SLO57 has an interesting story simply because she is a survivor car that had very little use in California and was imported into New Zealand in 2005. Was a complete unrestored car so I was just going to tidy it up and drive it…but one thing lead to another and…the body was taken off the frame to sort out the chassis and suspension.

The body was mounted on a rotisserie so the floor and firewall could be stripped and painted.

It took a couple of years before the body and chassis were ready to be reunited but by 2008 Old Blu’ was back on her wheels. The complete underbody was stripped and painted including the areas around the trunk. That way the final paint job could focus on the body only.

During that time, the motor was rebuilt to stock specs and reinstalled. The diff and gearbox got some seals and were reinstalled as is. The column shift linkages were rebuilt and all new grommets, bushings and a fender gasket kit were used to reinstall the front panels.

In 2009, the roof was sanded back and painted India Ivory.

By 2010 I was driving it but only on the rare occasion when I was in the country as I was living in Australia since 2007.

The motor and accessories painted and reinstalled.

In October 2009 the rest of the body was stripped to bare metal and prepped for paint. I remember flying back to NZ for Xmas that year and the paint was still not finished. Big job!

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

By 2012 it was more or less complete. In 2013 I exported her from NZ to Australia and managed to get the same number plates here in Victoria!