Exterior: Body Work & Paint
So, when I bought the car it was already in a bad way. Too bad it ended up getting worse. Not only did I have a nasty dent to deal with, body cancer was setting in, in the usual spots. There were no signs of it on the outside when I bought it, but in two years the rockers had rusted through. It also needed new paint and the current color, pewter, was just plain ugly and didn't fit the car. So, in December of 2008 I dropped it off at the body shop. They had to pull the dent and straighten out the door. The rockers on both sides had to be cut out and new ones had to be formed by hand as well as a spot on the rear of the driver quarter panel. After the body work was done I had them paint the car Blue Blood Red SG105 from House of Kolor.
Exterior: Body & Paint Complete
After sitting at the body shop for nearly seven months I got the car back. I promptly started to find issue. The driver window wasn't aligned and leaked so I had to realign it, some things weren't fastened down correctly, some parts were even missing. Despite that the car looks great. I had them delete the antenna and the front license plate. I had them paint the mirrors and the cowl jet black. I also had to make some reproduction moldings for it and they had decals made up. After getting back the first thing I decided it need was some tint. I had it tinted 50% in the front and 20% in the rear and I think it really sets the outside off.
Exterior: Lighting
The first thing that had to go was the orange turn lenses. I traded them out with some clear lenses from a 1994 LeBaron. I then installed some amber bulbs to stay legal. I think that the old lenses really dated the outside of the car and this helped make it look a little more modern. The reverse lenses had become hazy and yellow so I bought a kit from 3M for polishing plastic and polished them up. Next I will be doing the same to the rear lights and I'll paint the black sections jet black. Lastly the headlights need to be addressed. HIDs are out of the question, I just don't see them being worth it in this car. So I'm going to stick with sealed beam and get some Silverstars for the high and low beams.
