Here's a couple better pics with the masking off.

Grandpa came over to make sure we didn't screw up spraying the roof tonight. Cale shot some of the first coat of color, but I did the rest. Dad helped critique and correct some flaws in my technique, and the result turned out very good for an amateur in a home garage who hasn't painted in years and without a professional booth.

It will need a cut and buff once it dries.

I love this project!

Looking great !!
I like the old trunk lid as a set up spray out panel...:laugh:
That is a great color too.

Amazing family progress,love that color too.

First time spraying this Tamco clear, so Dad recommended we test it on something first... Still some wisdom in that old man. :)

Hey now....I think he is younger than me....:eek2:
Really nice to have a mentor. Karl has been more than patient with me, trying to teach me to block sand and "see" with my hand...

We rolled the car into the other garage to make room for doing more body work on the front clip. The fenders are coming along nicely, but the hood is giving us trouble. When Cale welded up the hood bird and emblem holes, he warped it pretty bad. I hit it with the shrinker and took a lot of that out, but still have some oil-canning and warpage that is making it hard to get as straight as everything else without having way too much filler in it.

I might call it quits on this hood, and start over with another one we have... and maybe work a little closer with Cale and give more guidance on the next one so we don't repeat the mistakes.

We made a lot more progress this week. Cale with some help from his brother AJ got the 406 and Saginaw 4spd installed into the car, and repainted and installed a vintage set of Appliance headers with 4-bolt flanges.

I block sanded both fenders multiple times, and now have them in their final coat of primer to be wet sanded for paint. Doors were also primed their last time. Core support blasted, primed, some pitting filled and sanded, and painted.

Cale stripped the extra hood and I welded up the hood bird and emblem holes.

Tonight we hung the doors, and tomorrow night I'll paint the fender jambs, then Tuesday night we'll hang the whole front clip. Hood will need some straightening and test fit on the car before we bodywork it.

Grandpa came over last night to help align the front end sheetmetal. This was a struggle that fought us every step, caused by one incorrect part.

The core support that we got with the car is for a '56
It's about an inch wider than a '55 core support. It bolted up to the 55 fenders, but we spent a few hours fighting the fender fitment before I sent Cale out to measure the core support of my '55.

Once we figured that problem out, we removed the core support and aligned things the best we could without it. Since everything moves so much without that support, the final panel gapping will have to wait for another time.

Also, the 2nd hood was a struggle as well. I think we'll be better off going back to bare metal on the first hood and spending more time hammering and shrinking.