1981 Monte Carlo

Well I finished my 94 Grand Am last summer so it is time for a real restoration project. Iv got a 81 Monte that I will be doing lots of work to and I will post pictures of every single step. I am not going to roll the Monte I will spray it just like I sprayed the last project. For the most part I prolly wont even use Rustoleum except for the engine bay. I am still not sure of the color mainly because that is so far off from were I am now. Just like the Grand Am I will constantly be posting pics of the progress, feel free to take a look.

The right quarter was hit at one point, that will be fun to repair:












First spot I figured id do is the pretty large dent in the drivers side fender. The dent traveled all the way down to the bottom of the fender:


Paint is stripped away from repair area:


Tape is used to get a perfectly straight body line, this technique works quite well:






First stage of blocking, roughing out the shape:


Little further into blocking:


Getting there:


Finally done and glazed. When I get around to it I need to buy some Evercoat metal glaze, I really don't like this spot putty:


I will get a pic of it in primer in a little while. If you have any questions or comments feel free to post a replay.

For the most part I prolly wont even use Rustoleum except for the engine bay.

Hey don't be going hi tech on us...lol. Looking forward to your progress..Any recent pics of the Grand Am all done?

Huh i dont think i have any really, ill take a pic of it for ya after i give it a wash.

A few days ago I took the whole front end apart to make it easier to paint the whole engine bay and get into those hard to get areas. Anyway today i started to work on one of the fenders. When im done i will prime the whole thing and paint the backside just so i can get that one fender off my list of things to do.

This is how that turned out. Everything is perfect I just have to block the primer and seal it:


Unfortunately I didn't get a pic of what I started with but this whole area was crunched up like aluminum foil:




Sandblasted the area, that wire brush just wouldn't get in the pits:


As usual I will have more pics to come.

Did you use POR15 or anything like that over the rust pits before you put filler on it? Looks like you did one hell of a job on that fender getting it to look that good . loving the pix.
Mike

Sweet car! Love these RWD little Montes. I'll be watching this with interest

retired plumber wrote:Did you use POR15 or anything like that over the rust pits before you put filler on it? Looks like you did one hell of a job on that fender getting it to look that good . loving the pix.
Mike

Yea I put little dabs of rustoleum in the pits just in case there was holes in there somewhere. Iv had good luck with that stuff preventing rust. It almost seems to be a good alternative for POR 15.

Well the other day i finished the front side of the drivers side fender. I still need to sand down and spray the inside. I started on the pass side fender which is really really bad. I think i was told the car was on a jack in a small garage and it fell off the jack and slammed into the wall, so you can just imagine how mashed up it was. So far i have the metal straight enough for filler.

First off here are pics of the dent that was on the lower half of the drivers side fender:








Had to sand all the old black primer off. Who ever painted it black you could tell there was no prep what so ever:




Finished for now but i still need to block it down and seal it:


Pass side fender, its pretty bad. Not sure if you can see in these pics:




After a while of straightening:




And here we are a few hours later, what a mess:


Ill have more pics soon it looks like i am going to have some good weather for a few days.

Oh yea i figured id post a pic of my freshly painted block:

wow looks really good. Doing body work along a body line is tough. I like the trick with the tape to keep the body line straight.
What kind of primer are you using?

63Falconconvert wrote:wow looks really good. Doing body work along a body line is tough. I like the trick with the tape to keep the body line straight.
What kind of primer are you using?

Yea body work on body line is one of the things i don't like to do, unfortunately most of the damage on this car is on a body line. Maybe ill get better at body line repairs who knows. Anyway im using the cheapest primer they sell at Advance Auto. Its the general purpose black primer. Really i wouldn't buy it the duplicolor primer surfacer works way better to fill in minor imperfections.

Ok did some more work a few days ago:

After straightening and heat shrinking:




Looks like a minefield:


Ok ready for filler... Lol just kidding:


Looking much better:


First application:


Blocked down slightly:


More to come soon, keep checking back.

looks awesome...keep the pics coming

The other day i painted the inner side of one of the fenders, all in all it looks way better then it did before. I used Rustoleum by the way.

Before:




After:

Well iv been working like crazy on the fender for the past few days, there has been some really good weather almost too good. Its like 85 on some days and believe me that is really hot when you are sanding like a mad man for 6 hours straight. Anyway i am about 80% done with this fender and then ill move to something else. Just wanted to get the front end done so i can drop in the motor and not have to worry about painting the inner fenders or firewall.

Here is a billion pics as usual:

After some sanding:




Started on bottom half:


Hours later:



Just wanted to show you guys how great the tape trick works to build up bodylines:

Tape on:


Tape off


Done with everything that has filler on it in this pic:


Started top section:


Done with the whole area, well almost still need to glaze it.


Really if you ever come across a fender this bad i don't recommend doing what i did, it would be much better just to get another fender from a junkyard or some place online. I just didn't feel like spending the extra cash.

Please guys post and tell me what you think so far, you can also ask questions if you have any. It seems like this forum has been dead lately. Ill be back with more progress pics so keep checking in.

Dropped,
Looks awesome. You have a real nack for body work. When I start on the Falcon I could use your expertise. What kind of filler are you using? I always used Duraglass over welds and then the 3M fearther light then then a Polyester putty to finish. We sell this filler here at work its called Lab-Metal. The stuff is awesome. No mixing, right out of the can. You can sand it, grind it, tap a threaded hole in it and it's water proof. I have been using it right over welds and filling pin holes in steel where I couldn't get the welder close enough to tack.
I would like to stop by one night next week and check out your progress. Let me know whats a good night.

Wow man you have some skills

Caramanos2000 wrote:Wow man you have some skills

Lol thanks man

63Falconconvert wrote:Dropped,
Looks awesome. You have a real nack for body work. When I start on the Falcon I could use your expertise. What kind of filler are you using? I always used Duraglass over welds and then the 3M fearther light then then a Polyester putty to finish. We sell this filler here at work its called Lab-Metal. The stuff is awesome. No mixing, right out of the can. You can sand it, grind it, tap a threaded hole in it and it's water proof. I have been using it right over welds and filling pin holes in steel where I couldn't get the welder close enough to tack.
I would like to stop by one night next week and check out your progress. Let me know whats a good night.

Yea duraglass works good over welds it will keep water from getting to your filler, but they also sell this other stuff called AllMetal that is the stuff i use over the rust jobs that i do. The stuff is great because like duraglass its waterproof. But the cool thing about the all metal is it is made with aluminum so you know it wont let water through.

I have heard great things about AllMetal. I will have to try it out. Are you outside today in this heat, man it's a cooker today.

63Falconconvert wrote:I have heard great things about AllMetal. I will have to try it out. Are you outside today in this heat, man it's a cooker today.

No im not out, seems like i would melt to death. When your in the direct sun it feels like 120. Maybe ill just clean up some of the parts for the motor to get them ready for paint.

Sorry for the lack of updates guys iv been pretty bust with building my motor and some work i was doing on a guys truck. Well today i finally got around to finishing the huge repaired area on the pass fender and i must say it came out pretty good. One thing is for sure it looks way better then it did before. As usual heres the pics:

Filled in sanding scratches:


Ready for primer:


Primer:


More Primer:


Please post what you guys think so far. Ill have more updates in about a week.

Oh by the way if you guys want to see pics of the motor build let me know.

oh yeah.. motors are why car guys exist!! These cheap paint jobs are just so the honda guys stop laughing at our primer!!!

Dropped,
Fender looks great, nice job as usual.
Post some engine pics when you get a chance

Sorry guys for the lack of updates in a while but i just havent been doing too much work on the body itself just on the motor on and off. As usual iv got some nice pics of where i am with the motor, hoping to drop it in within a week or two.

65 ft-lbs FTW


Torquen down the head bolts


Finished the head bolts


Pretty much done with everything in that pic, got the valve lash done pretty good


Windage pan


Lifter valley shot


Getting really close to completion, intake, carb and dizzy are just sitting there atm


Alright thats all iv got for the moment but i should have more in a while, keep checking back and comment