Smartin

Sweet! I hope my doors are nearly as rust free as that one...I'm tired of repairing rust.

The only pot metal parts I've had done so far, are the rear bumper wedges, and they were very pitted. They turned out absolutely perfect.

The body has been off, and is back on after the chassis, drivetrain, and body underside were restored. I've begun the process of having the chrome redone, and I am slowly feeding parts to them. I just sent the second batch of parts last week. I will be doing the stainless restoration myself.

Sometimes an impact wrench can crack those rusty nuts loose if they aren't too far gone. My 58 wasn't that lucky. I tried wrenching the bolts that hold the brackets to the frame off, and all of them just broke in half. I had to cut off the other bolts with a grinder after the bumpers were on the floor.

I just need to add brake fluid, a steering wheel, and a milk crate:cool:

I'm just using a standard siphon feed gun for the primer. I'll be using a different one for the color. Yes, primer was done in the garage. Definitely feels good to get some paint on it!

Epoxy primer applied!

How does the bar across the bottom of the trunk lid look?

None of the trim was chrome plated from Sid's car that he sent me. steve283, I used several different grades of sand paper, and 4 different buffing wheels with varying levels of compound. Very time consuming process..

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Sid's sweepspear moldings:cool:

Screw it, Brian...just drive it until it breaks:D

I will have to drive by the guy's house to see if it's still there. I don't have his number.

Ok Troy... New floor pan sections are available for the 57-58's from Classic Fabrication, but you will have to fill in the gaps between them....which appears to be fairly significant. If I were you, I would be inclined to find a complete solid floor and drop the whole thing in, rather than puzzle piece the thing together. Pull those sill plates...I guarantee they're hiding some holes. Here is the listing from Classic Fabrication: Front Toeboards $45.00 Front Floor Pans $65.00 Sides of Front Seat $35.00 Rear Floor Pans $65.00 Inner Rockers Panels $45.00 Outer Rocker Panels (2 door) $55.00

I used to try to keep the AC working in my cars, but it was futile..finally stopped worrying about it and let it go. R12 gets expensive, too. I converted my convertible to R134a and never really liked the way it worked. After the compressor clutch literally exploded when I was driving on I-70 in Indianapolis, I gave up on that one.

There's a guy with a 58 Special 2dr post sedan here that is trying to sell the car. It's complete, but last time I talked to him, he was wanting $1500 for it...I was thinking more like $700. I can try to find his information if you like.

The body shell is stripped and nearly ready for primer. Some small corners and edges I'll need to do by hand. Then seam sealer and primer!

I had some substantial floor/rocker repair to do on my 58...took a long time, but it's all taken care-of now. Here is the thread on my restoration...the floor repair doesn't really start until the second page or so... http://forums.aaca.org/f163/1958-limited-four-door-riviera-248848.html

I've seen several cars get senior/preservation awards with black floors. Back to the garage to make a mess!

You're probably right about the primer "look" ...I wonder how often (if ever) points are deducted for having a black painted floor, though. I nearly finished stripping the right side of the roof today...took me almost 4 hours just to get that far. I had to finish up early this afternoon...going to the St. Louis Symphony this evening. They're playing the music of John Williams...should be cool.

It's black, but I had to crank up the brightness on the photo so I could see the detail. I know about the red oxide primer, but I don't like the fact that primer is porous...and will allow the metal to rust again. I'm sure this car will see rain at some point in the future, so I am building it to drive. I am using a knotty wire wheel on my big 9" grinder you see sitting on the ground...then going back over everything with a DA and 80 grit. I still have the little nooks and cracks to do by hand. That's always a blast. The floor you see is also covered with a nice little layer of paint bits and dust. I have to wear safety glasses, a mask, and a face shield for this fun little project...and I'm still picking crap out of my eyes and nose. I'm on my way to get body supplies and primer this morning so I can get it coated as soon as I get the stripping completed. I can't wait!!

No need for the heater today...it was nearly 60 degrees outside! I started stripping the body shell this week, and today was able to get the majority of the passenger side done. I have some spots to touch up, but this is good enough to move on to the top tomorrow. I realized that I never posted the underside of the car before it was put back on the chassis...so, here ya go.

I ended up using small rivets for attaching the fuzzies...thanks for the help, guys.

Awesome...thanks, guys. I found it, as well as some for my 58.

I'm working on some stainless trim, and one of the pieces included is, I guess what you call, the beltline molding at the top of the quarter panel. It is a thin stainless strip that screws to the inside edge of the quarter. Attached to is is/was the window sweep/felt. It was stapled through the trim. Is this part replaceable? The main part of the trim is fine, but the felt part is nearly completely rotted away. My only question is that the felt part has an even smaller stainless strip at the top of it that butts up against the main stainless strip. 55 guys...need input please:cool::confused: