Coupe '65 Body Work

[JimV]

I recently ordered a Coupe '65 kit after reading all I could the last several months. I am a retired mechanical engineer with little automobile experience. I have built two aircraft (a Christen Eagle aerobatic aircraft and RV7) so I think I can handle the mechanical part of the build. I am really concerned with the body work as I have no experience in this area at all. I live just west of Ft. Worth and am sure there are other builders in the Dallas/DFW area that can guide me to a good custom body shop and offer advice relative to the body work required on this project. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[bil1024]

Levy Racing in Arkansas I believe

[edwardb]

Congrats on the two airplane builds. Lifelong interest in aviation here but I never really pursued it. Although one of our sons did. Agreed you shouldn't have any trouble with the mechanical aspects. There are two general aspects when you say bodywork. One is the overall fitting of the body, hood, doors to the frame and getting them all to fit and work together. The other is the maybe more obvious surface preparation and finishing. Many do the first. Most don't do the second. But some also have someone more experienced do the fitting, and in fact some shops that do a lot of these prefer for the inexperienced owner to not do the body fitting. So you have a decision to make there. I've done four builds and all the fitting for each. I found the Coupe (the others were Roadsters) to be challenging. People ask me the hardest part of the build and that's what I usually cite. There are a number of build threads that talk about it with the Gen 3 Coupe and lots of great suggestions. Not all of which I knew about when I did mine.

Congrats on your purchase and good luck with yours. You're in for an exciting adventure. I've got 115 miles on mine as of today. Still officially on lockdown, but it's been used (mostly...) for fetching some take-out meals. Anxiously waiting for when I can drive it a bunch more.

[Ron J]

Congrats on your decision.
I am in the final phase of building a Gen 2 Coupe (the body will go back on the chassis next week). My target date for completion is in time for the FFR Huntington Beach Show next September.
I did my own body and paint work (painted the car on my driveway). I painted my project about 1-1/2 years ago. It was a lot of work and required a lot of patience. I am pleased with the results. I spent many hours prepping the body for paint, spent less than $1,000 on primer, paint (base/clear coat), and supplies (includes 4 HVLP paint guns, strainers, tape, etc.). This is the first time I have painted a car. TCP Global has decent prices and an excellent technical support team. They spent many hours guiding me through the whole process.
With that, in recent weeks Factory Five posted several "how-to" videos regarding body fitting and prep. After doing the process, before the videos, I think the FFR videos are spot on. I would have saved a lot of time if these videos were available at the time I did my work. Would I do it again, yes.
Nothing exotic in the way of spray guns. I bought the TCP Global HVLP Spray Gun set (3 guns w/ cups, regulator/filter; and tools)
Products I used:
Evercoat Feather Fill G2 Premium Polyester Primer Surfacer
Restoration Shop UBLV 3.5 VOC Compliant Base Coat w/ XR70 Medium Reducer(California Protocol)
Kustom Shop KC2020 Low VOC Clearcoat w/ KC2021 Hardener
3M Perfect It Buffing & Polishing Compound (06085, 06064, 06068)
the attached pics are before the "cut and buff" process.
There is a lot of misinformation on the web, so be careful.
Good luck on the process, take your time. It is the journey.

[Alphamacaroon]

With that, in recent weeks Factory Five posted several "how-to" videos regarding body fitting and prep.

Mind sharing where you found them? Were they specific to the Coupe?

[Ron J]

Factory Five Racing has a YouTube Channel, one of channels is a HOW-TO BUILD VIDEOS.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWvfrZxPoPnbmHRjXTlVS-CVcPoK4x6lB

For inspiration, check out the collaboration with Snap-On and Joey Lagano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iFeDymN5qk

[Alphamacaroon]

Oh okay, I've watched all those before. Was wondering if they put up some new content regarding the Coupe. Still, thanks for sharing!

[John Dol]

And you choose black too one of the more difficult colors.....Congrats it looks awesome!!!


John

[John Dol]

I recently ordered a Coupe '65 kit after reading all I could the last several months. I am a retired mechanical engineer with little automobile experience. I have built two aircraft (a Christen Eagle aerobatic aircraft and RV7) so I think I can handle the mechanical part of the build. I am really concerned with the body work as I have no experience in this area at all. I live just west of Ft. Worth and am sure there are other builders in the Dallas/DFW area that can guide me to a good custom body shop and offer advice relative to the body work required on this project. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Eric Treves just posted some really useful info on getting the body to sit right on the chassis with the gen III.
Knocking down the edges is easily done with a flapper disk. Then there’s the choice of painting on or off the chassis, that’s another whole can of worms.

[first time builder]

For first try that looks great Plenty to be proud of.