I've never been 100% happy with the paint on my car -- especially the hood. It's a good paint job and the car is free of rust, but I've always felt it could be better. I have a sizable sum of money owed to me coming in mid-August and the wife gave me the green light to have the car painted in a manner commiserate with how I feel it should be. The car will remain black. I drop it off next week. Told him to take his time. I'm curious to see how the window channels look.
does she have a sister???:bowdown:
Glad you're getting the Cat the way you want it done.I hope to start prepping for new paint in 2011 (same color).I have a few things I want to change up just a little.
Post pictures of the progress...I love me a good ole paint job thread.
I do have to say that it takes balls to tell a body man to "take his time". Friend of mine watched his vehicle sit at a body shop for 6 mos!
Congrats man.
Cool... Are you having it stripped too?
Nice. One day I want to have mine striped and redone. The 22 year old paint looks good but it's not factory perfect.
Huh...someone around here actually giving priority to paint.
:bowdown:
Miracles can happen...
LOL. I am content with the rest of the car.
As far as stripping it, yeah it's going down deep.
Oh yea...... there's no smell in the world like cooking paint and molten metal. It's the smell of progress. :D
Things are on an upswing around here. ;)
Absolutely. WIP threads rock!
For me, how a car looks is essentially the most important thing. Okay, lemme be honest, it IS the most important thing.
I might not know much 'bout that big thing under the hood (engine?) ---- but I'm the king of the show-n-shine kids.
It's official -- Body work starts July 12th!!!!
Had to push it back a few days, but in doing so more time can be dedicated towards it.
Cool, will they let you take progress pics?
Gee what body work spill some beans! I thought it was a dol hood!
I always thought your car was beautiful. It is so similar to mine....once I get my mods done. Black Cougars are simply amazing.
Ive always drooled over your car, as it is. Cant imagine what I'll do later!
Dang straight. Black cats rock ...
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee14/fightingglock19/blackcat1.jpg)
And to think this bugger weighs 16 pounds, now. The cat, the cat, my step-boy wei....well, I don't know what he weighs, but the cat's @ 16lbs :D
Yup. Step 1 will be pulling all glass.
Cool, a full strip down. This is going to be a good thread to watch... And just in time as mine is finishing up.
Agreed. Keep us updated, sir!
Well paint can't come soon enough now......
The Cougar has been parked in my driveway for 4 days untouched now..... I went to work Tuesday night ( I've been taking the wife's car as she's home for the summer -- she's a teacher ). I come home to find a small dent and a good amount of paint sed up along my driver side rear fender lip.
This happened IN MY DRIVEWAY!
The dent is small enough to where a dent removal guy can pull it, but the paint is bad where it got sed. Not down to the metal. In fact, the primer isn't even showing, but even a wet sand won't do much to save it.....
I picked up most of the materials today except the paint and clear. I'll drop it all off with the car on Monday and hopefully take pictures about 2 or 3 times a week ;)
Someone has to pay!!!
And when you find him, remember that the wooden Louisville Sluggers make less noise than the metal ones.
If it was gonna happen, it couldn't have happened at a better time so no real worries in that department. I just had the dent removal guy come today to fix the crease in the Dodge Nitro that some kid apparently put there with his bike handlebars.
Last but not least was locking my keys in the Mustang last night.......
It's been a rough couple of days......my central air conditioner is kaput as well. New one goes in tomorrow. Had to get both the condenser and the blower as well as new lines and a new pan.......old one is R-22 refrigerant. The new stuff is not compatible and the unit is older than I am......
sounds like the my house, you plan something on a budget and the universe starts breaking other stuff until it feels your budget is broke plus 100% more.
oh the joys of home ownership.
btw,, trane is the most cost effective unit around,, next up would be bard then the high end being a liebert.
I run a chill water system i made with a blower and an old car condensor (looks like a radiator?) mounted above it,, works just good enough to knock the edge off in the house.
100' of 1/2'' copper tubing burried under the house with a recirc pump dropped in a water storage container also burried.
we dont have enough days here to justify a real hvac system.
Where are you bringing it for paint? I usually use Misner Auto Body in West Islip, but I think he hates me and my car by now... He wants to repair dents, but I keep going to him for custom work.
This, and other reasons, is exactly why I believe in home surveillance cameras. I'm hoping that some cheap decent 720P digital power-over-Ethernet cameras appear in the next few years. I'm so tired of buttstuffog's limitations although it allows for much more digital compression options without doing it all twice and buttstuffog/vhs recording if you're into that type of thing.
