Ford man's 1976 Gran Torino Brougham Project

[ford man]

Yes! Finally a GMNer contemplating a quality roller paintjob! :banana:

I'm thinking six coats at least mang! The stripe is going to add some difficulty... more body work still to do... I plan on taking lots of pictures!

[Grand Marquis GT]

That shifter and console are waiting for you to find some bucket seats, mang

[79lincolnlover]

The car sounds brawny

[ford man]

Hey everybody, Here's a video update for ya. I have some pictures from my last post to now but can't find the camera I took them on... I'm going to try to post video updates regularly. Things should start progressing quickly from here. I spend a lot of time finishing the body work with lots and lots of sanding so the paint job can be the best it can be! I spray painted the door jambs and in the trunk. I also removed the fenders so I could paint the engine compartment and inside of the fenders. The primer is rustoleum professional primer...

[87gtVIC]

Great job on the paint work. The primer looks nice and smooth.

[sly]

lookin good!

[1987cp]

This is looking very promising! I'm tempted to ask how the body got so clean and straight, but that'd probably take a week to explain adequately. Will be very interesting to see this once the color coats go on!

Actually, though ... what tool did you use to apply paint to the weird wrinkly channelley surfaces? Just the foam brush routine, I presume?

[ford man]

This is looking very promising! I'm tempted to ask how the body got so clean and straight, but that'd probably take a week to explain adequately. Will be very interesting to see this once the color coats go on!

Actually, though ... what tool did you use to apply paint to the weird wrinkly channelley surfaces? Just the foam brush routine, I presume?

Thanks guys!

Yeah I put in so many hours on the body work... The body has gentle contours that took me a lot of time to get right. I used glaze and lots of filler primer coats with lot's of sanding towards the end. Things took me way longer than a professional but I was learning as I went. I started to develop a feel for highs and lows because after a point it's hard to decipher with your eyes, but anyway...

I painted the red in the trunk, in the door jambs and in the engine compartment with spray bombs... the same Rustoleum safety red in the spray cans. Not a cheap way to go... I've probably gone through 15 cans or more. I thought it would be easier to do in those areas... like way back in the trunk where it's hard to reach and around the door hinges, under the hood and trunk where the bracing is etc. Of coarse I masked everything off real well and I did lots of prep. In the door jambs, I wet sanded the primer with 320 and then did 3 coats of red.

Isaiah

[ford man]

NEW video update! Painting the white stripe is making this job take a lot longer... the whole car would be looking pretty red by now but it'll be worth it in the end. I'm painting the white before the red so there is no bleed through.

Isaiah

[ford man]

Time for an update on my Starsky and Hutch Gran Torino project. The rustoleum paint job is taking a LONG time! I'm really getting the hang of it though and am a lot closer to being done. The white part is done and I finally masked off the stripe. I'm thinking I need to do like 4 more coats of red. Then I can wet sand and buff it out to smooth glossy satisfaction.

Sorry I'm not very good about posting pictures so far. For some reason making a short video is easier for me. I'll try to get some pictures of it though.






And here's a video of it running with some revving up in the driveway...

[marquisman]

looks good for what your doing. good work! a local guy around here has a starsky and hutch car, that is in nice shape. another guy has a general lee too. movie cars are cool. my brother is slowly putting his knight rider car together.

[sly]

if I end up driving the vic (will be some time down the line), I'll probably turn it into a "Day" Rider since it's white :p

I have the LED scanners (like the one that ScottB put on his box. Debating where to put one of them right now.

[marquisman]

white rider? lol your too funny mang. my brothers car is not a KITT either. everyone does them cars. his is a KARR, the evil twin nemisis. so it has the amber scaner on the front.

[tjc78]

white rider? lol your too funny mang. my brothers car is not a KITT either. everyone does them cars. his is a KARR, the evil twin nemisis. so it has the amber scaner on the front.

I would like to see pics of that.

[ford man]

LOL white rider. Super pursuit mode?

Knight Rider replica would probably be easy to make a Trans Am to look close to KITT but if you're going for full on perfection another story. I've checked it out... the special dash and nose are pricey! A KARR replica will be tight.

Got Knight Rider the complete series for Christmas. A little corny at times but a lot of fun to watch. When KITT drives himself you can see someone wearing a drivers seat 'suit'. The seat looks really big... pretty funny.