Project Impulse

[IMPALA MAN]

First time post, long time follower. I have a project that will be a love or hate project. This was the first car I ever owned. Purchased when I was 16 with my own cash. As time has passed and the car has went through it's phases (Street Car, Pro Street Car, now Pro Touring) I have kept it. Now you get to see the progress of my home built 77 Impala. It was Red in 1987 and then Pro Streeted and Blue in 1997.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Impala1987.jpg
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Impala1997.jpg

[IMPALA MAN]

I was going to include some more pictures but posted too early. Here are some as the frame off began. I know many of you have a two post lift. Probably not like mine. Two Post lift...two posts put between the body and the frame and then lifted up. Not the best, but when you have limited garage space????
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/1.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/4.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/5.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/7.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/8.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/10.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/11.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/14.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/17.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/20.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/22.jpg


http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/25.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/27.jpg


http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/30.jpg

[waynieZ]

Welcome. Keep us posted on your progress. The frame came out nice.

[IMPALA MAN]

I didn't want to put up a ton of pics at first. This project is pretty far along so I will post a few pics at a time to get everyone up to speed.

[jmracecars]

Look good

[bonecrrusher]

Nice car... You could look into this lift:

http://www.maxjaxusa.com/

[214Chevy]

I didn't want to put up a ton of pics at first.....

Seriously.....seriously!! You're kidding us right? :mad: We love pics around here. Load all of them. I'd love to see the transition it is going thru. :thumbsup:

[IMPALA MAN]

I guess we'll get this party started.....
http://s1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/?action=view&current=2.jpg
Look at those old Mickey's
http://s1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/?action=view&current=4.jpg
Just an FYI..I first pulled the frame out and then blasted and painted it. Then I set the body back on the frame for storage. Then lifted the body back off to send the body off for stripping. You will see that the frame is painted when removing the body in the photos. Also the windsheilds and trim have been removed. This was the day before going to the stripper Enjoy...

Up and off the frame
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/39c.jpg
Let's slide this frame out!!!
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/38.jpg
Very slowly....
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/39b.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/39.jpg
Slowly..
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/39a.jpg
More to come

[Al Moreno]

Seriously.....seriously!! You're kidding us right? :mad: We love pics around here. Load all of them. I'd love to see the transition it is going thru. :thumbsup:

Word!

[Radlark]

Yeah Buddy....I have one of these sitting in my driveway right now waiting for direction I will be following your thread cause this was the direction I was going to take!!!!!

[IMPALA MAN]

Now that the body is off of the frame preparations can be made to transport the body to the stripper.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/39d.jpg
The first time the body was off of the frame, I cleaned the entire underneath of the car. Power wash, then hot soapy water and a scrub brush. Then under coat.
FYI, if you are going to use your car as a driver, not a trailer queen, then undercoating works great. It's a great sound deadener and rust preventative. Some use bedliner which is good too. Another tip, if the undercoating has not come off in the past 30 years (as in the case with this car)..don't take it off. As you can see in the next photo, the underneath was dirty, but not rusty. Looks like that leaking rear main seal and transmission tailhousing seal worked in my favor. The coating of oil prevented rust. I'd rather clean off grease than rust!
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/25.jpg
I am loading some more photos soon to post. Next up I will show you the dolly I built to transport the body.

[GFRDH-04]

Look goodhttp://www.50centloseweight.com

[RicerwannaB]

Nice, can't wait to see more progress!

[IMPALA MAN]

Go big.....REALLY BIG........(see photos below) That's what 20X15 rims look like. Yes that is a full size 2005 GMC Sierra bed that they are in.
Then contact Micky Thompson and get the fattest tire made. This car has a lot of real estate if you know what I mean. To make a tire look fat on this car, It's got to be REALLY fat! Then go as low as you can. Anyone know what makes a car look low? A veteran of the industry told me once " a good rule of thumb is to get the top of the rim within 1" of the wheel well opening." In most cases, the car will look super low even though the ground clearance may be great. Try it once and see!! In some cases like a 55 Chevy, no problem, with my car it is super hard to accomplish without modifying the wheel well openings.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Rims004.jpg
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Rims002.jpg

[IMPALAMAN1]

THOSE ARE WIDE!:thumbsup:

[waynieZ]

THOSE ARE WIDE!:thumbsup:

They sure are!

