Re: 1977 Chevelle Malibu Classic Progress Photo's aka Mali

by 77mali Tue Apr 24, 2012 4:05 am

pila wrote:Looks like it's going to look great with the singles up front. I wanted to put singles in my project too, but only have one side. Maybe I'll collect parts & switch them later. The quads are OK, but with singles it would match the front of my Malibu
Did you use stripper to get the old paint off ? Or did you sand it off ?

Bill

Hand sanded my friend. Luckily pot metal is pretty easy to work with. Mcarlo77 can get you the one you're missing probably- he has a couple good yards near him.

by pila Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:46 pm

I used stripper on the quad assemblies, then I blasted them with glass beads in my blasting cabinet. Stripper works good when you are set up for it, but it's messy for sure. Glass bead blast is what I use on aluminum aircraft parts, since sand is too aggressive etc.
Thanks for mentioning Mcarlo77. I forgot that he has some interesting yards near him.

BILL

by 77mali Wed Apr 25, 2012 5:01 pm

pila wrote:I used stripper on the quad assemblies, then I blasted them with glass beads in my blasting cabinet. Stripper works good when you are set up for it, but it's messy for sure. Glass bead blast is what I use on aluminum aircraft parts, since sand is too aggressive etc.
Thanks for mentioning Mcarlo77. I forgot that he has some interesting yards near him.

BILL

How's the glass to work with? What grade/grit did you use? I have a portable sand blast unit & I used fine (20/40) & extra fine (30/60) "coal slag" blast sand for my rusty rear bumper & support. I was pleased w/ the results but am wondering, for paint removal on the body panels, if glass beads will work as good & be easier on the sheet metal? I've heard good things about walnut shell too but it seems very expensive compared to glass. Soda blasting requires very specialized equipment & is expensive to sub-out, so that's a no go here.

by pila Thu Apr 26, 2012 2:42 am

In my opinion, blasting body panels can cause some warping of the panels. The media expands the metal somewhat, causing warped/deformed panels. The soda blast works very good for removing paint though. A friend bought a soda blast rig to remove the paint on a WW2 airplane, and the aluminum looked new when the paint came off, and no evidence of the blasting on the surface.
I haven't used soda blast myself. A good blast rig may be expensive too, don't know about any prices.
I saw on another forum that Harbor Freight has a soda blast kit of some sort, but I haven't looked into it.
Sand blasting does work good for areas in the engine compartment, when getting it clean for repainting. I did that on my Malibu. It takes some time to clean all the sand out of the crevices etc before putting the paint on though.
The glass bead media works good on aluminum, but even then, it can warp the thin stuff.
For general blasting in a cabinet, I use some sand that is black, from a local place called Tractor Supply. The black stuff seems to have only 20% of the dust that silica sand does, which makes for better visibility in the cabinet.

by 77mali Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:51 am

Sanding discs & air tools it is then...don't want to risk warping anything. I have a decent commercial grade paint stripper, maybe I'll try that out to at least get down to the primer. Thanks Bill.

by 77mali Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:04 pm

Looks like a clowns car.... clown

Gawd I hate yellow!!!!!!

I've had it w/ body work Head Bang

All of it lined up ok considering the radiator core support is in there half-a$$ed w/ no bushings.

Decided to take a bigger break from the dash, plus have to organize the shop so I can get some engine stuff in there & be able to work on that & the stupid engine bay....more body work...yeah Blow Up

1977 Chevelle Malibu Classic Progress Photo's aka Mali - Page 5 Dsc01212

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This is my car right now...LMAO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMauGc2oy7w

by 74MonteCarlo Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:06 am

OMG @ the video.

