Mark's Monster Garage....3800 sq ft

[fxr rider]

stop teasing lol
I am on my way (If Only)
that was always a dream of mine when I was in the trade I loved doing repairs and modifications to stuff.I have done a few things for some local car buffs.I enjoyed tinkering and taking my time making sure things looked right.I had a 72 GMC it was no where near as cool as either your burban or the c-10.It was stock looking from outside I had built it with a 350 hp small block used to love taking guys for a ride in it an surprising them with it when it would break the rear tires loose in 2nd gear.I broke a few centre bearings on the drive shaft

 

[Buzz Lightyear]

WANTED.......are you or do you know of a master body man

Nope

fabricator

Nope

hot rod muscle car specialist

Nope

good pay, great work environment. PM me............looking for a special person

I'm often told that I'm "special".

Yep that swings it. I'll be completely useless but I'm applying anyway!!


This will be an amazing job for one lucky person. Good luck with you search.

 

[mudnutt]

My brother lives just around the block from you. Im sure he would love to swing by.

 

[IGO2XS]

Nope


I'm often told that I'm "special".

Yep that swings it. I'll be completely useless but I'm applying anyway!!

Well, how do you look in a bikini? This would be the only other qualification I would consider if you couldnt do bodywork.

My brother lives just around the block from you. Im sure he would love to swing by.

cool thanks


Today we decided to go ahead restore the frame as much as possible with the body on. We used plenty of roll loc discs to clean it down to the metal and spent most all of the day on it. Cleaned up the axles and plan on installing new u-joints. Rear end came out today for sandblasting and a good clean. Not sure other than changing the gear oil if there is anything else we should do to it.

We are so close to a frame off but just not going to go there.

 

[Buzz Lightyear]

Well, how do you look in a bikini? This would be the only other qualification I would consider if you couldnt do bodywork.

The sight of me in a bikini would make me sick let alone anyone else!

 

[JCQuick]

WANTED.......are you or do you know of a master body man, fabricator, hot rod muscle car specialist, good pay, great work environment. PM me............looking for a special person

if only we were closer my #2 son would be all over this and you would be very please with his work

 

[IGO2XS]

if only we were closer my #2 son would be all over this and you would be very please with his work

Maybe someday

 

[IGO2XS]

Hey guys, I want to give a big shout out to our very own vr4joe for some high quality custom posters he did for me. Joe sells his custom prints on ebay and is a member of GJ. I put the word out on my forum asking if anyone knew of anyone who made custom posters. Joe contacted me and I was able to send him some digital photos that he turned into posts. the smaller ones are 24 x 36 and I think the big one is around 24 x 42. These are very high quality posters and I highly recommend him. The pricing was very fair and I had the posters literally in days. I believe in supporting our members so if you need any custom posters give Joe a shout. Below is a link to his ebay store.


http://stores.ebay.com/Monster-Prints

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

vr4joe, nice work! So when can we mere mortals purchase a copy of the Willys head-on shot? That is one mean looking beast; inspires one to wax poetic - know what I mean?! lol

 

[vr4joe]

Thank you Omphaloskeptic. Mark, thank you for letting me work with you on your custom posters, it was a pleasure.

Anyone that would like additional information on the Willy's posters or your own custom poster of your cars, Email me at [email protected]



Mark, in for more shots of the vette restoration project. The C2's, IMO, are the best looking vettes.

 

[IGO2XS]

Well guys, you know how things go on projects and especially at the Monster Garage where one thing leads to another. I swore this would not be a frame off restoration but now it is. After removing the rear differential and transmission for painting there was not much left. I called the owner of the car and said look, if it where my car I would go all of the way and he agreed.

To us the tricky part was getting the body off without damage. We were concerned because this is a convertible so today we fabricated some supports. We removed the doors and bolted a plate to the 4 threaded holes on the hinge side of door opening and then bolted it to the door latch attachment threaded holes. In the front we went from the rear hood latch locations to the radiator frame. Should we have done this? I didnt do to much research so we thought this would make the car more rigid.










We got the frame out today. We ended up putting jacks under the car and then dropping the frame out from under. I wish I had some of those Corvette body straps. I have a lift and it would have been easier. I ordered the straps today. After the frame came out we started washing the underbody down removing oil, grease, and scraping any crud off. We will be painting it black.




