Chris, Great job, hey I'm going through the same thing now, maybe you can answer some questions for me..  Did you get the pulley set from March performance? Now that I have installed headers the brackets won't work for the orginal AC compressor, nor will the brackets for the alternator? Where did you get yours? Did the shop fab them for you? I wanted chrome or aluminum, maybe stainless brackets but, can't find? Any ideas..Thanks Terry

[QUOTE=spielman5]Chris, Great job, hey I'm going through the same thing now, maybe you can answer some questions for me..  Did you get the pulley set from March performance? Now that I have installed headers the brackets won't work for the orginal AC compressor, nor will the brackets for the alternator? Where did you get yours? Did the shop fab them for you? I wanted chrome or aluminum, maybe stainless brackets but, can't find? Any ideas..Thanks Terry[/QUOTE]

Terry the AC compressor mount was gotten from Alan Grove Components Inc in Louisburg KS. Its part #113R for a small block Chevy, short water pump, passenger side - wide mount. The pulley set did come from March performance. As far as the brackets go they were all located & installed by Bob Moss the owner of Dragon's Breath Performance in Knoxville, TN. Here's his number, (865) 577-1990

Alright... I made it out to the body shop last Thursday with the baffles for the sidepipes & a front trim piece for the bumper. I also brought my camera. Sassi had the rear bumper off. She has a new rear end! The rear bumper & attachments were removed & the rear was re-glassed to repair the damage done by the first attempt.

Here is a close up pic of the rear end...

Mark re-did the opening for the antenna.

This is the left rear quarter panel & part of the deck. It has been blocked & sanded & needs to be re-blocked to remove a depression. I couldn't feel it but Mark assured me it was there.

This is the driver's side door frame. It has a lip. The lip wasn't there when the car was brought in but it is something that would be found on a 74 so it was added back in.

The weatherstripping will all be removed before she's painted. New weatherstripping will be put on. I actually have it sitting in the bar area here at the house...

Here's a pic of the right rear quarter panel.

This picture is of the passenger door frame. It was one of the unanticipated problem areas. Apparently there was so much rust that the entire area had rotted out.  :-(  Mark's people rebuilt the area with fiberglass. I think it looks a heck of a lot better...

This picture is a close up shot of the area above. It is the fiberglass insulation. It actually rusted as well!

Here we are looking at the forward part of the passenger door frame. The gap at the very top is supposed to be there, but the gap underneath it & the vertical piece need to be dealt with.

Here is a close up of the problem areas on the driver's side door frame & A pillar...

Here is a shot of the right rear wheel well showing the care that was taken to restore the lip of the well.

Here is the rear deck. You can see the blue fiberglass repairs as well as the yellow stuff which is sealer.

Sassi in progress!

(modified images to links - Norsky)

Norsky38744.8602546296

Well I called up the body shop this morning & was informed that
the right door jamb is completed. All the holes that weren't
supposed to be there have been filled in. The doors are
apparently done & are ready to be picked up from being bead
blasted. Hopefully they are in good shape.

Now for the bad news... Apprently the A pillar behind the
vertical pieces that were riveted into place on each side is not
in the best of shape. When they exposed the right side of the
pillar they found lots of rust & rot. I'm going down
there on Wednesday to have a look for myself.

Ok... Well I went to the body shop this afternoon. Mark was slammed as usual. His talents are greatly in demand & his shop is constantly busy. Sassi was in the same position as last time but more glass work has been done to the door frame area. There are also sections on the rear of the car that have been repaired & are in the process of being re-glassed & sanded.

Let's see... Where to begin? Well on the passenger side rear door frame you may remember that there was an area of rust on the fabric on the inner lip of the doorframe.

This little area was chipped away at to remove the surface rust that was present... Or so we thought. As the lip was chipped it was discovered that there was rust all the way along it, so the lip was removed & glassed over.

You can also see in the left bottom corner that there was more patching done...

There was also rust/rot at the base of the door weatherstripping...

The bottom of the rear right quarter panel had a tear along the bottom edge. It was patched as well.

