Well it's finally time to finish the old 41.
The first 8 pieces are almost painted. Cameo cream is the color and it will have black top and red interior I've got a year + to have it finished for Tahoe. I'll be basically re-restoring it after 12 years on the road (in primer). 10 years running with a leaking, oil burning 216 (it was free). There is so much grime underneath that the only way is to pull the body and do it right. In 2013 I put a 261 and powerglide gears and two years later have it sorted out(long story).
So wish me luck guys...I'll be 75 next month and may need it.
Jay

P.S. I haven't been one in awhile and I see All Cal pictures posted in the banner...Thanks Bill
Of the three pictures 5 Sierra View Region cars are shown. The'41 staff car twice!

Thats going to be my dream 1941. A Cameo Cream convertible with a black top and red interior.
Best of luck you young kid.
I saw Pinky Randal last week. He is going to be 88 and has two project cars he expects to finish I'm happy to get one washed.

Thanks for your kind words Gene,it's the kind of encouragement I need. Pinky a great guy I had a nice visit with him on the bus trip to the Heritage center during the Flint meet.
Well it's 6:15 in California I'm going out and re-shoot the front fenders before it gets hot.

The car is going to be outstanding.

It appears that you are doing excellent work.

My 41 project car just sits there. Nothing is happening on it and I'll soon be 81. I hate the da-- thing. Plus I have nowhere to work on it. My four bay garage is fuller then Andy Griffith after all those spaghetti dinners that time.

Hope you finish it in time for your stated purpose, Tahoe.

Best wishes,
Charlie

Charlie thanks for your reply and encouragement. I hope I get it done too, but if not it won't be the end of the world. It'll just mean I should have started sooner.
This is the fifth 41 convertible I've owned since age 15. Only the years between 19 and 25 was I without one. A lot of good tours and car shows and good memories.
Jay

Hi Jay,

Like you I am in the middle of a body off restoration and paint job. Should I request that the fenders, and hood be painted the same color on both sides? I think the doors and trunk lid are?

I also have not separated my hood so it is still riveted together. Should I have the body shop separate it before painting? I assumed I might not get it as tightly reassembled?

I would appreciate the pro's and con's on my concerns ASAP.

Thanks,

P.S. It is hard to imagine how fortunate you have been to own a Cabriolet all these years. What a story? What an adventure?

I understand this question was not asked of me but I will comment.
The underneath of the hood and fenders were not painted body color. They were black. The hood and fenders were painted by Chevrolet before they were installed on the car.
The body was painted at the Fisher Body plant and the doors were installed . The under side of the trunk lid was pinted body color but not rubbed out, as required by lacquer and was dull. The "edges " of the doors was pinted and some of the inner panel caught the overspray.
Todays owner can paint the car any way he desires....

Mike thanks for your comments. Regarding taking apart the hood there's no advantage unless it's rusty in the center flange. I don't remember why I did. I put it back together with machine screws which wouldn't be show quality.

As usual Gene's comments are right on and correct. Additionally the full quarter panel was painted body color including the area behind the fender.
I have seen original cars where overspray blows through the hood vents and onto the black underside, but your wouldn't do that on a restoration.
Jay

If you were to paint one as the factory did folks would think you were a sloppy painter.

By what I have been told they did not mask anything off when they painted so if it was in the way it got painted.
Tony

YES, they wern't building show cars.

When the hood and fenders were painted at the factory, was the entire part primed first and black just applied to the inside of those parts and then the color sprayed on? Was the inside of the car body primed or bare metal?

The hood and fenders were painted black with a primer/surfacer. It was like the primer that new parts came with. Then the color was applied on the outer surfaces.
For the most part the innner body had a primer and in some areas a sound deadner material sprayed on. Also caught some color around the edges.

She's going to be a beauty. You have a nice big garage to work on your project. I can't wait to see more pictures.
Mike
38 Town Sedan

Thanks Mike, the shop is not as big as it look's 30x30, and a separate 20X36 four stall storage garage. Problem now is, everything is full I don't know where I'm going to put these parts until it goes back together.


This is what I stated with....It was a parts car for the 4 door convertible that I purchased in the early 80's. Since I never throw anything away I started to restore it in the late 90's, by 2003 It was running and in primer with all the expensive stuff left to do. So I put a cheap top on it and started driving it as a rat-rod/beater.

