Hey fellas. I'll start by saying this place, and the people here are a wealth of knowledge, and I'm happy to be here. Now the bad news: I bought this 54 locally, from a gentleman who owned the car for 25 years, and had decided his health wouldn't let him enjoy it any more. I saw the car on craigslist, and it was a good "75 footer". I could see it had issues, but Jim, the owner, loved this car. He enjoyed driving it, looking at it, washing it, etc.. Jim wasn't a mechanic, and it showed, but his enthusiasm must have been contagious, as I was soon envisioning me and the family taking a ride in this thing, burning up the backroads. I paid too much, but i had the money in my car fund (children's inheritance), and frankly, I think Jim needed the money more than I did. Here's the car coming home. You'll notice the guy who "built" this car in 91, used parts of a 55 grille, and 52 fenders. But this is just the beginning! Of course I could see I had rust, and body filler to deal with, but I really had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Take a look at the "patch panel" I found in the trunk. Apparently the "builder" had a bunch of aluminum, and several boxes of self tappers he wanted to get rid of! Have no fear!! That rust has been cut out, and new metal welded in, it's just gonna move a lot slower than I was intending. Was removing the driver side fender this weekend, because of course, my floors and rockers are shot. After much hammering, prying, and forum searching, I couldn't get the damn thing off. Finally noticed a crack forming in the bondo up near the cowl. Hammered the bondo out, and found two zip screws UNDER THE BONDO, holding the fender on. Project "Zip Screw" is born! What the hell have I gotten myself into? It's a good thing I enjoy skinning my knuckes. More later, Eric
I have seen way worse. I say one step at a time. Do not look at the entire picture cuz it will slow your progress.
Ditto....I've seen much worse. Just stay at it and, if possible, make repairs/mods while still leaving it in drivable condition. If you rip one down all the way without the money and a concrete plan and timeframe to finish it, you run a high risk of being overwhelmed and losing interest.
X3. I've seen MUCH worse! I really can't stress that 'one step at a time' statement enough either. Looks like a decent foundation to start with!
oh yeah...meant to add....he probably had those screws on the fender because 52-53 fenders (and front clip) don't work well with a 54 body. On a 54 fender there'd be a bracket that does what those two screws are doing.
Eric, Is the motor stock, or did that get changed out also? Hopefully the drive train isn't something you need to worry about. That puts the body work in a better perspective.
Thanks for all of the support so far. I've had the car about 6 months now, and it finally is coming along. The car really is a cobbled mess. The motor and ****** are a 289/C4 combo out of a 65 mustang. It runs, but it needs some attention. When I get the rockers and floor done, I'm going to focus on getting it mobile. That will help my motivation some. Eric
I will have a bunch of leftover parts from my 54. Rebuilt stock front brakes, 8.8 rear end, trim, dash pieces, factory rocker panel, ect ect. If ya have needs, I can set aside before listing for sale. Keep pluggin along
Edsel, Thanks for the offer. I sourced Granada spindles, and a 9" rear out of a 59 wagon, back when I was working on a Comet. So i'm all good. Eric
Here are some additional pic's. Scroll slowly! It's too much to take in one bite! These ought to make you feel better about your project! Here is where the driver's side front body mount should be. Here is what was holding the inner fender together. Remember, it's "Project Zip SCREWED"! Here is where the driver's floor pan should be. Ok, it's over. Take a deep breath, and go hug your project
Looking good. You could have installed a new tire well, or do what we did one before they were available..................... 65 gallon drum is close to correct diameter. Used part of the side for the well and the ends cut for the sides of the well. Little archaic, but looked good when done.
Repair looks good. You think that is bad you should see my other Ranch Wagon. I think a bear could crawl through the holes in the floor on it.
And how about that folded hollow hidden area, running around the rear metal sheet portion of the car and through which the license plate lamp goes through?... How to deal with that?
Had a fairly productive day today. Decided to tackle the body mounts so that I can do the inner rockers and floor work. The body mount under the driver's feet is shot. Had to fab some patches. A 40 year old Black and Decker work mate comes in handy sometimes. Drilled the other hole after I took the pictures. Went to fit the body mount, and discovered that the body has sagged about 3/4 inch on the drivers front corner. Since this mount, and the one under the firewall were rotten, there was no support in this corner at all. You can see how high the bracket is in regard to the door post. You can see it in the following picture too. This is about halfway between the two door posts. Ran a strap thru the fresh air vent, and lifted the body up. When I cut the old rocker out, the A pillar / doorpost wanted to spring. Had to use a ratchet strap to keep things straight. That's where I stopped. I did a lot of learning today, and a lot of thinking. Replacement inner rockers are in one long piece. My rotten factory one had a weld just in front of the B pillar. I decided to cut the replacement there too. My B pillar is stable, but relying solely on the inner rocker at this time. I didn't want the B pillar, and A pillar cut free at the same time, so i'll do the front first. Eric
I'm always impressed at you guys who do all this cancer surgery. Good for you for saving these old girls.
Don, Thanks for the support. I'm no expert at this stuff. I'm making mistakes, and learning as I go. Amazing to me that this thing had been driving down the road, with all its issues covered with carpet. On a side note, I tried to save a few bucks on patch panels, as this will never be a show car. The inner rockers will be fine, but the factory outer rockers included the sill plate, and my replacements do not. Looks like I'll be making a call to EMS on Monday. I'll use the cheap ones in other areas. Eric
Today was a slow day. Lotta effort, with little to show. Needed to shore up my door post, so that I'd be ready to attach it to the inner rocker. Didnt have anything to go by, so I made stuff big, and will trim the excess later. Still need to box it in, but was hoping it would be enough to support this corner of the body. That was productive, but then the headache starts. My old outer rocker was actually doing some work before I cut it out. It wasnt holding anything up, or to a crossmember, but It was holding the A pillar in the right position in relation to the B pillar. When I cut it, the door opening sprang open at the bottom about 1/2". As I previously mentioned, the body is about 1/2" low on this corner. I put a 2 ton jack on the driver's foot crossmember (the one I welded up), and jacked the body up where the dash meets the top of the kick panel. Then I put a ratchet strap between the two door posts. To get it into its "correct" position, (based on the p***enger side), there is a tremendous amount of tension on the strap, and jack. I tacked it up, and tried to close the door. The top edge of the door is about 1/2" high. Let the tension off, and close the door, and everything's happy. But, the body is low, and the bottom of the door may not clear the yet to fit outer rocker. P.S. Although I saw the old rocker spring open 1/2", and the bottom of the door opening measures 1/2" bigger than the p***enger door opening, the fit outside the car looks good. May be 1/4" at the bottom of the vertical edge, 3/16 at the top of the vertical edge, and probably 1/8 to 3/16 along the top edge. Any suggestions?
OK. Just realized I still had the old rocker piece, so I know where I need to get. Also hit me, that the car had been in this condition for the most part since 1991, when the last guy built it. So the door was probably fitted with the body sagging. Shouldn't be any surprise i'll have to refit the door. Are there adjustments inside the door panel, or will I have to shim the mounts in the door post? Eric
There are adjustments that can be made both where the door mounts to the hinges and where the hinges mount to the body. All together, it's a ton of possible adjustment. Good in some ways, but it can be a nightmare trying to get it perfect because the door will move A LOT if all the bolts are loose.
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