There are a lot of things you don't see while the frame is still on the car. The first problem were the body bolts and bushings which were history. A few of the bolts actually broke off as they were removed. This is a representation of what we saw.




We put the frame out back in my temporary sandblasting area. Sandblasting is a dirty job and someone has to do it. The frame as expected was very rusty. The problem areas where the front 8" of the frame on both sides where two pieces of metal joint. We cut out the inner pieces, will sandblast tomorrow, and then replace the metal.




The other place we found was on the passenger side of the frame. It had rusted apart and the rear plate was missing on the frame.





Right inside the above rusted out hole we found this toy. Just wonder what little boy placed this little hot wheels car in there. It looks pretty old to me.




And finally proof the frame is off!!

 

[shopnut]

Right inside the above rusted out hole we found this toy. Just wonder what little boy placed this little hot wheels car in there. It looks pretty old to me.

So that's where my little blue car went - I thought I lost it in the sandbox!

Those large posters of the cars are pretty cool. I will need to keep vr4joe in mind when it comes time for some.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

" I swore this would not be a frame off restoration but now it is. After removing the rear differential and transmission for painting there was not much left. I called the owner of the car and said look, if it where my car I would go all of the way and he agreed. "

"In for a penny, in for a pound!" lol

I'll bet that after the owner sees the condition of the frame and body hardware, he will be absolutely tickled pink that you decided to "go all of the way". There is no worse feeling than having to drive down the road with your fingers crossed, wondering 'Is this %^#&% vehicle going to get me home or is it going to get me killed?'.

 

[Wingnut65]

Great decision to take her all the way down. Especially seeing the condition of the bolts. And the end result will be a typical Monster Garage restoration... Imaculate!

Great catch on the toy car. Those wheels are mid-60's, so it might have been put in there when both cars were practically new!

 

[Bob Heine]

There are a lot of things you don't see while the frame is still on the car. The first problem were the body bolts and bushings which were history. A few of the bolts actually broke off as they were removed. This is a representation of what we saw.



The other place we found was on the passenger side of the frame. It had rusted apart and the rear plate was missing on the frame.

Mark,

The bad news is that you have found some serious deterioration on the frame. The good news is that just about every part has already been reproduced for you.

The "money is no object" solution includes complete new original style frames available in steel AND stainless steel. The more realistic fix for this one is to use the parts available from places like Zip Corvette.
http://www.zip-corvette.com/GroupDe...OUP_SEARCH&GroupName=Frame+Repair+Components&

They even sell what is probably the most appropriately named part, the Nut Cages. You have a couple of them on your bench....

It looks like it comes pre-rusted but I'd be hard pressed to fabricate these for less than their $7.50 price.

 

[IGO2XS]

Those large posters of the cars are pretty cool. I will need to keep vr4joe in mind when it comes time for some.

Joe did a great job for me and he is a real nice guy.

"

I'll bet that after the owner sees the condition of the frame and body hardware, he will be absolutely tickled pink that you decided to "go all of the way".

What you guys are witnessing is what happens to car projects. Particularly when you are restoring or updating an older car. When we first looked at the car it looked pretty good. We started out with a simple 30 day project and now it has taken on a life of its own. Once you get started on something like this it can be a never ending battle. We are hoping this is the end of the surprises and we can start to move forward.

Mark,

The bad news is that you have found some serious deterioration on the frame. The good news is that just about every part has already been reproduced for you.

Bob, you are a wealth of knowledge and your input has been very valuable. Last night we had a late meeting and we were almost at the point of ordering a new custom frame. However, after thinking it through we decided we would complete the car with what we have. We are going to properly repair the frame, sandblast, and powder coat it.

 

[IGO2XS]

We had a stripper come by the garage today I guess you see we decided to strip the paint. There were a few bubbles on the front cowl area so we got after it. Had a few helpers today......3 guys for 8 hours on this.....it was a lot of work.

 

[spgirard30]

This is going to be a beautiful Vette. One of my favorite body styles. I can't wait to see the big wheels and the stance of it.

 

[e-tek]

Still loving this thread (who doesn't)!!!! I also love working on - and reading about - a variety of restoration projects and this is one of the best, as is your work. Thanks for continuing the posts!

Question - I may have missed it, but what did you paint the engine compartment with on the vette? Nice OEM sheen to it. Thanks!

 

[IGO2XS]

This is going to be a beautiful Vette. One of my favorite body styles. I can't wait to see the big wheels and the stance of it.

We should have the vette done by the end of June. I am keeping my fingers crossed on the wheels........they will make it or break it.

Still loving this thread (who doesn't)!!!! I also love working on - and reading about - a variety of restoration projects and this is one of the best, as is your work. Thanks for continuing the posts!

Question - I may have missed it, but what did you paint the engine compartment with on the vette? Nice OEM sheen to it. Thanks!

Thank you e-tek. You are one of the most talented guys here at GJ so the complement is very much appreciated. Just because you asked I walked over to the garage in the rain to take this picture. Imron is an old product and we have been using it a little more lately. Nice rock hard durability but it is a bear to spray..........you have to wear a suit because this stuff sticks to everything!!



I downloaded some plans for a Corvette dolly and went to work on it today. It took ten 2 x 4's and 6 wheels I had laying around to put this together. Its pretty handy to move the vette around. We have another Corvette project in the wings so I hope to make more use out of it.

 

[mdkingsley]

Great updates, super cool stuff coming out of your shop.

 

[Skyline]

Careful spraying that Imron...super poisonous stuff. But I do think it produces one of the most durable paint surfaces of any paint.

 

[JCQuick]

Dang Mark if I didn't know it was just a hoobie I would swear your in the resto biz now LOL

 

[Kevin54]

Re: Corvette Engine Compartment

thank you and tskills10

We had a couple set backs on the Corvette engine compartment with some material problems but finally got it straightened out. I was very happy to see the back Imron layed out so nice. Now we have to detail everything we put back in there.

Full paint job in the works for this one so before we can assemble any further we are going to get the trim off the body and start sanding. I want to get the dirty work done before we start putting the interior and suspension back together. I have a big metal rolling frame we are going to try to convert to a dolly tomorrow so we can roll the vette around.





CORVETTE ENGINE COMPARTMENT IS PAINTED!!

I'm not going to tell you how to do your work as to me, I think it is FANDAMNTASTIC work, but if you are spraying IMRON, do you have a fresh air suit or do you just wear a respirator?

30-35 years ago, it damn near killed my dad. He was in the hospital for three days, and for a month or so after being home he was still having problems. Not only is it the fumes, but it will get absorbed in through the skin.

Imron is great stuff, just use the proper precautions. Not only for yourself, but for anyone else that may come around it. Any paint that has isocyanates in it is bad, but Imron tops the list.

Okay people...move on, I'm done here

 

[ratdoggy]

Re: Corvette Engine Compartment

I'm not going to tell you how to do your work as to me, I think it is FANDAMNTASTIC work, but if you are spraying IMRON, do you have a fresh air suit or do you just wear a respirator?

30-35 years ago, it damn near killed my dad. He was in the hospital for three days, and for a month or so after being home he was still having problems. Not only is it the fumes, but it will get absorbed in through the skin.

Imron is great stuff, just use the proper precautions. Not only for yourself, but for anyone else that may come around it. Any paint that has isocyanates in it is bad, but Imron tops the list.

Okay people...move on, I'm done here

Since you mentioned it what kind of precautions (beside the correct respirator) does one need for Imron? Bunny suit, head sock, goggles and gloves?

 

[IGO2XS]

I'm not going to tell you how to do your work as to me, I think it is FANDAMNTASTIC work, but if you are spraying IMRON, do you have a fresh air suit or do you just wear a respirator?

30-35 years ago, it damn near killed my dad. He was in the hospital for three days, and for a month or so after being home he was still having problems. Not only is it the fumes, but it will get absorbed in through the skin.

Imron is great stuff, just use the proper precautions. Not only for yourself, but for anyone else that may come around it. Any paint that has isocyanates in it is bad, but Imron tops the list.

thank you for the reminder......we should always be cautious of using chemicals Quite frankly I did not realize this product was this dangerous. The guys where wearing a respirator and a suit but sounds like there should be some other measures taken.

Dang Mark if I didn't know it was just a hoobie I would swear your in the resto biz now LOL

I know what you mean. You guys have witnessed all of this unfold from a garage hobby to some pretty serious work. I was thinking today "am I too old to start a new career"?

Careful spraying that Imron...super poisonous stuff. But I do think it produces one of the most durable paint surfaces of any paint.

thanks for the concern. I am listening loud and clear.

Great updates, super cool stuff coming out of your shop.

thank you

 

[e-tek]

Thanks for the reply on the IMRON paint you used - I appreciate the kind words and the photo of it! I see lots of guys remember it as do I: My Dad used to use it in his shop in the 70's and 80' and although I can't recall anyone using anything more than dust masks (REALLY!) to spray anything in those days - including IMRON - we have since learned that the isocyantes (in the hardener, not the paint) can cross-link in the lungs and cause a permanent type of asthma and that many of the other chemicals can get through the skin.

It's good to see everyone is vastly more aware than we were back then!

 

[Skyline]

Funny thing about Imron is that while it is almost completely out of favor for auto-body applications, it is still widely used in the marine world. In our local fire department, all of our (white) fire engines are painted in Imron, except the latest. The manufacturer, (Seagrave) flat out refused to use the stuff as specified, even on a $575,000 fire engine.

We have one engine, a 1940 Mack antique, that was repainted in Imron by the local prison. I'm sure those guys all wore fresh air suits. (Yea right!) More than fifteen years later, when I started working on that truck, I noticed that the guys in the prison left a few paint runs. I wet sanded them out, and you'd never know they were there; not a trace. Absolutely no change in color over 15 years.

 

[Kevin54]

Of all the paints out there, Imron is one of the worst as far as being hazardous to your health. And this isn't pointing fingers at just Mark, but just want ALL to be aware of the health hazard. As far as any paint, when mixed with the additives, it is the isocyanates that creates the problem. My cousin's son has Isocyanate Poisoning. If he is around paint now, and is not completely covered and using a fresh air suit, it will land him in the hospital, which it has a few times. He will start running a fever and break out in a super bad rash everywhere that according to him, not only itches, but also hurts like hell. I would say that it is very close to what Shingles would be. A lot of paint shops got away from Imron years ago in favor of more user friendly paints and Eco friendly paints.

But in favor of Imron, it is one badass paint. Mixed and sprayed properly, it is one of the toughest paints out there. Where I used to get my supplies for our business, they took a section of the sales counter and sprayed it in Imron. Then they had a hammer laying there so you could try to chip any of it. It would not chip. You could see a couple of scuffs where the hammer slid a little, but no chips at all. And like Skyline stated above....with Imron, no fading. I painted a guys truck with it and a year to a year and a half later, he was in an accident and we repaired it. I figured that the paint would not match as his truck always set outside. Perfect match after all of that time.

A lot of airplanes at the time were using Imron because the aircraft fuel would not affect it. That's what put my dad in the hospital was the spraying of a couple of fuel tanks and only using a respirator.

 

[jdelaune]

The sheetmetal shop where I work we shoot a lot of Poly Urethane Paint (Imron is that) and our painters wear suits and have fresh air hoods at all times. It is super durable paint but very hazardous.

 

[Skyline]

Given what Mark has ******* in his garage, I don't think the cost of a fresh air suit would be prohibitive. A whole lot more comfortable to work in than a respirator as well. But where it's sprayed is also a concern; you don't want these fumes leaking into the shop. If his booth does a good job exhausting all fumes, then all should be good. The end result posted looks great; there's no denying how good Imron can be.

As the Monster Garage evolves from a home hobby shop to a full-on restoration business right before our eyes, safe practices will need to be addressed.

 

[jdelaune]

I know that there are also cooling units available that make the suits pretty comfortable. Our company does not use the cooling because our shop is fully air conditioned.

We have very good filters in out paint booths that capture all of the overspray and fumes. You can stand outside the exhausts and can barely smell any fumes at all but they must be changed a lot.

 

[Kevin54]

Given what Mark has ******* in his garage, I don't think the cost of a fresh air suit would be prohibitive. A whole lot more comfortable to work in than a respirator as well. But where it's sprayed is also a concern; you don't want these fumes leaking into the shop. If his booth does a good job exhausting all fumes, then all should be good. The end result posted looks great; there's no denying how good Imron can be.

As the Monster Garage evolves from a home hobby shop to a full-on restoration business right before our eyes, safe practices will need to be addressed.

I know that there are also cooling units available that make the suits pretty comfortable. Our company does not use the cooling because our shop is fully air conditioned.

Even if a person cannot afford a fresh air suit, and a fresh air hood, a Tyvek suit is inexpensive. If all one has is a 3M respirator, at least make sure it has new filters and fits snugly around the mouth and nose. For ones with a beard, that's a whole new chapter, but if you can cut your beard to get a good seal, then do so.

If one doesn't want to buy a Tyvek suit although they are really cheap, when painting, make sure you wear a long sleeve shirt. The less exposure one has, the better. And most will know about a respirator sealing. When you pull the respirator off, you can see exactly on your face where the paint has went through the sealing flange.

Years back, I may have ignored the safety aspects, and argued the point also. Today, and after seeing my dad go through COPD and then later in life getting to the point he couldn't walk 10' without almost collapsing because he couldn't catch his breath, it sure opened my eyes to a lot of things.

 

[e-tek]

C'mon Mark - bring it back on topic by showing us more work! LOL!

 

[IGO2XS]

C'mon Mark - bring it back on topic by showing us more work! LOL!

You got it buddy!!!


I am guessing we spent about 30 hours or so stripping the paint off this car. It is very tedious work and if you dont have alot of patience I would not recommend it. This was my first time stripping a car and I am glad we had plenty of help. Obviously razor blades scraping paint off fiberglass does not leave a perfect surface. We (I mean Dwayne) spent yesterday and most of today applying bondo and blocking. Once this was done we finished the day spraying the high build primer. Next comes the body which we should work on tomorrow. This is very exciting.












I thought this was a very interesting picture. I put my 66 big block on the lift to working on the trailing arms and we slid the other Corvette body under it. You cant have too many Corvettes hanging around.:thumbs: Yes, my car is very dusty......bondo dust goes everywhere!!!!

 

[vr4joe]

I really like that corvette dolly you guys made to roll the body around the garage.

Genius!

 

[IGO2XS]

Stripping and refinishing a corvette is one of the best arm workouts you can possibly have. It has been a tremendous amount of work but we are closing in. Dwayne has been working around the vette and in this last pass applies bondo and contours all of the body lines and fills in any voids.

this is the fender after the first heavy sanding after the fiberglass was stripped​

rear fender after sanding​

rear fender after bondo and blocking​

front fender after the first skim coat of bondo​

This is the best picture of all. This is just a sampling of the suspension parts we picked up at Van Steel. You will notice the offset trailing arms with the beautiful Wilwood 13" rotor, one of the 4 coil springs, one of the tubular control arms, and a spectacular 6 piston Wilwood caliper ​

 

[IGO2XS]

Things have been rockin around the garage this past week. I took this picture today to show what is currently happening in the garage. We are pretty much packed right now.



The Corvette body is in polyester primer and ready for the next step. The doors are also done as well. This has been a tremendous amount of work to get to this point. The frame is at the powder coating shop and it is going to be another week until it will be ready. I ordered the wheels from Billet Specialties......18 x 7 in front and 20 x 8.5 in the rear. We are doing fluid changes on both the transmission and the rear end and replacing all of the seals.









We are finalizing the Chevelle and hoping for possibly painting it next week. We got all of the vintage air installed, belts, wiring, hoses, etc etc. We still need to get the power top working and some other misc items. We are very close to starting the car.........I will be trailering the car to the muffler shop Saturday. I ended up picking up a hydraulic hose crimper and I made most of the lines. It was a pretty pricey tool but we have 2 more A/C systems to do next month so it should come in handy.







Unfortunately another car rolled into the shop. Its a 69 Chevelle and it is wicked! We are installing A/C, putting new carpet in it, and I am in the middle of building a custom center console for it. We'll see how it turns out.

 

[el Pedro]

Old Chevelle is looking beautiful, the new one thats come in is just bad ***!

 

[Wingnut65]

Wow, talk about Multi-Tasking!!! You're making a habit of not saying 'No' into a business!

That Vette body looks new. Can't wait to see it painted.

That new Chevelle looks fast. What is the red button for?