Fred's Backyard LE Restoration Options

[friethmiller]

Rear Trunk Lid Restoration - Part 6 (8/2/2025)

First order of business on Sunday was to push the car out in the grass and clean the entire car inside and out. It took exactly 1 min for the Texas sun to dry everything out. Next, I mounted the trunk and sanded the paint down a bit to prepare for body work.





Pushing the car back under the shade, I started with the luggage rack hole repairs and then the patch at back of the trunk. Like with the front hood my goal was to flatten the rough spots and leave the major bodywork for another time.



After a few rounds of filler & sanding, I masked the area and shot two quick, light coats of epoxy. This concludes this trunk restoration mini-series. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[friethmiller]

Targa Top Restoration - Part 1 (8/2/2025)

Along with finishing up on the rear trunk, I also started on the targa top. This work was mainly disassembly, bagging parts, and cleaning up the bottom side. Luckily, the headliner had been long since removed/discarded and the glue was all dried out. Was able to remove this residue in short order. Next up will be restoring a few edges, fixing a small crack, and then repainting top & bottom. Cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[930cabman]

I missed how you 'folded back" the hemmed edge of the trunk lid to allow the release of the stiffeners?

TIA

[friethmiller]

I missed how you 'folded back" the hemmed edge of the trunk lid to allow the release of the stiffeners?

TIA

You didn't. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Even with my homemade door skin removal tool, I was unable to get a hold of that edge. It really is at a very difficult angle. In the end, I decided to grind it right down the fold like I was removing the skin. Pic below shows the "folded back" section removed. I just cleaned it up, painted it, and welded it back on at the end. Probably would have be easier to create a new, special tool that I could hammer along the edge.

[wonkipop]

wow.

i went back to page 1.

i admire your steady forward momentum.
a big transformation from the poor old girl you found sunbaked in the paddock.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bumblebee914.jpg)

[930cabman]

I missed how you 'folded back" the hemmed edge of the trunk lid to allow the release of the stiffeners?

TIA

You didn't. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Even with my homemade door skin removal tool, I was unable to get a hold of that edge. It really is at a very difficult angle. In the end, I decided to grind it right down the fold like I was removing the skin. Pic below shows the "folded back" section removed. I just cleaned it up, painted it, and welded it back on at the end. Probably would have be easier to create a new, special tool that I could hammer along the edge.

Is the folded edge not spot welded?

great workmanship and thanks again for sharing your techinques

[friethmiller]

Is the folded edge not spot welded?

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) I should have taken better photos of this process!

No, there are no spot welds at all. There is only brazing on each corner. If you look at my close-up, you can see how I managed to get the small section on the left hand side raised-up and out of the way. This was what I was hoping for for the bottom edge but the curvature of the trunk and the support structure prevented access. Like I said, I'm sure you can make a tool that would do the job. Maybe I wasn't thinking clear at the time. I would certainly recommend bending the skin edge back versus what I did (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Also, next to the tip of the arrow you can see how I just cut the brazing to free the edges of the skin. It's pretty easy to do.

[friethmiller]

wow.

i went back to page 1.

i admire your steady forward momentum.
a big transformation from the poor old girl you found sunbaked in the paddock.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bumblebee914.jpg)

Nice! I can't believe it has been 3 years of restoration. I guess some cars, like this one, require a bit more attention. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)

BTW, next up is painting the targa top. After that I'm moving on to valances, outer rocker panels, and then to bumpers. Should make for some fun photos. I get to use my new plastic welding gun. Can't wait. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

[930cabman]

"maybe I wasn't thinking clear"

gotta love it, Fred totally rocks in my book

I have a "spare" (pretty rough) trunk lid kicking around, I can use it as a mockup

thanks Fred

[Puebloswatcop]

Glad I saw the rear trunk lid rehab Fred. I have 2 extras, 1 thats in pretty bad shape. So I can try all the methods you described. And I will try to figure out a pry tool for the rear edge. If I destroy that lid its no big loss......

Your progress is happening at a rapid pace.

[friethmiller]

Glad I saw the rear trunk lid rehab Fred. I have 2 extras, 1 thats in pretty bad shape. So I can try all the methods you described. And I will try to figure out a pry tool for the rear edge. If I destroy that lid its no big loss......

Your progress is happening at a rapid pace.

Cool. I'm sure something that could get hammered and can travel from right to left underneath the fold would be the way to go. Just need to secure the hood on a table with clamps or the like.

[friethmiller]

Targa Top Restoration - Part 2 (8/7/2025)

Continuing on with the targa top, I went ahead and repaired a crack and another corner that was chipped off. Used the round grinding bit to give the repair a better chance of working. Took 3 applications of fiberglass reinforced filler to do the job. First 4 photos show the crack repair.





Here's the repair the back corner that a been chipped off. Not much was missing here so I was pretty confident that the filler/fiberglass would work here as well. This is after the 2nd round.





Here's the filler I'm using. I found it to worked very well, sanded easy. Here's the small amount used for the 3rd round.



