Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside RESTO-GO!

[Grizz1963]

I am spoiling you all.

Way too many pictures for those who don’t read words and way too many words for those who take the time to read them.

Still, sitting at Sallys house after delivering the free BBQ I collected and cleaned yesterday and getting a load of her older plastic garden furniture collected after she was given a used hardwood set from her uncle who died…….

Using her fast broadband and uploading photos at a decent pace makes sense to catch up on the last weeks activity.


So on to the next update.

Had the car a week now and its been valeted once, washed once.

I always think that washing a car gives you a good feel for the damage and things that need attention.

I will be honest here, I did not read the advertisement properly. And I am not one to zoom into pictures like so many people do.

Quote from the ad:
“Big scratch along the near side where she didn’t quite squeeze through a gap with a skip lorry, inside door handles and dashboard are sticky, it’s a bit scruffy here and there. But well worth £700.00”

So when I collected, I realised just how big the scratches and dents were. “Buyer beware“ springs to mind. Seller was 100% upfront in everything they declared. But I didn’t zooooom in.

Despite the ugly scratches, yellow skip paint, grey primer and bare metal, the car was worth the money and effort I had put in.
In my world cosmetics are less important than mechanical issues. The seller had told me when I bought and paid for the car the day before, that if I was unhappy, he would refund me. I bought the car because I liked them and the car.

So on Friday after collecting it, and after washing it the first time I looked at all the damage closer.
Varying degrees of damage, from hedge or shrubbery “parking”damage and scuffs through to scrapes, gouging and dents on the passenger side doors, rear wheel arch and lower rear passenger door sill from the dumpster/skip.

So I fetched some G3 polishing compound and a coarse rag and set about to polish out as much of the scuffs, scraped etc.

Pictures don’t do it justice really.

But trust me, an improvement.

On the rear arch some surface rust was sanded back and i then used Vactan paintable rust converter on that exposed part. Followed by some paint from the almost colour matching paint.
All the gouges and scratches plus worse damage in places were painted over.

Drying time 20 minutes and hardened by 24 hours.
I will wait a week and then run water paper at about 2000 grit or whatever over the rough patches, followed by G3 compound and finally some of the same polish I used on the Astro and front half of the Scenic.

I am not going to repair any dents but if someone has a pair of complete colour matched doors to GIVE me, they can be fitted.

The one trim piece on the rear door is deeply gouged too, so needs replacing outright or maybe I will spend £22.00 on a small aerosol can of matched paint to try repair it.

Unfortunately some pics will seem out of sync. ​

But they are different as I progressed with the polishing.

Sorry.