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Think this pile o' crap is fixable?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by rustynewyorker, Jun 22, 2007.

  1. 31 Plymouth body, turned truck about a zillion years ago.

    What I like is starting from a Tudor, the doors on it are a lot longer, I can sit flat on the ground with my legs outstretched and I have about 4" behind me and 2" or 3" between my feet and the firewall.

    But it's rough, it would need a tube steel frame for all the wood, doors need rebuilt, dash is shot (no big deal), rear wall is too thin to be useable, and there is no floor or subrail structure left at all. A lot of the metal is pretty thin, so thin it would probably have to be carefully blasted, primed, and loaded with bondo to smooth out. Hinges are just about all shot too.

    On the bright side, it does have a serial tag yet. It's not hard to picture, on a custom tube frame, sitting low, with a big motor.. and I do have some '57 Plymouth quarters I could use for bed sides.. hmm. Leave it as is and tell people it's a 1947 time capsule...
     

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  2. budd
    Joined: Oct 31, 2006
    Posts: 3,478

    budd
    Member

    i`d build it into a pickup, back in the late 20's dodge made a pickup called the merchant express, looked like a cutoff car body with a wood box and car fenders, had little side windows behind the doors that made it look like an extended cab.
     

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  3. tdoty
    Joined: Jun 21, 2006
    Posts: 821

    tdoty
    Member

    Sounds like you like it..............that should be answer enough :D

    Tim D.
     
  4. chaddilac
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 14,043

    chaddilac
    Member

    Heck yea!!! some 3/4" tubing would help a lot.... like budd said make it a pu!!
     
  5. well yeah, it would be faster to make a rear body from pieces cut out of a station wagon using tin snips and rocks, than to find another rear half.

    I'm thinking more in terms of if there's enough left of the metal to bother with... anyone else messed with something like this? I should post the photo of the serial tag so you can see how pitted it is. I mean, from what I can see I would just throw the inner doors away completely and start over. Since everyone says you can't weld tin that's paper-thin, there's a lot of fab work, and my skill level would require a layer or two of bondo to make some of the curves match up -

    It might almost be easier to split my AA cab down the middle of the doors, and splice in like 3/4 of another door, than to fix this. When I tried to add behind the doors on that truck with photoshop, it looked like shit, I haven't tried a paste job through the doors. Of course then I need to change the top, since it has the solid top on it, but I do have some sedan top tin around.
     
  6. draggin ass
    Joined: Jun 17, 2005
    Posts: 1,920

    draggin ass
    BANNED
    from hell

    looks better then what i started with!
     
  7. Build a pickup,nice little 340,4speed,8 :rolleyes: 3/4 rear.Frame shouldn't be difficult.
     
  8. Rusty Kustoms
    Joined: Feb 5, 2006
    Posts: 238

    Rusty Kustoms
    Member

    Nope, no good. Too much work involved, you sould just ship it to me and I'll dispose of it!!!:D Seriously though, that would make one cool project, I say build it!
     
  9. I think I'll try and talk my buddy out of it, I can always sell off one of the Model A's I bought and use the money on this. Makes me wish I still had the "89 Ramcharger I drove a while back, it had a good 360 in it.
     
  10. Same here
     
  11. Frosty21
    Joined: Jan 25, 2007
    Posts: 960

    Frosty21
    Member
    from KY

    Actually looks pretty decent.

    I just wonder if whoever done that in the first place, ever thought someone would be trying to ressurect it later?
     
  12. Silhouettes 57
    Joined: Dec 9, 2006
    Posts: 2,791

    Silhouettes 57
    Member

    Look at what my ol pal Jamo is starting out with.... '29 Dodge body and a mish moush of other parts.
    Oh Ya it might be low with red wheels!!!!!! Living on the edge.:D
     

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  13. You can't see where the rear top of the right door has rot holes in it; the door skins have split from the fold that holds them on the backing in a lot of places. Also a good 4 or 5 inches is missing from the bottom - that in itself is not a big deal, I think I can cut patch panels out of an 80s car roof that will have enough arch to them to fit good - but some of the rust pits in this look more like craters.

    Then again thats what happens when something sits out for a bazillion years.

    On the bright side, there's a car we're going to pick up Monday that I will post to it's own thread once I see how much of the top is left... should be interesting... hopefully once righted it turns out to be a roadster.

    This is the inside of the right door about halfway down -
     

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  14. Frosty21
    Joined: Jan 25, 2007
    Posts: 960

    Frosty21
    Member
    from KY

    Theres plenty of roadsters already.

    I mean, I understand when a roof is too far gone to do much with, but I think the look and function of an enclosed car is just much better.
     
  15. HHRdave
    Joined: Jul 31, 2006
    Posts: 1,068

    HHRdave
    BANNED
    from So Cal

    Anything is fixable... it all depends on TIME and MONEY that you want to put into something like.... as you stated it "pile o' crap" that alone is something to think about.
     
  16. spudz
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 535

    spudz
    Member

    does it run??
     
  17. its more than some of us have started with
     
  18. Earlsx3
    Joined: Dec 29, 2006
    Posts: 20

    Earlsx3
    Member

    I have less than that, just a cowl section, windshield post with visor. Its just like that one too. I hope to build a woody around it some day. Yes, its worth saving.
     
  19. The top parts are the best parts on it, except the doorframes.

    The metal is just really thin in places, that's all. I've had more people tell me you can't weld metal that's so thin, you have to replace it. Just has me wondering if when I get done replacing pieces I could have just started from nothing and had less effort in it.

    I do know a guy who could probably bend up some of the tougher patches for me, though.

    Ultimately, I could just build a frame, get it rolling and running without a body, then I suppose if I had this bead blasted and it came back looking like swiss cheese, I still have a decent AA cab and a bunch of other A tin I could use instead.
     
  20. You remind me of the guy on eBay the other day who looked at an auction for a '55 Chevy, that says 1955 in big numbers at the top of the page, and emails me asking "what year is this car?" ....


    Yeah, it runs good, it goes just as fast as you can go with your arms holding it up on both sides as you run down the road with it.
     
  21. MattGergeni
    Joined: Jun 22, 2007
    Posts: 58

    MattGergeni
    Member

    Hey, if folks keep talking about fixing this rust colored beauty, then yours should be easy. You can learn more about this ride on www.oldcarsweekly.com[​IMG]
     
  22. spudz
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 535

    spudz
    Member

    hope ya know I was being sarcastic...:cool:
     
  23. j conrad
    Joined: Dec 24, 2006
    Posts: 81

    j conrad
    Member

    i have a cab made from a cut down plymouth 4 door and i love it! it is one of my most comfortable rides because of the xtra space compaired to a stock truck cab. im 6-4 so space is always welcomed plus i just dig the proportions it has, if the price is right jump on it
     
  24. PollockzRodz
    Joined: Jan 28, 2007
    Posts: 362

    PollockzRodz
    Member

    Good ol northern tin haha Most of the bodys Ive started with are about that or a little worse. Make a good substructure and brace evrything well and alot of sheetmetal work and your on your way. Shes got potential
     
  25. I figured... that's why I went with the smart-ass answer instead of something harsh. Sarcasm just doesn't work so well in print.. oh well, no big deal.
     

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