I finally blocked the rear valance down and got it 'good enough' (I'm not going to lie, I am not excessively picky about the valance being perfectly flat). The most important part was to get them initially fitted to the car so I know they will go on when I'm getting ready for paint.
1. Rear valance
The rear valance was an 'improved tooling' piece I got through National Parts Depot. It was supposed to be a better fit and have thicker metal than the other reproductions. I got a GT valance with dual exhaust cut outs. It's definitely wide enough and the fit isn't too bad on the passenger's side. However, on the driver's side there is quite a gap between the valance and the rear of the quarter that is resulting from the valance having too much of an outward bow and not sitting flat enough. I know if I try to flatten it I'm only going to create more problems than I'm trying to fix, so I'm currently contemplating just living with it. I'm too the point where I want to finish this car the best I can but at the same time I'd like to be able to drive it before I die.
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| The gap on the driver's side isn't a game breaker gap but not necessarily something to be proud of either. |
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| This is the best view of the mounted valance I could get since the back of the car is near the wall. |
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| The passenger's side goes on quite nicely. |
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2. Front valance
The front valance was one of those $33 reproduction cheapies I bought 3 or 4 years ago when I first bought the car and had no idea how in depth I would be going. At that point I just wanted to start spending money on it. Oh young love. I had some oil can popping on it that I removed through a series of shrinks consisting of about 6 contacts with my stud welder. I was ready for the fit of this thing to be an absolute joke. I was absolutely ready to toss it in the junk and order an actual good one. I'll be damned if this thing didn't go on almost as perfect as the Lord had intended it to.
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| I didn't put it on 100%, but enough to know that I wasn't in for any serious trouble, and certainly nothing that won't be fixed with some minor massaging. The fenders aren't even mounted on all the way so I can't expect the front to fit absolutely flawlessly. Though as you can see here it's not near as bad as one would expect. |
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| The driver's side looks a little funky in this pic but I think it's the angle. It was flush with the fender. |
Great work and a great blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks James! Seems like you're always there with a nice comment.
DeleteWe all need some inspiration and I know it makes me feel good when I get a nice comment. That way we know someone is actually reading these :-)
ReplyDelete