Body Panels Removal

[NDW]

I am gathering information prior to puchasing my car, and have some questions regarding the painting process.

How difficult is it to remove all of the body panels for painting purposes?

Any advice or pros/cons of complete removal of body panels vs. painting the panels while on the car?

For my desired paint job, VHQ would cost $7,875. Have any of you ordered your car without paint and painted the car elsewhere at a savings?

Thanks for your help,

 

[FrankBarba]

Yes. It all depends upon your time frame. do you have a painter lined up? if not sometimes it takes awhile to get in. There is a price for instant gratification. Detroit does a beautiful job painting our Comp Coupes. I had to wait an extremely long time to get mine into the shop to be painted.

 

[NDW]

I have a very good painter in my small home town. Their prices are very reasonable, and the quality is top notch. I usually take the fascia and side sills off of my GTS and take them to them, and then reinstall after they paint them. I was hoping to be able to do the same with the coupe, except do the entire car.

I am interested in how difficult it is to take the coupe panels off and properly reinstall them where they line up correctly. After spending $$ on a coupe, I don't want to ruin the paint job or body panels.

Did you take your panels off, or was your car painted with the panels on?

 

[VPRGTS]

Newt;

You have been holding out. Don't bother to tell your friends the big news.

Don't do this to me, you're gonna cost me some real money.

BTW, paint it yeller (Texas talk for a fast color).


p.s. what happened to the sig, champ?

 

[SamC]

Hey Newt,

I took all of my panels off my CC with a friend. Took around 6 hours. We were being careful. Assembly was around 12 hours but we spent most of that time shimming the pieces carefully. If your going to do any kind of stripes, mock-up the stripes before taking off any panels. Otherwise you will have to partially install the panels for mock-up later just to disassemble again.

The panels come off so easily that there is no need to paint the panels on the car. Furthermore, the panels will require a lot of sanding and prep/filling prior to primer, base coat, and clear.

BTW, the biggest PITA was finding the correct rivets for reassembly. The rivet descriptions in the manual are insufficient to order from. Save some of the rivets as you drill them out so you can match them later. Finally, it is unnecessary to remove all the side pod rivets. If you study the construction of the side pods, you will see that the screens and bottom aluminum panel can be left in place only drilling the rivets between the carbon fiber side sill and the aluminum panel.

Hope this helps.

Sam
STAT Racing

 

[NDW]

I wasn't holding out on you, just wanted to surprise you. The purchase is a few months off, but I am trying to get everything in place and my questions answered so I can get the car track ready as soon as possible. I think yeller is reserved for you Speed Racer, nobody else is worthy of that color other than you.

Sam, thanks for the information. It is very helpful. Especially about mocking up the stripes and other graphics where the panels meet. That will certainly save me some time and frustration.

Little tidbits like the rivets is what will make the process go smoother. I knew someone had taken the car apart before and had some valuable tips on what to do and what not to do. Any other helpful hints are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[SamC]

Newt,

I'll trade you another ride at Button Willow with some detail on taking apart your car. You can bring a pad and pencil and I'll tell you exactly how to do it so you won't make any of the mistakes I made. I would encourage you to pay someone to go over your car in detail. John Archer, Dan Craigin, or Eddie Martin all would do a great job and will find problems preventing you future heartache. For example, John Archer found a problem with my wheel bearing which was fixed. Bad bearings and racing don't go well together. See you next week.

Sam
STAT Racing

 

[NDW]

Sam,

Thank you for the offer. I am not going to be able to make Button Willow, but will be in Sebring. That is quite a haul for you, if you are there I will have a pen and pad handy to take notes. Thanks for the help, I look forward to talking with you in person.

Newt

 

[SamC]

See ya in Sebring (if Skip finalizes the contract).

 

[Rich Wesorick]

Hey Newt - congrats on the ride! See you at Sebring (hopefully)...

 

[SCLSSRT10]

Newt,
I was so looking forward to TRYING to catch you this year. My wife is so affraid that I am going to buy a CC some day. At least I'll let her think that way I can spend more on my poor little SRT10.

Congrats on the upcoming new toy. I guess the premium business also lets you print money. I guess I'll have to get a real job some day. What is your expected delivery date? Best of luck, can't wait to see it and get a ride(hint, hint).

See you and the V-10 boys in Florida.

 

[NDW]

Steve,

Glad to hear that you are coming to sunny Florida, what a drive that will be for you! If I know you, you are bound to see a few customers on the way to Sebring. That is smart business.

I am a few months away from purchase. Won't be involved with the VRL until next year. Shhh... I was trying to keep that money printing thing kind of quiet.

Looking forward to seeing you in April.