I got the frame and suspension tacked up, and the body set on the frame. now, should i just keep aquiring parts and assembling. or send the body to the blasters and then put on the patch panels? technically the body doesnt need to be done to put the car together, and it would eliminate any chance of screwing up the bodywork while working on the car. what would you do?
My 2¢, keep it moving forward however you can. If you need patch panels you've got a ways to go before you screw up bodywork.
Send the body out to get cleaned while your doing the frame. Sending the body out for cleaning before bodywork is is a great idea. Sandblaster tells no lies and you can see all the sore spots and the metal is clean for welding. I used to clean my own but the last one i did i sent it out unless you like that kinda work. Doin it yourself still cost money anyway and need good equipment not to mention the mess and health concerns.
I wouldn't do any nice bodywork until the dirty work is done. Best to build it dirty, tear it apart to grind/blast/clean/paint the pieces and then reassemble. And you'll still scratch something! It's a good idea bolt the body in final position before doing body work and messing with doors.
I much prefer working with clean, blasted and primed stuff during the build, so that's where I'd start. Yes you'll need to grind some areas clean of primer before you weld, and then clean and reprime them before you do the mud work and paint, but to me that's not a big downside to the obvious advantages of this technique. I prefer direct-to-metal epoxy primers because they are compatible with body filler and give the user great flexibility while at the same time providing excellent protection while the parts are waiting for finish paint. My $.02.
If you have the patch panels and are out of other work to do until you buy more stuff then this is a good time to do the patch panels, you don't need to do finish body work until you are ready to paint but there is no reason not to get your body ready for finish body work. You may consider finishing welding on anything you have mounted on the frame while you are at it.
where im at now. next week build the sub frame for the body. Then i think i will start collecting the rest of the parts to put everything together. brakes, fuel system, lights and interior. get it all assembled then take it for a ride around the block. then disassemble and do the bodywork. holes in the body make for more access points.
i do have all the patch panels. but id hate to ding something up while its in the shop getting everything else done.
What are you going to do if it breaks down after its done? I remember pulling a pristine body off of an old Ford once because the guy wanted the frame revamped. The body came off frame got redone and the body went back on. there may have been a scratch in it but I don't believe if there was it was any noticeable. I am not that graceful in real life, pretty much a clutz but if you take lust a little care you'll be fine.
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