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This is the body of the car in August 2001. It is completely stripped and ready to be removed from the frame so the hard
work can begin. Remove 24 bolts and the body is easily lifted off the frame. The body will be media-blasted and the rust
repair and metal work will begin. A cart was custom made to mount the body on during its time at the metal shop. Braces
were bolted on to the door openings to help retain the body's rigidity while it is off of its frame. The body on the cart
was loaded on a tow truck for a short trip to Blastech, the media blasting shop that will strip all the old paint, undercoating
and rust off the car.
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This is the body after the media-blasting was completed. The bare metal was immediately coated with a zinc
primer so it will not rust. Believe it or not when the paint, undercoating and rust was removed, there was still something
left to work with! This is the first time since I've owned it that the car is one color!
The worst of the rust on the car is confined to the rocker panels.
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This close-up of the front left fender area shows the body restoration work. This rocker had to be completely replaced.
Note the fresh air duct that runs above the wheel well. It too had to have some corrosion repaired - oddly enough on the
top, not the bottom. This was the case on both sides of the car. Now the new fender can be fit and welded into place. It
is December 2001 and the paint shop is just weeks away!
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It is mid-January 2002 and the metal work is completed and the body is ready to be painted. The left & right front fenders
and right rear fender were removed and rust repairs have been done. Metal damaged by corrosion was cut out and new panels
were fabricated and hand fit to repair the body before new fenders could be installed.
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It's early February and the paint work has begun. The zinc coated metal was skimmed then primed. Initial rough sanding will
remove any imperfections and subsequent prime and sand processes will finalize preparation of the body for the color coat.
You can see the red fiberblass hardtop behind the car. This too will be reconditioned and painted to match the body.
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April 2002
The paint work is complete!
The completed job has exceeded my expectations! The color match and the finish is great and now the fun
can begin. Yes, that is the hard top shown in the photo. The car was transported to my home on the body cart. After final
assembly of the front suspension and installation brake and fuel lines, the body and frame will be reunited again.
After years of talking about it, e-mailing, searching for parts, collecting information, assembling, disassembling
and generally preparing, I can finally enjoy recreating my Honda Sports car!
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