LMAO.

by 77mali Fri Apr 27, 2012 10:15 am

by pila Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:28 pm

Did I ever mention that I HATE body work ?? Very Happy

by jrb75 Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:33 pm

DUDE...your Malibu sings and dances?....This is BS, mine only leaks and smokes. NOT fair!!!

by 77mali Sun Apr 29, 2012 6:03 pm

Busy day today...Roof rails & trim trial fit + getting the engine bay ready. Pulled out all the harnesses, including the dash harness. All that's left in there are the intermediate from the trunk, the dome lamp stuff & the vacuum lines. Pulled off some more stuff that needs painting including the steering column (again).

1977 Chevelle Malibu Classic Progress Photo's aka Mali - Page 5 P1020921

1977 Chevelle Malibu Classic Progress Photo's aka Mali - Page 5 P1020921

Tossed the bench back in too to make room in my small shop Very Happy

1977 Chevelle Malibu Classic Progress Photo's aka Mali - Page 5 P1020922

If this damn car is not on the road by the end of this summer...I'm going to go APE Turd

by 77mali Sat May 12, 2012 11:09 am

Now the "Fun" begins. (Not this weekend of course...gotta take car of queen

)

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by pila Sat May 12, 2012 6:29 pm

Looks like you are making good progress, and I'm well aware of the time it eats up Very Happy

It will be well worth the effort when it's finished.

by 77mali Sat May 12, 2012 6:49 pm

pila wrote:Looks like you are making good progress, and I'm well aware of the time it eats up It will be well worth the effort when it's finished.

It's going to be done right or not at all, like your El-Camino is, LOL. Time is a luxury I wish I had more of but hey summer is coming & I can put the kids to bed and work on the powertrain 'til 3 am on Friday & Sat nights. Sleep is over-rated anyway. Sleep

by pila Sun May 13, 2012 1:02 am

by BicknellWelding Mon May 14, 2012 10:00 pm

77mali wrote:Now the "Fun" begins. (Not this weekend of course...gotta take car of )

I love new toys. so whats the underhood plan?

by 77mali Tue May 15, 2012 5:52 am

Nothing special, just a refresh & paint. New oil pan gasket & going to remove the cheap felt head gaskets I put in with some stainless steel ones. Engine bay is going to get restored & painted also. Might need to replace the flywheel, trans will be removed, cleaned up & painted too as will the intake manifold and core support.

by jerry46765 Tue May 15, 2012 12:03 pm

Why did you go to single headlights?

by 77mali Tue May 15, 2012 2:26 pm

I Like the look better than the quads.

by pila Tue May 15, 2012 6:05 pm

Me too, but I didn't want to hold up the job for finding a pair of singles.

by jerry46765 Tue May 15, 2012 6:11 pm

Is the single headlight interchangable from '73 to '77?
Did you have to change the whole header?
It does look better.
Looks like you went from a '77 to a '76 grill.

Are you gonna run the hood ornament?
In my younger days, I would have pulled that off in a heartbeat.
But now, maybe not...

by 77mali Tue May 15, 2012 6:25 pm

Yes with, I think, the exception of 73 switched to the other years because of differences in the grilles & fillers & bumper. (It can prob be done but would be some work to do & you need all the pieces). The lights I got were from a 76 there is a difference in how they look compared to earlier years where there was no "crown" on the top of the light housing, whereas the 74-75 cars are less formal looking (but I like those too). There may be some minor differences in bumper fillers as well as how they attach to the fenders, in terms of fastening the housings but I did not have a problem w/ the 76 to 77 swap (not yet anyway). The grill is a 76, got It 'cause I like the design & mine was broken when I got the car. I'm not sure about the ornament, it's pretty faded but I might try & do something with it. I'm hoping to grab a pot metal grill soon too & switch them with my mood..LOL.

by BicknellWelding Tue May 15, 2012 6:35 pm

I have a round headlight set up forsale, minus grill. Check out the first pics of Ethel.

by 77mali Tue May 15, 2012 6:42 pm

Have to get that from you...this weekend maybe?

by BicknellWelding Tue May 15, 2012 9:31 pm

77mali wrote:Have to get that from you...this weekend maybe?

Sure, let me know. Thats why I said "minus"

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