Another small step in the right direction on Cale's '55. Any night with color in the gun is a good night!

Cool...is that Neptune Green?

Yes, it is.

This thread is filled with win!:biggthumpup:

Agreed:beers: I always look forward to updates!

Nice looking work Cale, keep some pictures coming for us please. Neptune Green reminds me of Emerald turquoise. Cool 😎.

Yesterday we put the trunk lid back on and aligned the gaps for the final time and moved on to gapping the doors. Both doors had window frames that were not square to the roof pillars. These were pretty easy to flex into shape.

We're not going to do high-end SEMA car level gapping perfection, but it should look a lot better than these cars ever were from the factory.

----What I see is on the money!!!....Bill S

Any updates Derek?

He's been busy setting up a multiple stop tour/cruise of "hot rod" shops in the Rochester area of MN for the Northstar Chevelle club for May...:worship:

Is there a Northstar Chevelle show/Gathering ? Not far from WPG if you still allow Canuks in convertibles.
Gary

We haven't sponsored an actual car show for many years. We do, try, to have monthly meetings, cruises and tech sessions thru out the summer, but we are Twin Cities based, so most of it is in the metro area.
Which brings me to what is WPG ?
Anyone is welcome to join an event as a guest/prospective new member...:wink:

Figured it out...WPG = Winnipeg. Long drive down to the Cities for an event, but you're welcome to, if you want.

Cale filled and blocked the driver's side door and quarter panel, taking them as far as his skill level could get it, while I've been working on the passenger side.

Passenger side is about ready for its 2nd round of fill primer and blocking. Not sure yet if it will be good enough after 2, or will need a 3rd... Cale is moving on to trying to get his 406 fired up on the run-stand while I continue to block sand.

Fun to watch this car come together.

Passenger side is as straight as it's going to get... it needs one more 180 blocking to get the last of the little imperfections out before its final prime, but we are moving on to the driver's side for now, while this side sits for a while to allow of any shrinking in the primer before we sand.

Also, we did a quick check of the door/fender gaps to make sure there's nothing needing any rework. They looked better than expected for parts that were finished separately from each other. Very acceptable gaps and panel curves matched up nicely.

Tonight we fired up his 406 with the Corvette dual-quad.
We're running only off the rear carb and don't have fuel to the front one yet. The engine sounds good, has oil pressure, and no major leaks, so we'll we'll worry about tuning after it's in the car.

This engine was built for a street rod, then the owner died and I bought out all the parts in his garage. I don't really know much about it, but it is supposed to be fresh. It should be a good mild engine with decent torque and just enough power to have a little fun but not get in too much trouble with...

https://youtu.be/PqY1-JlDWzw?si=LWhQflWEDwMKL_jZ

I could watch that video all day! The smile on Cale's face is priceless!:3gears:
Seeing that brings back so many great memories of my Dad and I working on cars.

Amen brother!

We made another big step forward on Cale's 55.
Driver's side is in its first coat of high build primer.

I hope to get it blocked again this week while Cale works on finishing the inside of the trunk... autocross season is starting soon, so progress may slow down a bit over the summer.

This so so cool to watch it coming along. Really appreciate you sharing this journey.

Now that busy summer is past us and race season is over, we're back to working on Cale's car.

Progress doesn't look like much, but it's the time consuming fine detail work around the window frames that I have been working on while Cale is working on the inside of the trunk. The trunk had a spot behind a brace with a rust hole we didn't see before due to an old hack repair hidden under the primer. Also, he's going to fab up a bracket to mount the battery down in the spare tire well, along with fabbing up a hinged cover for it.

Hard to beat seeing a young man, working on an old car........ welding!

No kidding, Derek raised him right, that's for sure.

I don't think Cale had a choice... not only genetic, but the whole, extended, family is immersed in car culture...:biggthumpup:
Super nice people to be around too.

Hope to see Cale with this one in our MCACN Future Generations special display next year!

Bashton

AGAIN? We're signed up to be there this year. Might be in Primer still, but hoping to have it painted. Would love to be invited back with it completed in 2026!!!

Thanks guys! Cale (17) is the oldest of my 3 sons, and most mechanical of the 3. He's pretty good with fabrication, but limited on body-work skills.

A.J. (15) is more into history, and is building a 1926 Model T to look like an early-30s era dry-lakes modified. Model Ts are another part of the car-hobby that our family is into.

Gaston (8) is most artistic of the 3 and seems like he'll pick up body-work pretty well. He wants my '68 SS396 Chevelle... we'll see.

I figured that was what was behind your comment on our forum about needing the block sanding done in 6 weeks.
If you can find a way to get Karl down there for a day, he's like a sanding machine... :worship:

Great to see your three sons learning such skills. Keep doing what you are doing.

3 generations sanding primer tonight!

Ha, got Grandpa there now. Are they staying for the weekend to help get it ready ?
Should be whipped into shape in no time.

He'll be back in the field tomorrow. He does farm work in spring and fall, but had the day off for rain today.

Today his tires were delivered, so we mounted them up on his Chrome Reverse steelies .

Fronts we should have gone one size wider. The 6.40-15s look really good on the 15x5 on my 68, but they look a bit too stretched on these 15x6.

Rears are 275/60 on 15x8s, and fit perfect.

These chrome reverse wheels took several years to find.

Lookin' good !! Those 275's really fill up the wheel well nicely.
How's the sanding coming ?
I only had 3 other cars with me on the cruise Saturday, so it was a very relaxing time.

Should be done sanding the body and doors this week.
Hoping by end of next week to have the roof and door jambs painted.
Then we move on to fenders and hood, which still need a fair amount of work.

I change the plan by the minute though, so who knows how this all shakes out.

Another good night with color in the gun. Door jambs are finished, and one door is jambed. I didn't have space for both to lay on sawhorses, so I'll probably spray the other door and gas door Saturday night.

Great color

Looks awesome Derek!