Super Street/ Super Gas Fairlane Build

milt said:

"I welded up a couple of the pin holes and a couple more just kept getting bigger." That, my friend, is what we like to describe as welding up a screen door.

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MP&C said:

We did run across more metalwork to fix prior to painting. The front fender had a hole for the antenna, which he didn't plan to use, so it was filled.

Is this the same part in both photo's - or are you showing something else? I just noticed the top-side painted in the second but not the first....hard to tell.

And just when you're ready to load parts in the paint booth, this shows up:

I just had that happen on the 56 Chevy - I almost need a big light and magnifying glasses to catch everything!

Wonder what caused that?

RUST - IT NEVER SLEEPS!!!

Do you put any rust paint or Zinc (weld-thru) primer in there?

Front side primed, slick Sand high build, and guide coat (next day):

I always use 2K for block sanding, but decided to try the Slick-Sand last week on the 56 Chev,(which is sprayable filler for you non AB guys) and decided I HATE it! Have you used it a lot? That stuff barely goes through a 2.0 tip and takes a long time to sand down to a reasonable end-thickness I can see using it over questionable bodywork, .but you do nice work!

AWESOME WORK!!! I love those cars!

Mind if ask a bunch of Q's: How long have you owned your shop? Where abouts are you? How many employees? Do you do moslty collision work or resto (I know the $$ is in collision!) Have you done any writing for magazines or online media? You'd be great at it!

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e-tek said:

Holy COW - you must have put as much time into posting up all these pics as doing the car!!! Awesome and thanks!

MP&C said:

We did run across more metalwork to fix prior to painting. The front fender had a hole for the antenna, which he didn't plan to use, so it was filled.

Is this the same part in both photo's - or are you showing something else? I just noticed the top-side painted in the second but not the first....hard to tell.

Actually, that's not paint, its just a change in lighting (camera flash on second pic) that caused that appearance. If you look close, you can see still see the DA marks in the metal. That's a before and after filling the antenna hole...

And just when you're ready to load parts in the paint booth, this shows up:

I just had that happen on the 56 Chevy - I almost need a big light and magnifying glasses to catch everything!

Those dark brown circles I was telling you about....are a good indicator of rust scale coming through.....something to look for in any dirt/mud/rust collection area

Wonder what caused that?

RUST - IT NEVER SLEEPS!!!

Do you put any rust paint or Zinc (weld-thru) primer in there?


A restoration publication I read years ago had conducted a test of long term performance of epoxy vs. weld through primers, and their testing concluded that Epoxy primer performed better in protecting against the return of rust. So typically I use epoxy primer and in the instance of plug welds, will clean out the hole of paint prior to welding. Other restorers I have conferred with also have indicated to me that weld through needs to be of minimal build or cleaned out of the plug weld holes or weld contamination results. This door (both actually) was one of the few instances where I will use POR products (accessibilty limitations), because short of removing a door skin completely, one can never know what else lies in wait. Inspection inside the door seemed to indicate the damage to the door skin was limited to the area shown, so after the metalwork was complete, a turkey baster was used to apply POR to the entire perimeter of the inside seam, rolling the door up on end as needed.

Front side primed, slick Sand high build, and guide coat (next day):

I always use 2K for block sanding, but decided to try the Slick-Sand last week on the 56 Chev,(which is sprayable filler for you non AB guys) and decided I HATE it! Have you used it a lot? That stuff barely goes through a 2.0 tip and takes a long time to sand down to a reasonable end-thickness I can see using it over questionable bodywork, .but you do nice work!


I used a 2.2 tip for spraying the Slick Sand. Definitely needs a larger tip size than used for Epoxy primer. The biggest advantage of using a "sprayable" filler over a spreadable type is that you can apply a more consistant build thickness. If your door (or whatever panel) is somewhat flat to begin with, sprayable filler will do a better job keeping it that way.

AWESOME WORK!!! I love those cars!

Mind if ask a bunch of Q's: How long have you owned your shop? Where abouts are you? How many employees? Do you do moslty collision work or resto (I know the $$ is in collision!) Have you done any writing for magazines or online media? You'd be great at it!

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I've been working on restorations for about fifteen years now, and this is presently a part time venture, located in Southern MD. My nephew is the only other employee, other than specialty help that gets farmed out, like the fiberglass work on the hood. I turn away collision work as I don't want the insurance companies telling me how to do my job. Body shops don't like rust repairs, and I like the challenge. Presently the only "articles" I have done have been how-to threads on forums just like this one. I am in process of writing a more detailed article(s) of various areas of the restoration of this car for the Fairlane Club of America and its magazine, the Fairlaner. But thus far, no others. Thanks for the kudos..

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MP&C said:

The chassis is certified NHRA and IHRA I believe to 8.50...If I find out different, I'll post the info...


Got the hood wet sanded and test fit the Griffin radiator.......

In addition to getting some more wet sanding done, (hoping to spray more red tomorrow) we had noticed a patch of lead in the B-pillar on the passenger side. Used the torch to melt it out, only to reveal a nice hole punched in. Judging from the direction the striking object must have travelled, it appears the door was not installed at the time. Looks like it had to be damaged and repaired at the factory??

I've been told this was likely a "suspended" spot welder that was overzealously swung into the car at the factory?

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JDS968 said:

I'm curious, though...at some point, maybe right around when you were saying, "Order a second teardrop"...did it ever occur to anybody to say, "What if we ditched that tall intake and that huge single downdraft carb, and went with a couple of sidedrafts with short runners, crammed into the valley?" Or is that heresy?

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MP&C said:

Thanks for the comments.

After fixing the drip rail on the drivers side, the other side is already suspect for similar damage. The owner was hoping we could get by with leaving the passenger side alone. There was some deep pitting in the drip rail, and some visible where the seam sealer was removed. Found two small holes in the outer part of the drip rail, which I thought could be welded up if I had to........but where the inner part of the drip rail spot welds to the underside of the sail panel, I could feel the telltale signs. The metal had swelled up, giving the indication of some rust scale lurking between.

Note pin holes:

The owner really didn't want to cut this side open, so what's an ****-retentive guy with a bunch of raw sheet metal to do? So I waited for him to go on travel for work, called him up and then told him the bad news.

Replacement fitted and welded:

There, all put back together, before he could protest too loudly

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zmaxmotorsports said:

Man this is better than caffeine or any drugs out there!

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