remember the class i was taking?

[jims69camaro]

i'm now in the auto body II class, which is basically hands-on job training: you bring in whatever project you have and you work on it. if you need help, the teacher is always within shouting distance.

so, i got all of the dents roughed out of the two fenders, shaved the turn signals and antenna hole, removed all paint by sanding (about 6 layers in some parts), and am currently doing a skim coat of filler in order to get the fenders straight. i thought long and hard about the paint and decided on black with a flame job not unlike the goodmark chevelle.

off to class...

[maroman88]

:drool:

good luck too

[Tru2Chevy]

Good to hear from you Jim, and nice to see that your making some progress with your car.

- Justin

[Teds89IROC]

awesome jim, good luck with it!

[unstable bob gable]

off to class...

But Jim...you have no class!:mrgreen:

[jims69camaro]

But Jim...you have no class!:mrgreen:

that's why i avoided saying "i have class"... this we know to be an etched-in-stone truth. :mrgreen:

justin, i am around occasionally. with the amount of work i have been doing on the car (am i a real car guy yet?) and only being able to use the computer in the library still... you know.

thanks for the well wishes, guys.

[JL8Jeff]

Can't wait to see it when it's done Jim. Hands on experience with your own car is awesome!

[Fast92RS]

where are you taking this class. I took a similiar class at piscatway vo tech but it was very basic..

[Rich189]

sounds like a cool class i got to do the crash and burn method myself (my grandfather used to build circle track cars and my dad learned from him i learned from dad) but anyway good luck with the car post up some pics of the progress

[jims69camaro]

pics of the progress might take a while, since i won't have a working computer connected to the internet until after june sometime. patience, it will pay off in this case.

the class is offered by the ocean county vocational/technical school, continuing education department, adult evening school. the location is in jackson, but if it were in trenton it would still be worth the commute.

the class costs $175 per semester, 12 weeks long, one night a week. a bargain considering all that i've learned and accomplished on my car since i started back in november (i think - the past is always a blur).

they are offering an inter-session come may (last class this semester is april 30th) - 6 weeks, two nights per week, same price, but i don't know if i'll be attending. right now i am getting the most out of the tools and clean environment to get the filler done and then get it shot in epoxy primer (they have two state-of-the-art booths available for painting). until i am ready to shoot the entire car (or at least the jambs and the fenders/doors/hood) i think i will hold off and invest some of the money i would use for tuition in tools, instead. there is still a bunch of work needed to prep the car, and i can do that in the driveway.

[BonzoHansen]

So non-Ocean Country resident can sign up? Do you think it is better to wait until I have a car in the 'ready for bodywork' stage?

[TAdan]

Any legal/inspection issues with shaving the side markers?

[jola]

That sounds awesome. What a good way to perfect a skill and make your car better at the same time.

[Mike]

bonzo if you wanted to do it and it were a tuesday or wednesday night i would commute down with ya

[BonzoHansen]

bonzo if you wanted to do it and it were a tuesday or wednesday night i would commute down with yaCool, we can definitely discuss that.

[jims69camaro]

Any legal/inspection issues with shaving the side markers?

of course. the car is an '87, tho, so if i decide to get it back on the road (doubtful) it will be exempt by the time that comes around.

i'll be doing the driverside door tonight (shaved handle and lock), and i need to see what's behind the sideview mirror to decide if i will be getting rid of them or not.

[Tru2Chevy]

Are you building this up as a show car or a race car? Because the shaved door handles won't fly with tech at the drag strip....

- Justin

[jims69camaro]

So non-Ocean Country resident can sign up? Do you think it is better to wait until I have a car in the 'ready for bodywork' stage?

i would look for a class in your area. i don't know the policy on out-of-county residents - might be as simple as a hike in tuition. the class is jammed, always is. if you don't call by 9:30 a.m. the first day of registration, you're outta luck.

[jims69camaro]

Are you building this up as a show car or a race car? Because the shaved door handles won't fly with tech at the drag strip....

- Justin

show/street. i was going to think about bracket racing, but my ideas for the car - as you pointed out - fly in the face of track regs. door handles can always be put back on, as i am not cutting the door skin, just welding a plate over the hole. sideview mirrors are gone, too.

i haven't decided what to do with the gas filler door, yet. i might hide it under the license plate, like they were on '60/70s cars.

i have a vision of what the car will look like, now i am just doing what needs doing to get it there. it's quite a bit of fun making my vision a reality.

[Knipps]

show/street. i was going to think about bracket racing, but my ideas for the car - as you pointed out - fly in the face of track regs. door handles can always be put back on, as i am not cutting the door skin, just welding a plate over the hole. sideview mirrors are gone, too.

i haven't decided what to do with the gas filler door, yet. i might hide it under the license plate, like they were on '60/70s cars.

i have a vision of what the car will look like, now i am just doing what needs doing to get it there. it's quite a bit of fun making my vision a reality.

and last gen caprices ;)

[jims69camaro]

the doors are welded and grinded. i have a major amount of filler to do (doors, fenders and hood will all be skim-coated - no dents outside of the typical minor door dings). everything gets a coat of self-etching until i am ready for the epoxy/sand/epoxy/sand/epoxy/sand... (etc.) process to begin. lots and lots of work ahead of me. i am probably not going to pay much attention to the car during the summer months, since the weather cuts the working time of any filler in half and i like to take my time spreading it on nice and thin...

i will be driving the '69 this year and hopefully making an event or meeting or show/cruise in a town near you.

maybe another round of school in the fall (i haven't made up my mind just yet, but i did pass on intersession). in the meantime, i will stay sharp due to the internship. and of course i still don't have an internet-connected computer at home. although that could change shortly.

c ya,
-jim