Hello all, new guy here with a '53 Chieftain sedan. Here it is all crammed into the previous owner's driveway. They traded me the car for a Vega so they'd have project a car that would fit in their garage. Got a bit of work done on it last night, got the seats out and started poking around on the floors. P***enger floors were already tacked in, Drivers side floors need some work The rest of the floors will need small patches but are pretty solid Now for the real fun part. The floor supports are shot. But wait, there's more. The front body mounts are completely gone, along with the frame behind them. And even better... I got the better one torched off the frame. Didn't want to even try with a chisel, the thing would have disintigrated. Here is what's left of it on the bench Now here's the cardboard copy I made. I'll make a pair out of steel this weekend once I can get out to metal supermarket. That's all for now. I should have a bunch more done over the next few weeks, I'll get the progress up as it happens.
Got some more work done on the Pontiac. Frame mounts are made up and got one side installed. Not much else, been pretty busy the last little bit. Here's some pictures. First off- my new toy. Got it on sale for $110, package says it'll cut 1/4" plate. I tried it on 3/16 and had to get my feet up on the work bench and hang off the handle but it worked! Works awesome with 1/8" and that's what I'm using for the frame repair. This thing will save me tons of time and cutoff wheels. OK on with the car stuff. Here's the frame mounts all cut out Mounts all welded up beside the 'good' old one. Here's the hole in the frame where the mount was, actually not as bad as I thought it might have been Here's the frame all welded up, did it in 2 parts so I didn't have to cut too much out at once New frame mount welded in. That's it for now. That new shear is going to make the rest of the thicker stuff go a lot quicker. Phill
The Jalopy Journal
