Just thought I'd show you guys what I've got, where it began when he fell into our hands, and the process we went through to improve him.
This is how he looked when we got him for $1500 from a friend of ours in Michigan:
...Needless to say, the fish bumpers were quickly taken off and replaced with GT trimmings:
This is where my Dad had an idea for what his color scheme could be. Note the bit of black spray-bomb on the otherwise purple front bumper.
"Dual Exhaust" pipes also promptly replaced the derpy single exhaust.
A lot of the color scheme was my Dad's idea (and handiwork. A LOT of handiwork.) Each of the four wheels had to have its clear coat taken off, and then heavily sanded with gradually increasing grits of sandpaper (I think from 540-grit to 1200-grit) to remove the pitting that the wheels had acquired over the years until black paint could be applied and the ring around it polished.
Yeah, we weren't afraid to take this car apart. The disintegrated rocker panels (Or what was left of them) were removed, the underlying structure was rebuilt, and new rocker panels were ordered, primered, painted, and installed.
The bottoms of each of the fenders were cut off and new pieces from donor fenders were welded on. My dad really had a ball with the welder on this project! Many of the body panels were wet-sanded to achieve a wet, glossy appearance.
The ground effects have finally been finished, and are ready for installation.
And now, Axel is finally one again:
Sadly, his glory will be short-lived (About a year and a half now), as the amount of rust that had accumulated over the years had eaten away at his rear frame and rear suspension components, leading to his impending retirement from the road.
I'm currently on the hunt for another Grand Prix, and as fortune may have it, I've come across a GP GT that is four doors, red, and crashed only in the front. Hopefully, something will come of this, and Axel will be "Regenerated" (You won't get it unless you're a Doctor Who fan XD) and ride with me on the roads again.
