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P1800 restoration - early Jensen car

Looks great! Which of the three photos above do you think best represents the shade of paint IRL? The middle shot looks very close to mine and the other two make it look slightly lighter.

Really looking forward to following reassembly!

Probably the first one. It's a bit duller than the 46 color code. I'll try to get side by side pics when a friend brings his 66 over next week.

Re-assembly is somewhat on hold for now, I need to finish the metal work on 6501 in order to have space in the garage. Frame extensions, battery box, rear floors and most of the nose's structure have been repaired. We need to do front floors and trunk next week, as well as install the used front clip. I want it off the rotisserie and in storage until I can get the red car assembled.
 
Some update, I'm awful at taking pics as we work and even worse at remembering to post or update threads. Here's an update from late December until now.

Back from paint in December, I was trying to finish up the other car's metal work (on the rotisserie.) Got it done in late December, behind schedule but straight and clean.

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Pic above is with both cars on the ground. Car to the right started it all, it's a 63/64 I picked up out of MN with extensive rust. Front clip was removed, pic shows it on casters with a newer front clip draped over it.

Local shop rebuilt the generator for it. Invoice had a handwritten note: excessive rat feces in generator. This car was filled with rat feces, just ask Hiperfauto and Planetman. It was gnarly.

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Christmas came early, in the form of re-chromed parts. It's the most expensive part of the restoration after body work but it makes a huge difference.

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Took a couple weeks off over the holidays, but I was chomping at the bit in early January.
 
Early January, buddy and I were able to hit the ground running.

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Started trying on the side trim

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Stripped the car again so that interior, engine bay and trunk could have paint on them. Body shop should have done that but didn't and I didn't want to have the car trailered back to them.

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Satisfying but painting in your garage is a giant pain in the di..... I spent 5 hours masking off the car and protecting the garage.

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Pulled the rear axle off the car, cleaned and painted the house. Checked the rear end, along with bearings. Repacked the bearings, replaced all brake components (even though shoes and wheel cylinders looked brand new).

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Got hung up on a rubbing issue with one side, mentioned it to Eric on the phone one evening and still couldn't figure out why the drum was seizing as we tightened the axle nut. Turn out a backing plate had a kink in it.

This car was a factory non-overdrive car so I pulled an M40 I had and mated it to the car's original engine.

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Engine and trans were mounted on subframe and re-attached to the car.

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Front suspension was all refreshed/replaced. Rotors turned, calipers rebuilt, new shocks and springs and all new bushings.

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Rear bumper went on, as did lights and other misc rear end bits. I'll take more pics this weekend.

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Not even close. Many, many small things to come. OP car looks great!

:lol: come on now! It's a weird mix of having a long list of small things and also being able to knock them out quickly. 2 of us on the car makes it go quicker, and having fixed, replaced or prepped all the parts means it's often just a matter of re-installing them on the car.

Starting the engine for the first time will be a milestone, as will having the front and back glass installed.
 
If it's too nice you won't want to drive it.

I would still drive it, I'm the guy who still parks his 250K + mile V70 in the back of a parking lot. This one will have to be listed, I'm in pretty deep on these two cars and something's gotta give. The next one will be the one to keep, it won't be 100% stock and I think some of the aspects of the build will make very special to me.
 
Some progress, painting is great when you have a good gun....

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Fuel pump is similar to other AC units found on late 50's and early 60's British cars.

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Yes!! Thank you, it looks great and I'm trying to have the windshield and rear glass installed in a week. I hate running the trim inside the seal, someone else can fight that battle.
 
Started piecing the door elements together

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Fun started before it really began.... I forgot to have the upper door trim re-chromed. I assumed it was aluminum and was going to polish it myself.

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I have the vent windows fully rebuilt and assembled. I'm glad I took the time to do it right, they look new.

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Started working on the wiring. Between the car having had rats and its age, I'm not taking any chances. Everything is getting checked, soldered and sleeved as needed.

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I dont know how I missed this thread, this is really nice! I need to set myself up for paint, doing it with rattle cans is getting old

what did chrome cost you
 
I dont know how I missed this thread, this is really nice! I need to set myself up for paint, doing it with rattle cans is getting old

what did chrome cost you

Chrome was a major cost of the restoration. The upper door pieces cost me $118/pair which is probably cheap. The 3 piece bumpers required a lot of hammer and dolly work + multiple other layers to build them back up where they showed deep pitting. So that cost $1,000/complete bumper set (6 pieces total). Their minimum is $25/piece so some of the tiny chrome pieces inside the car skewed the cost of chrome a little since they cost more than they should. I plan on having calipers and all hardware plated with them for the next car. Not in chrome, they do nickel and other coatings too.

I followed Adam Nonis' recommendation on the paint gun and finally did away with my tired, partially clogged Husky. Major improvement, the paint lays down nicely and the flow is very even. Couldn't be happier. I won't paint an entire car anytime soon but if I can find a paint booth to rent, I may paint a buddy's Sprinter van since it needs a little love.
 
Found this cool little tag on the radiator

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It matches up with when the car would have been manufactured. I'm assuming 22 is the week ?

The other car has 19 63 on the one that came out of it, which also matches with official production dates.
 
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