By Dalano Bass
My first car was a 1987
Monte Carlo SS. Being from a mechanical family, I knew I was going to have a sweet ride, but I had no idea what type of car. I received my car the Fourth of July during
my sophomore year in high school. I wouldn’t actually receive my license until March
of my senior year however. During that time, I had little to no interaction
with my car. Stored at my uncle’s house for those two years, work did not
commence until Christmas break of my senior year. I drove my car for the first time, one week after graduation.
Once my car came home I started with prep-work for paint.The version of my car is an Aerocoupe T-top
Monte Carlo SS, one of the rarest
models to find. Only 6,052 aerocoupe 87’s were made and even less models were
T-top. Be that as it may, I had to repair my car for the road. Fortunately for
me, my car came with the original 5.0 Liter V-8 engine, with amazingly only
52,000 miles on it. The body on my car had little to no rust, so my only challenge
would be preparation for painting. In total, I’ve spent at least 2 days just
sanding the car and applying body filler.
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| When I first brought the car home |
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Since this was my car, my father helped me but
I was left to the majority of the task on my own. This resulted a lot of trial and
error. The trial and error method however, is the best way I believe when it
comes down to mechanic work. You learn what to do and what not to do. After all
that sanding, finally painting arrived. Painting the car was my father’s job
and we did it in our garage. After the first coat was sprayed, I wanted to go
for the matte black look.
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| First coat of black, no clear |
After many arguments,
debates, and logical explanation on why I couldn’t keep the matte black, my
father sprayed the clear coats. A total of 3 coats were sprayed and I was told
it was for the best. As a result, polishing the clear coat could be finished by
me. The more coats the less of a chance I had of burning through
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| Clear coat applied |
The final result, was
worth it.
Wow! Looking at the car's before and after picture is stunning. I mean the transformation is incredible. It must have been a lot of work. I think that the clear coating was an excellent addition though; I personally prefer it to the matte black color. I think it's cool to fix your first car because it adds sentimental value and a connection because of the hard work you put into making it the way it is. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I like cars a lot, specially american muscles. Did you only work on the exterior of the car, what about the engine and the interior of the car?
ReplyDelete