Rear frame detailing

With the body stripped, I turned my attention to the underside of the car. Since I needed to keep the car running and drivable during the bulk of this restoration, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and removed the fuel tank to have it cleaned and sealed while I sandblasted the rear frame section (from the axle rearward) and get it repainted and new seam sealer applied while the tank was being rejuvenated. This won't take a lot of narrative, so I'll just post pics and add comments as necessary....


























































































































































































































































































I sandblasted the rear frame using BLACK BEAUTY medium. Not exactly sure what it was made from (it WAS black) but it sure did cut well and left a nice tooth to the metal! After blasting, I washed down the area using a 3" paint brush and lacquer thinner twice to insure all oils and contaminates were gone, then I prepared a 90/10 mixture of POR-15 and POR thinner and sprayed a medium coat on the rear section of the car. Once dry to the touch, I reapplied the seam sealer to the exposed sheetmetal joints and applied a second coat of POR-15. The following weekend, I applied a coat of EASTWOOD Satin Chassis Black to finish off the area.































I had also gotten the fuel tank back, so I applied several coats of EASTWOOD Tank Tone Metallic Coating to replicate the factory zinc coating. I also wire brushed the tank straps and after applying a coat of POR-15 black, I sprayed on a coat of black Plastic-Dip spray on rubber coating while the POR was still a bit tacky. Once the Plastic-Dip dried I applied several more coats to give the straps a nice satiny black rubberized coating. I also cut me a couple strap pads from some scrap 1/8" thick rubber material we had at work. I cleaned the fuel tank pick-up, installed a new pick-up sock and using a new locking ring and gasket, reinstalled the pick-up into the tank.

After installing a new vent into the top of the tank, I was ready to rehang the fuel tank. Using new carriage bolts and hardware, I reinstalled the tank and reconnected the fuel and return lines using new hose clamps as well. The final part to the tank assembly was to reinstall the tank neck grommet and insert the fill tube into the tank thru rear body bulkhead and trunk floor. I had also wire brushed and Scotch-Brited the filler neck to give it a bright, slightly brushed steel finish and coated it with EASTWOOD's Diamond Clear for bare metal surfaces to protect it from the elements.



































































Well that's all for this installment and I want to wish everyone a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Surface protection, final template trial and nose job

With the paint removed from the body, I knew I had better protect it from surface oxidation until such time as I get the first coat of epoxy primer applied. Before I applied anything to the body, I knew I had to wash her down really well to get all the remnants of the stripper removed to prevent any nightmares in the future, so I pulled the ole gal downstairs on to the wash rack and scrubbed her good with hot water and a Scotch-Brite pad inside and out, then hosed her down generously with the hot water to dissolve any POR-15 Stripper that might be hiding in an inaccessible nook or cranny.

Once I was satisfied the chemicals were gone, I dried the body inside and out and then I filled a new spray bottle up with OSPHO Metal Prep. I applied a generous coating to all bare metal surfaces then went over the entire car using a three inch POR-15 paint brush to smooth out the layer of OSPHO as well as insuring every inch of the body was coated. Once everything was coated I pulled the car back upstairs to her bay and left the OSPHO to dry. (WARNING: OSPHO contains phosphoric acid. Avoid contact with eyes and prolonged contact with skin.)

When I returned the following Saturday the body was nicely etched and covered with a grayish-white phosphorus powder. This is normal and just signals that the OSPHO did it's job. I'll leave the powdery covering alone to continue to protect the surface until such time as I get ready to apply my first coat of primer. Then I will go over the body again with a dry Scotch-Brite pad to remove any loose phosphorus powder and wipe down with a tack rag before coating. Here are a couple shots showing how the body looks treated with the OSPHO........































With the body prepped, it was time to pull the front fenders so I could get to the inner fenders, firewall, and front suspension. But before I did that, I wanted to see my new front fender template installed to make sure it was correct before I blew the body apart, so I trimmed it and hastily stuck all the stripe templates and moldings on to get a feel for where I was with the templates. Here is what it looked like. Please bare in mind I didn't take my time to install it 100% accurately. The templates were loose and merely held in place with refrigerator magnets and the side moldings were held on with pads of masking tape...

With the template verified, it was time to pull the fenders. MAN, Ford didn't want the front end falling off the Torino's! After removing about 20 bolts per fender (some of them hidden very discretely) I finally had the nose off the car and ready for the next phase....

Until then........

ZEBRA 3 OUT!