Even the cheap top looks good and I wouldnt call that a ratrod either especially after seeing what you started with.
Tony

Thanks for saying that Tony. The top looked good then but has shrunk and faded in the last 13 years.

Wow, it never ceases to amaze me how folks take a heap and bring it back to life. Looked good, can't wait to see it freshly redone
Mike
38 Town Sedan

I celebrated the 4th by painting the driver's door this morning 9 panels down, 2 to go then the body.



Everybody have a happy 4th!
Jay

I can see your having a great holiday!! nice job

Well all the body panels are painted, rubbed out and tucked away. All that's left is the body...I pulled it off the frame yesterday.


And got it mounted on the rotisserie.



Now I've got 18,000 miles of blow-by to clean up.

Well, I finished the paint work, almost. still have 5 rims and the top irons. Plus all the dash pieces.

Now on to the frame!
Jay

Very very nice!

Beautiful. Lots of fun at this stage!

Thanks for the kind words guys. I have a feeling of accomplishment getting this done at my age. I recorded the hours on the calendar and have spent over 400 in the last four months. But the real shock was spending over $3,000 at the paint store on materials. Egad!
Putting it back together is the fun part. the first piece to go on was the fisher body tag.


It's been over thirty years ago that I removed it. The 1,590th body built at the Lansing MI plant. The floor tag reveals final assembly was at the St Louis plant in November 1940 the 13,654th Special Deluxe in all body styles.
If they could only talk! Where was it sold new? How did it get to California and when?
Jay

Love the pics, thanks for sharing.

One question about painting the final color: Are you doing the painting in a paint booth setup (pre filters, fans, final filters) or out in the open?

Good question Jim, the first batch I started in the shop but I had so much overspray that I moved into the breezeway. It's 14x20 has a drain in the floor, good lighting and during the summer there's usually a breeze from the south to disperse the overspray. I'd never get away with that in town but my nearest neighbor is 300 feet away and they're relatives. I want to get the frame and all the chassis pieces painted before the weather turns. We usually have good weather through October. Frame is striped down and going the sandblaster tomorrow.
Jay

That's interesting...I am thinking of doing the same to my '38, as my next door neighbor's house is empty and will remain empty for another six months, so now would be a good time.

My biggest concern about painting in the open is bugs, especially where I live. I can easily set up my 12x24 shed into a temporary spray booth with filters on both sides, but still need to do it right as urethane fumes aren't something to mess with. I could go with less toxic paint like acrylic enamel with hardener to speed up the drying process....

Jim, your concerns are valid. I certainly wouldn't paint without a good respirator. And I did get a few bugs (gnats). I'm using single stage urethane and it "spots in" very well. I wouldn't have panel painted this way with a metallic color because the color can change with different air pressures or the way the metallic lays. Your spray booth sounds like a good way to go if you put a breeze box or some kind of fan to draw out the overspray.
I painted my vintage GMC motorhome outside four years ago using the same brand (Matrix). It was the first single stage I had used and I liked the way it sprayed. it flowed out with a nice gloss and for a motorhome required no buffing. I did it in three days, The roof, the back half and the front half. this picture shows the "cloud" I'm creating.

The downside is the price has gone way up. Six quarts sprayable in 2011 was $150...Today five quarts sprayable is over $350. I did find better prices at http://www.tcpglobal.com/ and got the satin black ...$153, for six quarts sprayable.

Good luck with your project, Jay

Thanks, interesting....my '38's paint is Gunmetal Poly, which is metallic but not as "metallicky" as today's vehicles are...if you had to paint a metallic color, what type of paint would you use?

I agree about the color inconsistency....gotta keep mixing the paint while painting and gotta keep everything consistent...

I got a quart from TCP Global, and you are right about prices...

I have found with metallic paint it is best to mix enough paint and thinners in the 1 pot to do the whole layer and if available use a 10 qt pot with a mixing paddle built in.
Tony

Good advice Tony, the pressure pot is the way to go.

Jim your question about what kind of paint to use...I would have to say base coat cleat coat. To get the depth and best shine. However before we had that we did some pretty nice jobs with lacquer. So it comes down to what you want to spend and neither will be cheap. Two stage you will have to pay a professional with a booth. I did two clear coats a home and its a loosing battle. One tiny dirt nib under the clear and you have to re-do it. With lacquer you can do it yourself, at home. But lacquer as gotten expensive..especially the slow thinner. It's not even available in California. A friend was in Reno and wanted to get five gallons of DuPont 3602 slow thinner. He was quoted $600 for a five gallon can.
So I don't know if this helps and I'm not really qualified to answer. I spent my career in the body shop as a metal man and didn't paint professionally.
Keep us posted on your decision, Jay

Yesterday was a milestone in the cabriolet re-paint/re-restore.
The body drop!


