myzebra3
My Zebra3 Car Project
April 2008 - I got this 'beauty' off of eBay for $430. It was a good bargain at the time, but I would soon learn it would've been better to have paid $3,000 more for a better car and not gone through all the headaches that came later on.
Anyway, it's a 1975 Gran Torino Sport and came with no motor but a transmission. I wasn't aware that the roof was in bad shape and the inside trunk lid channel was rusted, but the rest of the car was in decent shape.
Anyway, it's a 1975 Gran Torino Sport and came with no motor but a transmission. I wasn't aware that the roof was in bad shape and the inside trunk lid channel was rusted, but the rest of the car was in decent shape.
After sitting at the mechanic's for a while, the car was moved to the body shop. The picture below shows the dismantled front end in preparation for the frame and firewall to be cleaned and painted.
Once this was done, it went back to the mechanic so he could install the 400 2-barrel engine that I bought from a friend of the seller's for $250. Despite that amount including another transmission, it would be a costly mistake as the engine turned out to be no good. One good thing, the motor we got from the junkyard had been very recently rebuilt, so at least that worked out in my favor.
May 2008 - The front frame and firewall have been painted. As you can tell, this isn't going to be a red Starsky & Hutch car. It's finally ready to go back to the mechanic to have the transmission and the first engine installed. Once this was done, I had FlowMaster dual exhausts installed. Boy, they sure do sound good!
July 2008 - I'm not sure if this is engine number 1 or 2, but both were 400's. I was also able to find some decent mag wheels off of eBay. The front ones are 14 x 7, and the rear are 15 x 8 1/2. During this time I made a few trips out to a junkyard that had a 1973 4-door Torino. I was able to locate an A/C compressor, air cleaner hood, electronic regulator, a new trunk lid channel, a hood, water pump brackets, a carberator, engine fan blade and shroud, and that soup can thing that goes on top of the driver's side fender. And that was only some of the donated parts this car needed!
Just a few more pictures of what the car looks like, showing a few of it's 'problem' spots. Just before it went back to the body shop, I stripped everything I could from it. As you can see, the roof is in bad shape, both on top and underneath.
September 2008 - After paying a fortune in shipping costs, I had a replacement roof put on. You can just make out the spot welds above the opera window. I think it's amazing what a good body man can do. There was no indication after it was welded on and flushed with the rest of the car, that it was a different roof from the original.
October 2008 - I trailered the car and drove it an hour away to have some areas sandblasted. Even with a lot of stuff off of it, this thing is heavy! I also needed a new trunk lid, which no surprise, I got off eBay! The original one was pretty rusted underneath.
November 2008 - The opera window holes are gone! The car is finally looking like a real Zebra 3. Although the work is going slow, at least I'm keeping up with the bill!
The hippy guy on the left is Brett. He used to race these cars and knows his way around a Torino like the back of his hand!
December 2008 - Really looking much better now. It's hard to believe there used to be opera windows on it. It's taken long enough, but the results are starting to show. This picture was taken with my cell phone, pretty good quality!
February 2009 - Door jams are finally painted! Even though none of the body shop boys like the car color, I sure do. They think it should be a candy or bright midnight blue...yuck. The grey primer really complements the blue. There are times I think about painting the stripe grey, but I'm still convinced it needs to be white.
February 2009 - Although hard to tell in the photo, the trunk bed has been painted with the same blue exterior color. I took some POR-15 rust stabilizer and saturated all the areas in the interior and trunk with it. Using some POR-15 body putty, I also filled several pin holes. The stuff is great! It really bonds up hard and sanding after it sets is really easy.
After treating the rust, I sprayed the inside rear quarter panels with undercoat spray. Before the bed got painted, I finished it off with some etching primer. As you can see, the black covering that encircles the gas funnel is also painted but eventually, it'll be replaced as the bottom support is entirely rusted out.
February 2009 - For the first time in almost a year, the car is mostly back together again! New body pieces include the roof, hood, trunk lid and driver's side headlight bezel housing.
Still waiting for the doors to be blocked before the car gets its second coat of primer. The blue paint looks really good on larger surfaces like the underside of the hood and trunk, but unfortunately, it's hard to show that!
Still waiting for the doors to be blocked before the car gets its second coat of primer. The blue paint looks really good on larger surfaces like the underside of the hood and trunk, but unfortunately, it's hard to show that!
March 2009 - Things are really hopping now. The car is taped up again to go in for its second coat of primer. Once it got done and sanded, the metal surface was soooo soft and smooth! The paint isn't too far behind now!
SQUEEEE!!! March 24, 2009 - Finally, after almost a year of owning the car, it's painted!! The metallic blue paint shows off different shades depending on whether sunlight is hitting the car or if it's inside, like it is here. Other than a few more little spots that need attention, and fixing the stripe width on the roof, just about everything is painted - except for the outside mirrors and bumper trim panels.
