I understand what you mean about bracing the door and the sag. Fortunately I don't think the sills will need to be replaced entirely, although they are totally rusted through on the top the other sides looks surprisingly fine. I think there was undercoating/paint applied at some point that remains there and has apparently protected them. I'm thinking they could be cleaned off and weld in a patch on the top of the sills. For the floor, there were literally three layers of tin/old oil cans stacked on the floor. I'm thinking that the hole may have started off small, then a well-meaning owner may have put those patches down which trapped water and held it in, allowing the floor to rust. At this point, would it be worth just replacing the entire front floor plan if I can find some replacements? Found these on eBay, don't know if they'd do or not. http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=400851439553 I've got a friend who had some similar rust issues with their 54 Chev truck, he'd probably help out if needed. I'm mainly focused on taking it slow and not cutting (too many) corners and doing it the right way.
I decided on just replacing the front floor pan entirely. The time investment required would probably just be the same as replacing them anyway. Next step is removing the 1/4" layer of asphalt (?) on the floor that apparently didn't work as intended so I can remove the pan. More photos. In that last one you can see undercoating that protected most of the frame pretty well. Also, any three-piece adjustable visor should do the trick, correct? Just so I can BOLO for it in the meantime.
My car has that same stuff on the floor (although mine seems to have held up much better) As for the visor, I would take measurements just to be sure. But if you get an adjustable, you should be ok. I know when I was searching, the GM ones that I kept finding were a little too narrow I believe. Got lucky, mine was pulled off a Desoto so it was a perfect fit to the Dodge. Make sure yours has the center support bars. Even though mine is missing one of the drip rail mounting tabs, its still rock solid
Ok, I'm working on the brakes now. The instructions for the rebuild kits for the master and wheel cylinders specify DOT 3 fluid, but I'd prefer to use DOT 5 for obvious reasons. Am I going to run into any compatibility problems with the seal material if I use the DOT 5 fluid? Got my carb rebuild kit in from eBay, and am waiting on replacement front floor pans. Also dropped the gas tank and am flushing it and the fuel lines. The big hurdle is going to be the floor. Will keep updates on that.
Thanks, I knew I'd have to do a total flush but wasn't sure about the seals. I'll go get a couple quarts of DOT 5 then.
Slowly chipping away. Going to see about getting her cranking tomorrow, I think she will do it although it is missing the battery ground strap. Can I ground that + terminal to anywhere on the body? I can't figure out where it would have gone originally but have all the schematics and wiring diagrams. Also, at this point I think I'm going to farm the floors out to a pro/someone else. It's just beyond my level of fab skills especially with the corroded body mounts. Here's some more photos. If anyone can recommend a good shop(s) in the Maryland area, I'd be interested to hear what they think about it. In more exciting news, I think I'm going to use this Chevy as inspiration for this build. Everything is just totally perfect on it. I'm gonna scoop up a Fulton for it as soon as I have some cash, and I scored a nice OG 1952 tag off eBay for it. Thanks for hanging in here. I know this has been a boring thread about rusty floors so far but hopefully it'll get more interesting soon. I'm shooting to be able to drive it down to the beach this June so it's time to get down to business. One more question... What would you do about wheel covers? I think the stock Dodge ones are a little frumpy.
[QUOTE="The Brown Sound, post: 10891024, member: 258468" One more question... What would you do about wheel covers? I think the stock Dodge ones are a little frumpy. [/QUOTE] Just polish 'em up. Given your plans, they should be perfect. They certainly look nice on the cars posted.
Yes you can ground the battery anywhere on the body. The starter MUST have a big ground. Stock setup has a big ground wire from the engine block to the battery and a little ground wire from the engine block to body. This is because the engine is mounted on rubber and won't get a good ground by itself. If you ground the battery straight to the body, as some cars do, you will have to put a big ground wire between the body and engine. The grounds can go anywhere, on any convenient bolt.
I just put a set of these on mine. I think they look even better. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cal-cf10855/overview/ Once I have fender skirts on the back, I will probably grab a different pair for the front. Something a little fancier.
I like them, I think they go well with Briz bumpers too. Going to consider those. Mooneyes also has replicas of the '57 Pack covers which might look good too. Got a new battery and wired it up, seems like all of the accessory components function no problem, even the AC blower. Had to drill out and replace the ignition lock cylinder as well since there was no key. Here's the weird thing, it's not turning over with the key. The starter just clicks once. We byp***ed the solenoid and switch and the motor actually turned for a little while, but ever since that first time all I get is sparks when I jump the - terminal of the battery to the terminal on the starting motor (I cleaned all the contact points). It's drawing amps when the key is turned and the headlights dim slightly... So can I ***ume the starting motor is wonky as opposed to the solenoid? I gave it some stiff whacks with a 2x4 and that didn't help. Oh yeah, I did do a continuity check and the solenoid is p***ing power to the starting motor... So I guess I answered my own question there....
What kind of wire did you use? 6 volt requires twice as big wire as 12 volts. If you used regular parts store battery cables they are too small.
