We haven't started yet but I made an appointment to bring my car to a body/paint shop on November 29th. Of course we will make pictures when we are stripping the car and even more pictures when we start building her up!
But before we start I want to paint the front valance myself to see what it looks like in the correct colour. I know it should be argent but I would like to have a number for this colour, we have no Mopar shops around to get some spray cans If I don't like it I can have it painted bodycolour again in December. So if anybody knows the paint number for this colour please let me know as soon as possible.
Hi Ron - What a coincidence, I painted the valence, top of the splash pan and wheels on my green 59 the day before yesterday, I removed all the old paint I could, osphoed the bare metal, then sanded that, next I put two coats of epoxy primer, two coats of #10001Z Silver Argent in spray cans, two coats of #10196Z Gloss Clear Coat in spray cans. East wood catalog ( www.eastwood.com 1-800-345-1178 ) and they came out as Ed Eckerson would say Beautooooful. The only way you would know I used rattle cans is if I told you. Hope this helps.
Dick
Car after I repainted the front valance in argent to see how it looks likeFirst parts came of easilyAnyone see what is wrong here?They are so good on the car that even the paint is coming off!Gave up on the inserts for now and got busy with other stuffYardsale!Even the trim on the roof was glued on! Rust underneath it, not that bad luckilyBecause the trim on the bottom of the rear window was screwed on instead of using the clips I got them of quick. More bad stuffGot it all out and what did we found? Yes! Rust holes and .....fiberglass
We are going to do it the good way now! No glue or other stuff, just like original!
Exciting stuff! But how to get the inserts off... use solvents? what a mess!
It is great to have someone's project to watch, now that Fall is here.
This past summer, my brother took his Amphicar completely apart, then hauled the body to a professional shop for a complete paint strip, rust repair, and re-paint. He just got it back 2 weeks ago. Now the re-assembly starts. (I may be able to provide a link to his photos if anyone wants to see them).
The inserts will come off with a lot of patience and hard work. Matthew did the one on the left front fender with a bit of force and got it off in one piece. The problem is that it wasn't really straight anymore I started on the one on the door with a heat gun and a flexible knife. They kind of knife you break a bit off if it isn't sharp anymore. I made progress but it is going really slow and I had blisters on my hand and fingers within half an hour
After the inserts are of we still have to remove the "glue" from the back of the insert. I tried different things and working with a torch and than scraping it away works OK as long as you do it outside, the smell is awful. When most of it is gone I use a copper wire brush for the last bits. It will keep me busy for a couple of weeks I guess. Just getting the door insert loose takes at least 4 hours and you can't do it without taking a rest (read: do something else). But if the result is good I don't mind the work
Ron
PS is there anybody who has a spare insert for the left front fender? Or another piece that we can cut to the right size would also work.
The rust...Started taking the trim of from the passenger sideGot everything out of the trunk so we could put all the trim in it, safest place to keep itGot the back almost done, taillights need to stay on as we drive the car to the shopBack window surrounds and antenna's removedAlso the front window surrounds removed
keep the pictures coming..I really enjoy them! YThe rear seat swivels make it look like a Letter car!
Ron, I know you went thru my crazy pile of trim when you were here. You picked out some stuff which I sent to you. Then, as now, I was a bit disorganized... At some point after you left, I realised I had not shown you one last group of SF trim. It was in the garage, lost behind some other stuff. I will have to go thru it, but I am fairly sure I have one very nice trunklip trim...I knew you wanted one when you were here, and I remember asking if you had found it..but we never completed that search.
Thanks for telling me (via Dan M) what Ragtop is asking for his two cars, and I TOTALLY agree with your opinion. Lets see what he gets on Ebay.
somewhere in here, Ron asked how much fabric an vinyl he would need for his car..
I recommend you take this question to Tom Fox...he will remember what it took.
If I had to guess, it was 5 yards of each..I probably have the receipt somewhere, but where?
I have leftover white vinyl as well as teh red fabric. I bought the vinyl from Original Auto Interiors...an excellent company to deal with. We have all heard the stories of SMS, but they are teh only makers of teh fabric.
Removed the inserts!There were some anti rust mats on the floor, as the floor had surface rust they had to go!It was hell!! But I did keep goingAnd going...
And done! But no pic of that.
At the previous restoration they had new parts welded in the floor, not a very good job if you ask me.
Rear bumper is also gone!
If I don't like it I can have it painted bodycolour again in December. So if anybody knows the paint number for this colour please let me know as soon as possible.
I started on the one on the door with a heat gun and a flexible knife. They kind of knife you break a bit off if it isn't sharp anymore. I made progress but it is going really slow and I had blisters on my hand and fingers within half an hour 
