The Harrington

65beam

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harrington

it looks a whole bunch better than the last time I saw it. especially the sill area.
 

0neoffive

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Crumble Metal

it looks a whole bunch better than the last time I saw it. especially the sill area.

For some reason, the RH inner sill was quite crumbly and I could poke thru it with my fingers. The Guru replaced it all with fresh HD metal all the way up & down to solid stock. He will never be a people person, but that's not why he gets a paycheck . . . . .
 

65beam

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harrington

the condition of the lower body makes a person wonder if it set in very wet conditions for a time or was it just years of being driven in the salt ohio dumps on highways and never got washed much.
 

0neoffive

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More Rot Fixun's

Back on the SHL following along the Brit sequenced assembly of little "filch" panels. Probably another week of chasing rot around and then off to shaping & lead. Quite a few dents & older repairs to follow thru the history. The paint prep guys have been chiming in with " fix these things first" before we see it.
 

65beam

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harrington

the left side floor sure looks different than the last time I saw the car. your guys are good at what they do.
 

0neoffive

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Waiting in the Wings

randy,
we haven't seen any photos for awhile.
We put the new chin on it and chased some more hiding rot. Working the steel close to the fiberglass top joints proved cautious and had everyone nervous. Except for some details dealing with weld heat warping, it's near ready to transfer to Mr. Fussy at the body shop for final metal shaping and the long patience of prep work. It does not bend or wiggle in the breeze anymore.
Pre-scheduled toys are clogging the works at the moment, so the little critter is waiting in turn.
 

0neoffive

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Moving Down The Line

The little critter has been moved from weld-fab and is now in the hands of Mr Fussy who is gently massaging the welded steel into the correct shape pre-prep. Pulling, tugging & shrinking the curves is a fading art. We had a shop confab and decided that the original fiberglass roof finish was pretty sad. It's going to take a lot of feathered building and long-blocking to smooth out the waves.
 

michael-king

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Randy looks to be coming along nicely, will the seams for the valence be feathered out with lead? Will they be massaging the front to get a good fit for the headlight rims?
 

0neoffive

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Hot Lead

Randy looks to be coming along nicely, will the seams for the valence be feathered out with lead? Will they be massaging the front to get a good fit for the headlight rims?

The trusted lead man is due in this weekend and he will tin the cleaned metal for Mr Fussy to put a final shape to. My job will be holding the ice cubes where the heat nears the fiberglass. The shaping of the headlamp is on-going as the eyebrows are constantly checked for mating transition. This is where the lads show the merits of experience.
 

65beam

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harrington

randy,
the interesting part is yet to come when you start on the fiberglass section. it looks like the person that worked on my car when ian had it may have used 80 grit and removed most of the gel coat. then he tried to use filler to cover it. the shop works on glass almost every day and they're removing the plastic filler and it will get a new gel coat along with other repairs. any plans on the top?
 

0neoffive

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Gel Coatings

randy,
the interesting part is yet to come when you start on the fiberglass section. it looks like the person that worked on my car when ian had it may have used 80 grit and removed most of the gel coat. then he tried to use filler to cover it. the shop works on glass almost every day and they're removing the plastic filler and it will get a new gel coat along with other repairs. any plans on the top?

We've had several confabs about the top. It's not just the 50 years of repair/repaint history, but the fact that the thing was not that great a build in the first place. Very wavy and uneven glass work with lots of original fillers from day one. The good news being it's certainly stabile at this point. The Guru knows glass very well and will pick a product application as he sees fit. I'm fortunate to work with grey hairs who have judged their own successes and mistakes over time.
 

65beam

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harrington

I'm fortunate with the shop that is working on my Harrington. everything is stripped off of the roof and the gel coat really does not exist. they were amazed at how thin it is compared to early vettes and the way it's constructed. they build street rods using fiber glass body kits quite a bit so they're used to the problems. mike is thinking about reinforcing on the underneath side where it will be hid by the headliner. my big advantage is a rust free body.
 
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0neoffive

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Massaging the Tin

Impatience not an asset: This is where we slop it on and then long-block it all off. Pick & file or pull & shrink before we do it all over again. Eventually, the old Guru will rub his hands over it stem to stern and declare "paint day" . . . .Just keep sweeping the floor in the meantime. :mad:
 

65beam

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harrington

I must say that it looks different than it did when I saw it shortly after being blasted ! I was at his shop today and we discussed the great work you're doing. it just won't be ready for the united in Dayton.
 

0neoffive

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The Speed of Crawl

I must say that it looks different than it did when I saw it shortly after being blasted ! I was at his shop today and we discussed the great work you're doing. it just won't be ready for the united in Dayton.

We are somewhat hampered by space and a line up of projects. Plus, quality people who speak our gear-head dialect are getting in mighty short supply. Considering we had to hand knit this critter back from the grave, I think the boys are doing us proud in dragging a piece of history into this century. :)
 

65beam

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harrington

I appreciate guys like you and your people that have the guts to take on a project like this. considering the number built it's great to know that another will survive.
 

bernd_st

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Makes me remember that a similar project is waiting downstairs in my Garage. Time to continue...
 

michael-king

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Randy, it's great work you're doing.

There are some who would just rebody the car, switch vins and talk about what a great job they have done. Its impressive when you see skilled and dedicated people actually restore a car and bring it back... More credit to you :cool:
 

65beam

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harrington

Michael,
all I can say is that the owner can't believe the transformation of this car. he'll be one happy poppa when it's done.
 
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