August - September 2009
Now that ALL the body work is finally done, I get to put the car back together again. Which brings up what should be the very first rule of car restoration....
ALWAYS put your finish screws, nuts and bolts into clear plastic baggies and LABEL them!!!
Not following this rule will lead to massive amounts of time spent looking for attachment screws that do not exist or cause the restorer to rely on already faulty and fading memory. There, you have been warned!
I ran into a rusty area beneath the right rear passenger seat that had several pinsize holes and a few dime-size ones. My body man suggested getting a fiberglass repair kit and applying it over the area. I sanded the spot with a wire cup brush attached to my power drill then applied the kit mix. Although you can't tell in the photo, it worked great and is extremely strong. The black pads are sound deadeners. One thing about mixing the fiberglass, it REALLY sets up very fast!
Now that ALL the body work is finally done, I get to put the car back together again. Which brings up what should be the very first rule of car restoration....
ALWAYS put your finish screws, nuts and bolts into clear plastic baggies and LABEL them!!!
Not following this rule will lead to massive amounts of time spent looking for attachment screws that do not exist or cause the restorer to rely on already faulty and fading memory. There, you have been warned!
I ran into a rusty area beneath the right rear passenger seat that had several pinsize holes and a few dime-size ones. My body man suggested getting a fiberglass repair kit and applying it over the area. I sanded the spot with a wire cup brush attached to my power drill then applied the kit mix. Although you can't tell in the photo, it worked great and is extremely strong. The black pads are sound deadeners. One thing about mixing the fiberglass, it REALLY sets up very fast!
Here's some fuzzy shots of the interior after I installed sound deadeners on the floor and the carpet. Another hard lesson I learned was ALWAYS choose your carpet color first, then upholstery as there are far more shades of seat material than there are carpet colors. After receiving three different shipments of blue carpeting, one of which I had to pay $70 extra for in shipping and handling costs, I finally got a carpet shade that I could live with.
The sound deadeners were easy to place, but in harder to reach places like underneath the roof, along the quarter panels, doors or any place on the floor where the pads have to mold around dips and bumps, you need to heat the pads up until they almost burn in your hand. Otherwise, you stand of risk of the adhesive not setting hard enough to hold the pad in place.
I also had massive problems with the ignition system. After nearly $400 in labor costs, I cut my losses and installed an HEI distributor. These high-performance 50,000 volt distributors provide hotter spark and more reliable starting. They also come in blue and red cap colors! They're also easy to install as most have only two wires to connect, so you can kiss that unreliable Duraspark ignition goodbye forever!
The sound deadeners were easy to place, but in harder to reach places like underneath the roof, along the quarter panels, doors or any place on the floor where the pads have to mold around dips and bumps, you need to heat the pads up until they almost burn in your hand. Otherwise, you stand of risk of the adhesive not setting hard enough to hold the pad in place.
I also had massive problems with the ignition system. After nearly $400 in labor costs, I cut my losses and installed an HEI distributor. These high-performance 50,000 volt distributors provide hotter spark and more reliable starting. They also come in blue and red cap colors! They're also easy to install as most have only two wires to connect, so you can kiss that unreliable Duraspark ignition goodbye forever!
October 17, 2009
My baby finally makes it's first public debut at the Starsky & Hutch SHareCon in Las Vegas. During the 580 mile trip down there, it ran just fine and actually got 18 miles per gallon! A far cry from the 5 miles per gallon I was getting before taking it to the Ford dealorship where a good mechanic was able to adjust the choke and idle so the engine purred.
After leaving Las Vegas, I drove it another 620 miles to its new home in Santa Rosa, California.
My baby finally makes it's first public debut at the Starsky & Hutch SHareCon in Las Vegas. During the 580 mile trip down there, it ran just fine and actually got 18 miles per gallon! A far cry from the 5 miles per gallon I was getting before taking it to the Ford dealorship where a good mechanic was able to adjust the choke and idle so the engine purred.
After leaving Las Vegas, I drove it another 620 miles to its new home in Santa Rosa, California.
...Inside, I need to finish my sail panels and install rear speakers on the deck lid. On the outside, the rocker panels need to be attached and I'd love to get the rear bumper rechromed. That spot under the right taillamp is painted with silver model paint but it only covers the rust spot that was made by the car's single tailpipe.
Hopefully, I'll be back in a few months with more updates. With luck, I'll be attending the Pismo Beach California 25th Annual Car Show this coming June. See you there!
Hopefully, I'll be back in a few months with more updates. With luck, I'll be attending the Pismo Beach California 25th Annual Car Show this coming June. See you there!
January 2010
As you can see, there are still a few more things that need to be done....
As you can see, there are still a few more things that need to be done....