Alright… It’s been awhile since I updated the Vega Resurrection Blog. At times, that was for lack of progress (hey, life got in the way). By and large, however, we’ve made great strides on the Vega project, I’ve just failed in my attempt to update the world at large (Again, that life thing… Listen, I’ve got 3 jobs and 2 kids; gimme a break).
The Vega left Purple Hayes Performance in February of 2018. Shortly after came a huge step: off to powdercoat! Why is that such a big step? Well, for one thing, once you coat you can’t go back! All of the mounts, all of the accessories, all the details, that’s got to be in place prior to powdercoat because let’s be honest: we’d taken the time to strip everything down, update all of the stuff I didn’t love, and add just about everything on the proverbial wish list. Powder coating not only makes everything look good, it provides a protective finish. And welding on anything post-powdercoat is simply not an option. Realistically, there’s essentially no chance that this car gets stripped down to this point for 20+ years; so we need to do it right.
As you might imagine given my OCD personality, this created a little bit of anxiety! Essentially everything that will ultimately be bolted to the Vega got bolted to the Vega. Twice. A few months later, I was content that she was ready for the oven.
That brought up an issue that I hadn’t really considered (or, better put, didn’t realize was a major hurdle). The roof and quarterpanels are obviously attached to the chassis – they’re not coming off for powder coat. Given the fact that both were rough pieces of metal at best, I wasn’t too worried about it: what was powder coating going to do, mess them up?!? C’mon, that roof doubled as a center support for my dragster in the trailer for YEARS; a little oven ain’t gonna hurt it!
Yet, the first 3 powder coaters I contacted wouldn’t touch the project with a 30 foot pole because they were concerned about warping the sheet metal. I had additional issues trying to get it stripped. Acid dipping didn’t seem like a viable option because there were so many holes drilled in the chassis from past assembly. And sand blasters were also leery of touching the project for fear of denting the roof and quarters. I was really beginning to get frustrated.
To the rescue came fellow racer Rick Taylor and Rick’s Powder Coating in Memphis, TN. Rick and his team handled the entire process: stripping, blasting, and coating. Better yet, they did it quick (the Vega was down there less than a week). It was very affordable (less for the entire project than I’d been quoted for sand blasting alone elsewhere). And best of all, it turned out awesome!
We elected to coat the chassis in a matte black, and all the accessory pieces in a charcoal grey. That grey on black look will be a theme of the Vega from top to bottom; plenty more on that to come!