Next up, painting the underside with black satin Rust-Oleum. This was thinned with approximately 15% acetone. Super easy to spay this out. I used my 1.7 tip in my LVLP gun. Only one coat here. Instructions say 1-3 hours to dry but you must wait 24 hours to apply a 2nd coat. Luckily this is only going on the bottom. Top gets primer since it will be painted with the rest of the car - no textured top on the LE. Yes! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[friethmiller]

Targa Top Restoration - Part 3 (8/9 - 8/10/2025)

With the bottom side painted and drying for 2 days, it was time to flip the top over for some primer. Using the same black epoxy as the rest of the car, I went over the top with 120-grit on the orbital. Any imperfections here will be dealt with later after the epoxy is down. Last step here was cleaning the top prior to paint.



Next photos shows the top with two coats of epoxy. Not 100% perfect but considering this is only primer, I think it looks pretty good. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Last photo was taken on Sunday (8/10) with the top on the car. Note: the reassembly of seals and other hardware will come later. This will complete work on the targa top at this time. Next up, will be outer rocker panels. Stay tuned!

[Montreal914]

WOW! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

How did you make the texture?

[friethmiller]

Outer Rocker Panels & Rear Valance Repair (8/9 - 8/10/2025)

Started with some original fiberglass rockers that I had leftover from my previous restoration. They were in really good shape and just needed to be fitted to the car and painted. After one minor modification to the passenger side jack post hole, I decided on filling all the original bolt and rivet holes with fiberglass filler. Thought I just mark and cut what I needed when I go and to mount the panels after the primer. To do this, I used masking tape to provide a little backing support.



Next, I used an orbital with 180 grit to provide a little tooth to the surface and then cleaned each panel. Using an older can of SpeedoKote Gray epoxy primer that I found in my shed, I painted 2 coats on each panel. Thought it would be good to use gray under everything that will be eventually yellow on the car.

.

The next morning, I went ahead and mounted each of the rocker panels. Didn't have the rubber spacers on hand but I was eventual able to find the necessary hardware to attach the panels to the car.





Next up was the rear valance. The factory original metal part was pretty rusted out so I had previously sourced another one. Knowing neither was in good shape, I figured I'd somehow be able to make one good one of the lot. This actually turned out to be a lot of fun to do. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

After figuring out what was good and bad on each panel, I decided on a cut line where I would attempt to "Frankenstein" the parts together. The photo below shows the original rusted out "red" valance and the "sourced" black valance. The yellow lines show approximately where I cut each panel. The arrows point to the sections that I kept to make the new valance.



I then tacked the two pieces together and mounted it on the car. From here I was able to adjust things to fit and tacked down the length of the cut line. After pulling the part back off the car, I then completed the welding and grinding. Note: the original Sunflower Yellow of the LE paint + no less than 4 coats that were added over top of that. Yikes! Last photo shows the dent repair done just below the rust on the red section.







Next up was paint removal with a paint stripper disk followed by a light glass-blasting of the remaining rust.



Next, the panel was scuffed with 180 grit, treated with a phosphorus etch, and then prep'd for paint. Painting was pretty easy to do with such a small part and I called it a day at that point (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) Tomorrow I will need to mount the part to the car before moving on to the front valance (next weekend). Stay tuned...

[friethmiller]

WOW! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
How did you make the texture?

Ha! It's called orange-peel. It comes from incorrectly setting air pressure on my paint gun (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) . It will knock-down with sanding, I'm sure. This LE will have the correct body-color, non-textured roof in the end... hopefully!

[friethmiller]

Mounting the Rear Valance (8/11/2025)

With the epoxy dry, I went out this morning and mounted the valance. This panel is all metal - no filler at this point. It'll be a lot easier doing the necessary body work with this panel on the car. It doesn't sit still on the fender stand at all.

Next up is the front LE valance. It's not the original factory one but, according to @JeffBowlsby , it's a vintage OEM replacement. We'll see if I can somehow restore it.

[friethmiller]

Front LE Valance - Review (8/11/2025)

It's finally time to start looking at this hot mess! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bootyshake.gif) This is a OEM replacement valance that must have been put on and then used the clear out a ditch. At $400+ dollars to replace it with a new panel, I think it might actually be worth a shot to try and fix it. Here's the panel set on the car with just a few bolts / screws.



Here's some up-close pics showing some of the damage. There's a lot of rivets, bondo, cracks, and missing sections. This is going to take fiberglass and some metal to fully repair this piece, no doubt!



Here's a close-up of some of the quick plastic welding I did a few years back to at least keep it together... somewhat. Stay tuned as I try to see what can be done to save this old valance. Worse case, I order a new one. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[914werke]

Fred nice work as always. Any reason you decided to put FG Rockers on it vs the OE steel units?

[friethmiller]

Fred nice work as always. Any reason you decided to put FG Rockers on it vs the OE steel units?

Good question, Rich. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Cost, I guess. I replaced my FG rockers with steel on my last build so I had these sitting around. When I bought this car, it only had a driver side rocker and it was pretty much toast.