To seal the panel seams I chose a kit from Eastwood. The tube is the consistency of caulking and the can is about like pudding (brushable).

POR15 will be used on the car bottom; I buy it in a "6 pack" of small cans because once open, the pot life is short.

Here I've used the brushable sealer between panels.

The sealer goes on quickly and works equally well on long runs...

or around and over small patches.

Rough seams will get a couple coats. Here I've painted on the first coat...

and here I've caulked from the tube (then smoothed)...different color, same stuff.

Here is the inner and outer fender seam after sealing.

Some of the spot welds get a dab. One seam here is painted, the other caulked. I just wanted to see the difference. I'll stick with the brushable.

This area has received a second coat. You can apply the brushable over the caulk.

On to the painting. I'm applying POR15 with a brush.

With the temperature in the 80s it flattens out well. I'll need to touch up a few thin areas.

I work with one half of a small can in a plastic cup at a time, more and it begins to set before you finish.

I always have another area ready in case I have left over paint.

Two hours later and the paint has flattened out and hardened.

Here is the rough area again after sealing and painting.

A little touch up on the thin spots and it will be good.

The paint is incredibly strong. Applied over the seam sealer, I can't see where moisture will be a problem.

Time to do some additional welding, first the roll bar brackets...

then the front kick panel to the floor pan...

and along the front frame member where it joins the floor. Note, this is a recreation of a vintage racer so I'm not too concerned with "pretty".

Now I 'll start brushing on a first coat of POR15.

This is followed by more panel sealer, some from the caulk tube...

and some brushed on.

I went ahead and painted under the dash area, not so much for looks (you can't see it), but for protection.

Sealer applied to the rear panel.

And now, a second coat of POR15...

it will eventually be followed with a coat of POR15 "Hardnose Paint" of the same color but with UV inhibitors.

Looks pretty good...

flattens out when the temperature is high.

To position the driver's seat, the pedals must be in place; first job is to chase the paint from the mounting holes.

The pedal box is mounted and small bungees applied to put the pedals in the correct position for measuring the seat position.

The pedals are between 3 and 4 inches from the back panel.

Next the car needs to come down off the rotisserie; an easy way is to lift the body shell with a chain hoist...

pull the rotating pipe out of the engine stand, and lower the body onto a furniture dolly.

With both ends down the car is now stable enough to get into and locate the seat.

I did a couple trial fits and found I like the seat raised 1 1/2" (I used 2x4 blocks) and 1" from the roll bar...

the seat is about centered between the tunnel and the door...

and I have plenty of room for my legs. I don't like my knees up in my chest!

With the steering wheel placed on the rod the distance is just right.

Now to fabricate the seat brackets...I want them strong, so I'm using heavy gauge 1 1/2"x1 1/2" angle iron (four 12" pieces per seat).

The bottom pieces have 5/16" bolts dropped through the mounting holes and welded...that will make removal and replacement easy.

All four pieces are radiused on the front end to facilitate tilting the seat if I only use a single (pivot) bolt.

Here, the two top brackets have been bolted to the seat bottom (centered).

And here, the bottom mounting brackets have been bolted on (single pivot at front).

You can now easily see the need for the radius on both the outer (top) bracket...

as well as the inner (lower) bracket.

With the driver's seat now in place I need to add the harness. First job is to install the cockpit combing.

I've decided that I want to use the bare aluminum trim (combing) so first I'll remove the fabric and as much glue as I can by hand...

there is some dried glue left on the trim...

along with some corrosion and a few nicks.

I'll use a small grinder with a medium grit fiber disk to strip away the crud. Eventually I will come back and polish the trim.

I even stripped the glue off the back of the trim...no one will ever know...but I will!

Now is a good time to mark the rear harness attachment location with the center of the seat and the steering shaft.

Here are the two brackets that will weld to the rear of the cockpit...

and anchor the harness mounts.

Mocked up to be sure everything fits...

then tack welded in. Final welding will be done later with the car back up on the rotisserie.

I'll also go ahead and fit the passenger side seat rails now.

The seat fitted.

Same tilt mechanism as the driver's seat.

Works good.

Here's how it will look with both seats installed.

The seats provide plenty of room; the size is perfect.

Both can be tilted to reduce the heat when parked on a sunny day.

The shoulder belts are anchored with stainless steel rings rated at 880 lbs.

Here's the mount for the crotch (anti-submarine) strap.

The lap belts are bolted directly to the floor.

The full harness installed...

detail of the latch. Looks complex, but releases with one pull of the center bar.

I'm about to paint the seat brackets and will have paint (POR15) left over, so I'll disassemble a rear spring and use the extra paint on it.

The individual leaves of the spring are cleaned with an abrasive fiber disk before painting.

Here are the seat rails drying...

the spring parts...

and the small bits.

The finished spring looks much better than the raw part. The springs are from Winner's Circle.

And, here's how the seat brackets came out...I like it!