Since my last update the end of September I had to take off two weeks to paint the house and shop...I hired some help this time, 10 years ago it took a month to do it myself.
So I got the frame blasted in town and painted just before Halloween.
Then bead blasted/Sand blasted the 120 plus chassis parts.

And got all those painted.

And the engine.


I finally got the chassis re-assembled last week and was ready for the big day yesterday.


Now it's in one piece again and this is the fun part for me, putting it back together. So far only the Fisher cowl tag and Chevrolet floor ID have been installed. They indicate the body was built at the Lansing plant and final assembly was at St. Louis in November of 1940. It was 31 years ago I removed these tags but not from this body. But that's another story.
Jay

Looks awesome--seems to have dropped on without too much trouble. Now it will really start coming together. Keep us posted.

Jim

What's the unrestored Touring Car siting outside?

The car is looking outstanding!!

This is the ONLY color for a 1941 convertible

Gene,

You have jerked my chain. The ONLY color. Dang, I have now dried my eyes feelig and feeling much better. Well, enough to respond for me and the rest of cabriolet owners who feel dissed by your flat statement.

I personally think there were several nice colors for the 41 cabriolet. Not just Cameo Cream. I remember your saying there was one in your dealer's show roo that you liked very much.

It is my understanding that Cameo Cream (CC) was chosen by Denver Mint was because it was unique to the 41 cabriolet. And only came with a black top. Even though the car they used to get all the specification was black. I think that is right.

While I like the way the red interior enhances the CC better than any other color, that is not enough to convince me to go with CC. Let me explain why I am of this opinion"

a. The CC color does not shine as well as the darker colors. I like shiny cars.

b. The places the different parts of the car fit together are more obvious with the CC. That is the space around the hood, doors, trunk, etc.

c. I don't know but I doubt the CC was the best selling color. Even though all of them (a little over 15K) were sold eventually. I think that black may have been the most popular (and produced) color.

d. The light CC makes the car look bigger. Small is cuter.

e. The wheel effect is not as good as with other colors. While the wheel discs (especially "Shark Teeth" make the wheels look acceptable they but not quite as well as they enhance a darker color.) And that is about it for my not favoring CC for my project car. It was black but while the club accepts any 41 color, I believe
black or ruby maroon have an edge. They too, are not the ONLY color for a 41 cabriolet in my book.

I think Jay is doing an outstanding job of restoring his 41 cabriolet. As JD says, it is looking outstanding; Just not the color I prefer.

Any one support me in my comments? Probably not.

Jay, I am not slamming your car. It is a nice color and you are doing an excellent job on it. I wish I could do as well.

Best to all,

Charlie

BTW: Jay, you may think again about your choice of valve cover. I think the original look to match the rest of the engine is much better. All my comments are just my opinion and nothing more. This post was prompted by Gene's kind of insensitive comment (How are the rest of us who have other colors supposed to feel after someone we respect so highly makes such a statement?).

BTW2: I just know I'm a-gonna catch hell for this post. S0 to all of you who are readily notching your arrows in your long bows, I have my shield up. Let the poison arrows fly.


BTW3: I am not knocking Jay's choice of color. The car is his. It would be none of my business whatever color he wanted to. And CC is not bad but it in not the ONLY color. That's all I'm trying to say.
.

Wow! I'm overwhelmed with the response to my post. Thanks to everyone for the kind words.
Jim, I spent all day (6 hours is all day for me now) dropping the body and getting the 26 bolts tightened down. Working alone I took it slow and kept checking. No screw-ups,thank god.
Don. the 21 490 was a mistake, an impulse purchase at the Sacramento Swap meet...I took it back this spring to try and get my money back. No takers! Anybody want it for $1,500.
Gene, My feelings exactly...but not Charlie's!
And Charlie, Thanks for your oration on the pros and cons of a yellow car...and I have to agree, you don't get the deep gloss of a dark color, all the cut lines show and the wide whites are washed out. I didn't make the color choice that's what was on the cowl tag. There's a line, a book title I think that says "All Corvettes are red...the ones that aren't are mistakes" I think that applies to 41's too, but red wasn't offered.
Thanks to all and Happy Thanksgiving!
Jay

Wow, awesome string. I think the Cameo Cream looks fine, and also agree that the maroon and black look great on this body style. Never thought about the cut lines showing on light colors, I guess my mind kind of skips over them anyway - but it's a true observation. True enough also about the wide whites kind of paling out against a light color. A bigger thing to me, I would also think the stock rocker cover paint would look a lot better / more right - but that's just me.

