1608 Restoration begins

[Dean Scharer]

1608 came into my possession two years ago and has been on the back burner until today. It has had two previous owners and I remember the dealership she came from when I was a kid growing up in Tacoma. The previous owner has already done the work to convert her to Monte bumpers and front headlights. I have the springs to lower her to a more correct racing stance. The crossmember has been reinforced and Koni’s sit under all four corners. She is remarkably rust free so hopefully nowhere near as much of a project as my ‘76.
What lies ahead is a complete bare metal restoration. Since it also came with the Forza/FAZA front racing air dam I intend to paint her white and do a rally tribute model. (Another member on this forum acquired the Montecarlo front bumper from me, so it is in good hands.) An engine has already been built for her by Ray Mortenson of Performance Apex fame and multiple spare transmissions for the Scorpions-and my 79 Beta Zagato donor leave me tempted to play with gear ratios. So we will hopefully see her on the road again soon.

 

[Dean Scharer]

Stripped

 

[Chad C.]

Wow, Dean! That's gonna be really nice. I'm glad you got your sports car mojo back in swing... What upgrades did Ray do for the motor?

Post updates as often as you can, I'll be watching...

 

[Dean Scharer]

Doors had cracked and broken hinge mounts, and areas that needed the metal replaced.

 

[Dean Scharer]

The original paint from the factory was silver and it had adhered extremely well. The black paint job on the other hand was a mess. Now that The body work is nearing completion it will be time for a good urethane primer.

 

[Dean Scharer]

Glad to see WESCO had supplies in stock

 

[Dean Scharer]

Doing the engine bay as well

 

[Dean Scharer]

First coat of primer

 

[Dean Scharer]

 

[lanciahf]

Thanks for sharing, I hope everything goes smoothly

 

[Chad C.]

Nice work there, I suspect you're excited about it. It's an inspiration to me as my son returns to school, allowing me a few hours weekly solo in the garage. I washed the car's windows on Thursday to make it look more viable, and did some small corrections with 2k glazing paste. I look forward to my own bodywork & paint prep posts in the near future.

Those fog light shapes look familiar...

 

[Ron Avery]

Very cool project. I can’t wait to see it back on the road.

 

[Dean Scharer]

Nice work there, I suspect you're excited about it. It's an inspiration to me as my son returns to school, allowing me a few hours weekly solo in the garage. I washed the car's windows on Thursday to make it look more viable, and did some small corrections with 2k glazing paste. I look forward to my own bodywork & paint prep posts in the near future.

Those fog light shapes look familiar...

I have almost finished pulling everything off of #1170. When #997 and #1608 are finished I will have a lot of extra parts available. Keep in touch with what you need so we can get yours up and running as well!

 

[Dean Scharer]

Engine bay paint completed

 

[Ron Avery]

Looking good

 

[motoTrooper]

Great work!

 

[Dean Scharer]

Headlight mod almost complete

 

[Ron Avery]

That looks very sharp

 

[Dean Scharer]

Working on two Scorpions and three Zagato’s at the same time has been a challenge to say the least. I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (hoping it is t a train though).

 

[Ron Avery]

Wow, nice job. More photos?