My Model A coupe, thought I was getting a complete body but ended up with a bunch of parts. Now I have parts from 10 different Model A's.
It seems that most people say that one of the best moments in a build-up is when the car is first sitting on its wheels. Well I found the most excitement in the body sitting up on its own. My coupe wouldnt even sit up-right on the floor, let a lone the frame. Mine didnt go through a hurricane, just years of roundy-round action. When you dont have to use 2 by 4's to hold it so you can show your buddies your new project, that is the defining mmoment! I hope Nosurf posts a pic or two. jeff
This is my first attempt at a fairly major fix (at least for me). She's a 50' Fleetline Supposedly she hit a tree sometime in the 50's and had been sitting in my friend's grandpas garage till I rescued her this last summer. I had to replace front pass. door pillar to rear door pillar and floor pan, so far door opens and closes fairly well.
Here is one we did a little while back. This was supposed to be a restored car, but after blasting, came back in two pieces. It wasn't the roughest, but wasn't a peach either And here is the after. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I worked in body shops in the rust belt and specialized in cars no one else would touch, or had given up in despair. One was a 59 MGA the last guy gave up on. When I started the front half of the body was at one end of the shop, the back half was at the other end, and the frame was in the middle. For a laugh I got a picture of an MGA off a calendar and stuck it on the wall, called that the 'blueprint' lol. Then there was a Karmann Ghia VW coupe. I used up 2 full sheets of body metal on that job. I don't think they used much more metal than that when they built the car. Made door skins, patch panels, floors, and also flared the wheel wells for wider tires, and made wider wheels by welding Ford rims onto VW centers. Another beauty was a 65 Mustang fastback (first year). Another that someone had cut all the rust out of and left the bare body on stands, floppy as a damp newspaper. I jacked it up straight on 8 jack stands and started welding. Replaced rear fenders, back panel, rocker panels, floor pans, and did a cowl cut using a good front clip brought in from Georgia. When I was done all that was original was the roof the driveshaft tunnel and part of the floor. It was straight as a die and the doors opened and shut like new. Using nothing but a bunch of jack stands, scissor jacks out of old car trunks, a tape measure a carpenter's level and a ball of string to measure with. Did a similar job on a rotted out 72 Mustang Grande coupe that was super low miles but rotted to the door handles. When I was done the customer took it for an 80MPH test drive and said it was dead quiet, not a squeak, rattle, wind whistle, nothing. And that it had never been that quiet when it was new. Can't remember how many rotted out 67 - 68 -69 Camaros I did when they were the car to have. Some kid with stars in his eyes would buy some rot box and hand over half his paycheck for a couple of months while I turned it back into a car. I could go on but what's the point. Finally quit when the boss wouldn't give me a raise because I took too long to do a job and he couldn't make any money on my work. While I was fixing these pails, making all the body parts from scratch he was taking all the cushy late model jobs that could be done in a couple of days. Then couldn't figure out what took me so long lol.
Some megatalent on display today. Love this saved 32 Vicky. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Never tackled any thing as bad off as what you folks have. In 1960 bought a 54 Ford Club Coupe. Bad storm in Indiana had dropped a large tree across the left side of the roof and part of the drivers door. I was in the Air Force and pulling a lot of Alert Pad duty, so I bought it, (still hanging on the tow truck). Took it to the Auto Hobby shop, and in about 4 months we had it up to the paint stage. Painted it a Nugget Gold and drove the wheels of off it. Wish I had pic's. (Or the car!!)
Starting point by 1959Nomad posted Nov 29, 2009 at 4:24 PM IMG_5056 by 1959Nomad posted Jul 18, 2016 at 6:48 PM seven years and it is almost done, more that half way for sure
1954 Olds 98 Starfire Conv was rough and more so because of parts situation. First time I strayed from Ford or Chevy and got a real lesson. Olds Club of America only have 11 remaining on their list but could be others. Before and after.
What my Delivery looked like when I got her in 79. It was a cool old Hot rod in the 60s when I was a kid in our home town.
The Jalopy Journal
