skyhawk resto - Page 2 - First Generation Forum

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Re: skyhawk resto
Sunday, August 17, 2014 1:25 PM
well i finally got back to the hawk i made a makeshift paint booth out of my garage with some plastic sheeting and a box fan in the window with a couple of furnace filters for some exhaust. the cars all primed with filler primer and sanded down with 600 grt. if it isnt to humid i think i will be able to top coat it next weekend. i already did the hood and trunk lid just to see if i liked the color and to see if my prep work and painting skills are presentable. i dont think i could or want to make a living doing this but all in all they look pretty good. after paint its new tires, muffler and carpet.






Re: skyhawk resto
Sunday, August 17, 2014 2:04 PM
I see a LOT of work there!! I doubt there are many....if any other 'Hawks getting this treatment around the Country but yours!!

" i dont think i could or want to make a living doing this" ...... - My god you hit the nail right on the head John!!


It''s gonna be a Blue J!!


When you get this done you will be a local standout - there will only be one Skyhawk driving around and everyone will know it is YOU !!

Thanks for the update!! Wonderful photos!!


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Re: skyhawk resto
Sunday, August 17, 2014 10:46 PM
I'm keeping this short being tired! But I as a clean freak can truly appreciate how well you set up the shop for painting covering everything and keeping it NEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is some great work there and the time and steps taken are very much liked by me in my habits on doing restoration work in my garage when I do.Just a big nod to you john on the updates and done for tonight.R



Re: skyhawk resto
Monday, August 18, 2014 3:33 AM
thanks for the encouragement guys. my goal for this car was to make a presentable driver that icould take to the cruise nights or local car shows for under 2500$. without being laughed off the lot. right now i have about 1600 into it and that includes the cost of the car so i think with the other things i have planned for it i might even come under the 2500. i want to prove that if you find a decent car to start with you dont have to spend tens of thousands to enjoy the old car hobby. Orlen, you are right about me having thr only hawk around, i havent seen a single one in the 3 or so years i have owned it. when i was driving it i would often get comments like what is that ? or i havent seen one of those in years! thats part of the appeal of this car. Ron, im a little bit of a neat freak too (not quite on your scale) so the mess of doing this is getting to me and i will be glad when i am done. iam more of a nuts and bolts guy and like projects that only take a day or two and can see quicker results. its ironic how dirty and messy things have to get to make something look good! even with all my precautions i am going to have clean every thing in that garage. i bought this car on the spur of the moment as a spare when one of the familys cars was in for repair and now its turned into an obsession with a totaly different purpose. funny how things work out.
Re: skyhawk resto
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 7:56 PM
i Live in ct and im getting my second skyhawk coupe next week. i drive an 84 and the one i will be getting is an 89. im doing my resto over the next 6 months or so.
Re: skyhawk resto
Saturday, September 06, 2014 3:42 PM
well i finaly got some paint on this thing. last week i shot the first coat and then i dulled up the paint to take the second coat. if i woulldnt of missed a few spots i would have left it alone with one coat. anyway, i shot the second coat this morning and let it bake all day in my hot garage. i pulled of the masking and br ought it out in the sun to see the results . not to shabby if i do say so myself no runs or drips that i can see. a little orange peel but i can live with it. tommorow i will gather up all the trim and and start putting it back together. that will be the fun part. i will post more pics as i go along.the first pic is after i scuffed up the first coat . the next are of the final result







i wish the pics were better but the clouds kept rollong over head. she really pops in the full sun.
Re: skyhawk resto
Saturday, September 06, 2014 3:47 PM
Looks great, love the color. Did you use some of that new water based paint or old school?







Re: skyhawk resto
Saturday, September 06, 2014 4:00 PM
really old school i used an enamal i will wait at least a month for it to cure fully and than buff it out.
Re: skyhawk resto
Saturday, September 06, 2014 6:12 PM
Looks Great John!!

You gonna have one of the shiniest , prettiest lil Hawks here on J-Body!!

Just wait till you finish putting it back together and take it for that 1st spin!! No new car can compare......

Ummmmmmm.....guess I'd better warn ya though.......After you finish with this one, it might just happen that you get the urge to paint again. Yeah....it kinda happened to me like that - and I've been painting on my Ranger this year since late April - worked on it today as a matter of fact. Dunno why it happens like that - but after you finish the first one it 's kinda like Lays potato chips. I'd never want to do this for a living , but gee, a Car (or Truck) can make a really neat canvass. The more you experience - the more you learn. The more you learn - the more you want to experiment.