Sorry to hear that :/
Good Luck on the paint job and keeps us up on the progress with some pic's
sounds like he let it go like water off a ducks back, didnt really matter since body work is planned, although i agree with you 110%.
Yeah, not a big deal. The dents can be pulled out. The paint's getting re-done. FWIW -- there's a good chance it was done via the landscaper -- total accident if so.
The car got dropped off today with all the supplies. I have to drop off some parts I've been ding as well -- new scoops and some NOS tail lights to name a couple.
I would like a couple of other things as well. I'll start a thread in the Wanted section for those....
cant wiat to see the new paint!
what you doing with your old really, really, really, nice taillights?
[SIZE="1"]hint hint[/SIZE]
Shhhhhhhhhhhh...... It's a secret ;)
Did you see the lights that I posted on your "Parts wanted" thread.Found some New ones for you.
Congrats on the new paint! Hopefully it'll be up to your expectations. There's nothing worse than expecting it to be a certain way and it not being what you had hoped for.
It better not be shinier then mine. lol
Not much to report yet. It's been slow going. Front end is apart and sanded down awaiting primer. I ordered some inner trim molding inlay in flat black instead of silver. The hood scoops will be painted to match.
The car will remain with the 10 hole rims as well, albeit with a twist.....think shiny, think black.
I've ordered some mechanical goodies to upgrade as well. New trans-cooler and a 160 t-stat along with a new valve body from SilverFox over at Click-click racing......My current valve body has decided it wants to shift into 4th even in D @ WOT.......No bueno.....Trans-Go's suggested fix leaves me feeling leery....(it's caused by a gummed up 3/4 accumulator causing a pressure spike and Trans-Go says to drill out the hole to 13/64" -- the check ball is 14/64"......I shudder to think what would happen if it became stuck.....)
I will be going with a Silverfox VB when I do it. Let me know how you like it.
What about your "old" taillights?
Well -- here's what I have to work with. It went to a friend for bodywork and paint. He asked when I wanted it back. I told him around Thanksgiving. I drove it on a flatbed to get it there. My friend told me I might have to give it some gas to get on the truck since the ground was wet. It idled right up the ramps. LOL.
The good news -- window channels are perfect, frame rails are clean, and the floor is SOLID. The old carpet was dry. The front fenders were in much better condition than I had antited. Almost perfect. Trunk was solid too. I was leery about the spare tire well on the left side as I've spilled NUMEROUS things down there over the years. It was a mini storage area for when I worked construction. Seems the gear oil I spilled down there even earlier worked as a corrosion preventitive.
As you can see there was some surface rust around the handles and locks as well as the number pad for the keyless entry. It disappears with a quick sanding. I was expecting it as well as what was under the emblems. The primer you see on the trunk is where the holes were welded closed as there will be no emblems -- stock emblems anyway. One will go on the left, but that's a surprise.
I WAS NOT expecting the left rear quarter and driver door to be as bad as they were. The door is clean on the inside, but has a wave. On the inside of the quarter in front of the wheel well you can see where the dent had been pulled and bondoed -- and not very well at that. It was REALLY evident once the moulding came off. Pics.......
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/V8Demon/Cougarstripped001.jpg)
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/V8Demon/Cougarstripped002.jpg)
Looks straight, right? WRONG.
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/V8Demon/Cougarstripped003.jpg)
A look down the passenger side:
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/V8Demon/Cougarstripped004.jpg)
Now back to the driver side:
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/V8Demon/Cougarstripped005.jpg)
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/V8Demon/Cougarstripped006.jpg)
My poor, dirty motor....
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk191/V8Demon/Cougarstripped007.jpg)
The car is getting completely stripped due to the fact that there are FOUR layers of paint/primer....
The wheels will go for their treatment in a couple of weeks as well so the car will be rolling on 2 spares up front and 2 pony rims out back for a while.
I'm STILL amazed out how light these doors are without glass and trim.
I wonder what she'd run in the quarter as she sits right now if I swapped on a set of DR's. :hick:
black cats do rock.. that's why i have 4 :D hahah
Isn't it amazing what you find when you start body work... Good to hear your strippin it all down. Wait until they find the rest of the filler on the car. Hey, how come my inspection stickers are different then yours?
I'm required to pass emissions down here still.
So far looks like just the door and behind it in the quarter. Hope it stays that way....
