True! Once we saw the potential of the car we knew we couldn’t walk away from the opportunity.
I bet it does. Old real steel and a real paint job, it's amazing how long that will last sitting in the shade.
Holy cow! I thought all of these finds were just stories from yesteryear.
As to the paint... @swampratt is probably right. I don't know when GM started using acrylic lacquer but I know for certain they were using it in the '60s. I had to strip my '66 Impala to put Imron on it. Imron doesn't play well with acrylic lacquer. This could be alkyd enamel but probably not or it wouldn't look as good as it still does. Definitely, ABSOLUTELY find out if the paint is original and of what type before throwing clear on it!
Huge high five on the find! It's amazing to find one as original as this one! Please keep us posted on your restoration!
As to the paint... @swampratt is probably right. I don't know when GM started using acrylic lacquer but I know for certain they were using it in the '60s. I had to strip my '66 Impala to put Imron on it. Imron doesn't play well with acrylic lacquer. This could be alkyd enamel but probably not or it wouldn't look as good as it still does. Definitely, ABSOLUTELY find out if the paint is original and of what type before throwing clear on it!
Huge high five on the find! It's amazing to find one as original as this one! Please keep us posted on your restoration!
Oh believe me, this kind of stuff rarely happens to me! Other than the deck lid/part of the rear quarter the paint is the original Cashmere Blue/Indian Ivory. At some point the car had a bit of body work on the passenger rear quarter and the deck lid is from a different car. We’ve cleaned it up a bit but have no intention of color matching it or anything like that. I’m a nostalgic guy and see this as just part of the story the car tells.
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Just from what I can tell from your pics, if there was ever a candidate for a frame off resto, this car would definitely be in the club. I'm thinking of the completeness of original parts, lack of cancer rust and general straightness of the metal here.
Hopefully the inner parts of all the panels still have paint coating to protect, but I'd want to get that "patina" slowed down. Your clear coat plan would go a long ways towards that if the inner surface isn't doing the same thing. But dust/dirt absorbs moisture and nature does what nature does, so I got my doubts. What does the underside and floor panels look like?
But it's still a heckuva find in that condition. It's even a 2 door!
I’m happy for you guys, what a great project.
The patina gene in me says boooooo!!!!!!Just from what I can tell from your pics, if there was ever a candidate for a frame off resto, this car would definitely be in the club. I'm thinking of the completeness of original parts, lack of cancer rust and general straightness of the metal here.
Hopefully the inner parts of all the panels still have paint coating to protect, but I'd want to get that "patina" slowed down. Your clear coat plan would go a long ways towards that if the inner surface isn't doing the same thing. But dust/dirt absorbs moisture and nature does what nature does, so I got my doubts. What does the underside and floor panels look like?
But it's still a heckuva find in that condition. It's even a 2 door!
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