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Re: skyhawk resto
Saturday, September 06, 2014 7:23 PM
John-

Looks awesome. I can't wait to see it all back together.




Re: skyhawk resto
Saturday, September 06, 2014 10:40 PM
Nice results!!!! pretty tired so short it is.




Re: skyhawk resto
Saturday, September 13, 2014 4:02 PM
more progress on the the old hawk items installed......
freshly painted air dam and blacked out grill,headlight bezels,emblems,license plate holder,rear bumper and talights,sideview mirrors,cowl, hood and hood insulation cleand up the interior and bought some new seatcovers. new tires rims and muffler next week


trunk lid and luggage rack






Re: skyhawk resto
Saturday, September 13, 2014 10:14 PM
Just awesome outcome!!! It looks great and sure you will enjoy your new old ride for miles to come.



Re: skyhawk resto
Sunday, September 14, 2014 5:14 AM
EXCELLENT!!

In an era of all metallic with clearcoat this is gonna stand out tall and proud! You did a GREAT job John!!

This car screams of great care , and attention to details - be prepared for lots and lots of compliments!! I bet you stand back looking at this job and have amazed even yourself - and that is the bessssssstest feeling on the planet my friend!!

Curious......So how much was the " do-it-yourself " paint job tab? after all it was said and done?



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Re: skyhawk resto
Sunday, September 14, 2014 5:51 PM
SWEETNESS!

I LOVE IT!




Re: skyhawk resto
Monday, September 15, 2014 4:58 AM
cost of paint job;
sandpaper 5.00
paint 20.00
55 gallon drum of bondo 375.00
25 cases of beer 500.00
2 bottles of asprin 10.00
2years of my life
Re: skyhawk resto
Monday, September 15, 2014 7:17 AM
best looking Hawk on j-body...priceless!
Re: skyhawk resto
Monday, September 15, 2014 5:51 PM
Very nice!!!.. Saw an 87? Hawk sedan the other day, a rare thing to see in New England.













Re: skyhawk resto
Sunday, September 28, 2014 6:03 AM
well the skyhawk story has come to an end. i actually finnished last week but the weather has been so fantastic here that i have been enjoying driving both the hawk and the vert around to post earlier. the last parts to go on the hawk were the chrome wheel arches, side moulding and roker panel trim. i also had new tires and muffler installed. just a few notes on the build, i didnt have much trouble finding the drive line or mechanical parts, it was the interior and exterior time pieces that are the difficult things to locate. the absolute hardest part i had to source was the clips that hold the roker panel trime on.

early on i found ten of them at a swap meet but you need fourteen for the car.i had to use some broken ones to finnish and they dont hold it tight to the body as i would like. i found some at the junk yards but the little antenna like pieces are always broken off. the gm part no. is 14020781 and if anyone can souce these please post. a few places say they have them but after you order them they tell you it is discountinued. i also recomend that you take one part off your car at a time, clean, repair as needed then bag and tag all hardware that goes with it. this way you have nice clean parts to put on as you go along and can source the part as you go along if you cant reuse it. i have seen too many guys tear apart there cars,throw all the parts in boxes and be overwhelmed when it comes to putting it back together. also, take a lot of pictures there are just too many parts too reemember how everything goes back together. this really pays off i guarantee it. so now here is the before and after shots. the old hawk didnt look too bad back then but believe me there wre a lot of hidden flaws



Re: skyhawk resto
Sunday, September 28, 2014 6:33 AM
Good advice. Ziplock bags and a sharpie to label things and keep them separate. After months on a project it made re-assembly so much easier than hunting for the right bolt, screw or clips.


Re: skyhawk resto
Sunday, September 28, 2014 10:37 PM
I myself carry zip lock bags on every junk yard trip!! I have a nice stock of body scews and those clips for the trim rocker pieces myself and I keep every thing bagged and labeled.I have sooo many screws I bought a hardware flat top container with dividers to keep them separate and I really need to step that up to a big box with pull outs drawers at this point.Now for the bigger items like body panels I have those hanging and or in my attic and big containers full of extras.Good advice but I being a junkyard jbody specialist I started sorting my spares to keep it easy to find.




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