Roadster pickup build, take two.

[Dr Crankenstein]

Not ideal, but if you pick the day/night, and it is dry and a slight breeze, it works out ok. Catalyzed paint seems to dry so quickly too, so that helps no dirt or bugs sticking to it.

Understood. I've painted cars where nobody in their right mind would... on a dirt floor, in a dirty single wide garage with the doors wide open, in the middle of our (former) RV shop, etc... some of those jobs turned out better than some I sprayed in a state-of-the-art booth... some didn't, of course! I once had a moth commit suicide in a wet load of acrylic enamel... had to wipe that panel clean and do it over again.

Anyhow, conditions, as you've described, are half the battle. I'll look forward to your finished RPU no matter where or how it's painted.

.

 

[donsrods]

Understood. I've painted cars where nobody in their right mind would... on a dirt floor, in a dirty single wide garage with the doors wide open, in the middle of our (former) RV shop, etc... some of those jobs turned out better than some I sprayed in a state-of-the-art booth... some didn't, of course! I once had a moth commit suicide in a wet load of acrylic enamel... had to wipe that panel clean and do it over again.

Anyhow, conditions, as you've described, are half the battle. I'll look forward to your finished RPU no matter where or how it's painted.

.

Thanks, Dr C. We've all had that Kamikaze bug who flew into something that would have otherwise be pristine. Part of spraying outside, I guess.

I couldn't wait any longer to start installing the gauges in the dash and the switches in the underdash panel, so, after dinner tonight, I went to the shop and got those all installed. I have to admit, not bad at all for an outside paint job by a non professional painter.

I bolted the dash and panel into place to see how they look, and installed the dash rail to get the full effect. That rail still needs a lot of work before it will be ready for paint, but it is so small it shouldn't take long to pound out a few dents and fill in some bad spots before I primer and paint it.

Here are some pictures from tonight. I also installed the all important flying eyeball ! Looks pretty good on a painted background, I think !

 

[05snopro440]

I feel like smoking the dash would have also distracted from cool details like that eyeball. It looks great!

 

[donsrods]

Thank you. I agree, the smoke would have made it too "busy". I think the white only looks a lot cleaner.

Today is my last day off for 5 days, so I am going to try to get the gauges wired back up for the last time. Then I can bag the whole dash until this the car is painted and then reinstall it for (hopefully) the last time.

My parts shelf is getting a little emptier, so that must be a good sign.

 

[Tripper]

My parts shelf is getting a little emptier, so that must be a good sign.

Same here... always a good sign! [ddd

BoB

 

[donsrods]

Same here... always a good sign! [ddd

BoB

Yep, it is like when you start making those $20 purchases instead of the $500 purchases, you know you are getting close to the end.

 

[Skip]

The gauge panel looks great! [cl[cl The dash panel already looks "smoked". Clear coat? I like the contrast between the two.

 

[donsrods]

The gauge panel looks great! [cl[cl The dash panel already looks "smoked". Clear coat? I like the contrast between the two.

Thanks, Skip. No, I think it is just the way it photographs. Same single component paint, painted at same time, no clear.

I am thinking about building my door and side panels out of aluminum, rolling some beads into them, and then painting them with the same white, maybe with a little flattener in it, just a tad. Then the only upholstery would be the seat back and two bottom seats on either side of the tunnel. Maybe with a bunch of chrome button heads holding the door panels in place.

Not sure if that will be what I end up with, just something I am considering.

 

[bob w]

The dash panel and gauges and the switch panel look great! What color will the dash rail be?

 

[donsrods]

The dash panel and gauges and the switch panel look great! What color will the dash rail be?

Thanks, Bob. It will be the same satin black as the rest of the body. Right now, the game plan is to shoot primer, then the flat red paint I bought, then satin black on top of that. Then I can scuff through some small areas to make the car look aged somewhat,(exposing some red) then shoot some satin clear over all of that.

At least that is the current plan, but I may look at it after the satin black is shot and think it looks too good that way to mess up with scuffing, and I might stop there.

I have a bad history of changing my mind quite a bit on these things !


