Passed a new milestone today. I sold the last 3rd member on e-bay for $430.73 bringing the new total to $4769.20! Finally below 5 grand for the car. That was the last big ticket item so it might take a while to get below 4 grand but I think it's still do-able.
Time to do some body work. The car came with a patch panel for the crunched and cracked right rear quarter. If I was a real bodyman I could straighten out and weld all the cracks on the original panel and fix it, but I'm not. I fit the patch over the fender and it covers all the questionable areas so I cut off the offending parts, and with a little tapping here and there to snug things up a bit, I think it's going to be perfect. Of course I should weld it on but from my past experience when I do that it makes a ton of work to grind the welds down and straighten everything that I warped, and it just isn't any fun. I bonded it with panel adhesive and a few clamps. No warpage and very little filling afterwards.
Hello, That project of yours is a good one. There have been many versions of the project x Chevy and each one has its own characteristics. We have seen plenty of yellow 57 Chevy two door post models all over So Cal. Each yellow was different and each had different looks as to their own version of what was what in their eyes. Some even went to the modern version of larger wheels. But, for a guy who grew up as a teenager in 1959-64 driving around in a nice 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop, it was one heck of a car. It was the most modified of all of our teenage cars and the parts were plentiful for us. After the original project X car came out many years later, people have had their own versions along the way. Despite, having almost lived in a white 57 Chevy Bel Air Hardtop during our high school teenage years, the stock look of 14 inch wheels or 15 inch versions were the best looking. We tried mags, chromies, slots, etc. But, the pocketbook and styles all came back to small hubcaps and colored white or black rims. The mode of the teenage 57 Chevy Bel Air was modifying the motor and driveline for top performance. Headers, dual quads, Traction Masters bars and a special 4 speed transmission as well as a Positraction 4:11 gearing when necessary. It was the second fastest sedan in Bixby Knolls and around those cruising areas. My friend was so fast that his 4 speed shifting was as if a modified Hydramatic was in place instead of a modified 4 speed transmission. The term smooth as silk comes to mind. Jnaki For us, it was modifying what was there as long as the money was coming in place. A clean white 57 Bel Air was a good start. Your 57 post model is very popular and if the accessories are stock version, then it will at least have some authenticity. The design with 14-15 inch wheels is the best looking as it was originally styled as such from the factory. Those larger wheels we see on some 57 Chevy models just make it look like a Hot Wheel or zapped out Matchbox car... YRMV Note: For all of the lowered VWs and vans cruising around back in the late 60s and early 70s, there was this one kid who inherited his first car from his dad. The dad had moved up to a newer foreign car sedan and gave his son the yellow two door post Chevy sedan. Back then, there was no Project X and it was his dad’s choice of bright Yellow color for his hot rod. But, instead of buying a lowered Honda, VW or 4x4 truck, he gave the 57 sedan to his son. The son was in heaven and did his best to keep it in pristine condition. He had moved up to saving for a set of 5 spoke S&S wheels, but that was all he could afford. So, despite the majority of the teenagers in other cars, this yellow two door post model was one of a kind. His dad did a lot of work and now, it was up to the son to keep it in great condition. He took a lot of ribbing from his friends, but he persevered and was a kid for a good eye in daily drivers. Our family moved to another city and we lost contact with the teen, now 30 something guy with the only yellow two door post model Chevy in the area. It did stand out among the scurrying everywhere, lowered VWs and raised, 4x4 trucks of the time period. Perhaps we will see it one day as it was made back in those early days.
A thin skim of filler and it looks good! I would guess it's less than an 1/8th thick in most places. After a coat of polyester primer it blocked out pretty good with just a few low spots. The roof had been used for a dance party at one time and had about 6 dents in it that needed to be worked out. After that a heavy coat of primer and this portion of the car is basically ready to final sand and paint.
Here is a small example of the condition of the car I'm working with. On the end of the door is an oil change sticker with a date of 5/3/71. The significance of this is that the sticker is on top of the Bronze color. Indicating that the car was painted Bronze prior to 71. The original paint was less than 14 years old and the remains show no signs of deterioration . On this door I've sanded off the outer layer of White and the second layer of Bronze down to the original Beige factory paint. The point is that I feel the original paint is a good foundation for my top coats, no need to remove it down to bare metal. Also of note is the station was in Santa Rosa California.
With the body in primer from the cowl back, I've been working on front fenders lately. The non original blue right fender was pretty good except for the lower corner, but with the patch panel I picked up earlier installed it came out quite good. The left however required much more work than I had anticipated. I had a spare gray fender that had rot in the lower corner also but at first glance it looked straighter. I worked on it for a while before determining that the white one was better. Back working on the white one it seemed I had been to hasty in switching and went back to the gray one. Then after a time I went back to the white one. So frustrating! They both had some pretty serious issues but the white one was better by a small margin(after about 4 hours of work). I glued the patches on with panel bonder and they turned out decent. A couple of primer coats and they will be ready.
Bonded? Exactly how did was this done? I don’t see an over lap. Did you place a step on the patch or is there a strip of metal over lapping both patch and fender?
The patch panels had a stepped flange across the top so you can overlap the parts. I used 3M panel adhesive to glue them together. I asked the salesman how much to overlap them and he said the factory's just use 1/4 inch. That didn't sound like enough to me so I used about 3/4 inch. I've used this stuff before and it works amazing. If I welded it, it would be a mess.
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