AURktman

I’ve learned what a pain it is to block sand a sport sedan roof with no rotisserie. Ugh. I would rather go back through Army basic again. Or at least spend two weeks at 30th AG…. Lol…

Cowl finished up and ready for paint, laying out the inside windshield trim and making sure it’s good to go.

Closer look. This 1959 VW Strato blue changes color a bit depending on what light you’re in. Greenish and bluish.

It was a massive morale boost! This car has drawn more blood and sweat than any other project I’ve ever had. Now to finish the other 3 doors and rear quarter panels. Also, my trim is laying upside down so pay no attention to it. 😄

I did the passenger front door in single stage to check my bodywork and see how it will look with the chrome on. It will get sanded down with 600 grit and resprayed with base/clear.

Body back on frame and trunk Raptor Lined.

Old shock bar cut out and new one welded in.

New front suspension in and engine installed.

Engine almost finished and ready to drop in.

Long block done just in time for my refrigerator to conk out and send my wife into a tailspin. Spent the rest of the day working on that.

Tank done, completely painted with sender installed and straps painted with foam on back side. Now to mount it in the morning. Short block finished, will get the rest of it assembled tomorrow and hopefully put in the chassis.

Tank painted, but last weekend was one of those "1 step forward, 2 steps back" type of weekends. Ugh.

Those Hobbs lamps are awesome! I found one to put in my 60 Bonneville, they normally came with them and had the wiring in place. I wish they came in new cars.

Painted up my gas tank, did some touch up on my frame, and coming up with some cheap yet effective vacuum pump for my brakes. I don't need a lot of extra vacuum, but every little bit helps.

Engine assembly progressing. Intake and carb ready. Underside of floor painted and RaptorLined. I’m in love with this stuff.

Hopefully this will be the last time the body is in the air. I will RaptorLine the underside, clean up some welds, finish the install of my drivetrain, and marry the two together again for the last time for now. I will also finish the firewall weld smoothing and paint.

As far as I can tell, the door had never been mounted to a car until it was test fit to my Chevy.

Nope, no holes ever drilled. I wonder if that makes it the 57 Pontiac/56 Chevy then. Thanks for the info! I had always been told the Pontiac and Chevy doors were interchangeable, apparently it’s just 56 Chevy to 57 Pontiac.

NORS Rear passenger door for (the best I can tell) a 1956 or 57 Pontiac sport sedan (4 door hardtop). I bought this thinking it was for a Chevy, but as you can see in the second photo it has too high of an arch to fit a Chevy. I sanded the exterior and put a coat of white epoxy primer on it. No dents or rust, the edges and back are still in the black primer from manufacturing. It was apparently sitting in someone’s barn for a while. $300 plus actual shipping cost from Zip 36830 (I will make a wood frame to protect it) I will even leave the extra hinges on it since I have some extras. If anyone can confirm or refute it is Pontiac, please do so! Thanks! Eldon

Trunk area almost done, just more sanding, filling, sanding, then final prime. Passenger side of roof almost finished. More work finished on dash, it will be pretty smooth once done! And the zero mile 265 is coming out in favor of the 327 I built for it.

Well, my workshop has been thoroughly cleaned up and sorted but I'm not much farther along on the car and it needs to be drivable in 2 weeks. Ugh. Will post more tonight.

More sanding, priming, and pounding. Then my wife decided she needed to come out and “help” clean up my workshop since I need to clean out a storage shed Tuesday. That means car work = 0 when she arrived.

Thanks! Yep, those are current photos. Eating the elephant one bite at a time but I gotta chew really fast and taste later.

I was able to pick her up from the buddy that did the floor replacement and roof work. She is looking so much better! Now to sprint to the finish. This car is being built as a daily driver so the results won't be show quality, but they will be durable. I'm sure I will rework certain parts of her later on but I need to have this car to the TriFive Nationals on August 11th. Front doors are finished, rear still need work. I am also reskinning the rear quarters, I have a good smooth set to put on. Roof is pretty much finished. What do you think of my new radiator fan? Think it will push enough air? HA!

No, there are original aspects but custom color, custom cloth inserts in original style interior, etc. I’m building this to be a quasi-daily driver.