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Bob Beck's (bhigdog) 55 Century project


Bhigdog

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Chris raises a good point and at the very real risk of boring ya'll to death this might be a good place to touch on the "zen" of restoration. The point of taking this on was not to own a 55 Century, It was to zip up my life with an interesting and very real challenge. My flying career would soon be over due to my age and I very much would need a reason to get up in the morning. The project did that in spades. It was usually the last thing on my mind when I went to bed and the reason I got up. Many many times I would get half awake in the night with a possible answer to a nagging problem. Usually towards the late afternoon I would sit for an hour or so just looking at the car. Sometimes trying to solve a question and sometimes just basking in pleasure at what I'd done so far. I loved every minute of it, even the wet sanding. About this time, while pondering the project, and after a couple of beers and a cigar, it occured to me to wonder about the Century's feelings and thoughts.

From then on, every afternoon when I left for the day, I turned the radio on to a classical music station and left it on for him all night. I'd like to believe it helped.

Sorry about that.............Back to the project..................Bob

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This thread is nowhere remotely boring. I completely understand where you are coming from. Looks to me you selected a great project full of many challenges and transports you to another time. Between you, me and the autolift, I only play music from the 40's and 50's in my Buick. It is only fitting.

What you did was find a challenging hobby. My father, a ER physican, retired to making doll houses and Stewarting at AKC dog shows. To each their own!

Please continue on with the boring :D pictures, how to's, welded this, cut that, bled over here, crushed my finger there, drank a qt of oil when I did that, got angry, threw a wrench restoration history of this Century. It is threads like this that inspire others.

Keep on posting!

Thanks!

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Chris raises a good point and at the very real risk of boring ya'll to death this might be a good place to touch on the "zen" of restoration. The point of taking this on was not to own a 55 Century, It was to zip up my life with an interesting and very real challenge. My flying career would soon be over due to my age and I very much would need a reason to get up in the morning. The project did that in spades. It was usually the last thing on my mind when I went to bed and the reason I got up. Many many times I would get half awake in the night with a possible answer to a nagging problem. Usually towards the late afternoon I would sit for an hour or so just looking at the car. Sometimes trying to solve a question and sometimes just basking in pleasure at what I'd done so far. I loved every minute of it, even the wet sanding. About this time, while pondering the project, and after a couple of beers and a cigar, it occured to me to wonder about the Century's feelings and thoughts.

From then on, every afternoon when I left for the day, I turned the radio on to a classical music station and left it on for him all night. I'd like to believe it helped.

Sorry about that.............Back to the project..................Bob

Man you can't BUY good readin of lessons learned, technical secrets and prose and poetry like this from no Hemmings, or Hot Rod Deluxe or Auto Restoration. Keep it coming Bhigdog, you da man.

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Now that the front cowl, front and trunk floors were secure the completed sections were bolted to the frame using the original isolation pads. They would be my new fixed referamce points as the middle floor section with its body/frame mounts are cut away. The convert top frame was removed and the cowl support moved to the middle section so it would not sag as the floor was cut out.

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The first pix above is out out of sequince but it's the only one I could find that clearly showed the rear seat support. This is also specific to converts and is very different than the coupe's body. The spots holding the seat sides to the inner wheel wells were drilled out and the back removed. Since there was no donor part available I had to cut the rusted bottom section away and make a new one. The plasma torch was the ideal tool to cut the sheet into shape. An edge flanging air tool worked well to add the edge stiffening offsets. The new section was edge and plug welded to the un-rusty top piece. Brackets would later be added to the bottom and welded to the floor, as original.

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The back upper edge of the floor was spot welded to the front edge of the package tray. Rather that trying to deal with cutting them with the floor attached I cut the the back edge of the floor away, then as I drilled the spots I could cut and peel the remaining floor strip away. The loosened strips can be seen in the second pix being peeled up. I'll mention here that there are commercial spot cutters available. they are expensive, I find them ineffective and they don't last long. I just drill the center of the spot through with a 1/8 drill then use a 3/8 drill bit I've ground into a brad point to remove the spot weld itself. Cheap and effective. Then I slip a putty knife with it's edge ground square between the panels and a sharp blow with a hammer will cut through any bit of remaining weld. The left side and center of the floor was then removed by cutting about a gazzilion spot welds. They would later be used to plug weld the fllor back in The remaining right side was left as a reference point.

