Order of assembly when painting car

[ko-lek-tor]

Excuse my ignorance on this topic. I have never done this extensive paint work before. I may have read here, but worth hearing from those who have been through this. I am about to have body work done and painted if money holds out. my question: Should I have front sheetmetal hung on and painted and try and raise subframe back under car once home from the shop(I believe this is how assembly line did it)? Or, Have subframe installed and leave front sheetmetal off until all related work with front is done before installing sheetmetal? Or, should I have all areas "cut-in" and not paint car until all mechanical (engine/wiring etc..) is completed and then have body painted as a whole? Have subframe and sheetmetal installed and all painted and remove front end one home to do work on front areas(brakes/engine etc..? I want to know best and most cost effective as I don't have money to have shop do a lot of assembly although I will have them install glass and vinyl top and roofrail weatherstrip and headliner, I'm thinking at this point. I am sure body shop has an idea of how they would prefer, I just do not want to request something that is not practical or feasible.Thanks, knowledgeable CRGers.

[janobyte]

My guy wanted front clip/doors/rear deck lid off for prep. Hung doors and installed rear deck lid.

All factory gaps are being retained--car came out of Norwood damn straight! Lines are on, doors don't shut like a race car.

Re-assembled front clip for paint/stripes--than off it comes again for all engine compartment stuff. Long story short , Clips going back on last. I'm on the fence and leaning towards not removing the sub frame--I have no rust nor mechanical  issues. Car rolled down the road straight ,I was happy with the ride ,not going to do it just because.  If you do ,I recommend drilling a few small diameter pilot holes through the floor/top of sub frame for proper realignment ( very small, like I said you would utilize these as a guide to get you back exactly were you were before disassembly) cuts the diagonals(cross measurements)out--keep it simple.

Our process. Surely variations but works for us. BTY ,when we built the Anglia 3x's car was assembled and disassembled for chassis work ,electrical etc..before everything was dead on. Hope it helps, and have a big dry erase board in your shop to track progress/set goals etc..---steve, take your time.

[chili r]

  I had engine/trans and all trim, bumpers, and wiring in addition all items off firewall and radiator, inner fenders plus glass removed. I reinstalled front clip, only the sheet metal and completed all body work/primer, block sand etc. to set all gaps and body lines in addition to trunk to tail pan etc. This way all surfaces are one level and uniform in gaps etc. Then pulled front clip off and made notes and assured all shims and bolts tagged/bagged to go back into same location to duplicate adjustments. Proceeded to "cut in" fenders ,door jams, trunk area and hood and front valance etc. Reassembled front clip keeping shims and bolts in order, adjusted back to previous gaps and body lines and finish. Taped off sub frame and all openings, and used 3m foam soft edge tape to create soft lines at all gaps in doors fenders, trunk etc. Painted car, wet sand buff. polish etc. No matter how much you tape off subframe, areas etc. all the over spray and wetsanding ,  buffing debris gets into nooks and crannies. This is why I left sub frame in and then removed control arms etc. to replace ball joints ,bushings , springs, shocks to have all the new parts FRESH and a cleaner look. Did same for rear suspension and trunk floor as it is easier to cover whole car with Blue shield plastic cling and not worry about all the detail painting overspray. Reinstalled engine/trans etc., wiring , brakes, glass trim etc. with detailed fresh and no overspray. Do as much as you can to save time and money and communicate what you want as a finale product. And when reassemble just everyone be careful and use protection. I am novice and have done it from start to finish so make sure no rush jobs and you will be happy.