You're right, it was a normal battery cable. I'll order a thicker one. Don't think I totally fried the cable though because I do have continuity there
Slow progress, mostly waiting on parts including new battery cables. I've rebuilt and installed the carb and began cutting the rusted chunks out of the floor in the meantime. Here's my question. Do I need to cut out the entire area of the floor that the pans will replace, or would I be fine to just cut out the rusted steel and weld the pan over what's left of the floor? I know which method is "correct" but am wondering if just welding the pan on top will cause any problems. If I was building a deuce I'd do it the correct way, but I'm not sure if it matters in this case. Once I pick up some steel I will start bending replacement sections for the door sills.
You need to cut out all the areas weakened by rust then trim the new pan to fit. Cut all the way back to good metal. No deep pits on top or bottom. Surface rust can be ground off if it is not too bad. Easy way to fit new panels is to let them overlap 1/2 inch or 1 inch. The skillful way is to **** weld them. If you overlap the seam must be carefully rustproofed or sealed, the overlap area is a great rust trap. Eyeball the bad part and figure out where the easiest place would be to fit and weld. You don't have to use the whole pan if you don't need it. Leftover pieces can be made into patches for other areas.
I suggest you do the rocker panels first then the floor. Only cut out the part you are working on. Once you have one piece welded, go ahead and cut out the next bit. Don't cut out all the bad parts before you start welding, you will weaken the body too much.
Okay, thankfully what's left of that rocker seems structurally solid. Hoping to get them done this weekend... That might be optimistic.
I know this build is all over the place, but I dropped the oil pan today- glad I did because there was lots of sludge buildup. Any thoughts on the state of the motor? Once I get the carb hooked back up will try to fire it for real. Additional sheet metal for the floors is coming in next week so I'll work on that some more when the time comes.
Was there much sludge in the oil pan? You should clean it out and clean or replace the pickup screen.
Good luck. I like this build. My first car back in 1956 was a 1949 Dodge Coronet coupe with fluid drive. At first I hated it. Wanted a 49 Ford or Mercury. But lived with grandparents and my uncle decided a 6 with slushdrive was better. Actually I loved that old car as time went by. Deep maroon with wide whites. I shaved the doors, hood, trunk, and added skirts and 57 Caddy hubcaps. Man that car was fast..................... in my dreams!
I'm not sure how much sludge is "normal," but I'd say there was a fair bit. The ****ing oil pan gasket from eBay doesn't fit in every way possible, so looks like I gotta make a trip to Napa or something and hope theirs fits better before I can put the pan back on and fire it up. In the meantime I'll clean the pickup screen. That's awesome! If you have any photos I'd love to see them. I came across this one while exploring a while ago... Think it's a 50 though. Was playing around with Photoshop and decided how much nose trim to remove. I think this will look much better. Spears on the side will be staying. They help to break up the rather boxy styling. Please excuse the mess...
Clean out sludge, change oil and filter and you should be good to go. Use any good name brand 10W30 and change every 3000 miles. Filters are good for at least 5000 miles.
The shots of the inside of the engine show a typical early engine that's has had either short running or used a non detergent oil. The camshaft looked to be in good condition - no surface rust and an even wear mark where it has been rubbing the cam follower - as it should.
I'd shave the nose just like you show it. I think the Ram looks nice on there. Since these cars are now rare often original is different. Hate to write this on a rod and custom forum! The pan sludge looks normal to me too. Those engines ran cool and usually used cheap nondetergent oil. As for my old car photos I can't find any. Back at that time with film cameras we didn't really bother. That's why I am amazed and happy others created the "days gone by" and other threads with pictures others did save.
Check the oil pan. The pan rail should be flat. Over time they get dimpled around the bolt holes. Especially if someone tried to fix a dried out shrunken gasket by over tightening the bolts. The cure is to rest the pan rail on a 2X4 or wood block and tap it flat with a hammer.
Thanks for all the input- @Model T1 , I definitely agree. I'd much rather do less rather than more in the way of altering it. The ram is definitely staying, that is just too cool. I'm considering relocating the filler to the trunk for a cleaner look at some point, although that is obviously very far down the priority list. @35desoto- thanks! I thought it looked pretty dece with no unusual wear marks but thought a second/third/fourth opinion would be good. @Rusty O'Toole - Pan rail is in good shape. Heading to NAPA today for a gasket.
I'm still here, have been debugging a pesky Triumph so this has taken a back seat for a while. But now it's pedal to the metal. Cleaned the pan and pickup screen and reinstalled them. Got my 3" rear lowering blocks from Butch's Cool Stuff yesterday and they'll be getting installed this week when I finish up the brakes. Decided to leave front suspension stock height for a more exaggerated effect. Started work on frenching the headlights, most of the screws for the buckets are rusted stuck in there so I'll have to pick up the correct EZ-Out at some point. I did nose and deck it- will post photos after primer. I'm very happy how much it improved the look as I was on the fence before. Dropped and cleaned the gas tank, need to buy a new filler hose. I discovered something wonky is up with the ignition switch after changing the lock cylinder. Seems like it doesn't have a third momentary position to send power to the starter, but I can jump the two terminals on the back and it does turn over, albeit rather slowly. Am I okay to run 7.60x15s on this? I know the manual states 7.10s but Coker only has the WWW bias plys in 6.70 and 7.60, and they're cheaper than the Firestones. Plus, this thing has huge wheel wells.
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