From this to this - Part 12

I resprayed the seat frames gloss black, repaired & repainted the front parcel tray, cleaned, oiled & painted the switches & tried to work out what to do with the painted section of the instrument panel. This was the end of June & I also received a call from Steven L, the spray painter, to clarify a few things, mainly to tell me my final prep in some areas wasn’t quite up to scratch and to get a really decent job, it would cost a bit more (like another thousand!). I knew that a few areas would need his touch so this wasn’t surprising and I knew the end job would be worth it. He also commented that he thought the body was in pretty good shape & much better that my white car which required a fair bit of work on his part.

I also collected the bumper bars from A & A Bumpers at Moorooka. Repairing & re-chroming the bumpers ($550) was the next most expensive item after the re-spray & at first I was reluctant to spend the money. I had received quotes for twice this amount and I am not sure why there is such a difference. I was quite happy with the finished product, especially the front bar which required some straightening and after putting them on the car I was pleased that I had them done.

LESSON 17: If you have any dealings with A & A Bumpers, be very certain that the owner/operator will be there when you call to drop off or collect things. He has some unusual business hours & practices but I was happy with his product.

By now it was the end of July & I had collected as much as I could for when the car returned. The new carpet was ready so I also went to the Rubber Shop to buy all the door rubbers, locking strips and several other bits & pieces. One of the hardest items to locate were the chrome round top bolts for the bumper bars & I finally located the correct ones in England on EBay.
Well, after a long absence the car returned on 6 August & did it look different.

I was really pleased with the job he had done & the jewel green colour looks really good in the sunlight. I was also pleased how the front guard area turned out & you couldn’t pick the fibreglass guard. It was all good & starting to look worth it, so now all the pieces had to be put back on it. The following day I managed to put quite a few pieces back onto the car as I had them all cleaned, polished & ready to go, such as door handles, striker plates, boot lock, rear lights & reversing lights & the front LH light frame. It was starting to look a lot better but there is along way to go. I also was starting to get concerned about my EBay purchase of the bumper bolts. After reading a number of negative feedback comments it seemed as if the trader had disappeared, so after several emails were not answered, I entered into dispute with the trader and, without any fuss, had my $37 refunded by PayPal.

LESSON 18: Try and pay for your EBay purchases through PayPal as, in my case, when the deal was not honoured (my first instance of this happening), then your money is refunded without any major dramas.