But MOSTLY - you have given me something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving: I am thankful that you are thousands of miles away, or else I would be talking myself into that 490 Touring car home coming home with me at that price....

Thats why cars are offered in more than one color. Everybody has different likes.
But I still perfer cream for many reasons and one is that it was not a sedan color.
My seconed choice would be maroon but it is too dark for a convertible.
In 1941 the cream stood out as a flashy color for a flashy body style.

41carguy: Where in Northern California are you located?

Hi JD, I'm about 100 miles north of Sacramento in beautiful downtown Yankee Hill (just a wide spot-n-road) Anything more than a loaf of bread or bottle of beer requires a 30 mile drive to Chico.

Okay, I pretty much know where you are at. I think that they call that part of California the "State of Jefferson". Anyway, I was hoping that you were closer to where I live so that I could stop by and see your car someday. About as far south into California as we get (which is a couple times a year) is Yreka.

Any time, Steve K and his group stopped here on their way to Turlock 3 or 4 years ago. I asked, where's that JYD? They said they couldn't get you outa Eagle Point. By the way, you ever run into Kim Novak at the Wall-Mart? I hear she has a horse ranch there. If you do say hello for me.

Ha ha....ya if I have a choice between going to California or staying in Eagle Point.....I will stay in Eagle Point.

Actually, Kim Novak lives right down the road from me. She has a fairly new house that is right on the Rogue River. We go by her house several times a week. And yes, she has been known to frequent the Wal Mart store that is in Eagle Point. Also, Patrick Duffy lives on the other side of the river from me and we can see the roof of his house from our house.

Another person of interest is Jim Belushi. He recently built a new house, (also on the Rogue River) down the road from Kim Novak. As a matter of fact, Jim built his house on the ranch were I found my all original barn survivor 1932 Chevrolet Special Sedan. When he is in the area (Jim spends part of his time in Southern California) he can be seen at the Barb Wire Grill cafe in Eagle Point.

I can't believe I haven't updated this thread since Thanksgiving. I've been working on it most every day 4 to 6 hours.
Yesterday was a milestone I backed it out into the sun and declared it done.









Well except top and interior.

Since I pulled it into the shop on may 25th last year I've logged 1,215 hours of hands on work...not counting all hours on-line and on foot chasing parts and materials. I don't even want to talk about the money we all know about that. But bottom line I'm under budget on both...So I'm satisfied, and really satisfied that I did it at age 75.

So now I close the body shop and open the upholstery shop, I'll let you how that goes...Darn cars just won't stay done!
Jay

Wow, that is awesome!!! Excellent job!!!

It's pictures like these that motivate us to do something more to our cars....

Beautiful Job! A '41 convertible is one of the few cars I'd consider selling my '50 for someday. Don't tell Charlie I said that!!

Are we going to see this beauty in Lake Tahoe this summer?

Bruce, we'll be at Tahoe for sure it's only 200 mile drive. Many of our region are attending. I'm looking forward to meeting you and other friends on Chat.
Jay

Beautiful job, Jay. I can't believe you have done all that work since we saw you at the AllCal in Jackson last May! And I think the Cameo Cream is a great color for the '41 Cabriolet - I can see why the Denver Mint chose to finish their model in that color. Now seeing the car all assembled, I will be thinking of it as the "Yankee Hill Mint Cabriolet". Congratulations on an outstanding job!
By the way, do you - or any of you other "41 Chevrolet" aficionados - know where I might find a pair of the rear fender gravel shields (rubber w/steel backing - preferably NOS or excellent condition? I really only need the passenger side, but would like both.

