Going into it, the crew of The Build knew that their ’65 Malibu SS had some damage, mainly thanks to an unfortunate run-in with a brick wall. But it wasn’t until the car was completely sanded down and the rust and body filler were ground out that the extent of the damage could be assessed. Check out the ins and outs of the ’65 Malibu’s body damage in this week’s episode of The Build above.

Now that all the sanding, sand blasting and grinding has been done on the ’65 Malibu, the crew of The Build can focus on repairing any existing damage and moving forward on their build project. So this week, Rick Drewry walks us through all the body damage that needs to be addressed in the coming steps of repairing the classic Chevy.

On the list of things to fix are the rust issues under the taillights, in the wheel wells and in the bottom of the rear quarters. Old damage that had been filled over in both the rear quarters will also need to be taken care of, i.e. hammered out smooth, sealed and then coated with a thin layer of body filler before painting can occur. Then, of course, there’s also the firewall area that needs to be fixed.

While it looks like a big project, we’re confident that the American Modern crew will blast through it in no time, starting with the first couple coats of epoxy primer.

Be sure to come back next week as the crew of The Build tackles some of this extensive body work!