Body restoration now underway......

The play area looks empty with the Tomato gone! Today, I policed my area a bit...

and then helped my buddy Jim move some benches around in the service area making room for a new mechanic, but the big news is coming from the body shop....

The guys have addressed the poor '70's build quality by aligning the rear tail panel correctly,

filled the cb antenna hole in the decklid,

and sanded the decklid and surrounding sheet metal back down to bare metal and started applying the first layer mud in preparation of doing a bit of panel blocking.

They also welded up several trim holes down the driver side quarter panel.

LOVE SEEING HER FINALLY ON THE ROAD TO FINAL BODY AND PAINT WORK!

More to come....

ZEBRA 3 OIUT

MOVING DAY!!!!

Well that special day has finally arrived! Took a vacation day on Friday to finalize the rear seat pass thru brace...

and then got the car cleared out and ready for the move top the body shop.

Saturday arrived and it was a drizzly day, so we wrapped the car in plastic to try and minimize the water getting onto/into the car during the move.

A few little hic-ups along the way....

but all in all a pretty straightforward move.

Now the real work begins getting the panels gapped correctly and the sheet metal laser straight before the application of the distinctive paint job. I'll be posting teaser pics along the way but won't show any full on shots of the car until she is finally ready for her unveiling.

Stay tuned....

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Welcome to 2020....

The first weekend of 2020 I took as a long one to work on the Torino to get her closer to being shipped off for body and paint. Got the transmission auxiliary cooler hard lines bent...

and plumbed in.

and also got the rear seat pass thru panel a bit closer to being fabbed up and ready to install.

The metal to make my new package tray brace with the arm rest pass thru cutout did not arrive the following week, so I took my design, printed it out and then cut a new cardboard template to insure the design was correct. Installed and taped it in place...

and then installed the rear seat back and cushion so I could make my final markings for the actual cutout and the pass thru mounting slots.

Turns out it was a good thing the metal didn't arrive because there were a couple areas that needed a bit more finessing. Got the template marked up and then pulled everything back apart...

and then set about prepping the Torino for her journey to the body shop next weekend (weather permitting). Masked up the steering wheel to prevent the leather from getting damaged as well as the steering column itself...

filled up the under hood fuel tank and cleaned out all my tools and any odds and ends from the car that didn't need to go to the body shop.

Hope next weekend is dry so we can load the Tomato onto the trailer and make the run to drop her off for final body work and paint.....

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!

ZEBRA 3 OUT

Last update of 2019....

Saturday I went out to look at the facility that will be doing the bodywork on the Torino. Need to go see the booth that will be used to apply the color next time. Right now we are targeting the move to the body shop for next weekend... if everything goes according to plan.

Once back at the dealership, I worked some more on the rear seat pass thru and cut the existing bracing back to make room for the new panel...

and dressed up the exposed surface where the brace overlapped the floor panel.

Next step will be to cut a relief slot into the existing braces to accept the new panel and work out the upper flanges on the pass thru panel to tie into the package tray. For some reason, the package tray drop off isn't symmetrical on either side of the centerline so the upper flanges will be different from site to side.

Gotta love a challenge!

ZEBRA 3 OUT

December 21 update.....

First order of business at the shop today was locating and weighing all the door components so I could tell the bodyshop how much weight to add to the doors to simulate the finished door weight with all the components installed.
Once I was done with that, I began determining the necessary modifications needed to add the brace to allow an unobstructed opening for the rear seat armrest pass thru into the trunk.....

Have the basic panel size and necessary opening cut into a cardboard pattern, so I can now trim the existing braces out of the way, set the rear seat back cushion in place and then see how my new panel will fit and tie everything back together.

Stay tuned....

ZEBRA 3 OUT