Looking to buy a General Lee? STAY AWAY FROM BK AUTO!! It's almost over!!!

[jb666]

Thanks for the words, guys.. I actually don't know what to say.. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say after my visit to the shop tomorrow, camera in hand... 

I volunteer to go by there shop in a big bondo can costume dancing around handing out flyers with pics of your car 

Thats just wrong!

Now THAT, I might take you up on. That would be absolutely PRICELESS!!!!! 

[FLG]

I wouldn't hesitate one bit 

[skip68]

I want in. 

[Stanleyart]

Wow...That is unbelivable...And he put some of his freaking mini patchs in to??? I was thinking some pin holes....Blasting always makes some pop out. But...That cowl, around that hinge...disgusting.  

Exactly.. When he called me today, he said "It's not the worst I've ever seen and I can fix it all. It will look perfect, but it'll take more time.....". Then he sent me the pictures 

You know Jeff, what's really more amazing to me is this.

For every unexpectedly bad thing that's been revealed about your car, you've had at your disposal THE guys who can fix every problem and make everthing right. To me this is a Godsend all it's own. Can you imagine owning this car but no bodyman around you willing to work on it? How many times have we begged a revered bodyguy or mechanic to work on our cars only to get "yeah, come back in 6 months". You go back in 6 months and he says, "come back in 6 more months".

The frustration of finding a competent bodyman is a real issue, and has been for many of us, but not for you. You got hooked up with some of the best auto-body craftsmen I've every seen! With ease you found these guys--am I wrong?

And the excellence of both of the companies working on your car makes it so easy for any viewer of this thread to believe it will look perfect in the end.

And so far it is becoming just that.

Rest easy,

-Steve

[Go Hogs Go]

When I saw those pictures I about swallowed my tongue. Dude, that's incredible.

[jb666]

Yeah, it is. I'm on my way to the shop right now.

[hemi-hampton]

I've had to fix worse, It can be done. LEON.

[hemi-hampton]

I think AMD may be reproducing some of these Parts. LEON.

[jb666]

Leon, If it weren't for AMD I'd be bumming throughout a LOT of this project.

Anyways, I just got back. Good and bad. The pictures are definitely the worst of it, and after talking with the shop owner I now feel a LOT better. It's not as bad as I was expecting and can all definitely be fixed. The car will still be completed on time and will be done right.

I'll put up some pictures in a few minutes.

[jb666]

Ok, here we go... Here's the driver's side drip rail.. Or what's left of it.



Inside lip of the trunk lid, which happens to be the most solid part of the car. Funny, because it was DEFINITELY from another vehicle 



Obvious...



This I love... You can see the spots around the fuel trim ring, which was nicely covered over... Along with the fact that this was most definitely a vinyl top car. How BK handled this?? They put tape on the underside of the panel and layered the Bondo right over the holes..









Driver's side mess...



Back to the passenger's rear.. I LOVE this patch work...





This will be repaired first...





I love the patch work here too





To be continued...

[jb666]

Cowl/lower windshield area:



Now for a GOOD break... The grille is AWESOME. I was so happy to see this in person, the craftsmanship is incredible. I have new nice trim to put on this, as well. EVERYTHING on this grille has been repaired. The light covers go up and down (and STOP) as they should now. Nothing is broken, and the front and back of this grille looks like brand new now. I couldn't have asked for a nicer job. This guy truly is amazing with plastic (and not the same way BK was).







And for those that can see it, the upper left is a hair!!


Driver's side door, rear. The lips are still mint, which make this a clean area to repair.





Passenger door, not too bad:



Factory weld and vinyl trim holes.



Quarters almost look like they've always been there... Then again, if they had, they'd be loaded with rot.



There's even some spots on the INSIDE lip of metal that need to be repaired.



Another GOOD picture break, here's a shot of the Good Humor truck they are building.



TO BE CONTINUED...

[jb666]

And the finale...

The new AMD nose is sitting in the shop. We only took one fender out of the box but wow, these things are nice... I can't wait to see the car together!!

[The70RT]

Good deal......well on the fenders anyway

[jb666]

Good deal......well on the fenders anyway

That's it?? The fenders?

