i have hand painted flames on there, and the black panels are rattle canned on how do i smooth it out so that if i take it to maaco i still wont see the flames. granted, i dont expect a great paintjob from maaco but id like it to at least look all 1 color and semi smooth haha. i also have a few very small rust spots in the front by the grill area (almost impossible repair without a doner front or repop sheetmetal) whats the easiest semi OK way to prevent it from spreading and making it look half decent. id LOVE to paint it maroon but then id have to do the whole iside and boy would that be a project. p.s. the i might have to teal the quad lights in the front idea!!!! my plans are to remove front bumper, and mirrors, and just a solid color paint. maybe different wheels anyone wanna photoshop it for me?
Maaco is just going to run a scuff pad over it quick and spray it, so if you want to smooth out the flames, get yourself a DA and a ****load of 180 grit paper and go to town. You could start off with some 120 if you've got to knock down some really high spots. I personally would take all the trim off the car before you even start sanding, and send it to the paint shop with as little exterior parts on it as you can, so they don't just tape everything off. As far as the grille rust goes, I would personally sandblast all the rusty spots until they're completely cleaned up, then put some good epoxy sealer on them, and if you want, mud it over that. Sandblasting/sealer will keep it from getting rusty again, and may as well fill in the ****ty spots to make it look nice. I wouldn't do that on anything real nice, but apparently you're not looking to spend too much time on it.
yeah, its my daily driver, and its not in perfect shape as it is, i just want to stop it from spreadin too much thats all. the whole front is bondo as it is.
my main goal is to make it stand out a little less believe it or not...a little more subtle so i dont get pulled over 3 times a week. -Rob
I had that same van back in the day, same long body, same color. I painted flames in the upper panel area that you have painted black. I took the grille out and put blue lights back in there, '65 Mustang wheel covers. Of course since it was 1974 it had orange **** carpet in the back with many "mood" lights. Cheap paneling on the walls and top and an 8 track player up front. I had too much fun in that thing.
yeah like crazy in this new town. they bust my balls from everything from unclear plates, to unlicensed commercial vehicle to seatbelt, to rearview mirror, on and on and on.
Yeah, Rob, you gotta get a DA and it'll knock those flames right off! As for the rust...get some Rust Bullet. Clean the area real well, Rust Bullet it, and maybe a quickie fibergl*** patch...if you just wanna kind of half *** it. I know how it is to not want to spend too much time on makin a daily driver perfect. That ****s you get pulled over alot. I NEVER got pulled over in that, or anything else I drive these days...the cops are too busy with the tuners to mess with old rides, down here! What you need is a sticker you get from donating to the local police charities....stick that in the back window, andd I'll bet they leave ya alone a bit more. Maybe even a "back the BLUE" sticker! Anyways....if you don't wanna paint the interior, you could go with the color it is now, or black or a more emerald green (like the dash and door panels) or white or orange. Black or one of the greens would be the least "attention getting" colors AND they would less utilitarian looking than the white. Maybe black and do the top panel in the weird green that it is now? Add your "shop logo" to it, too...this might help the cops see it as a work vehicle, rather than a stalker-van. HAHA! I vote for Cragar S/S's for the wheels. The quad headlites sound like a good idea...I think someone on the Econoline Group did that, so there might be tech piece there. Oh yeah, besides the logo...STRIPE THE HELLOUTTA THE THING! Stripe the rear doors, the nose and the side panels (around your logo)! Have you seen that Japanese owned El Camino that has completely striped panels all over it? This would cool for you! I don't have a scanner or I could post apic for you...it's in BurnOut. I'll try to find the issue, if you want, and you can track it down.
Maybe you should try postin a sideview? Maybe all the photshop gurus are doin family stuff for Christmas? Maybe nobody likes you. HAHAHA! **** "subtle" or "low profile"...I think it needs a wild 60's-70's panel style paint job with at least 4 or 5 colors! Put the "support stickers in the back window (maybe one up front, too) and paint the hell outta the thing!!!
In my humble opinion, anything black and low is like a sore pecker; hard to beat! Here's a black version and the requested maroon version. Some contrasting panels would be *****in', but it's late and I'm lazy, so this is it for me... Also included a cool 68 chevy van that was on eBay last week. Loved the wheel/tire combo with the narrow whites, etc. Just looks like a rolling Chuck Taylor sneaker to me. As for going lo pro with the local fuzz, you ever thought about painting some super-conservative faux business on the thing? ie: Hank's bible repair and pet grooming, All American gun cleaning, Crown Dry Cleaners, etc to throw the coppers off your trail? Good luck! -Bill www.eldiablorun.com
..........go ahead and register it as a commercial vehicle....... "ROB'S MEAT MARKET" "You can lick our chops, but you can't beat our meat!!"
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