How much rust is too much rust?

caddy converts are gonna go up in value. could be expensive now but any 50s convert is worth it. the more closer to stock or resto rod the more value

 

Good, because to do this car up right is going to go well over six figures - even in this economy! As long as you're ready for that kind of investment, have at it!

Otherwise, as has been pointed out, you'll end up with a very expensive parts car...

Good luck, it's a great project!

 

if it fits in this area () it's too much rust
print off this reply, hold up to rust areas, and fix as needed

 

1300 miles in a ford escape? seriously? do they even have enough towing capacity to tow my trailer (2200 lbs)??

Nah... 2007 Toyota 4runner, with 4.7l V8. She pulled this baby like a dream, I was shocked how well the ride was.

 

If you're going to rod the 'vert, here's what I'd do...Get yourself a Caprice Classic, Buick Roadmaster wagon or a Caddy Fleetwood Bro. from about 93 or 94 (an Impala SS would be better if you can find one reasonably) and use it's entire chassis and floor pan. Won't be any more work that repairing the Caddy floors, if you get the Fleetwood or Buick it's got the excellent LT1, and if you score a Caprice you've 'Vette LT1 AND disck brake rear with posi.

Nice find, and although I'm a huge fan of cutting up cars, your coupe is a nice piece as is. Congrats!

 

You California people and rust, none of ya know what rust is . That'd be a hella sweet car to find in that shape 'round here! Seriously! I woulda bought it too! Compared to alot of cars I looked at, that baby looks like she just rolled off the dealer's lot.

Like the other poster said, I'd be a little nervous with an Escape... I used to have a 6 banger Explorer sport, alot more heavy duty, full framed, stick shift, and it was STILL nerve racking. I didn't realize how much a big heavy vehicle with a stout V8 (5.4L DOHC Intech +towing package) would make, damn thing never shifted outta OD and drove like a dream. If you're traveling on flat it do OK, but that would never cover it 'round here. Careful though, even in my heavy ass Explorer, the trailer tryed to drive the car instead of the other way around a few times. Make sure before you head out your trailer brake controller is dialed in perfect. BE CAREFUL!

Nice score though, good luck with her!

 

Sorry man, but I have to disagree, that would absolutely ruin the value of the car. Do it right and if you ever sell you can get a pretty penny for it.

 

Art Morrison is just down the road from here you could ship the body here have us do the top quality metal work & mount the body on the chassis. Then finish it your self Danny.

 

one thing for certain... never buy patch panels without consulting the guy who is going to do the work.

there is a lot of junk out there, and may repairs can be made starting with flat sheetmetal.

a guy brought over some floor and trunk pans for his car for me to install. the trunk was flat sheet with a couple beads in it. it was worthless. as were the rear floor panels. fronts were actually stamped and not too bad.

knew of another guy who bought a $75.00 fender patch for his F-100. all he needed was a piece of flat sheet about 3" x 6". threw 75 bucks right into the crapper.

 

A similar Caddy is in the current Rod & Custom, done right on the original frame.

I wouldn't consider a rubber frame Caprice for a convertible body swap unless you <I>want</I> a car that flexes like it's made out of rubber.

 

Looks pretty solid from the cars i've seen here in Iowa. I would agree with getting a pro to look it over and see what patches he recommends. Don't want to waste money on unneeded panels.

 

Here are a few pics of the rust...
Passenger side trunk...


Passenger side floorboard. There seems to be several older "patches" (the grey piece of metal)



And the worst... Drivers side rockers, looking forward from the rear fender.



Anyways, that's a sampling...

oh...and my 2 girls together... (My 53 is getting the finishing touches on her motor swap with A/C)

 

That will be some work. Good luck, cool car.

 

Just cut the top off of the red one and transplant the convertible parts.





JK!! Cool project. Had a 56 Vert for years.

 

That car is a creampuff. The little bit of rust on there shouldn't take too long to fix right, I'm shocked to think anyone sees that as a big project or in need of a parts car.

 

Nobody said it had to be original!
I used to get hung up on stock body panels...still do but then it's also fun to say fuggit and just bang up some new parts who cares if they don't have all the factory lines it's under the car and keeps the slop out while holding the car together. It was only new once. sure it can be done. i have a friend took a cancered out 2door 65 chevelle wagon and made it new to where you couldn't detect the repairs. but he has over 40k in the thing and asa nice as it is...stil aint worth whathad to go into it. do enough to make you happy if someone is good enough to "do it right" then they can do it right themself after your work is eaten away 50 years from now. Most often anyone I have ever met that cracked a tear about "doing it right" either didn't have the skills or wouldn't pay the bill for the work and was a know-it-all who knew nothing.
there aint no done right, done right is letting someone else decide how it should be... theres a million ways to build something nice and proper. I like to say "Industry standard or better" as a benchmark... do it! (just pleas pleas pleas please don't put a cowl hood on it or "pro street" it with a clunky prefab rearstub kit.)

 

The way I would look at this is, what would a fairly rust free car cost and subtract what this car is worth; now you know how much money you have to repair it.

As was mentioned, anything can be fixed; with enough time and money. If you are paying someone else to fix it, the cost goes up fast. If you can fix it yourself, then you have a lot to play with.

You mentioned $10K to fix it, if $8K was labor; at $40 per hour, that is only 200 hours. Judging from the floor and trunk area, that might not be enough time to put this girl back together.

You should probably strip everything out of it and get a good look at all of the underbody, to see what needs to be replaced. Some of the parts might need to be made.

I just posted a review on a Restoration DVD, that you might want to look at if you are thinking about doing some of this yourself.

 

Well, I would like the outside to look close to original...but since I want an Art Morrison Chassis (not prostreet), I was imaging something like this:

Alloway Starliner with AME Chassis:

 

Sell the stock frame to a restorer, then, the ragtop frames are made heavier even if they have the same shape crossmembers as coupes/sedans.

 

That's VERY saveable. Get yourself a wire welder, a buddy with a brake/shear to borrow from, and fix it. The wide variety of responses as to the "right" way to build the car; drop it on a Caprice frame (mine), do the floors and keep the original frame (which after seeing the photos of your car I would now say to do), using a Morrison chassis, all good, and just point out that the way to build your car is the way YOU want it.

Nice car, it has tons of potential, you're in it right, so buld it how YOU want it. Lately, the market is so soft that whether it's rodded or restored, it's not "worth" what it'd take to build it either way, so if you're building it to speculate, you're hosed in either case. It's not about the money.

Brian

Brian

 

That sucker's MINT compared to the 56 ragtop I recently finished (after 3 1/2 years!)

 

honestly, i didn't see that you said 1300 miles, the Ford Escape guess was just that, I couldn't tell. never the less i was just wanting to bring to your attention the strain on the tranny and the protection that a temp gauge and cooler could provided. i would have never of thought that rice burner SUV would pull smooth like you said. thats cool man, glad to hear it.
that caddy is really sweet and i'm just glad that she found her new home with you rather than a crushers death. nice trailer too, the tilt bed makes you wonder why you did it the other way for all those years.

 

well like i was saying before.......theyre still out there cheap(this ones a 51 convertible)
http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/1233635357.html
and thanks for the links unfortunately they didnt have a 1/4 panel for mine(guess ill still be fixing mine)