As mentioned in my earlier general update post, the 510 is currently sitting snugly at Image Auto Body in South San Francisco. The same team that did the wide body install and full repaint on my STI, Image is hard at work bringing the 44 year old chassis back to life.

My goal with the body is to clean up and remove all of the dents, shave/fill the front and rear side markers, replace/patch the passenger side quarter, weld rear wheel wells shut and smooth out to accomodate much wider wheels/tires, and then shave/smooth the entire engine bay of all un-necessary holes.

Along with all of the above, the team at Image will also be fitting my new fiberglass trunk, rear bumper, and fender mirrors.

Stopping into the shop last week, I was pleasantly surprised with the progress they have made in the past 5 weeks. The majority of the holes in the engine bay have all be welded closed and ground smooth, the rear quarters were welded closed where we had cut for the fender flares, and the trunk was fit. Along with those some of the other exterior areas had been filled and smoothed such as the side markers and lower trim holes.

Next up will be fitting the tail lights to make sure all of the rear body lines are proper, pulling some of the larger dents out, smoothing the engine bay further, and prepping for paint.

Check back soon for more updates! I’ll be writing about my interior plans and the brake setup next entry.