Topic: 78 martinique blue

[Bman]

Making a little progress. Things are taking forever to reassemble. Also with the new quarter panels things are not fitting right.

Trunk seal


Shaker seal


Tail lights which did not want to fit, but i made them fit.


Trunk deck and spoilers. Still need some tweaking when new trunk seal relaxes a bit.


Gonna tackle doors next, internals and windows. Everything I've read says the windows need to be installed to attach door seals.

[Transatrom]

I'm still watching your progress!  I was reading the manual and if I recall correctly the doors are the first to be hung.  Then the fenders and hood.  Just a suggestion, because the door needs to align with the rear quarter first the front to the door then the fenders to the hood.  Right?  I'm going out on a limb regarding your photos.  They are excellent but there are two things that are noticeable.  The windshield and overflow tanks.  I bought new ones and they make a ton of difference when looking at everything you have done.  If you can swing it, they would really brighten up the compartment!

[Transatrom]

Don't forget to put sealant under the access panel for the trunk torsion bars.  Those little screws go straight into the trunk; a place for water intrusion and the cause for many rusted trunk pans!  An ounce of prevention is worth a ton in wasted effort should water get into the trunk and destroy your tremendous work!

[Bman]

Thanks for the tips! Didn't even think about putting sealant on the screws for the spring panel. I will be sure to do that. I will probably replace the bottles at some point, but first I have money to spend else where. As far as the body panels, I'm pretty clueless on how to line them up. Turns out my "body guy" doesn't want to hang the panels or line them up. Lesson learned there, I assumed he was going to paint and reassemble. 

[Bman]

Hey guys, Im still working on her. Body guy has really put a hurt on my time line and wallet. I had to go get my nose that is still not painted. Currently trying to find someone to finish what needs to be done. I will say to get things in writing BEFORE any work begins no matter how well you think you know someone. That's all i'm gonna say about that, lesson learned.
On to the progress pictures

Started with the doors. Installed windows, handles, and window felt. Caution---Don't use the screws that come with the window felt they are too long. I now have a nice dimple in my passenger door that will need fixed. Another lesson learned.


Rear speakers installed



T-top seals installed (Not very fun)



Crunched for time now, I will post more tonight.

[Bman]

Installed the dash that I refinished a while back. Pretty pleased with the outcome.



Windows installed, new windshield and original rear glass



Had a heck of a time with the gages. Replaced the printed circuit board, that fixed the dash lights but then the tachometer didn't work, so I had to replace it. Also grounding issues etc. I believe everything works now.



Here's how it looks out of the garage. Thinking I will need to lower it a bit.



So that's were I am now. Next up carpet and seats. Hopefully next weekend!

[Bman]

Well I found a new paint guy. Had to stop on interior progress and remove all spoilers, side light markers, door handles,locks, and mirrors. Basically everything but window trim.



This is what she looked like when I took her to the new guy



The plan was to line up all the body panels, paint nose, wet sand the rest.




In the process of lining up body panels and wet sanding it was determined it would be best to just repaint the whole car. There were a bunch of imperfections , also the spot on the door where I put a dimple from using too long of a screw had to be fixed.

 

Here's the results!!





Just got these pictures so I haven't seen it in person yet. Picking her up Sunday, more pictures to come.

[Dark T/A]

Wow , been a bit since i checked back on your build. Incredible and inspirational. Thanks for the updates.

[Bman]

Thank You for following this post Dark T/A. I appreciate the kind words!
Spent many hours this weekend trying to wrap up this project so it will be ready for summer.
Got pretty involved in putting parts on and didn't take many pictures, here's what I do have.

Carpet finally went in along with seats




Counsel,front seats, and sill plates (Not sure what they're called, aluminum pieces that hold the carpet)



Interior almost complete except I still need to tackle the window alignment and door panels.



Also Installed the wheel spoilers, trunk spoilers, headlight bezels, Pontiac nose emblem, and Year One wheels.
This is the part where I didn't get any in process pictures. Here's a few from earlier today.







That's it for now, getting closer!!!

[saskta]

Great write up. About to start on the resto of my 78. Was originally Marty blue, numbers matching W72 4 speed. Hope mine turns out as good as your. Beautiful car enjoy.

[Bman]

Thank you saskta! It's been really a challenging project and I so look forward to enjoying this car. I can tell you a couple things I would do differently. The main thing would be do your research and find a reputable body shop. Start looking for someone way before you are going to need them. Good body guys are usually booked out. Also I am still trying to sort out the electrical components. If I did it again I would scrap all original wiring and replace with new. Everything else went pretty smooth for me, with the help of my Dad and brother. Good luck on your resto! I will post some pics soon, decals going on in 2 weeks!!

[PokeyJR]

Just wondering on the progress of the Decals, the car looks great, my jaw dropped when I saw the final paint. Really hoping my restoration turns out as good as yours.

[Bman]

Thanks! Yes decals are on. Been having issues with Photobucket once again. I will put some pics up tonight and update everyone on the latest details.

[NOT A TA]

It's coming out nice! Look forward to seeing pics with decals. You're not the only one cursing Pbucket recently. Seems like they put so many ads on it bogs the computer till it stalls. I've been paying for additional storage for years, now I'm gonna have to pay to stop the ads so I can use the service I'm already paying for? Nice way to treat customers.

[Bman]

Well that's good to know, I am experiencing the same issues.
Soooo, Here's the latest and greatest. I have had the decals installed and they also painted the rubber molding that goes on the wheel spoilers. Have had a few problems with the car since it has been completed. First it would stall out of the blue while driving down the road. Also the brake light would come and go usually whenever it was most inconvenient for me. I ended up replacing the ignition module in the distributor which was already replaced once. Seems to have fixed that issue. The brake lights I believe was just a ground, after I cleaned the grounds in the trunk the lights seem to be ok now.
Thursday I arrived back home after taking the car on the Hot Rod Power Tour. We didn't do the whole tour, but I did put 2,000 miles on her. Had one big problem on the trip, the A/C went out. It was electrical(go figure)a wire end on a connector had broken. Unfortunately I didn't figure it out until today. I toughed it out and was just overjoyed to be able to drive my car. Ok, heres a few pics!!







My first car show at the local Hooters!



Couple shots from the Power Tour
Me in Kansas City


Lebanon Missouri


This picture is my brother, my self, and my Dad. I can't thank these two enough, would be no where near done without them.



Thanks to everyone on here for the compliments and support over the last couple years. This resto took me just over 2 years to complete. I will post more pics as the summer progresses, planning on doing car shows and cruises.