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The donor sections were cut from the coupe but as with all the other sections needed rust repair. The floor beam to inner rocker ends were too rusty to save and the floor well corners were shot. That was true of both sides. The center piece was good. With out complex and sophisticated metal forming tools the fix here was to make the needed parts from weldments. That is, made up of manageable parts welded together. Make a "try" part out of card board (beer case) pieces . When you get the patterns to look like what you need, cut the pieces in metal and weld them together. Time consuming but very effective and just as strong. The edges and welds will be ground and blended for appearance.

Next we'll put the pieces together....................Bob

To be continued.................

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With the front and aft sections in place and bolted to the frame I could fill in the last section, the rear seat area. To make it manageable I did it in 5 pieces, a long center section to give me reference and 2 sub pieces each side. In the above pix you can see that even after the floor was in place there was a lot of rebuilding of the inner body that would need to be done including replacing the bottoms of the "pylons" that support the door jamb. I had measured the width between the rear windows before hand and by replacing one side at a time always had a fixed reference point.

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Here I'm try fitting the forward of the two left hand pieces. The inner body will be repaired after the floor is in place. The rear floor beam to rocker flange has yet to be rebuilt in the above pix.

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Here the center piece and the two left pieces are in place and tack welded. The width dimension held fine so the right section was now cut out. The exposure in the second pix is too dark but it clearly shows all the spot welds that needed to be drilled out. They all would be used to plug weld the donor section in place. The welds would then be ground flush for appearance. The floor tack welds are also plainly visable.

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The right pieces were fitted and tacked into place. The bottoms of the jamb pylons were rebuilt with weldments and also tacked in. All the body to frame bolts were tighted using the original isolation pads. The top frame was put back on to ensure the alignment pins still were centered in their brackets and the door fit and margins, front/rear/bottom checked. Everything still held position so all the seams, joints and plugs were final joined in an orgy of MIGing. The top frame was then removed again and all the bracing removed. I can't tell you enough what an absolute painintheass that bracing was to work around and how many times I banged my head on it.

The first pix above clearly shows the 9 passenger compartment donor sections. With the 3 trunk pieces the floor totaled 12 pieces, not counting inner/outer rockers etc. The big cross beam is a vital strength component so besides butt welding I welded a scab over that joint. If you look closely at the edge of the package tray you can see all the filled plug welds.

The second pix is actually a later pix but it shows the seat back welded in and also shows the rebuilt pylons welded to the center beam and floor. That beam/pylon assembly is what keeps the upper body of a convert from spreading apart width wise.

Finally my first, and biggest, sub goal was accomplished. The floor was replaced and was now strong solid steel. I'm guessing in this last week we covered maybe 4 months of pecking away at it. Sometimes it would take days just to get a couple of pieces correct and sometimes a days work would have to be undone and redone.

The inner body would come next and then the inner and outer rockers. That would be my next sub goal but now it was time to celebrate.

I put on some nice classical music, lit up a gen-u-ine $15 Cuban Montecristo (thank you Sudbury) cracked a couple of Yuengling Lagers and just sat there with my car. Later that evening I took my wife out for a very nice quiet dinner.

To be continued.............

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Now that the foor is in, the the donor inner and outer rockers need to be cut away and replaced. If you remember they were left on to help in aligning the floor sections. In the above pix the bottom of the door jamb is rusted away and will also have to be replaced. The rockers, door jambs, inner body, and rear quarters all are tied tied together and all must meet correctly. This was a big jig saw puzzle for me and I just kept making it up as I went along. Often I couldn't get where I wanted to go without going someplace else first. And so all of the parts mentioned were more or less done at the same time with many many try fittings. I also was under the false hope that the rear quarters could be saved. I had already bought NORS forward patch panels for them.

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The new inner rocker was slid into place behind the old one. I wasn't sure just how to put new rockers in so I never cut anything away until I could try fit the new part. With the inner more or less in position, and tacked/clamped, The jamb bottom could be set in position and aligned. It to be exactly correct or the door bottom margin would be out of whack. In the second pix the outer is being try set to check the door bottom margin. In the third pix the jamb bottom corner being try set.

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By now, I had given up hope of saving the rear quarters. I had to cut the quarter pretty high to get at the inner body to repair it. It also became evident that they were too cheesy to save. So I was committed to using the coupes rear quarters even though there were differences that would need to addressed. I was nervous about that.

In the first pix above the inner rocker is welded in to the floor beams and the repaired inner body. The outer rocker is still just try fitted. I also decided that the after market inner was not thick enough so I had a doubler fabricated and welded that in for additional stiffening. I left the top corner of the quarter attached because I thought that might need to stay.

In the second pix I realized that there was no saving any of the rear quarter and I cut the top corner away. Like I said, I was making it up as I went along with my plans having to change almost daily. The outer rocker was removed again and the car was ready to go outside for sand blasting. There were repairs that needed to be made to the wheel wells and the quarters would need to be made narrower to fit the convert body. Then the door jamb bottom, outter rocker, rear quarter and patch panel would all have to meet in the same and proper place for the doors to fit correctly. And of course the rear quarter to deck lid margins would have to be controlled and everything would have to meet and match at the tail lights. The same thing would then need to be done on the right side. My sub goal had now shifted to getting the entire left side structurally repaired.

I was very very nervous.

To be continued.............

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Next the under coating was scraped from the Wheel housing with a propane torch and putty knife. Then it would be washed with rags and kerosene to get as much gunk off as possible before sand blasting.

The coupe quarters are different from the converts in that they meet the rear window opening totally differently and they are about 2" wider. That two inches must be cut away and the rear edge rolled up into a lip to be welded at a pinch weld type joint.

In the second pix I'm getting the rear body pinch weld ready to receive the donor quarter. Only converts have a rear pinch weld. It holds the rear trim strip that defines the body. It is vitally important that the quarter and body meet and hold the correct shape and radius at the pinch weld or the trim strip will not fit. To insure that it held shape I removed only the bottom half of the old quarter's pinch weld and then rolled the donor quarter's edge to fit underneath it.

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Once the pinch weld was prepared the car was towed outside for it's first dose of sand blasting. This would be repeated numerous times as different sections came under repair. As an aside: I mentioned in an earlier post that my wife and I built our own home, just the two of us, completing it in 1972. I immodestly point it out in the back ground along with the garage to the left which we also built.

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The forward mud baffle center was rusted away and was now repaired with a donor section. there were a few pin holes in other wise sound sections of the wheel housings. They were dimpled and filled with with braze, dressed down and would later get a skim coat of body filler. The plug welds holding the rear seat back were also ground flush and skim coated.

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As some of you sharp eyed guys might notice the first pix is of a 57 quarter. I couldn't find a pix of the 55 pinch weld being formed so I borrowed one from my 57 pix. To do the rolled edge a template is made of the required radius and carefully located on the quarter and a line marked. About 2" of excess quarter is cut away making the quarter narrower and then the edge is rolled up to the pinch weld using a hammer and dolly. Notice the edge starts square to the top in front but gradually fades to an angle toward the rear. That's to match the body angle and other half of the pinch weld. Also notice, forward of the new turned up lip how much wider the quarter is. That part of the quarter will be cut and sectioned to make the inner edge flush with the rolled up section. That has to be done accurately because that will be where the window goes when it's lowered.

OK, on to the 55. The second pix shows the fit of the rolled up edge fitting in and under the top half of the weld I left in place. This will later be edge welded in. Notice forward of the pinch weld the quarter hasn't been sectioned yet for the window slot. The third pix shows the quarter sectioned for the window. The welds will be dressed and skim coated. When its time the pinch weld will be pulled together and welded. Right now the quarter is still able to be pulled off for other work. Notice all the drilled out spots along the jumb for later plug welding. They also will be dressed and skimmed. There will be no trace of them.........

Next we'll match everything up and weld it all together. Then do it all over again on the right side but I'll spare the chapter and verse on the other side...........

To be continued.............

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The whole body, per se, was not sand blasted in one piece. The floor sections were sand blasted on the bottom for installation then the tops blasted later. The inner body and quarter back sides were blasted seperately in progress. Some of the body panels were partially blasted where needed and disc sanded else where. In other words words where it worked best or was needed it was blasted. If not, no. There is the danger of warpage when blasting panels so careful is always good............Bob

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If the seams were hidden they dressed down with a 5" angle grinder. If more finesse was needed a die grinder and 1/8" to 1/2" wide disc were used. Many times the choice of tool and method of getting where you needed to go was part of the decision making process, many times improvising was the order of the day. Need a special tool? Make it or use something else............Bob

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About an hour or so down 81. Stop down and say hello, love to chat. A couple of years ago we took the 55 to a local show in CS. Seems it was maybe run by a fire company and had a chicken barbecue along with the show. I seem to remember something about a salt company too but maybe not.......................Bob

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After the donor quarter was adapted to fit the convert the rusted out front section needed to be repaired with a NORS patch panel. The patch was placed against the quarter and it was marked for cutting allowing some excess for final fitting. The quarter was removed cut and replaced on the body. The patch was then refit and the quarter marked for final trimming leaving !/2" extra for crimping a flanged edge which would be lap welded. A lap weld allowed a little wiggle room for final alignment of the door margins. The patch was clamped into position with the best average margins fore, aft, top and bottom and welded in first with tacks then solid. The quarter was taken off to add the wheel opening rolled edge to match the quarter. Patch panels don't come with the correct rolled edge. The assumption was the patch would just be placed over the rusted section and welded in. I fabricated a new edge and tack welded it to the patch and quarter. In the pix the the correct contour of the patch/quarter isn't set yet. When it was, the edge was tacked on and the quarter put back on the car for another fit check then the edge was welded in and the welds dressed. The quarter then was removed yet again and the inner body and back side of the quarter painted for rust protection. It would then be again replaced, aligned for fit/margins and finally welded to the body with plug, lap, and edge welds as required. All the welds were then dressed as needed.