Roy, good to here from you...sorry for the delay in responding we left Tuesday morning for a trip to L.A.
The "Yankee Hill Mint Cabriolet" I like that thanks for the compliment.
As far as finding a stone guard all I can say is, watch E-bay this pair sold last month;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1941-Chevy-RUBBER-REAR-FENDER-STONE-GUARDS-Original-GM-pair-/322066964316?hash=item4afcafdf5c:g:uYAAAOSw0QFXBwty&vxp=

I hope to see you at Tahoe, Jay

Well the cabriolet is really done now and just in time too. It's been a fight to the finish...The top I ordered in April did not fit! Ez-On Top in NC....They made it good, cut and sewed a complete new top using my old top as a pattern. It just took time. It finally arrived Tuesday the 29th and I finished the install last Saturday.
The first test drive was Sunday then again Monday a little farther and to town Tuesday for the front wheel alignment. I now have 125 miles on it and nothing has fallen off, so were good to go.









Six Sierra View Region members are leaving Sunday at 10 AM for a 158 mile trek to Tahoe.
See you there,Jay

WOW !! Beautiful!!!!!!

Jay,
The finished product looks fabulous! But, alas, I will not be abel to make it to Tahoe to see it in person. I am, however, adding one more item to my 'bucket list': and that is to see, in person, your 'Yankee Hill Mint Cabriolet!' Congratulations on a superb restoration of one of the classiest looking Chevrolets built in the the 30s and 40s

Happy trails on your trek to Tahoe,
Roy

Jay
You have not been the only 1 doing the long days and short nights getting the car finished for Tahoe but it certainly looks like a stunner worth taking to Tahoe. Travel safely and enjoy the party at the turn around point.
Tony

Great looking car and I'm looking forward to seeing it in person in Tahoe!

Thanks to all who replied with the compliments, it makes it all worthwhile.
It's the last day to work on it, a new adjustable long tie rod is coming today from the FS. I painted the horn cap yesterday and may have to do it over today. Then pack and be ready to depart tomorrow....It's finally here and this restoration is finally over.
Jay

Wish I would be attending. Wuould be worth it just ot see your 1941 as well as Joe's '33 coupe and Brewsters 1951.
A 1941 convertible in Cameo Cream was always my dream car.

I hope the three above cars get top awards in their classes.

Thoroughly enjoyed walking thru your posts early this morning from day 1....that's one helluva nice 41....you did a great job....may have even given me some incentive to get off my duff with my 38!!!! Have a wonderful trip and hope you grab those top awards! Billu38

It sure is a fine restoration. I hope it and a bunch of others are enough to stimulate VCCA members to get their cars and trucks done so they and us can enjoy them as well.

Thanks to everyone who has commented, I really appreciate the all compliments I've received here and at Tahoe.
I'm closing with this final update...The car ran great! Although a little under powered at that elevation. Getting there and back plus the tours added 588 miles to the 125 I had on it before we left. It used no water or oil and averaged 15 MPG. I did lose a hubcap on the last day and it's now a permanent fixture of Squaw Valley.
The meet was great, seeing old friend and meeting new ones I've made here on Chat, like Brewster, his wife and daughter. I looked for the J.D. all week but we never crossed paths (really sorry I missed that beer)
So all that's left now is to enjoy the car, and get caught up on things I've let slide around the house.
Jay

Jay, it was a pleasure meeting you and Louise both. That '41 looks even more beautiful in person, and the hubcap that Abby found on the side of the road is going to look spectacular hanging in my garage!! As for finding the Ol' JYD... he was always easy to find out in the parking lot during the evenings. Shuffling around, guarding the cars and growling at people as you would expect a junkyard dog would do...

Good to hear the 41 went as planned (well almost if you count the hubcap).
Tony

Sorry that I missed talking to you as well and I had a beer for you. I did see your car out in the hotel parking lot many times but each time when I went over to your '41 you were not there. Saw your car at the show also but I never ran into you unfortunately.

Met many new people at the Anniversary Meet throughout the week. Among them were Brewster, the mates from Australia (had many conversations with Mike Ferguson and his wife Jodi about their beautiful 1932 Chevrolet Moonlight Speedster), Kim and Liz from Denmark (Kim and I lifted many beers together thoughout the week), Art and his wife from Michigan, Dale James, William Toomey, and many, many more great folks. Even had several long chats with Kate Sullivan, the editor of the G&D. I had a fun time talking to each and every VCCA member that I ran into. All in all, it was a fantastic meet and the week went by way too fast!

My sentiments exactly Skipper. I wish I could go back and do it over and do it right... The week went way too fast.
Jay