This is an awesome thread. Hey DRD57, that car wouldn't happen to have any spare door trim would it? Is the customer going with stock side trim? I need some trim for my project. Thanks
Sorry, we don't have any of the side trim for the car. All the holes were filled by the last guy that worked on it and the customer wants it left that way.
Thanks for doing that; pointy rear quarter windows is my biggest pet peeve with a lot of chops. That looks proper.
The chop wasn't crooked, it just had a lot of overlap and wavy welds. That and it wasn't finished. The customer didn't want to pay for cutting the top off and starting over so, we stripped it down to bare metal and did the first layer of filler in EVRGLASS, kevlar reinforced body filler. Then we finished it up with Rage GOLD. The worst areas on the "C" pillar and the panel below the rear window have 1/4" - 3/8" thick filler total.
Here's an update on how the car looks now. Rotten Rodney has been slingin' some mud and makin' lots o' dust. Engine & trans are in, bags are plumbed, brakes are plumbed, Mustang tank with Astro van filler are in, hard lines for trans cooler are done, steering is done. I found 53 Ford headlight rings at Nightprowlers and made my own clips from .047 piano wire from the hobby store. I'm using 57 chevy truck headlight buckets because they were the cheapest repops I could find. It appears that most GM's of the era used Guide buckets that are all the same except for trim ring brackets. Next on the list is fuel line, pump, & filter, engine accessories, wiring, windows, adapt a 64 Tbird center console, primer and lots of sanding.
When Rotten left last time, this is how the former turd looked. The body work was about 90% done. Between his trips I worked on mechanical things, headlight mounting, tail lights, hard lines, etc. This trip Rotten finished up the bodywork and we put in a marathon session to apply 3 coats of PCL primer to all body surfaces. It looks way mo bettah all in one color. A few days before primer, the customer stopped by to check on progress and discuss final plans for the front bumper and grill. We decided that the transition between the bottom of the hood and the top of the grill needs some work so, as soon as the primer was dry I got out the grinder and tore into it. Here's where I am so far. Next up is to add some transition pieces to the fronts of the fenders and finish welding up the hood pieces.
We're going for this look for the bumper and grille so, if you know where I can find that top grill bar, let me know. The one we have is toast.
Yes, this is how it looks aired out. The frame is about 2" from the ground. If you wanted to get the rockers right on the ground you'd have to channel the body over the frame. the frame hangs about 2" lower than the rockers on this car.
Wow, that is coming along nicely. You do great work. That hood lip really makes it flow to the grill bar nicely.
We're making progress. The jambs are painted, the firewall is pinstriped and this week we're assembling the body, hopefully for the last time, in preparation for the exterior paint.
The Jalopy Journal
