I just bought a 1950 chevy and am new to restoration. the floors are solid in spots but rust is very present. Dumb question but do I sand the floors down. All my searchs only talk about exterior work. any suggestions would be very helpful thanks
Mine were the same. I wire wheeled off all the rust, and where I needed to, I cut out the bad parts and welded in patch panels. I think you can buy new floors, but that may or may not be necessary depending on how bad it is. Pics would help...
No tools at the moment, wifey is still a little angry i even bought the car. So im going elbow grease it out whats the best grade sandpaper to use?
First things first. I think you better invest some time to make the angry wife a little less angry. You won't get anywhere if "the better half" resents an old car in her life. Second, little by little you will have to invest in tools. May I suggest a 3/8ths drill and a 4 1/2" angle grinder? That'll get you started. Sanding a floor with sandpaper will get old real fast. Oh, and welcome to the wonderful world of rod building.
HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!! You and me both, brother (I also have a 50 Chevy sedan). My wife was "ok" with me buying my rust bucket for $1500. I tried convincing her that it was better to spend around $3-5k on one that had a lot of work done, but the cost wasn't palatable. I knew how much work this thing would be, and knew it would "prep" her for future car purchases (seeing this was my first). Now that I'm already about $4k into it, she now sees the light. Hopefully I won't have to deal with this little conundrum again! ;P Good luck!!!!
idea? try to involve her in the project alittle, show her some cars that are done and show her with alittle work and alittle bit of $$ your's could be the same. also working on your car is better then blowing $$ at the bar drinking, atleast you have something to show for your $ besides a hang over. [not to saying your a drinker but just an example of a good excuse to work on your ride]. i'm very lucky because i have a girlfriend who enjoys our old car and even looks foreward to going to the hamb drags with me . another note borrow tools, friends will help you out. do a temp repair until you can get the $$ to do it right,the most important thing is it's water tight. she'll understand more if you can take her for a drive and see how cool it is. hope that helps, it's worked for several of my friends.
51 Chevy, here. I had a friend weld in a couple of small patches. I used a wire wheel on a drill with a cord. I then cleaned up real well and painted with rustolium. It turned out great. Sprayed glue and layed insulation and installed carpet kit. It took two weekends. Reid
Kill the wife. Collect insurance money. Use said money to buy tools. Build awseome full custom Chevy with said tools. Cruise your awesome new ride until you find new hotter wife. Problem solved, your welcome!
I got the perfect solution for ya, go to Walmart and pick her up a small doz roses (less than 20 bucks) and while you are there go to the hardware dept and get a wire brush that goes into a drill and some respirators. Go home give her the flowers, grab a cordless drill and go to town!!! Please make sure to wear something to stop the rust and 60 years of nasty **** from going into yer nose and lungs!!! Trust me it ****s!! I used Por 15 putty for the small pinholes in my floor and Eastwood rust encapsulator with a couple of cheapo brushes, took an afternoon and looks great!!
Agree with dimebag, get the wife onboard, she has to be a partner in this and all deals or you are going to have one miserable life. Try to win her with kindness, Hopefully she will end up helping out ,Then some research on the internet , ,or a Hamb search for rust removal, and figure out the best way to remove rust, Good luck,,,,,,,,
You know your wife, I don't. Whatever it takes to get her happier about the car is going to be worth the time and money, even if it stalls the car a while. That said, invest in a 4.5" grinder as has been previously mentioned. Get a knotted wire wheel and let 'er rip. If yoiu find holes or places about to be holes, you'll want to patch them. Areas of light surface rust you can coat with a rust converter, followed by a rust encapsulator. Be patient, and get the wifey on board- that will make the whole project a LOT easier.
Buy tools! You sound young, BUY TOOLS AND LEARN TO USE THEM, over your lifetime you'll find it'll be one of the best investments you could ever make, they'll save you a fortune over the years and bring you untold satisfaction, BUY TOOLS! Imagine you're paying someone else to do it, and what that would cost, then take that money and invest it in tools, not only will it make this repair MUCH easier, but the next repair you do will not only be easy, but cheap and fast as well. Use this thinking every time you do a job, eventually, you'll have a garage full of tools, you'll be able to fix anything, and you'll be "wifey's" hero. (till some guy with money hits on her at work, but that's still down the line a ways)
I never new I could get so much life help from the hamb. Bought a wire wheel and cordless drill. Forgot the respirator(that wont happen agian). Really appreciate the help will post some pics soon.
You need that respirator. My Chevy had had some rust on the floor but some guy had covered it in Bondo to hide the holes. I used an electric grinder with a wire wheel to clean up the floor so I could weld in my new panels. That ****ed.
The Jalopy Journal