[214Chevy]

Yep, they are wide!! Now, how's about a wide shot of the face of them. :lol: :lol: C'mon man!! You cannot just show us the barrels in plastic.

[IMPALA MAN]

GOT R DUN!!!
Sorry to keep you guys waiting. See the photo. Why the block out in the photo? It's my best friend and partner on the project...my son. There's a lot of weirdos out there if you know what I mean so you will see no photos of us.
Onto the rims... They are Boyds. Junkyard Dog (Cast Series) Chris at HOT RODS BY BOYD not Boyd Wheels. Chris is Boyds son and is keeping the business going. The rear rims were ordered from Boyd Wheels. Great price and service was pretty good. When I went to order the fronts, I put half down and they closed the doors. I dug and dug and found HOT RODS BY BOYD. This is Chris Coddington. He was awesome to deal with. He gave me advice on how to get my money back and got the matching fronts. Kuddos to Chris!!! Give him a shot, he will treat you right. The pricing cannot be beat. Check it out HOT RODS BY BOYD. http://hotrodsbyboyd.com/wheels/cast-series/
Let me be clear.. I don't know of a bad wheel company. All of them I spoke with are great people and seem to have great products. This purchase was price driven only.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Rims008.jpg

[IMPALA MAN]

Once the body was removed from the frame, I needed a dolly to move and transport it. This was pretty simple. It was constructed of 2X8's and a good set of casters. The 2X8's stood upright fit perfectly into the channels on each side of the body were the frame rails set.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/44.jpg
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/42.jpg
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/43.jpg

Once I rolled in onto the trailer as you can see in the photo below I have a 4X4 bolted on the front (and rear) of the dolly.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/47.jpg
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/48a.jpg
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/54.jpg
Here is how it worked.
1. Roll the dolly onto the trailer.
2. Put a jack under the 4X4 and jack up the dolly.
3. Unbolt the casters.
4. Set the dolly down onto the trailer.
5. Screw the dolly directly to the trailer wooden floor.
6. When you get to the stripper, reverse the process and roll it into the shop.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/52.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/55.jpg

More on the stripper next episode. His name is Fred's Fabrication out of Cuba. MO. There is not enough room on this forum to give him the credit he is due. He is the best!!! Look him up..

[LILBuzzy]

love the wheels. i was thinking yesterday about a dolly like that. thanks for doing all the work. now i am going to copy it.:D

[IMPALA MAN]

PM me and we can see what we can do.

[IMPALA MAN]

Just an FYI. I just updated the first post on page 1 to show full screen photos. I didn't know how to do this when I got started. Enjoy!!

[waynieZ]

I like those wheels. Good progress.

[IMPALA MAN]

Once I delivered the body to the stripper it was unloaded along with all of the other parts (hood, fenders front and rear cowl,etc.)
At Fred's Shop
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/52.jpg
In the booth. I just bolted the casters on and rolled it in.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/51.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/53.jpg

Now I will tell you a little about Fred at Freds Fabrication in Cuba, MO.
Fred does all sorts of work and does a very good job at a very respectable price. As you will see in the following photos,
he stripped the
car to bare metal, then put it in epoxy primer ready for me
to pick up.
I asked him to: strip the entire body, door jambs, firewall
and misc. pieces (front and rear cowl, body extensions, etc.)

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/61.jpg


http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/62.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/1977_Impala_01-41.jpg


http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/63.jpg

He then repaired a few holes before he applied the epoxy primer.
Fred didn't call me to ask, he just repaired the holes and cracks.
This is the type of work he does. The best or not at all.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics028.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics034.jpg


http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics043.jpg

Fred told me up front that he would remove one layer of paint and a time. This is one way to reduce the risk of warpage.
Little did Fred (or myself) know...
this car had SEVEN LAYERS of paint!! He took them off, one
at a time. He even sent me a video of his progress
when I was at a Goodguys show. What a class act.

Here are some pics when he was done.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics052.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics001.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics044.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics026.jpg

Fred works on a time & material basis. Big time shops and do it your self guys alike, give him a shot. Fred's Fab.com check it out.

