Project: 1976 Coupe de Ville....

[bicentennialcadillac]

The air cleaner is supposed to be black.

[DopeStar 156]

As of this moment the air cleaner is rust colored. I could paint the thing black, but I was looking for a color to jazz it up a little.....

I can take more pics today, maybe some before and after shots.....

[Benzilla]

Originally Posted by Frost

Is this going to be a daily driver "keeper", or quick "blow and glow-special" that's intended to be prettied up and sold to an unsuspecting buyer? What lessons of life is this project meant to show the kid?

If it's anything other than the latter, merely painting over the rust spots without proper prep is just being dumb. And with a "foo-foo" can at that. Rustoleum? Save that crap for your lawn furniture and wheel barrows.

Sand, fill, sand, prime and paint. Even the look of a primered car is preferable to one with a bunch of not-quite-matching-colour spots with dribble marks going down it's sides.

Fer Chrissakes, if it's worth doing at all, then do it properly.

I think he meant just removing the excess rust, then covering it so it doesn't get any worse until he gets the full, quality paint job. Why would he want to put on a bunch of filler that will just have to be taken off and redone at the time of paint? This is just temporary.

By the way, great looking car, Dope. I can't wait to see some pictures after you've cleaned him up more. Thought of a name yet?

Oh, and air cleaners should always be black IMO.

[DopeStar 156]

Well I spent all afternoon cleaning the car up, and attaching little odds and ends together. There were a lot of the missing interior pieces under the seats (Along with several dollars worth of change) and another treasure.....

I FOUND THE DOOR KEY!!!!

Wedged between the seats at the 60/40 split half under a carpet seam. The bad news is now the driver's door is jammed shut. I guess I traded one convenience for another. I didn't touch the rust yet because I got some oppositions on my spraypaint method, so I'll wait on that. I repaired the floor mats which were peeling apart and reorganized the trunk. Here's some pics.....











My next day I devote to this will be to start tackling this mess......



I think it looks better already.....

[bicentennialcadillac]

She's looking better! You've got me thinking about approaching the owner of a derelict '76 CDV in my area.

Just MHO, but I'd lose the extra driving lights that flank the front license plate.

[gdwriter]

Holy crap! It doesn't even look like the same car. Very impressive cleanup job, Dope (and Ms. DopeStar; I assume she helped).

As others have said, I'm glad you got over your stage fright. This car deserves to be in the hands of someone who will appreciate it and give it the care and attention it deserves.

Don't know if you've come up with a name yet, but since you said this car gave off a male vibe, how about Boris? As in Boris Badenov from Rocky & Bullwinkle.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Holy crap, she (he?) cleaned up nice!

[Benzilla]

Sweet! That paint looks great even as it is. Are you going to deep clean the wheels or leave it at that? All you need now is a set of skirts.

That really is a beauty, I'm glad someone like you found it.

[Night Wolf]

It's looking really nice.... amazing what just a little care can do eh?

I'd remove those 70's era fog lights from the front of it though.

[DopeStar 156]

The fog lights are definately going away, they're on there pretty well though. The grille behind them is still intact that was the only thing I was worried about. You can't tell from the pics but the front grille has some sort of green stains in it so I'll most likely replace the grille. The wheels are actually pretty clean, the only thing that needs to happen are the crests on the wheel covers need to be repainted along with the trunk lock cover. Ms. DS said she wanted to help me with that......

Any tips on how to get the door open? I think the lock might be jammed. How do I get the door panel off with the door closed?