<VV> Turbo Odyssey Part 11 -- Multiblasted

[Norman C. Witte]

This post can be viewed online at www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/11.htm

The temperatures in mid-Michigan are down in the single digits today but at
least they're positive. Always look on the bright side of life.

This time of year I build models with my sons rather than going out and
facing the brutal cold in the pole barn, but a few projects are moving on
the convertible, most important of which is bodywork.

When last I posted, the car was on its way to Multiblast in Montrose,
Michigan for media blasting. I delivered the car there on my open trailer on
December 15, 2004.

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4427.JPG
http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4769.JPG

I plan was to have Multiblast strip the car and then transport it to Bob
Reeve, who is doing the bodywork and paint, in Jim Neal's enclosed trailer.
After further consideration we decided to have Multiblast up the car in
VariPrime self-etching primer to protect the car from flash rusting during
the trip from Montrose to Eaton Rapids. My fear was that going from the warm
shop to a cold trailer and then back into a warm building, condensation was
virtually inevitable, and I see no point in giving rust any toehold after
going to the effort of having the car stripped.

I picked the car up on January 11, 2005, about a week after it was finished.
Jeff Triggs, the owner of Multiblast, has a first rate body shop, and they
did a great job on my car. Here are a couple of pictures I took at the shop.
Jeff is the gentleman standing in front of the car:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4770.JPG
http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4776.JPG

The car sat for the rest of the week in the trailer while I tried to find
time to get out to Eaton Rapids to drop the car off. Bob had just finished
some touch-up items on the red Corsa, so things were shaping up nicely. I
would drop off one Corvair and pick up the other, allowing Jim's nice
trailer to do double duty for me.

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4767.JPG

I won't go into the confusing details of picking up kids and dropping them
off at sleepovers and whatnot that consumed half of Saturday, but eventually
I ended up at Bob's place to make the swap. We rolled the car out of the
trailer into daylight and got a chance to inspect the job Jeff did in
detail.

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4829.JPG

We were very pleased with what we found. It was apparent that Jeff and his
crew used two different types of media, one more aggressive to clean out
rust damage, switching to less aggressive material to strip old paint. As a
result, they left virtually all of the factory seam sealer intact. They also
left the factory paint intact inside the hood and decklid, which was in good
shape. A common amateur mistake is to blast these areas, thus creating
circles on the outside of the panel matching the round holes in the inside
reinforcements. We saw no such mistakes on the car. The doors, hood and
decklid were removed for blasting and then reinstalled after they were
completed.

It was fascinating to look the car over with all its secrets revealed. I was
relieved to find that it had few, if any. The holes in the passenger side
rocker were no surprise. The floor on the driver's side has some rust and
will need a patch. The area below the windshield was a known problem but at
least now it is free of rust:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4775.JPG

We knew that the tail end of the car had some rust and collision damage. The
worst of it was on the passenger side:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4841.JPG

Here are a few more shots of the car in primer:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4836.JPG
http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4839.JPG
http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4840.JPG

Despite some collision and rust damage, overall the car is straight and
solid. It looks like rust repair will be a manageable task and this car is a
worthy subject for restoration. Total cost for stripping and priming was
$1,212, which was very reasonable in my opinion.

I realize this is a Ford product, but I can't resist posting a picture of
the Shelby Mustang Bob is in the process of painting:

http://www.wittelaw.com/personal/turbo/IMG_4827.JPG

The convertible will not be done until sometime in March. I hope that I will
have pictures to post as the work is ongoing. In the meantime, Dan Konkle
dropped off the transmission and diff cases for painting, so now I have to
figure out the best way to coat these without doing more harm than good.

Multiblast can be contacted at (810) 639-6244. Car Shine Auto Refinishing
(Bob Reeve) can be reached at (517) 663-6676.

Norm Witte

'65 Corsa coupe
'65 Corsa turbo convertible

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