A bare metal restoration done right
The headline is referring to the quality of the work, not to the process. Anyone who's ever restored a car
knows its a project fraught with as much frustration as joy. In my case, it took seven months of gentle
urging, pleading and, finally anger before the promised two- to three-month paint job was mostly done.
I brought the car home on a flatbed tow truck -- in the first rain of the year -- wearing its new 501 red paint,
windowless, without lights or trim, with a few shop-induced trim and wiring issues to correct. The paint
was -- and still is -- terrific after seven years (2002-2009). I'm delighted with the end result, but am glad the
shop is no longer in business so I don't have the dilemma of what to say when someone asks for a referral.
As you can see in the photos below, the car was stripped to metal, then meticulously worked to make sure
that the surfaces were perfectly smooth and ripple free. It's always been a California car, and always garaged.
Even so, there was a tiny bit of rust at the back edge of each front wheel well. That was cut out and replaced.
The next step was to take the car to Generations Upholstery in San Jose, California. There the car got entirely new upholstery, including new interior chrome, headliner, and a dash covered in leather. For that page, click here: Upholstery