

i read that somewhere i will give it a try. my charger gauge said it was low then it will charge it and it still will not work. even with the car running it does not seem to hold the charge. i will try to charge it hooked up with the vans battery worth a try. i think the battery is about 5 yrs old. how long do the optima batteries usually last?

Optimas do not like to be discharged. You can bring them back like Nick said, but I would also suggest picking up a CTEK charger.

mtrhead79 wrote:

i read that somewhere i will give it a try. my charger gauge said it was low then it will charge it and it still will not work. even with the car running it does not seem to hold the charge. i will try to charge it hooked up with the vans battery worth a try. i think the battery is about 5 yrs old.  how long do the optima batteries usually last?

After 5 years of infrequent use,sitting in a discharged state just buy a new red top optima and use it daily to get the most time out of it!

The Optima will be fine. As Nick says hook up a fully charged battery from the van and then the Optima and the charger will charge it. I have had to do this several times. Kind of a pain in the butt.

jim i would never use it dailly i am in construction and it would be a mess with mud and dirt not to mention working down town

Hope that the series charging does the trick then.Looking forward to seeing the rear end project completed!

me to

Are we there yet?????

Seriously , great job

Do you need any help John? Might be able to squeak out a day between now and WF.

thanks tim. here is little update i got the wagon home, but by tow truck not driving. i had it running a couple times and had no leaks but today the trans started leaking out at the cooling lines where they bolt up to trans. also put some brake fluid in and it looks like the only leak is at the linelocks. the linelocks are summit brand and when i 1st put them in a couple yrs ago they kept leaking where the adapter screws in to them. not where the line bolts to the adapter. since then i have read alot of bad stuff about the summit brand, they look alot like the hurst set up i have on my camaro but they have never gave me a problem. but the good news is it is home so now i can work on it during the week after work. oh the inter. is all in but 1 arm rest

Getting close! Those trans lines leaked on me too when I replaced them...was a pain to tighten, but a crows foot fitting got it. Can't wait to see the finished pics!

Chris

Well after looking at this baby over the weekend, I have to say I'm very impressed with the wagon. John should be proud of all his efforts because his car looks really good.

It looks amazing!

thanks fellows. chris i did have to use a crows foot and it worked it is tight up there

got a little fired up today drove the wagon around the block a couple times today. 1st time in about a yr1/2. will try to get a alignment monday. still have alot to do this weekend but my kids will be gone all weekend so hopefully all will go wright

was working on wagon all weekend. its hard finding some parts. i had energy suspension sway bar end links could not find them so had to get auto zone ones to hold me over and then i drop wagon off tonight at friends shop to have a/c charged. in my pile of stuff at his shop are the ones i could not find. drove around 20 miles on it today no problems so far. some things might not get done but as long as i make wf i will be happy. getting alignment tues.