Contessa Gold SS

My project for the new year is our Contessa Gold SS with Chamois trim. It's an L31 M21 GU7 car, built 22nd September 1976.

This build date slots the car into the 1977 model year as stamped on the VIN tag eg. 8D77TG....

My initial intentions were to do a full nut & bolt restoration to it's factory originality but I have now compromised a little to suit my own taste with some finishes & overall look. That said, It will look factory standard to most people. The purists may a have field day I guess but I don't care.

So far...  

The car has been cured of tin cancer & repainted last year. The car had minor rust in some of the usual places but still needed lots of time to do the job properly. Overall the car was a "very good shell" to start with.

I've gone with the clear over base paint because I think this colour really comes alive & stands out far better than the original acrylic finish could do.  

I made sure the blackout placement & side accent stripes were as accurate as possible using lots of photos I took from an original stripped SS hatch, a mate had at the time. I decided to go the the darkest black in gloss rather than satin finish. The other change I made was to blackout below the firewall seam & engine bay chassis rails. I personally like that area to disappear into darkness which helps the motor "float" in the engine bay.

It's been sitting, painted, for almost 6 months, waiting for me to finish the new garage. So now the fun begins! 

I'll start with some photos of the car when I first purchased it last year, then follow with some progress shots to bring everyone up to date. 

Cheers Ando 

Edited by Ando, 11 January 2018 - 07:02 PM.

Sounds like an interesting build - Looking forward to seeing some pics! Who cares what the 'purists' think - as long as you are happy that is all that matters!

Sounds great, Ando. I can't wait to start seeing pics of your build.

Cheers,

Liz

Generally the 13 year old respray was still in reasonable condition but bubbles of rust was evident in places & holes around the plenum duct hole. Other areas included behind the bonnet hinges (minor), bottom section of radiator support panel (previous dodgy repair).

The major body repair was replacing the hatch floor not because of rust but was previously cut & a flat tin sheet was patched over later on.

I'm guessing it was for a rectangular fuel cell in it's Pro Street days. I don't have a photo of that one but it was pretty ugly!

The rear roof section where the hatch hinges are located was a concern but it looked worse than expected.

The middle section was cut out to get access to the affected area & replaced.

The other area that comes to mind are the doors. The bottom of the door frames were almost perfect but rust was evident where the hinges bolt to the double skinned vertical part of the door frame. Rust both sides! I'm not sure if that's a common problem but it's fixed now.

Surprisingly, the left side C pillar was basically rust free. Both C pillars were explored & now have internal drain/vent holes at the join to keep them as dry as possible.

The right side needed rust chased out half way up the C pillar with the inner & outer sections replaced. It only showed a few rust bubbles from the outside.

Edited by Ando, 11 January 2018 - 07:05 PM.

Another build I will be following with intrest .

I really like the colour combination of the Contessa Gold and Chamois trim I don't think I've seen that before.

Cheers,

Liz

I really like the colour combination of the Contessa Gold and Chamois trim I don't think I've seen that before.

 

Cheers,

 

Liz

Hi Liz, If you search on YouTube - Holden LX Torana  RTS  Peter Brock TV Comercial, you'll see the gold camera car in motion as a good example. 

Hi Liz, If you search on YouTube - Holden LX Torana  RTS  Peter Brock TV Comercial, you'll see the gold camera car in motion as a good example. 

WoW! Yes, looks great. I wonder how many in that combo were made? Funny how the camera car is better than the test car

Cheers,

Liz

In 1994 i went for my first loan on my first car... a contessa gold 253 SS hatch with body kit for $7000 at car supermarket. Got Knocked back and never got the car.

So.. this brings back memories, and

am jealous!

Good luck with the build. Looks like a great condition hatch!

You beauty.

Another build thread to keep the interest up.

Looks just like the one I sold. Same colour trim combo but not a 5.0L. Will also watch with interest. Keep the dream alive and personalize it to your taste. Subtle changes won't affect pricing etc..

Some rust repairs.. 

New centre section between hatch hinges.  IMG_2903.jpg   42.23K   8 downloads

Plenum repair patch.   IMG_2904.jpg   21.33K   6 downloads

New metal reinstated.   IMG_2905.jpg   40.58K   8 downloads

The only photo I have of the ugly hatch floor section is when it was cut out & sitting beside the driver front guard. 

Lots of unwanted drill holes to fill in the engine bay as well.  IMG_3059.jpg   82.25K   10 downloads

I got an original sedan boot floor section from Jimmy Torana on FB. Shane..my panel restorer & painter did a fantastic job welding in the replacement floor section & making it seamless on both sides.   IMG_3053.jpg   56.89K   8 downloads  IMG_3054.jpg   57.46K   6 downloads

All of this was happening when I was deep into my shed build. It was indeed hectic times! lol 

Preparing for respray..

We examined the existing paint & decided it was acceptable as a good base to work with. No need to take it back to bare metal.

The car is going to be driven so I decided not to spray the body colour for a show finish underneath.

It'll be road friendly & neat but that's it.

Really not interested doing the car show finish thing with mirrors etc. Been there, done that!

Besides, you tend to drive a show car a lot less because it becomes a pain in the neck keeping the undercarriage clean. 

Amazingly, there was no rust in the rear taillight buckets or rear valance. Just a little pitting in the hatch rubber channel. Nothing serious.  IMG_3055.jpg   61.74K   9 downloads

It took 3 attempts with the colour cards to get a good match.   IMG_3056.jpg   72.03K   11 downloads 

I installed a new door hinge pin kit for both doors while the they were off being repaired.  IMG_3057.jpg   79.36K   8 downloads

Lots of extra unwanted holes welded up in the engine bay.   IMG_3058.jpg   81.61K   9 downloads

Engine bay was the first area to be resprayed.   IMG_3204.jpg   86.14K   11 downloads

Next were the bumpers & air-dam.   IMG_3206.jpg   93.15K   7 downloads   IMG_3210.jpg   106.51K   8 downloads

Paint booth pics next..

What causes the hatches to rust at the hatch hinge area? How does the moisture and dust get in there to start the whole process?

Edited by Shiney005, 12 January 2018 - 08:57 AM.

Watching with interest.

Condensation... it forms on the underside of the roof and runs into the cant rails (rusting the gutters from the inside out), hinge area and especially the C-pillars.

Are you replacing those plastic suspension bushes with rubber ones Ando ?

Yes Gene. I'll be restoring the front end using standard rubber bushes. Much better ride & will last longer. 

Hows the heat over WA mate? Friggin muggy here! 

Oh & using rubber in the steering coupling too Trevor..

Is that a Repro front air dam? Or were the SS's one piece? 

Yes Gene. I'll be restoring the front end using standard rubber bushes. Much better ride & will last longer. 
 
Hows the heat over WA mate? Friggin muggy here! Oh & using rubber in the steering coupling too Trevor..