There was an identical tear on the driver's side rear quarter panel.

The front of the door frame had a vertical fiberglass piece that had been riveted into place. At the top was a hole that was rusty. When the fiberglass piece was removed it was discovered that most of the bottom pillar was rusted. Mark said that he'll use an encapsulator to inhibit the rust. It should put the problem off for another 10 years.  As for the fiberglass piece, another one will have to be fabricated. This one is apparently beyond redemption.

The front of the fiberglass piece doesn't look too bad, but check out the other side that laid against the rust.

Here's the A pillar looking towards the front...

Here's the A pillar looking towards the driver's seat...

The rocker part of the frame seems to be in good condition.

(modified images to links - Norsky)

Norsky38744.8725231482

Well I went to the body shop yesterday. They have a guy working on her full time. Mark showed me that they were trying to put the front end together but the bumper was leaving an inch gap on both sides. They got the right side to fit, then the left side would bulge out. When both sides fit then the middle would bulge.  The lower valance was shot too. I found one at Zip but I've also been offered a used one. There are more cracks appearing along the shelf where the hood rests as well. They have taken the headlight assemblies apart & they are painting the rear surrounds & the front pieces.

The 4 door ajar & hood alarm switches went bad & they are being replaced as well. There's still the windshield that needs to be replaced & all the weatherstripping, but she is coming along & there is an end in sight.

Well I was down at the body shop a couple days ago & the car is almost ready for paint!!! They are still working on the hood & front end.They have to fill in the holes on the passenger door as they were drilled for a sport mirror & we are going old school with chrome. All of the door a jar & courtesy light switches had to be replaced as well & they are on the way here from Dr. Rebuild.

Here are the latest pics... Enjoy!

picture #1  picture #2

The following pics show how well the 1/4" gap was removed when the front bumper was attached.

picture #3  picture #4  picture #5

Here's a good shot of the hood. Areas near the front had to be glassed & sanded. Therre were uneven gaps around the whole hood.

Here's the back of the driver's side door frame...

This pic is interesting because the bolts that held the panels in place below the doors were sawn off by the mechanic & the bolts were still in the frame. No one knew if the bolts could be gotten out or not. The guy working on Sassi discovered that the bolts were inside of steel sleeves. He was able to tap them & draw them out. The panels are going to be stripped down & the black stripes will be repainted.

Here's how the passenger side looks.

Here's a pic of Sassi's rear. The man on the right is Gene. He's the man that's done all the work on her so far at Collision Specialties. 

(modified images to links - Norsky)

Norsky38744.8878125

Damn... I can't believe that I haven't updated this thread in over three months. . Its time for an update...

The body work is complete. Sassi now has two coats of dark bowling
green metallic paint & clearcoat. The shop is in the process of reassembling her.

DSC03342.JPG"> (couldn't resolve this link - Norsky)  picture #2  picture #3  picture #4  picture #5  

The next two pics are of the driver's side door & the passenger door.
They just noticed that the gap at the top of the driver's side door is
narrower than the passenger's side.

We had to wait 2 months for the hinges to be powdercoated.

We are currently replacing the hardware in the doors. We're keeping the Astro glass, but everything else will be NOS. The chromed trim that holds the t-tops in place is starting to bubble & peel. It'll be next on the list of things to replace.  picture #1  picture #2  picture #3  

(modified images to links - Norsky) 

Norsky38744.8897569444

Glad to see work is still being done on Sassi. She should be a great car when everything is all back together. I would be getting a little antzy by now for my car to come back home. 

Well Sassi is 99.9% completed. I visited the body shop today & spoke with
the guy restoring her. The list of needed parts has shrunk down to a few
items. I need a shim kit for the t-tops. A piece of trim for the
weatherstripping on the passenger side door frame, new wiper blades
(16"), lug nuts & an auxilary vacuum pump. She also needs a new battery.


Click here for a side view.


New rear glass & powdercoated vents


One of the re-upholstered seats installed


Front View


Driver's side interior view