Also if you want to save some money....don't take it to any stripper and pay them to do work you can do. Remove the windows
and remove all of the sealer holding the window in. Remove the trim, interior, etc. Take things apart. Basically make it so all he
has to do is strip the parts.
As you can see in the photos, when this car arrived at Fred's he could literally walk up
to it and start stripping. This keeps the cost down. Now give him a call.....

[waynieZ]

It looks good nice clean car to build.

[IMPALA MAN]

After the body was brought home from the stripper it was time to begin the long process of the body work. To take this car back
to factory stock may not be too difficult, however why would you do that? Creativity it was makes this such a fun hobby.
Let the drip rails dissappear! I know, I know, now you can't drive it in the rain. I may be wrong but I think the rear tires
may have eliminated that possibility already.

Here is how the rail looked when I brought the car home.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics024.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics021.jpg

The best way I was told to remove the drip rails was to remove 8" and leave 8" connected in between.
As you can see in the photo below
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics012.jpg

You may also be able to see that when you remove the drip rails on this car, you seperate the roof from the rest of the car.
This is why I removed 8", stitch welded, then removed the remaining 8" sections.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics030.jpg

Welded and ground smooth
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics023.jpg

A little filler
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics045.jpg

First pass of working down the filler. A final coat or maybe two and we should be good to go.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics019.jpg

When I first starting cutting I didn't think it would make that big of a difference. After the job is done, I like the smoother look.

[IMPALA MAN]

Next I started at the back of the car and began working forward. I skim coated the entire rear quarter. Then sanded until I hit
primer. I was blown away at how "imperfect" the factory panels are. You can see in the next photo, how much the bottom of the
door sticks out. Adjustment and tweeking will correct it.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics006.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics022.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics042.jpg

I started working on the door to get it straight. Think about this when you look at the photo: These doors are 5 foot long. Parking
spaces in 1977 were not any wider than they are today. Chances are the car beside you had a 5 foot long door also. A great recipe
for many door dings. There were so many little dings, I couldn't tell what was high and what was low until I started sanding. The sanding board
will tell all.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics051.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics032.jpg

Want a straight sanding board? A 4 foot level and adhesive roll paper. $20.00 at Lowes. It even has handles.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics054.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics009.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics041.jpg

Getting closer
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/iphone4058.jpg

We will bolt the door up next and begin lining up everything.

[IMPALA MAN]

At this point I need to bolt the fender and door on to line every thing up. This way I can sand across the rear quarter to door gap and the
door to front fender gap and get everything right.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/595.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/596.jpg

As I soon figured out, to line the front fender up, I needed to have the hood on. To line the hood up I needed the opposite side fender on. To line
the oposite side fender up, I needed to have the opposite side door on and lned up. Oh well, it gave me a good look at how the car was going to look. Reminder.....The old wheels and tires are being used to roll it around. They will be replaced with the new Boyds shown earlier.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/597.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/598.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/599.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/600.jpg

[IMPALA MAN]

To get the front wheels and tires measured out, I first needed to get the front suspension completed. A little research showed that the front control arms were the same as a 70-81 Camaro.
Some 2" drop spindles and a set of upper and lowers from Heidts should get the job done.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2012.jpg
By the way a big thanks to Mike Hawley at Heidts. A great guy and if you ever take a ride with him....you won't forget it!
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2013.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2014.jpg
Tire selection complete.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2028.jpg
Once the tires and rims came in I learned a few do's and don'ts.
DO go to a tire shop that has knowledgable people mounting wheels and tires.
DON'T go to tire shops that just add air pressure until the tire seats OR this may happen:
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2026.jpg
I'm just glad we were not in the shop with him when it happened.
A few sneak peeks;
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2018.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2015.jpg
Note: The rear tires will come out another 1.25" per side from where they are in this photo
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2008.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2003.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2004.jpg

Anybody seen one of these like this before?
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics32512012.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics32512001.jpg

[irishlsxer]

Dude that is looking pretty slick..

[214Chevy]

Bro, that back tire is mean....:mad: :mad:!!

[waynieZ]

Dude that is looking pretty slick..

X2 I like the wheels!

[IMPALA MAN]

I've been busy with the job lately on some projects. Of course it's been in the triple digits in temperature also. So the work was little if any. Here are some of the latest and more photos of the car.

