Ivan's coupe: roof stuccowork

[Ivan141]

I have new developments to report (huzzah!).
In what can only be described as a minor miracle, my daily driver Civic FN managed to swallow the bonnet of the Levin whole, so I brought it to the shed with me for fit-up.

Together with fellow shed-dweller Dennis we bolted the front together and he got to work adjusting all the shut lines (some pulling and hammering involved).

Here she is more complete than I have seen her since 2010, next to my trusty steed (my MIG welder).



Mounted one of the trunklids too, and you will see where the welder came in play.
The shutline between the right quarter panel and the bottom of the trunklid looked really wonky (probably because this quarter has been replaced once) so I had to weld up the panel to get a somewhat decent reveal.

Looks okay after adding a few mm's to the bottom:


Here's Dennis doing what he does best: body-prep (he's also happens to do this for a living).


It is slow going with these welded arches, this was the result a few hours later. There is a bit of a high spot on both left and right arches that needs to be dealt with.
I have full confidence in his skills to get it done.


While Dennis was off bogging and sanding I tried to apply myself to the bonnet.
After pulling it from the basement I got a better look at the rust peeking from beneath the dried up seam sealer. No bueno. So I opened up the folded seam and gave it a thorough brushing and drenched it in rust converter.



And to finish off the day I re-seam-sealed the whole thing so it will hopefully last a good few years before the rust sets in again (there is no stopping it without pulling the whole thing apart, which is a non-starter for me.


To do:
-Move the bonnet back from basement to garage (pain in ass.. need a bigger car).
-Find trunklid latch and other bits
-Bolt front together to align all gaps.
Panel prep work (metal finish any bumps out of it, sand and paint inside, primer outside):
-Bonnet
-Trunklids
-Doors
-Front fenders

To buy:
-Rear inner window guide for LH door (got the door without it).
-New weatherstripping for the trunklid. (to help fit the trunklids correctly for bodywork)
-Rubber stripping to put between the fenders and the body (as original, which I had to throw away since it was glued on).