My new '63 Falcon

Extra pics



Experimenting with different ride heights in the back, think I want to raise it about 3 inches.  Anybody got some good insight?

It's looking great. When can you come over and paint mine?

Seth G wrote:It's looking great. When can you come over and paint mine?

Ha!  Trust me, you don't want me doing a paint job for you.  If I wasn't free I think I'd fire myself!

Been sick as a dog for the last week and just not feeling good enough to anything.  I tried the whole sanding with 1500 and then using a polishing compound on the DA.  It really does work to get rid of the orange peel.  Did the drivers door as a test.  The problem I can't get over is the unevenness of the color.  I'm willing to let some things slide but it was gonna drive me crazy.  Ordered up an extra gallon of paint and clear.  I'm sanding the surface flat with 320 and will step it up to 600 grit.  Will put down two new coats of color, then the flake and clear.  I'm going to mess around with the nozzle and pressures before shooting the clear as thats where I got all the orange peel from last time.

Yes it's a truck load of work and I really don't want to do it but I've come this far.

Worth the effort! Please keep us posted, we're all rooting for you!

Thanks Vanny, it's a bit discouraging.  I really hate doing things twice (or more!).  Normally I'd put the project on ice till I'm ready to tackle it again but summers gonna be here before you know it and I really want to be on the road with my girls.  Gonna shoot for the respray in two weeks.

Your van looks great! Is that an original econoline color? I know there was a Viking Blue Metallic in '64 I think. Also like your wheel and tire setup....looks like the size I'd like to do.

Nevermind, I looked back on page two and saw the answer to this question...kind of asked it before two years ago!

Wow, this project has really come along. Awesome work Hip E.

Thanks for nice words.  I thought a lot about wheels and tires, probably more than I should!  In my mind it's one of the more important decisions that's sets the feel you're going for.

Well I finally got to painting.  The prep was way more than I was thinking.  It’s hard to tell in the pic but this is a big improvement.  I lowered the amount of fluid and increased the pressure, this resulted in less orange peel and drastically reduced fish eyes.  Color molting is still a bit there, even tho I did a drop coat at the end of the blue, but it’s much more livable.

 

Looks Great Hip E!!! Would love to see more...

So I walked back down after getting some breakfast and posting that pic.  Everything was fine when I left.  Maybe a half hour had passed.  Clear coat runs all over the place!  I could not believe it, told my wife I think I’m being tested or something.  I’m gonna try a technique to sand down the runs tomorrow.  Will post updates on that.  Here’s some more pics, not the best being inside the barn.  

Sorry to hear about the clear runs...Hope you get it sorted because the paint job looks Super Nice! Love the color combo.

Oh man, I haven’t posted in forever.  So I ended up redoing the paint yet again!  There were some problem areas on the front fenders and the barn doors.  I bought new paint from Summit, painted the bad panels and then found that they must have slightly changed the color!  Totally stood out when you saw the old paint and the new side by side.  Frustration levels were sky high but what are you going to do?  Also ended up not going with the extra flake as that was adding to my problems.  Here’s some pics after color sanding and buffing








Converted over to the ‘50 Pontiac taillights, and some emblems back on



I’ll be trying to get back at this after the holidays, enthusiasm is still there, life is just busy

Well you are going to have a show van, even though you didn't plan on it. Whenever we paint, we all find out why vehicles get stuck in painter's jail. I'm sure that you have built up your character while building your van. Congratulations! You're doing a great job and definitely making it you own.

Nice touch with those taillights!

That is looking good! I think you got it this time for sure if the pictures are any indicator. I love that color, I'm wanting to do mine in something similar or maybe a metallic green.

New member here, scouring the site for all things early and read through the entire thread. Don't know if I would have the fortitude to re-paint twice, but then, like you said, what are you gonna do? Thanks for sharing, lots of good info, pics, and a good read. Much appreciated.

Thanks for the words of encouragement.  The sad fact is that it took me three and a half complete paint jobs to get it where I was reasonably happy.  There where several times when my wife said I should just pay somebody to paint it, but the more I fail the more I dig my heels in and refuse to quit.  Heck, at this point it’s probably bullet proof, with all those coats of paint and clear!

HipE, you’re too funny! I like your stubbornness and Can-do attitude...looks Great and that color is very pleasing to the eye! Thanks for the update...congrats on a job well done!

This is kind of cool.  California brought back the license plate design from the ‘60s as a option, so I thought this would be fun on my van.  Obviously it reads hippy for the masses, but we all know it as an E series van instead.  Also for a third meaning, at work lots of us use each other’s initials instead of names.  My names Eric but most coworkers just call me E

Eric ! Nice finishing touch!!!

vanny wrote:Eric ! Nice finishing touch!!!

Thanks Vanny!  It’s minor, but makes me happy.

Back on the van again.  Replaced all the suspension bushings and put on new shocks.  Also decided on 3” lift blocks in the back to give it a bit of rake.  Thought I was good on my color sanding and polish.  Did all the work inside the barn under fluorescent shop lights.  Months later there was a sale on LED lights at Costco so I decided to upgrade.  The light difference was huge, and what did I see with all this new light?  Of course, sanding scratches all over the place that I hadn’t noticed!  It’s the paint job that just won’t cut me any slack!  So of course I re sanded the whole enchilada with 1500 and 2000 and buffed.  Short of getting hit by lightning I believe it’s finally good enough.  Not perfect, I see little things all over the place, but I can live with it.  







Ponied up and got my headlight bezels re chromed, loving those.  Been putting on trim and handles and stuff.  Spent yesterday working on brackets for adapting the Smittybuilt seats.  Really don’t want the driver side mounted in a fixed position as I’d like my daughter to be able to borrow it when she wants.  Height is the big problem when trying to keep a slider with these aftermarket seats.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  Still need to re spray the dash, it got contaminated with overspray during one of the many paint jobs.....  

E, it sure looks Great to me! Now you can concentrate on finishing touches and other fun stuff like driving around and enjoying the heck out of it!!! Love that stance too!

Been working on the van some more.  Made some stainless push bumpers, and swapped out to LED headlights.  Working on installing a new wiring harness and upgrading to a 1 wire alternator.