I got to finally drive it home,my silver glistening elky! As soon as I get more pics I'll post them.If anyone's interested in looking,go to pg.18,Rob's'84.Now I got to do some serious cleaning of paintdust,it's everywhere!Probably in a couple of weeks when the paint cures,I might try to buff some of the roughness out of it.Unfortunately I don't have a digital camera,so I'll have to wait till a friend of mine brings it over.Thought I'd let you all know...just really geeked about all of this!It was done just in time for my dad's birthday,he would of been 72,this car is also a tribute to my dad.Happy b-day pops!R.F.M. r.i.p.9/10/32-12/22/03

Congratulation of that. It's pretty great having a fresh paint job and sort of feels like, to me, that your driving a new car to some degree. Looking forward to seeing the new paint job. You don't have to wait a couple of weeks. Give it 3 days at best then go ahead and start rubbing down the finish. Did the paint shop just paint it or did they go the extra step and do some smooth sanding and buffing? I hate orange peel on a classic or old car it just doesn't fit they should be smooth.

So what is next? Where do you go from here interior, Power Plant, drive train, suspension or are you completely finished?

Thanks!I didnt take it to a body shop.I finally got a buddy to do it after nagging him. :mrgreen: I figured he did this for practically nothing and did it in a fairly timely basis. I really gotta clean all that dust and crap outta the inside especially.I'll probably wash it today as well.Yeah it does almost feel like drivin a new elky almost.Almost reminds the day my dad bought his "78 Caballero,bought that off the showroom floor.

hey dude just got done wetsanding and polishing it. OMG! I'm still sore,takes quite a bit out of you.I worked on it all day thurs.Then late fri.afternoon I was pretty much done polishing it.There was some buggers that the paintgun put on,and some high spote that just wouldnt come out.But considering the thousands I saved having an amatuer do it,I aint complaining! :thumbsup: Overall though it turned out pretty good.It shined up pretty well.I told a friend when he comes over to bring his camera,so hopefully I can very upload some pics very soon.

Looking good man I know that you can appreciate the final product after all the work. I just got mine back and it is like have a new car all over again good work......... Now that you got it painted now all the big money spending starts now :D

Amatuer?!?! Who, me? :mrgreen: What do you expect from a cheap POS paint gun LOL! :lol: I'm pretty much done with painting cars, too much work involved!

So am I!! And I did most of the prepwork,now comes all the other stuff!Parts galore,the list will probably never end. :crazy: :mrgreen:

Good job. Looks great. I'm sure you're stoked. :-D

hey! that caballero looks pretty good! you do that yourself? whats the story behind that?? I had a 78 my first elky and first car too! I loved it so!

Thanks. Not much of a story. I needed a cheap truck but wanted an Elky. Searched and searched and the pickens were slim around here so I paid too much for a beater.

Stripped some old paint, did some shoddy body work and had a relative shoot it with a cheap Harbor Frieght paint gun. Slapped some cheap decent wheels on it, extra super cheap tires too. Got a dash cap to cover what was left of the cracking dash, put some new carpet in it along with a $3 flea market ancient Alpine cassette and $10 set of Wal-Mart dash speakers. eBayed a decent steering wheel that I knew would clean up half way decent and got a super dooper cheap seat cover.

Next is the motor. I have a 327 that was in my "inventory" so once I find some later model heads other than the camelbacks that are on it (accesory holes) I'll be rebuilding a motor to go in it. It's a matter of time now, Hurricane Ivan had me take 1 step forward and 25 steps back.

The whole concept I was going for was a budget beater that was still presentable. For the most part, I've stuck to the plan with the exception of the somewhat pricey original purchase price. $2k. Elkies are few and far between around here and when you find one it's not cheap though there are a few for sale around here right now that I feel are VERY fair even at $5k and up.

I like the Camaro wheels on yours, they go nice with the silver. Now that your ride looks sweet, time to change your Avitar. :P

yeah,thought about changing the avatar,kinda attached to the one I have,oh well,it's in my pics anyway if I change my mind. I got the rims for $100 off a friend,they need alotta work,lots of buffing.I got my elky for $50!Aguy that a friend used to be friends with told him that his uncle had one that he wanted to get rid of cheap. It was sitting in a field for years,itwas in horrible shape.To make the story quick he wanted it for the interior,and I took the parts off my '82 and rebuilt it. The car costed $100 and I went halvesies on it.It was actually in better shape than my '82 was!!Ever hear the term"termites holding hands"?So theres kinda a short story behind mine.