Thanks guys! I started plugging the fender holes. Thats not a bad job, but this one needed more attention because of couple of dents and some wrinkled metal around one of the biggest dents. I did some hammer/dolly work and i got most of it out and the wrinkles flatten too. Its not perfect, but a lot better than it was. There is some work on the fender mounting lip, but thats pretty pointless job to do at this point. I am going to cut it off anyway because of merc grille surround, so why bother..
New to this forum! I've read through this thread over the last couple of days and it's fantastic. Such a great resource. I just bought a 49 Shoebox that I'm picking up this weekend, (mostly solid body on a rolling chassis). I'll be referencing this thread often. I feel like it's way more informative to learn from people who are doing these projects themselves in their garage with limited tools and supplies, rather than tv shows where they have unlimited tools and income. Really looking forward to see the finished product. Thanks!
I am, i am! Thanks! Thanks! Good to hear that its been an useful thread for someone. The shoebox social forum is useful too. Its a quiet forum, but there's some good info anyway. I guess this build could been a bit different, if i live in US. Easier to access parts and no 2-4 weeks waiting for them.. Good luck with the project. Here's a link for that social forum: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/shoe-box-hambers.112/ Thanks!
Thanks Andrew! There isnt much work on yours, comparing this mess. I am forward to look your next update.
Have you been on the HAMB shoebox Social Forums? There is a lot of good information there and cheap repairs to expensive solutions.
So, the plugging saga continues. The fenders are done with the plugging job. I started to mess with the gravel panel. First i thought that i'll sandblast it, but it looked pretty solid. So i stripped with stripping discs. I found only few spots with some deep pitting and one dent. I brushed a rust removing chemical on the pitted spots, to eliminate the rust. My wild guess is that the anti-rust poison will eat the pitting so deeply that i'll have to weld couple of matchbox sized patches. The biggest surprise was that panel is better from the bottom side than it was on the top side. Kind of strange..
Your patience and attention to detail are going to make one incredible car, Finnrodder. You're getting pretty close to the end of the metal work aren't you? I've been following your build for a long time, looking forward to the finished product (not as much as you are, of course lol)
Thanks! I guess all the rust repairs are pretty much done after the front end parts. After that there is the kustomizing job left to do. But i guess everyone hate to see the ruining of the perfectly usable parts I really like to put the front end parts together ASAP, but i had somekind of brainfart earlier and i've completely forgotten the inner fender end/fender bracing panels. I like to get them powdercoated, but that will take couple of weeks. I guess get them to powdercoater will be next weeks agenda.
Welcome to my world, I was all the way done with my wiring, looking forward to driving it, then I realized that I had forgotten to hook up all my control cables for the heater and vents. A couple of weeks waiting for powdercoating isn't too bad, I'm sure you have plenty to keep busy. What are the kustomizing plans?
Well, thats nothing new to me either. I am not trying to invent the wheel again. So there will not be nothing too wild, but nothing too mild either. I like that every piece is a functional, so i am not a huge fan of dummy spotlight or other decorative stuff like that. I guess that Merc grille surround will show the way where i am going with the front end kustomizing. I need to figure out where to put the front turn signals, that way they dont disturb the front end looks. Maybe a floating grille with turnsignals, we'll see. So that part is a blank like 200 yrs old map of Africa at the moment. But i have an idea how to french the headlights, but more about that when i am in that phase. And i am sure that i am busy, while waiting the panels from powdercoater.
No I haven’t yet, but I will. I can use all the help I can get lol. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Yeah, less is more! Thanks Carsten, so far the stand has been useful. A small update: I got the gravel panel plugged, but there was still some slight pitting. I bought a bottle of phosporic acid, a bit more HC stuff than that i brushed earlier on the panel. That should do the trick faster. I also got that dent bumped out of from the upper center left part of the panel. If the weather is fine, i think that sandblasting operation will at wednesday or thursday. I hope that plan doesnt backfire..
And the plugging finale, what comes to the front end parts. So the next piece is the Merc grille surround. I guess most guys do this job when they fit the grille surround on the car. I thought it could be easier to do before the grille surround is cutted and sliced and has lost the sturdiness. I cut off the parking light humps and i cut off the OEM grille mounting (?) holes too. I dont know how they are from the factory, but those holes were stretched. I think i have to cut off around 1-2" from the both sides, where those patches are and a lot of more stuff will be cut off too..
I am going to need some of those fender braces as well. Where did you get them? Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Allrite, i got the front end panels sandblasted. The plan is to take them to powdercoater, except the hood latch panel. I guess i have to modify it, because of the Merc grille surrond. So i just wanted to clean it from rust and spray some primer on it. And i want to upgrade the latch too, there is just too much horror stories about shoebox hoods that have blew up while driving. I am glad that i got those parts blasted, because its supposed to rain at next week. My plans was to sandlast the headlight buckets too, but that pair i have, wasnt worth of it. So i have to hunt a better pair from somewhere..
It was faster than i thought, i picked up the panels from powdercoater at today. Thats the good news, the bad news are that there will be extra work with the fenders. The top mounting holes on the fenders doesnt line up with the inner fenders.I guess thats because the fenders are '50 and the original '51 fenders that came with the car, i sold them long time ago. So i cant compare them, i think only way to handle this is drilling new holes on the fenders. I mounted the inner fender end panels to the inner fenders and glued the anti squeak welt on the inner fender side panels. The welt was stapled to the side panels from the factory, so i made few "staples" from welding rod and stapled welt to the panels via factory staple holes. Sounds a bit HC restorer shite, but that way the welt will stay on the panels when i am struggling with fenders. I bought an aluminum grille mesh for the fresh air channels. Never thought that i am going to buy a ricer stuff for the kustom project...
I thought i really need the hood for the front tin alignment too, so i've been tinkering with that one. I have 2 '51 hoods, one came with the car, but i think its only good for parts. The another one is a bit better. Its straight, but slightly crispy. The rear hood brace, where the hinges are mounted had all hinge bolts broken and when i tried to open the brace to hood bolts, i broke every single one of them. But thats not a big surprise with almost 70 yrs old small UNF bolts. I sandblasted the brace and i got all the broken bolts out of the brace. The brace was also cracked from the middle, so had to weld it. Threads were fine after tapping them, so no need for new weld nuts. That brace is ok, but the rest of that hood looks like crappy at this point. I am going to clean the rust off later, just figuring out the best method for that job. Maybe a citric acid, but we'll see... I noticed that i dont have hood bolts or springs, small but important things. The hood is now mocked up, but i think i need the correct mounting hardware to get it lined up better.
It looks you intend to keep your old heater fan and outside air dampers. Sorry I haven't read the entire thread but are you going to air condition the car?
I think the original fresh air vents are just fine for me. This is a chill country where i live, so i dont think its not a must have-accessory in car. I have air condition in my daily driver, but i rarely use that. I guess its maybe 2-6 weeks per year that the air condition is useful in here.
I understand. ..Texas is a bit different. ... By the way, your patience and attention to detail and beautiful work are quite stellar! Admittedly in areas where I was certain that the product of the work could never be seen, some of my stuff just simply wasn't very pretty. You would probably either laugh or cry if you saw my rebuilding of the floors and tubbing. Since I couldn't face trying to get all that undercoating off I decided that welding wasn't the thing to do on the floors so over a thousand pop rivets later.......and a case of 3M 5200..... All that is on my website.
Thanks! That undercoat wasnt so bad after all. I know that factory tar can be a real pain in the ass, but i got that off pretty easily. I made a tool for air chisel and rest of them i got off with a heatgun and puttyknife. One good trick for the quarterpanels was to heat the panel from outside with a heatgun and then peel off the warm tar with puttyknife. That method worked fine. Quarter panels could look pretty interesting after pounding them with an airchisel, so thats out of the question... Well, that poprivet fix. What can i say, its something that i would not do never. But if someone uses that method, who i am to judge anyone. Our vehicle inspectors really hate that kind of fixes, so it makes my life easier just to weld all the patches. Another one of my bro's is a vehicle inspector, so i know how those bastards think
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