The Firebrid Hybrid Convertible Project (Prius platform swap)

[Bill the Engineer]

Day #2 of sanding. This is definitely going to take a lot of time and effort...





Bill the Engineer

[COcyclist]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...after the sanding...comes the rust settling in.

"weld through primer" quick before humidity takes its toll on exposed bare metal???

[Bill the Engineer]

Day #3 of sanding, grinding and drilling. I took the day off from work to have two 3-day weekends in a row.

The Firebird body's rocker panels are stripped and ready for when the body goes back on the chassis.




Then I moved to the body's rear wheel wells and quickly got reminded why I cut the bottom out of the car. Both rear quarters are rotted behind the opening and will require new metal to be purchased. I just hope they make the proper patch panels rather than the whole fender skin. Oh what fun to peek behind the bondo...




I also found previously unknown collision damage only visible from the inside of the fender. That should be interesting when I strip the paint...



Bill the Engineer

[Bill the Engineer]

Originally Posted by COcyclist

"weld through primer" quick before humidity takes its toll on exposed bare metal???

I have some out in the garage. I'll apply it my next trip out there.

Bill the Engineer

[Galane]

"Behind the Bondo" should be a show on Speed TV.

[Bill the Engineer]

Having computer problems. I'll post updates when I can.

Bill the Engineer

[Bill the Engineer]

The old Laptop is dead. Setting up the new one is taking time...

Not much to report that is photogenic this weekend. Spent much of my time grinding / scraping / sanding layers of undercoating off of the rear wheel wells of the body. Dirty job, even with power tools. Not even finished one side yet. Then there is also the rot that needs to be dealt with...





Just think of the arm strength I am building though.

Bill the Engineer

[Bill the Engineer]

This was the weekend to work on the Firebrid cowl in preparation for the body drop later in the fall.
Saturday was spent roughing up the surfaces so that primer would adhere, then using Eastwood Prep to clean the surfaces. Porous edges received masking tape to fill holes.



Sunday was used to apply the first coat of seam sealer on the side of the seams opposite the tape. I applied a generous amount since I don't want my feet wet when I am driving the car. It is curing overnight before I remove the tape, although in some areas I was able to start on the second side before nightfall.





I'm taking a day off tomorrow since the weather should be nice. I'll post an update tomorrow night. The goal is to get primer on any bare metal once it is watertight.

Bill the Engineer

[Bill the Engineer]

Seam sealer completed on the cowl and weld-thru primer applied. I also found a location where the PREVIOUS owner had drilled a hole and caused a leak into the interior. That puppy got sealed up too!





Next weekend on to another location on the body or chassis.

Bill the Engineer

[Bill the Engineer]

Not much photogenic from this weekend. Nothing is so exciting than scraping 1/4 inch thick undecoating from a 50 year old wheel well.

Hey, at least it's progress...

Bill the Engineer