Discussion Forum - Northstar Chevelle Club

Well, I finally ran out of excuses and finished it. My end goal was to have something that looked at least moderately from the era. I really didn't want to do the carpet/vinyl wrapped monstrosities that have a more custom look. It's not me, and definitely not the style of my car. I wanted a muscular look, but something that didn't stand out. It also had to fit in with the interior style.

I ran into some problems, of course (first is orientation of my pics):

1-When your sheet metal brake says it will do 17ga metal. 16 is NOT close enough.... after 4 bends I just about ripped the brake off the cabinet it was lag screwed to. Luckily, The 2 main pieces that everyone will see most were bent well. The armrest part which resides between he seats only got a start of the bend on each side before it wouldn't go

2-We all know that if you heat up metal, it will bend easier. We also know that when it's cold out, it will take longer. We may forget that if it's 25 degrees out and your garage vice has to hold the metal while you heat it, that it will take a really long time to heat up since the vice acts like a big solid steel heat sink. Even with the yellow can MAPP gas. So I ended up heating out of the vice, getting it as hot as I can in the area, clamp in the vice quick, and pull with a vice grips while beating with a large hammer to make the bend. I felt like Jesse James at West Coast Choppers, I'm sure the neighbors were in awe. It worked pretty good, not like a brake bend, but better than I figured it would come out.

3-Metal finishing 102: Heat and a smaller hammer make that top cap meet the bottom base pretty good, even after a couple beers and a Cuban cigar. More impressed neighbors I'm sure. Re-started the cigar with Mapp gas once for fun. Still have all my eyebrows.

Time for final fit and paint. This was the fun part.

I played out each piece, cleaned with mineral spirits until the towel wiped clean, then sprayed with SEM metal etch primer. not heavy, but enough to cover well. Did in sunlight, and waited an hour to cure. Next came Rustoleum high heat grille paint. Why? It was flat black, which I needed and I had it on hand. 2 coats, light then full coverage.

Next came Rustoleum hammered finish. I wanted a texture to the metal, something like ABS plastic used on OEM consoles. When I tested, the hammered paint would fisheye and show the under color, which is why I did black under. The hammered paint finishes in a darker platinum grey color which gave me the texture but not the color, so I waited a week to let it cure and hit the top with Rustoleum Semi-Gloss to give it a not-too-shiny color to match the rest of the interior.

Anyone remember chemistry class??? Guess what happened? The semi-gloss almost immediately reacted and started to crack but I didn't notice until I was finishing spraying the last piece. Too late now, so I let it sit in the sun.

Here's the result, remember it's 16ga metal after paint:

Best I can figure, the solvents that make the hammered finish reacted with the semi-gloss (like fish-eye but less harsh). Because I left it in the sun for a while, the sharper edges of the cracks softened and it settled into the texture I was really hoping for. Originally, I was just hoping the top coat would color the hammered finish, not create it's own. This turned out better than I planned.

Finally, I cut the two gauge holes, made sure the nutserts were clear of paint, and bench assembled it to see.

Here's a closeup of the gauge panel. The left is an Autometer oil pressure gauge from their custom shop, so it could match the a/f gauge as best I could without going broke. It was only a couple bucks more than a stock one too.

Here's the final installed pics. Hard to get good ones because of the size and darkness (and all black pieces). The hardware is chrome Allen head machine bolts. The console is only held to the car by the front and rear shifter top plate Allen bolts (and it's own weight). The only seam front to rear is next to the shifter handles, and is about as invisible as it could be. I would have done it all as one solid piece if the darned shifter wasn't so hard to work around.

Here's the paints if you wanted to create it for yourself. I suspect you really only need the 2 on the right.

-- Edited by bowtie on Friday 24th of April 2020 09:08:48 PM

-- Edited by bowtie on Friday 24th of April 2020 09:10:27 PM