Hi all, need some advice from the more experienced on my first cl***ic car, 56 Country Sedan. I come from building motorcycles. Anyway, my family loves the wagon and I want to keep it on the road. I am afraid if I start any repairs to it, it will be years and my kid will be at an age where she doesn't want to cruise around with us anymore. The floor pans were repaired with fibergl*** a long time ago by previous owner, but the braces and rockers are rusted, some pretty bad. What safety issue does this pose? I appreciate your help so I can decide if this becomes a priority and my project or I look for another car to build while we enjoy this one.
While pics would be helpful to give a full word of advice, I think most of the guys on here would say those braces and supports are very, very important. You would not realize it until you were in an accident. Do the right thing and remove the fibergl***, remove any sections of rotted metal, get new structural supports and weld them in, weld in metal floorpans, etc. Can you post some photos? At times supports can be repaired and welded up but it would surely depend on the extent of rot.
I won't comment on the safety aspect as I am one to throw caution to the wind! I will say driving a rusty car is "in" right now and most people will think it's cool just being old. Which do you enjoy more, taking the family cruising or working on the car alone?
I got rid of my bikes after my wife and I were rear ended in a car. She won't ride anymore. I enjoy cruising with the family but also am itching for a project. I am a cautious driver in general and don't want to drive something that is completely unsafe. I understand stand it's old and has issues, and I'm fine with that as long as a big bump isn't gonna our ***es on the ground, which I am starting to question. I appreciate all thoughts on the matter and I will get some photos. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Ok. I would fix it if it were mine. There is somewhat of a safety concern as the rigidity of the car is comprised. Floor pans are fairly simple to repair as far as body work goes. I see your in Pennsylvania so you should have ample time during those long winters to fix it.
You can just buy new braces by themselves from EMS. Personally I would get rid of all the rusty floor sections but to each is own. The mounts do keep the body attached to the frame which is slightly critical IMO. http://emsautomotive.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=18_67&page=3
I couldn't get a good picture yesterday due to lighting and angle, and I don't have time to get it in the garage and up on stands, wife has hip surgery in a few days garage is a mess and my honey do list is long. Anyway, most of them are rusted and missing part of it and the inner rocker is rusted too. So, I guess it is time to start a build thread. Thanks for the advice and appreciate the future help.....I'm going to need it.
pics please... doing the same on my never ending project... if only ends of braces at inner rocket rusted through - you can get an end only kit from various suppliers the "end" kit go in about 3 inches, should suffice if rest of brace good
i just took a week off to replace my floors on my squire. got it done with no interuptions. dont know if you are going to install seat belts, but i wouldnt trust them to hold to a fibregl*** floor. chances are if the person that owned the car before you didnt take the time do the repair to the floors correctly i would bet other things are done half ***ed. the crossmember are important as they tie the body to the frame and helps keep the ch***is square. i would check the the front crossmember to make sure its not fibergl***ed too. its usually the first thing that rust out on the 55-56. i bet 99% have had to replace or do some major metal work on theirs. there is not an aftermarket spare tire pan for the wagons available for purchase. and since the shape is hard to replicate with metal fabrication, i just fibergl***ed over the swiss cheese, plus i didnt have to drop the gas tank. better to be safe than sorry especially when your family is involved.
Surprisingly the front cross member is good. I bought the car from a guy who flips old cars. He bought it from the estate of the original owner and had some history from them about it. I think I'm gonna need every piece EMS makes. It will be my winter project, just curious how many winters, it will definitely lead to a lot more, like body work and paint.
I did my entire floor in a couple days. All 4 pieces from EMS. I only had one bad brace so I changed it at the time. I used POR 15 inside all the other original braces when the floor panels were out.
Just do what you can through the winter and drive it in the warmer months. I find its easier to keep motivated if the car is still drivable. On the spare tire well I'd do what HRP did to repair it if it needs it. It doesn't have to be perfect, just solid. No one's going to see it anyway once it's all back together. When I did my '61 F100 floors I **** welded everything and ground them smooth. Took way to long and realized that it was going to be covered anyway.
There is a reason it's still for sale, I spoke to him soon after it was listed, would love a 2 door wagon, but there isn't much to work with there. It might sell in the next couple weeks with Fall Carlisle and Hershey within 30 minutes of it, just for the ***le.
Thanks, amateur welder so it won't be pretty, but I've been practicing. I am a little bit of a perfectionist, which scares me with this project. I again appreciate the help from this group.
Get a catalog from EMS and figure out what you need and if you have to replace a piece at a time. It's a good catalog and there just happen to be a hambers wagon on the cover. HRP
Thanks HRP, went through the online catalog last week, it adds up fast, but it's the right way, and probably the long way.
This wasn't available when I built the wagon,so I fabricated the floor pans and braces. A inexpensive bead roller and a mig welder along with some sheet metal and a cut off wheel or a nibbler and you can save a few bucks. HRP
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