This truck in the picture is sort of the look I am thinking of doing,

 

[joedoh]

love the wimbeldon white, such a classy color.

 

[donsrods]

love the wimbeldon white, such a classy color.

Thank you, I really like it too. My son has the firewall on his rpu painted this color and it looks great on his car, so I decided to steal his idea.

Today was wiring day and I got a ton done. The dash is 100% finished and I hooked up a battery and tested the dash light circuit and also the power to the gauges. Everything works.

I could only do part of the underdash switch panel because the rest will have to be done once the car body is back on the frame and I can feed all the wires from the chassis into the body and get those wires hooked up.

I also started on the fuse box panel, got as much done as I can do without the body being installed and all the wires run. Two of the relays are hot all the time (high and low beam) and the other two are keyed hot (Fan and fuel pump) But this is a major step in getting the car done. Now we just have to concentrate on the bodywork.

 

[soltz]

Very neat!

Even if no one will ever see it but you[cl
There loss

 

[donsrods]

Thank you. One thing it does is it makes troubleshooting an electrical problem a lot easier down the road. This one will be so much better than my 27 because I will be able to unscrew and unplug the dash in about a couple of minutes. I have to lay upside down under the dash on the 27 with a flashlight on my head to see anything up under there...…..not fun.

Dan has a Deutsche connector kit and he is going to show me how to put those on this week. I already have the one plug installed, but need to add a two wire and a four wire connector so I can unplug those to pull the dash off completely.

 

[05snopro440]

Thank you. One thing it does is it makes troubleshooting an electrical problem a lot easier down the road. This one will be so much better than my 27 because I will be able to unscrew and unplug the dash in about a couple of minutes. I have to lay upside down under the dash on the 27 with a flashlight on my head to see anything up under there...…..not fun.

Dan has a Deutsche connector kit and he is going to show me how to put those on this week. I already have the one plug installed, but need to add a two wire and a four wire connector so I can unplug those to pull the dash off completely.

That fuse panel looks great so far. Can I ask where a guy finds a fuse panel/junction box like that? I believe you said you use marine stuff? Does it have a brand name?

 

[dutch]

when you work like that, there wont be any electrical problems to troubleshoot.

 

[donsrods]

That fuse panel looks great so far. Can I ask where a guy finds a fuse panel/junction box like that? I believe you said you use marine stuff? Does it have a brand name?

Thanks. This particular panel is made by Blue Sea Systems, and you get them at marine stores. They make other versions too, and Blue Sea is really great quality, and made for the wet marine environment, so it holds up well. Here is the one I bought:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/blue...negative-bus-and-cover--16016214?recordNum=12

Not cheap, but easy to wire up, and you do not have to use the boat type labels they give you with the block. It was perfect for my car, but one with more accessories, like AC, heater, etc might need more fuses.

when you work like that, there wont be any electrical problems to troubleshoot.

Thanks. This is my favorite part of the build, wiring. No burning, cutting, or hurting yourself, like all the other stuff we do on these darned cars.

 

[Tripper]

Yep, it is like when you start making those $20 purchases instead of the $500 purchases, you know you are getting close to the end.

That's a fact... just had to buy $5 of fasteners... felt good & my wallet appreciated it! [ddd

BoB

 

[donsrods]

That's a fact... just had to buy $5 of fasteners... felt good & my wallet appreciated it! [ddd

BoB

Yep, I notice I have money left so I can actually eat food these days !

I had to work Friday and Saturday this week, so I couldn't get to the shop, but Dan did go and he got a lot done on the body. There were a lot of spots left to finish welding up, and he put a bright light underneath the body and the light shined through some little pin holes and bigger holes that were never completely sealed up. So, he got all of those welded and finished.

I think I am to the point where I can clean the bare metal again and then prep it for the first coats of primer. Dan thinks there is still more to do, but he always does, and I want to get this thing done before I am too old to drive !

 

[soltz]

I'm with you!

Yep, I notice I have money left so I can actually eat food these days !

I want to get this thing done before I am too old to drive !

!!!!