Ahhh I see now... Mine has all the months, and a big E on mine for exempt.
The car has had it's last emissions test from what I understand.
Reliable sources are saying that they are phasing out the OBD-I emission test machines in NYS and going to a safety only inspection for any vehicle made prior to 1996. The reason? Cost.
A close friend has one of the old machines. To break even on them it costs something around $7000 a year with the service contracts for the machine included. Inspections are $37 and the stickers cost $6 a piece...... that equates to $31 profit.....About 225 inspections to break even.......IF NOTHING BREAKS ON THE MACHINE. My buddy did less than 100 emissions inspections on cars older than 1996 last year. This is a VERY profitable shop with 4 full time employees and quite the considerable overhead for mortgage of the property and taxes on the same (how's $25K a year sound for about 1/5th of an acre? IN property taxes).
The old machines are KILLING businesses.
I'm sure every fox Mustang with emissions still in place won't have it if this is indeed true. LOL!
Illinois stopped emission testing pre 1996 cars in 2005 because it was costing them too much to maintain the test machines. When I redid the engine in the 88 in 2007 all the emissions stuff except the EGR went in the trash;)
Yep, my 87 will have no emissions testing, or installed items (including cats). my smog pump is still on, but it leads to nowhere until I delete that.. The vert will be next in line when I do that project. The safety inspection cost me $7 for the vert, If I remember correctly.
you have to pay for inspection? is that a private shop or state inspection facility?
Illinois doesn't even inspect cars. All they do is emissions testing.
That's New York Sate ..need it for registration and insurance
It's a state mandated inspection, but currently the inspections are performed by private shops. Price for the inspection is controlled by the state.
FWIW -- I've seen a NJ inspection performed......It's a contributing factor as to why I kept my NY plates when I was stationed in NJ while in the Air Force.
No vehicle testing of any kind here in Oklahoma.
Sounds like you are doing it right by stripping it down. Hope it turns out great man!
it's the same way in parts of florida, i think it goes by the county your car is registered in.. a florida native can confirm that if it's true lol
gonna consider doing your fuel pump access door now? maybe you should consider it since it is simply the best time to do it.
In some cities in Illinois, I am in the Rockford area west of Chicago, they test, we dont,lol.
Illinois does emissions testing on 1996 and newer cars. They do not do inspections for things like working parking brakes, bumpers, or holes in the car however ;)
Well, the left side and roof are stripped to the metal. Found some minor surface rust.....already taken care of. Funny thing -- removal of the bondo on the left side showed the door and panel behind it to be STRAIGHTER......Whoever laid that bondo was not very experienced with it.
I went through the same thing.. Don't know why people fill things that don't need it. I found the same on both doors. 1 little ding turned into coating the whole door..
Are they going to use a surfacer to flatten all the panels?
I think people watch those shows on TV where they cover everything and sand it all down.
The problem is.... they always build things up to much, instead of just filling the low spots
Not much to report......the car has reached a point where everything done now will be adding to as opposed to stripping down.
I found a nice keyless entry pad in black as opposed to chrome that will go nicely. I thought I was in the clear with it as far as wiring, but the connector is in fact different (bigger, but laid out the same) and the wires are shorter so I'll be splicing a little. The good news on that is the wire colors are all the same with respect to position so it will be relatively easy.
For the first time since I've owned the car every seam now lines up perfectly. The hood was always a bit high in the back. No more. The doors close right proper and do not sag either. The passenger door was always good. The driver door started the downward drift about 2 years ago.....
It's snowing here today and they're expecting 11-18 inches to fall. I guess it's good the car will be inside for another 10 weeks or so....
Yay........
I did this a while back, pretty easy to make it work
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?27661-My-newest-mod&highlight=
Just saw your reply now.... It's been SLOW going on the car....
The keyless entry I got looks like this albeit with a different connector:
(http://www.dragtimes.com/images-classifieds-large/96-97-MERCURY-GRAND-MARQUIS-KEYLESS-ENTRY-PAD-NEW-OEM-for-sale_160484317858.jpg)
All the sheetmetal is ready for primer. The front and rear bumpers are next to be stripped. I just need 2 new door mouldings. I WAS gonna re-use mine, but removal was not kind to them.
Hopefully complete by the second week in May.
Any progress is good. Light at the end of the tunnel. Splicing on a different plug should be cake. Does the keyless entry panel fit the hole in the door the right way?
Had to trim a wee bit, but nothing major.