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics32512006.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics32512009.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Carpics32512007.jpg

Getting the quarter panel dialed in. Back window set in place for a visual.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/Car2044.jpg

Here is a pic of the "mock shocks" I built. These will keep the wheels at ride height when on jack stands.... Or on a car dolly.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo.jpg

Speaking of car dollies. How about this one? This is what I was doing instead of working on the actual car. This pic is after it was test fit together to make sure it all worked. In short...17 feet of 5X5 square tubing and 88 holes drilled. You have a bolt together deal.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-10.jpg

Sandblasted then painted
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-14.jpg

Partial assembly
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-13.jpg

Sliding it under the car
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-2.jpg

Under the car and bolted to the frame
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-9.jpg

I had to upgrade the casters. 8" cast ones to make rolling easier.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-3.jpg

This makes a huge difference. It puts the frame 24" off the ground, allows you to remove the wheels for welding and body work, work under the car, etc.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-6.jpg

Some cool pics of the trunk pan and under the car.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-4.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-7.jpg

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/photo-8.jpg

[bonecrrusher]

That car dolly is cool.

[waynieZ]

That dolly should make some jobs alot easier. That primed quarter looks like you could cut yourself on the body line. Nice job.

[IMPALA MAN]

The body line was a bear. If you look at the car you can see this body line stretches the entire length of the car (front to back). It's so subtle that it's easy to lose when doing a little body mods. How did I get it straight? With Home Depot $19.99 laser level. Once the laser was on the car, I simply drew a pencil mark every few inches and I had it. This of course only works if the body line is perfectly straight.
Regarding the body line being razor sharp, you can thank a great friend of mine, Jim Ring. Don't get me wrong, my work doesn't hold a candle the The Ring Brothers, however they can provide some great tips. They don't produce cars like they do by being rookies. They are bad ass. I take it everyone knows the tape trick to get these lines so sharp?

[customshop1]

Looking good. very nice job s far keep up the good work hope to see it finished soon.
I am painting a Prostreet 78 Malibu this weekend. should be a pretty nice street car..

[IMPALA MAN]

It feels good to get this baby back on the ground. I am FINALLY making great headway on the project. I should be able to finish up the body work within the next few months and then do more mechanical tasks for the winter.
http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/a24ec8a0-d637-4efb-870f-7aca781db473_zps4kc9rbs9.jpg (http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/fuman2/media/a24ec8a0-d637-4efb-870f-7aca781db473_zps4kc9rbs9.jpg.html)

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/affb7e38-02ee-43c6-bda0-5801393dbd0f_zpsjybcprem.jpg (http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/fuman2/media/affb7e38-02ee-43c6-bda0-5801393dbd0f_zpsjybcprem.jpg.html)

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/fc1747af-236a-46b3-bde9-5a8e8ae0b862_zpsiybbn9ya.jpg (http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/fuman2/media/fc1747af-236a-46b3-bde9-5a8e8ae0b862_zpsiybbn9ya.jpg.html)

http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh531/fuman2/88538e4b-985f-48a9-abac-982d2a5cd4b5_zps4yktzpl7.jpg (http://s1250.photobucket.com/user/fuman2/media/88538e4b-985f-48a9-abac-982d2a5cd4b5_zps4yktzpl7.jpg.html)

I will next be moving the rear axle forward about one inch to center the wheels in the wheel well an then lower the rear of the body about 3/4".

For anyone wanting to chime in, I am looking for opinions on paint schemes!!! It's not like I have a lot of other 77 Impalas to take any tips from.

[preston]

I love the every 2 year updates...Keep up the good work. I have no idea how you should paint a '77 Impala though. I keep thinking of that Fox Body Fairlane that had the outrageous American Flag paintjob on it I think it was a giveway car back in the 80's. I guess cuz the two cars have a similar profile. Personally I'm a fan of straightforward one color paint.

[WSSix]

Glad to see you're still plugging away on the build. I'm terrible with paint ideas on most cars, but I think I agree with Preston on going one color.

[Kcrain]

Any update on this? It's different that's what makes it so neat. Keith

[IMPALA MAN]

Not yet. Starting to get cold here and work has been consuming a lot of time. I'll update soon and Thanks for the compliments!!