[autodynamics]

really looking at the pics... the car was a severe rust bucket.. they must of pulled it out of the river and painted it...amazing it had that much rust. it's nice to see it repaired correctly but at your expense, and time. in the end your charger will be rebuilt. after assembly it still will require some "love" im sure everything needs attention... windows, radio, cluster, etc... one day sooner than later it will be done... but for now the charger will be on your mind for a while....awake and in your every thoughts.....(we've all been there)

[jb666]

really looking at the pics... the car was a severe rust bucket.. they must of pulled it out of the river and painted it...amazing it had that much rust. it's nice to see it repaired correctly but at your expense, and time. in the end your charger will be rebuilt. after assembly it still will require some "love" im sure everything needs attention... windows, radio, cluster, etc... one day sooner than later it will be done... but for now the charger will be on your mind for a while....awake and in your every thoughts.....(we've all been there)

Oh absolutely..  The windows will be taken care of now. What's not good enough to be put back in the car will be replaced. The windshield is new, and I have a brand new rear window.. The mechanisms for the other windows will be cleaned up and working great.

I put a factory/restored AM radio in the car, so that's been done. I have no need for a system in this car (like my others) because I'd like to TRY and make this look somewhat like it did on the show.. you'd laugh, but way back I posted the BK hooked my stereo up to the brake light switch. Every time I hit the brakes the stereo went on and off. It was classic. Hopefully a song you liked didn't come on while you were driving because you'd have to be on a long straight road to enjoy it!

As for the gauges, Jon's got everything working except the speedo. The guage itself is FUBAR. I'll contact the company who "restored" these and see what they have to say.

So, while this is apart, I'm stock piling all other parts, but as of right now I have everything sitting in my garage to turn the interior into a brand new/original setup.

The shop's upholstery person will be checking out my headliner when the job's done. If this one can't be reinstalled correctly a new liner will be put in.

[jb666]

Wow...That is unbelivable...And he put some of his freaking mini patchs in to??? I was thinking some pin holes....Blasting always makes some pop out. But...That cowl, around that hinge...disgusting.  

Exactly.. When he called me today, he said "It's not the worst I've ever seen and I can fix it all. It will look perfect, but it'll take more time.....". Then he sent me the pictures 

You know Jeff, what's really more amazing to me is this.

For every unexpectedly bad thing that's been revealed about your car, you've had at your disposal THE guys who can fix every problem and make everthing right. To me this is a Godsend all it's own. Can you imagine owning this car but no bodyman around you willing to work on it? How many times have we begged a revered bodyguy or mechanic to work on our cars only to get "yeah, come back in 6 months". You go back in 6 months and he says, "come back in 6 more months".

The frustration of finding a competent bodyman is a real issue, and has been for many of us, but not for you. You got hooked up with some of the best auto-body craftsmen I've every seen! With ease you found these guys--am I wrong?

And the excellence of both of the companies working on your car makes it so easy for any viewer of this thread to believe it will look perfect in the end.

And so far it is becoming just that.

Rest easy,

-Steve

Steve -- I just saw this post now.  You have a unique way of finding the 'bright side' of this mess, and you're absolutely right. I hadn't looked at it that way before, but if I 1. Couldn't afford to do this and 2. Couldn't find a shop willing/qualified to tackle this job I would be BUMMING. I'd have a car in my garage that I THOUGHT was nice only to find out in the Spring that it wasn't  , and I'd be forced to park it for a VERY long time..

Either way, onward and upward.

[jb666]

This is a bit off topic, but here are a few pictures of the car built by one of the guys who runs the body shop that my car's at. IMO, to build something like this from scratch takes incredible talent.

It's a Belvedere that was built completely from scratch. Altered wheel base, custom suspension, body, etc...













And one of his choppers:

[captnsim]

Wheelies...    That's a sick Gasser...  Nice Bike too...  It's like beauty and the BK beast

[KS71owner]

Good Lord.....

I figured it would be bad after blasting, but that is way worse than I figured it could be. I'm surprised that top door hinge was still hanging on. 

This shop is doing some fantastic work; I'm betting they're going to get no small amount of new business just from this thread alone.

[jb666]

Good Lord.....

I figured it would be bad after blasting, but that is way worse than I figured it could be. I'm surprised that top door hinge was still hanging on. 

This shop is doing some fantastic work; I'm betting they're going to get no small amount of new business just from this thread alone.

Absolutely, I agree. I'm really looking forward to posting the updated PROGRESS pictures, because this car is about to completely transform.

Wheelies...    That's a sick Gasser...  Nice Bike too...  It's like beauty and the BK beast

He'd like that comparison!! Then again, two of the guys from the shop check this thread regularly, so I'm sure he saw it already!!

[BlueSS454]

I wonder if BK ever branched out anywhere's else.  I dug up these shots I took when I tore into my car.....








yes, tin riveted over rot holes...

[69*F5*SE]

  

[jb666]

  wow!!! I guess mine could have been worse!! Then again, my original rear quarters are a horror show.

[BlueSS454]

That's nothing compared to how the rest of the car was.  I just don't want to hijack your thread