74 Avanti body repair after Hog Troughs

[SN-60]

To: sweetolbob,----- pm's one more time...Thanks

[sweetolbob]

To: sweetolbob,---- Check Your pm's please......Thanks

Got it and you have a reply, Bob

[SN-60]

To: sweetolbob,---- Check Your pm's please......Thanks

[SN-60]

To: sweetolbob,----- That would be great....I'd like to say hello to Him. Yes, He flew into Logan Airport with His Son. I picked Them up in a '64 Avanti I owned at the time. I showed Him the Speedster which He
test drove and purchased. Then Tom and His Son jumped in it, and drove it right back to Bay City (Approx. 800 miles I believe). He called Me when he got home saying they made it OK, and had no issues.--A real
adventure!

[sweetolbob]

To: sweetolbob,---- i notice Your from Bay City, Michigan....Have You ever heard of an 'Old Car Guy' (Studebaker) named Tom Okon? I sold Him a Grn/Yel President Speedster (7167047 6HK7-1640) years ago. He lived in
Bay City.

SN-60

There is a Tom Okon listed in the local directory but I have not met him nor have seen that car. A Speedster would be great to see in the area.

In fact, it gets quite lonely at local shows due to the fact that there are only two other Studebakers that show up on occasion. A 53C SBC powered coupe and a 53 Commander 4-door from Auburn. I know there is a 63 white Avanti that occasionally cruises the town and I've met the owner but other than that I'm usually the only rep at local shows. There is also a 50 coupe setting in a yard in the Kawkawlin area but it's currently yard art.

The NEMSDC has a pretty active chapter south of here and I need to join someday but just seem to get to busy and forget. CRS I guess. In any case, I know where his address is so I'll ask a couple of friends from that area if they know him.

Bob

[SN-60]

To: sweetolbob,---- i notice Your from Bay City, Michigan....Have You ever heard of an 'Old Car Guy' (Studebaker) named Tom Okon? I sold Him a Grn/Yel President Speedster (7167047 6HK7-1640) years ago. He lived in
Bay City.

[sweetolbob]

To sweetolbob,----<snip> Nice to have the car on that lift when Your doing this type of work!

It sure is. Just got to tired and stiff laying on cold concrete floors so it was a 69th B-day present to myself. I should have purchased one 20 years ago.

Bob

[SN-60]

To sweetolbob,---- Big Job! Sure looks like You have it under control though! Nice to have the car on that lift when Your doing this type of work!

[sweetolbob]

The last time we saw our Hero, he was partially naked with the rocker panels removed to facilitate hog trough replacement.

The weather here in Michigan has been in the 70's the last few days (who needs Florida?) and forecast to remain that way for a few more days. So let's take a look at how I reinstalled the rocker panels I cut off earlier.

Initially, I made bonding strips from many layers of Resin impregnated glass cloth that were cut to size and riveted to the hog troughs as original. Other pieces of the same strips were glued to the body with West Systems Six10 two part adhesive and screws were installed to hold the body and bonding strips together. After the strips were bonded, the same adhesive was used to install the rockers and again screws were used to hold the whole assembly in place. Anywhere the bonding adhesive was to be used the fiberglass body area was ground to pure glass prior to installation.





After the entire assembly had time to cure, all the screws were removed and the area around the bonded area was ground down and fiberglass tape bonded over the area.

The area was sanded to knock off any high points and will be coated with Morton Eliminator when the rest of the body is ready for respraying.



And now back to scraping the body down with razor blades. Bah Humbug on that!!!

Bob