Avenga's 1975 Avenger

[avenga]

after that I did a little interior upgrade. Going from the old strip speedo to the round gauges of the Avenger Alpine. This cluster is actually out of an english Avenger GT so it uses Smiths gauges which are tons better than the NZ AC Delco ones.

I also swapped over to the Avenger Alpine dashboard and got it recovered.

Here are some photos of the new cluster. This was before I get it restored so now it looks like new. I replaced the glass on the temp gauge and repainted the damage to the rev counter







Here are some shots of my new dash.









And here are some shots of the difference between AC Delco and Smiths.

The cluster on top is the NZ one and the one on the bottom is the UK Smiths ones.

[avenga]

And then the final bit is the exterior.

I brought some mould for a fiberglass bonnet, boot with spoiler and chin spoiler.

I also did a quad headlight conversion.

Here is a shot of it with the quad headlights and fiberglass bits. I haven't got the flares or big wheels on in this picture because they will require the body to be cut to make them fit



Here is a photoshop that one of my friends did to show what the finished car may look like.



Here are some more shots of the fiberglass bits and some of the flares we tried. The front ones will stay but we are using some Capri ones for the rear.

[avenga]

Hey guys.

Mega panelbeating photo dump!!!

So I went down to GT Refinishers to check out the progress on the Avenger. It is looking good, heaps less rust that I thought there would be, heaps of dodgey repairs by previous owners but the body is really good otherwise. Grant said the body looks really good.

The back wheels look huge now they are fitted and they will fill up the flares nicely. The fronts are a different story, they don't stick out past the factory guards so I have some spacers which I will use to mock up the wheels then I will get the offset changed from a 4" backspace to a 3" back space.

So let the flood of photos begin.

This is the rear wheel how it sits at the moment, they need to cut a bit more out, probably up to the blue line. I also need some harder springs but the ride height is looking really good.

This is how the flares will sit in the end





This is how much they have cut so far, you can see the blue line which will be where the final cut will be.









Here are some little patches etc they have done

This one is by the back window



This one is on the other side of the back window



Top of the back window



Front guard



Around the front window







Engine bay all stripped and all the holes welded up.



Battery is moved to the boot



Bonnet latch is removed because I don't need it with the fibreglass bonnet



Fancy pants adjustible front suspension, Ex-my rally car



tail lights





rear quarter, you can see a few rust holes that will be patched



They also did patches on the other rear quarter plus most the doors and the front guard.

[avenga]

Latest progress shot, via the GT Refinishers facebook page http://www.facebook.com/Gtref

They are doing an awesome job. Can't wait to see it finished.

[avenga]

I went down to GT Refinishers yesterday to see the progress in person.

It is looking very cool. The rear wheel look so wide now with the factory guards cut back. They are having to extend the rear flares a bit to get them to fit over the wheels.

Here are some more photos.

I love this shot looking down the side of the car, shows how wide the rear wheels are.



Passengers rear





Drivers rear







Rear guards cut ready for the flares. We cut all the way up to the bottom of the doors.



Rear passengers door



Rear drivers door



Still got the front to strip and paint.

[avenga]

Latest progress shot from GT Refinishers.

[avenga]

Went down to the panelbeaters to check on the progress. These will probably be the last shots before in gets painted. It is scheduled to be painted on Thursday. Just got some final blocking to do and the front flares.

Also went and brought all the rubbers for the Avenger.





I think the rear flare look great, they make it look really aggressive.





They made the lower section of the flare out of steel so it won't break if people kick it getting in and out of the car.



Here are some more shots of the rear spoiler now that it is in primer. I think it really suits the car now.





Engine bay is looking super tidy now. I am going to hide all the wires so it should look very clean when it is done.









Lots of rubbers, I got the door rubbers, boot seal, window chanel, inner and outer bottom window seals plus some rubbers for the tail lights for just under $400 all up from Reid and Twiname. Plus the front quarter lights from the UK.

[avenga]

I spent the night prepping and polishing my tail lights. I managed to find some NOS lenses awhile ago so I gave them a good polish also.

They came up really well. I polished the crap out of the refectors so they should be pretty bright.

My next job is to find some screws as they were all rusted and find a signwriter who can put a little black vinyl strip in the groove around the outside.

Then I can put them all back together and fit my new seals.





New Old Stock lenses. they have never been fitted to a car but they had lost their luster over the years of sitting, so I gave the a good polish.

[avenga]

Exciting day!! I got the first shots of the Avenger in colour from my panelbeaters. I will go down on Saturday and see it in person and take some more pics.

Also finished assembling my tail lights. I also have some brand new halogen front lights to go in. Thanks Ross!!

Here is a shot of the first base coat.



and here it is with the final clear coat.




Here are the finished tail lights (minus the black strip)

[avenga]

Latest update from the panel beater (GT Refinishers http://www.facebook.com/Gtref)

Rear flares are painted. The colour looks amazing, can't wait to see it in person.

[avenga]

I went down to GT Refinishers today to check out the paint job on the Avenger. It looks amazing in person, the photos don't do it justice. The paint still needs to be buffed but it is looking unbelievably awesome at the moment. Grant said it has had over 200 hours spent on it so far.

It should be finished at GT Refinishers by next weekend, then it is back to Bygone Autos to get the engine etc back in.

Here are some better pictures of the paint job.

The rear spoiler looks amazing now that it is painted









Close up of one of the flares painted





Front fender minus the flare



Engine bay looks great with the bonnet catch and battery removed.









New under seal under the guards



There isn't much room in at the panelbeaters so I can't get a good side on shot so these rear shots will have to do.

[avenga]

Test fitting the front spoiler and flares at GT Refinishers (http://www.facebook.com/Gtref)

[avenga]

Another progress shot from GT Refinishers.

Looking really awesome now that it is getting put back together.

I am going down the GT Refinishers tomorrow to get some more pics. Should be pretty much all back together by then. I am hoping to pick it up on Monday and take it back to Bygone Autos for the rest of the work.

[avenga]

Another update.

Went down to GT Refinishers to check out the Avenger now that all the panel and paint is done. It looks amazing in real life. Pretty much bang on how I imagined it when I started, Grant and the guys at GT Refinishers have done an outstanding job making it a reality.

The front will come down a bit then we drop the engine back in, and I am going to increase the front track so the wheels fill the flares a bit better. I am very please with how the back is sitting, looks incredibly tough. I am going to be getting some harder springs but probably leave it at same height at the back.

All the rubbers are in the car, I will be getting some new tints after I get it back on the road.

Looks awesome now with the newly painted front grille and quarter bumpers







The front wheel will come a little more forward and outwards as we adjust the castor and track.



The boot has been coated in POR15 then textured and sprayed black, those are all the old rubbers out of the car.



Spoiler looks great all painted up

[avenga]

Picked up my Avenger from GT Refinishers today. Back to Bygone Autos for the rest of the work.