# another tempest/gto project....



## anotherls1 (Mar 28, 2016)

*another tempest/gto project.... PICS ADDED!*

hey guys, im currently working on a tempest/gto project for a friend. his plans were a quick, cheap, 20 footer paint job, an ls1/4l80, and drive it. weve got the car up on my rotisserie, he has already gotten the frame cleaned up, boxed, and por15'd. the bodywork is where i come into this whole thing. 

long story short, the previous owner did some amazingly shoddy repairs. what started as my friend wanting to kind of band-aid over the previous owner's work has snowballed into (at a minimum) front/mid floor pans, inner/outer rockers, trunk extensions, 1/4 extensions. as it sits now i have taken so much metal out of an already 'soft' car, we need to get to a point where we are making repairs instead of continuing to cut out the rot. personally, i think (as much as i dont want to do the extra work) the car needs a full trunk pan (previous owner 'glassed it in, the guy must have had stock in a body filler company) outer wheel tubs, whole quarters (already needs the extensions, i want to do complete inner/outer rockers, might as well just do the 1/4's.

i guess here are my initial questions:
we mocked up a door and a fender to start getting an idea of what to do with the rockers, and the whole body is twisted. the body/frame are on the rotisserie, but i'd imagine some sag is normal considering it is not sitting on its original suspension points. i realize the body/frame will have to be bolted together, and sitting on its 4 suspension points to get the body to where we can start stitching in some sheet metal. i really wish we had braced the body before starting, but we had no idea we were getting into it this deep.

i started sandblasting saturday, and found even more horrible repairs that need to be addressed. im going to upload pictures as soon as i get home. just wanted to say a quick hello and get started!


----------



## anotherls1 (Mar 28, 2016)

pics added!!!


----------



## anotherls1 (Mar 28, 2016)

more pictures


----------



## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

Welcome to the forums. :cheers
I notice some missing body mounts, could that be a contributing factor in the body being twisted??


----------



## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

It appears that plates have been welded to the side rails in an attempt to box them as well as plating on the top frame just in front of the side rail. If the welding was not done correctly, or the frame not jigged up, heat from welding can twist the frame in a heart beat. 

Personal opinion. I would do what it takes to drop the frame from the body and then take dimensional measurements using a factory frame diagram which provides all your measurements. If the frame is twisted or out of square, then it needs to be addressed first before you go any further and weld any sheet metal that will only aggravate your original problems and perhaps never get corrected. If you are going for a "rat rod" look and straight body lines are not what you are after, then you could possible work with it and hope your suspension can be aligned so the car goes straight down the road and doesn't chew up tires. Just sayin' as I see it in the photos. I would stop now and check that frame. If bad, one can be purchased without all the rot and welding.


----------



## anotherls1 (Mar 28, 2016)

as far as the frame being twisted from the owner boxing it, i am not concerned. errors in judgement are rare with him, except buying THIS PARTICULAR gto haha. he wanted something to clean up and throw an engine in, thats not what he got. i feel bad every time i have to call him over to look at another 'discovery'. personally if it were my vehicle, at this point i would be replacing EVERYTHING. floors, inner/outer rockers, trunk, tailpanel, 1/4's, innner/outer wheel houses. there are soooo many crappy repairs, and when i say that the previous owner loved him some body filler, i mean it! everything he worked on has resin or filler! sad thing is, its probably stronger than his welds (we removed a body mount with one swing of a 16oz hammer) as i said before the frame is in good shape, the owner knows how to weld and not warp, etc. so im sure that the frame is done right. there are 2 body mounts that need to be replaced, which i will get to soon. as for right now, i think the plan is this (unless im missing something)

1- one more sandblasting session, just in all the nooks and crannies. the rest of the sheetmetal im doing by hand, im only doing edges and spots that are tough to get to.
2- thoroughly clean all sand from the vehicle (this is actually being done at a high school shop, but since the shop is near the computer labs, the shop has to be kept near sterile. its a mixed bag.)
3- set frame either on original suspension parts and jackstands, or on a wood cart built to spec for the body to sit on, secured to the suspension mounting points. with the body secured properly and sitting level, etc, the body should theoretically be where it is going to be moving down the street. from all the books ive read, simulating weight in key areas can be crucial to setting door gaps etc, so we will take that into consideration. i kind of want to get the doors/fenders in primer with all bodywork done so i can make sure it all lines up 100% the way it should.

the owner and i are going to have to discuss buying a calibrated tram set for some measurements, but i am not coming up with many good sources of body measurements (from fisher, gm, pontiac, or even collision shops) 

luckily (what an insane stroke of luck) eastwood opened their chicago location literally a mile from my house. i am going to pray that they have a gto enthusiast who can shed some first person light on this subject.

ALSO: what are your thoughts on the 1/4 skins/outer wheelhouses? i have no idea how to attach the front of the trunk extension. jim (owner) wants to just make a metal tab and weld it where it all lines up, as well be seam-sealing anyway, so 1/8" gaps dont scare us on this car. i want to do 1/4 skins/outer wheel tubs to ensure everything is lined up properly. previous owner had his own 'method' of replacing sheet metal, and it defintitely didnt involve drilling spot welds or removing panels entirely.


----------

