Young_Gun

Well, I took that 200 I mentioned early and got a new grille insert

Just in case anyone is wondering, here are my notes on the install

The directions I had didn't have any pictures - which made it a bit confusing

It is a bit difficult to hold the screw in the hole, turn the grille over, put the bracket on, and connect and turn the nut all at the same time. Personally I think wing nuts would have been better - along with bigger bolts

I ended up fabricating some of my own brackets because either I was doing something wrong or some of the brackets were too short

The grille bent rather easily, so I had to use a pipe wrench and a clamp to straighten them, but it was no big deal

The real hard part was taking the grille off the car to start with. The little clips were a bear to take off the lower grill, and a bit puzzling on the upper when I first looked at it. I used a flat head screwdriver.

On the lower grille I would totally recommend jacking up the car, or else you'll end up like me scraping up your cheek on the edge of your bumper, trying to get under your rather low sitting car. If you have lowering springs, forget about it.

Putting it back on however was simple, and the end results were spectacular

Oh, I took the pony emblem and used 3M tape to attach it to my computer. Looks pretty cool when you walk in the room.






Touch Up Paint Fail


Now since my car is for sale (don't worry, I'm getting another muscle car) I was going through and touching up the paint. I am a REALLY bad painter. It was all full of fail. First I spilled nearly all my paint on my bumper (quick action with the hose and a now ruined washcloth saved my paint job - apparently paint gets pretty thin after sitting in a hot car).

However, that isn't the point of this thread. I usually just put a little dot and there is always a slight bulge. Now, on one I decided to try to wipe down the bulge. Now I have a little area that looks like an area that I didn't wipe off the wax. Is there any way to get rid of that?

Also, I retouched my clear coat on top. There was a hairline scratch. I ran a little Fixit over the top, and now I have a little line of clear coat. Is there any way to fix that?

Next Q. I have a little dent right on the edge of my left rear fender (one of the reasons I now try to stay way far behind school buses). It shines in the sun. I was wondering if I wrapped the edges of a wrench in cloth, could I just re bend it out?

Now, I have a little tiny dent on my left rear quarter panel. It is too small to pop. Could I possibly take the panel off and lightly tap it out with a ball-peen hammer?

Thanks for all the help!

socalwrench

I really won't worry about getting rid of any hazy or clear coat problems. Several hours of wet sanding AND/OR buffing may 'clean' up the surface, but you're ultimately selling it. About the dents, you can try pushing them out as best you can, but, again, without major work, the panel probably isn't going to be perfect; IE grinding, filling, sanding, priming and painting.

If anything, I would give it a good wash and wax with a buffer before selling it. Perhaps I would clean up the paint with some clay bar- before waxing- if I wanted the paint nice and smooth.

I wish you the best of luck.