| 68 Firebird Project: Body Work |
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| Finally, in June 2003 I was able to get my car into the body shop for its exterior work. I took it to Otts Auto Refinishing in Salfordville PA. They were recommended to me by a friend as a shop that did quaility work. They had an open bay for a car, and I had a car! It was done and the Bird was relocated to Salfordville. |
| I knew going in the rear quarter panels needing replacing. We had a heck of a time finding parts that actually fit for the quarters. We settled on the next best thing, a set of NOS Camaro quarters. I know, I know Camaro.....yuk! Anyway, it was the only real viable alternative. We decided to cut out the quarters from behind the gills and fit the new ones in. This is a great pic of the work involved. Scary, isn't it. |
| After many hours, the quarters are finally on. The Camaro quarters were the only way to get the original chrome wheel well molding to fit. Any reproduction quarter was 1" too short and the moldings would not have fit. Then the car was entirely stripped down. The right front fender needed a tiny patch, the doors, trunk and hood were in excellent shape. The trunk was sandblasted and the vinyl top had to go. We found a little rust in the rear window channel and had that cleaned out. |
| Well, here you go. After many, many painstaking hours by Otts, she finally got her new paint. Verdoro Green. It was a tough color to get right, but we finally found it. What a classic muslce car color. Here you can see the car before its final buffing and before any trim goes back on. Notice how good the quarters look. Great work Alan! The new cordova top went on, NOS drip rail and original style window felts were applied. A new PPG windshield went in and the car now awaits the rechromed bumpers, all the trim and lights, the H.O. stripe and final buffing. I can't believe how good it looks. I must take a moment here to heap praise and accolades on Otts Auto Body. Both Alan and Carl Ott have earned the utmost respect from me. They did an absolutely awesome job. Nothing was done second rate, and it shows. I recommend these guys to anyone. This is absolutely concourse quality work. Thank you Otts! |
| Thanks for following my restoration saga. Come back soon to see the finishing touches. This car is itching to get on the road! Thanks again for visiting. |
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| There she is! Finished product. Thanks to everyone that made this a reality. I thank you all! Check out the rest of the site for more pics of the finished car. Thanks for visiting. |