[janobyte]

  I had engine/trans and all trim, bumpers, and wiring in addition all items off firewall and radiator, inner fenders plus glass removed. I reinstalled front clip, only the sheet metal and completed all body work/primer, block sand etc. to set all gaps and body lines in addition to trunk to tail pan etc. This way all surfaces are one level and uniform in gaps etc. Then pulled front clip off and made notes and assured all shims and bolts tagged/bagged to go back into same location to duplicate adjustments. Proceeded to "cut in" fenders ,door jams, trunk area and hood and front valance etc. Reassembled front clip keeping shims and bolts in order, adjusted back to previous gaps and body lines and finish. Taped off sub frame and all openings, and used 3m foam soft edge tape to create soft lines at all gaps in doors fenders, trunk etc. Painted car, wet sand buff. polish etc. No matter how much you tape off subframe, areas etc. all the over spray and wetsanding ,  buffing debris gets into nooks and crannies. This is why I left sub frame in and then removed control arms etc. to replace ball joints ,bushings , springs, shocks to have all the new parts FRESH and a cleaner look. Did same for rear suspension and trunk floor as it is easier to cover whole car with Blue shield plastic cling and not worry about all the detail painting overspray. Reinstalled engine/trans etc., wiring , brakes, glass trim etc. with detailed fresh and no overspray. Do as much as you can to save time and money and communicate what you want as a finale product. And when reassemble just everyone be careful and use protection. I am novice and have done it from start to finish so make sure no rush jobs and you will be happy.

DITTO!  We are on the same page.

[x77-69z28]

Read the assembly thread on the home page. Tons of info.

[Sauron327]

The shop should discuss all the options with you. Before you proceed with that, ask to see photos of their work from bare metal to paint. Photos don't always show flaws. If you know what straight panels look like, make sure they can deliver them and the type of panel alignment and gaps desired. Gaps exceeding that of what assembly line panels provide are costly. What some customers think is good others may not. Some shops will provide wavy panels, inferior paint and poor alignment, others will not.

[rich69rs]

Just finishing the paint and body on my '69 RS.  I had previously finished all of the mechanical work including removing of front sub frame, engine, transmission, rear end, springs, gas tank and restoring those items as necessary.  Following pictures highlight the process that began on 3 September of last year.  Seats, windshield, rear glass came out of the car.  Carpet, headliner, dash, and console stayed in.

Hope to pick the up the car by end of the month.  Car is basically complete now with the exception of rebuilding the hide away headligt doors.  The shop owner and I decided this week that we didn't like the way the doors were gapped - replacing all of the bushings and wear hardware in the headlight doors to get the doors as square as possible and gapped properly.

Last two pictures in the 3rd post below were taken on 12 March (2 days ago).

Pictures 1 - 4

[rich69rs]

Pictures 5 - 8

[rich69rs]

Pictures 9 - 12

[Sauron327]

  I recommend drilling a few small diameter pilot holes through the floor/top of sub frame for proper realignment ( very small, like I said you would utilize these as a guide to get you back exactly were you were before disassembly) cuts the diagonals(cross measurements)out--keep it simple.

How do you know the subframe is aligned before disassembly if you don't measure it? Subframe R&R is easy; just read the tape measure.

[69Z28-RS]

  I recommend drilling a few small diameter pilot holes through the floor/top of sub frame for proper realignment ( very small, like I said you would utilize these as a guide to get you back exactly were you were before disassembly) cuts the diagonals(cross measurements)out--keep it simple.

How do you know the subframe is aligned before disassembly if you don't measure it? Subframe R&R is easy; just read the tape measure.

I agree with Scott.  Also, by removing your subframe, you can clean/repaint it, AND check all the mount dimensions to make sure it has never been bent in an accident.  There's a diagram in one of the manuals that provides all the correct measures between points, both horizontal plane and vertical.   I set up my subframe on jackstands in my garage floor (very flat floor surface).  I used a plumbob and string suspended from each critical mount point and marked an X on the floor for each point.  After that you only have to measure the distances on the floor, and the distance in height from the floor to the subframe point being measured.   After that it's just math to determine how 'square' your subframe is...

[janobyte]

My comment was based on KO-LEK-TOR's car. He's owned the car since the late 70's and from my readings reported no accidents or other issues which would point to a problem with an out of aligned sub frame. If he just purchased a roller and had no verified history or was replacing his outright of course I would recommend measuring reference points to ensure the chassis is square to build off of. And yes, measuring prior to be safe makes perfect sense. If the car is square to begin with , and he wants it going back exactly the way it came apart with no second guessing, and I'm sure there will be some head scratching, this is why I am bald, I suggested  a few discreet pilot holes for piece of mind. Measure twice, cut once.