In the fouth pix everything is being checked for final alignment including the fit of the front of the rocker and fender/door margins prior to final welding.

The fender is bolted in the rear to the cowl and inner rocker extension and the front is just set on a saw horse.

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With the left side quarter in place with pretty good margins all around, thus maintaining fixed reference points, I could remove and replace the right side. The process was a replay of the left side. I've included a few pix of the right to illustrate a few things I spoke of previously.

The first pix shows the sand blasted inner body with two coats of rust preventitive paint. The wheel wells are to be finish painted and are only primed at this point. I beleive they rightfully should be finished body color but I finally opted for black to mimic under coating which most cars ended up with. No judge has ever asked about it.

The second pix shows how the patch is tack welded first and then the the welds are filled in. I started in the middle and worked outwards for both tacks and fill to minimize warpage. After every weld the area was cooled with compressed air before the next weld. Also to minimize warpage.

The last two pix again show the final check including truck lid margins and tail lite fit. The section under the lite is ready to be plug welded.

So another goal was reached with the replacement of the quarters. Another Cuban cigar and a few more Yuengling Lagers would be sacrificed as I just sat quietly and enjoyed the company of my car..............

To be continued.............

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With the the quarters and rockers welded in I turned my attention to the front cowl. I knew the cowl was rusty but I wasn't prepared for the swiss cheese that sand blasting revealed.

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The only fix was to cut away and replace the entire cowl top. The spot welds on the front pinch weld and sides were drilled out and the back was cut away under where the stainless screen would cover the surgery. The first pix shows the car being taken out to sand blast the inner body under the cowl. The second pix is the rusted out inner body under the cowl. For some reason only the left side was rotten. Thankfully the right side was sound.

The rusted out corner was cut out and a donor section welded in. After mig welding it in the weld was dressed flush then I ran a bead of braze over it to eliminate any possibility of pin holes in the weld bead because that would cause a rain water leak.

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With inner cowl now repaired the top was welded on. You can see the plug welds along the front pinch weld joint and if you look closely the butt weld along the entire back. The inner was painted with several coats of rust proofing before the top was welded.

The body tub was now structurally repaired and essentially rust free. There would still need to be lots of body work done to it and more rust repair to the fenders hood, doors etc, but the

body was ready to be removed, at last, from the frame and a MAJOR sub goal reached. The support frame is partially built in the last pix ....................

To be continued................

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The overhead in my shop is constructed with 2 X 4 trusses 4' on center. I had no idea if they would be strong enough to support the weight of the body so I built a frame of 2 X 4's and 6's for the lift. The frame is held together with deck screws and is easily built and disassembled as needed. An angle iron brace is welded across the door opening to counter act the body bending and heavy wood spreader bars were placed across the chain attach points to counter act inward flex when the body was lifted. The main lifting point is the top attachment pads. That was almost the balance point but the body was slightly tail heavy. I placed 200 pounds of tractor weights on the front floor to make it nose heavy for the lift. With the body bolts removed and nothing else attached to the body it came right off.

The frame was pulled out from under using my tractor and the hitch I had made to bolt to the frame and it was moved to the center of the shop.

The body was let down on tall saw horses, giving me room to sit on a milk crate and paint the bottom with two coats of POR-15. I prefer to use a brush for that work. The paint can be worked into the blasted metal better and put on thicker. What little brush marks there are can't be seen. The frame was left in place and load divided between the hoists and horses for safety while I was under the car. Plus I was able to move the horses as needed to paint.

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Once the belly was painted the body was lower onto a set of lower saw horses that were a comfortable height for working on the body and the frame dismantled. There was no dander of the body falling off the low horses. The inside was likewise painted, the wheel wells primed for body color. The frame would be saved and reused several times in the future.

With the body structurally repaired and off the frame I felt confident in completing the project and it was time to shift gears into the next phase. At this time I took inventory of all the chrome that needed replating and took it to a shop in Phila., Researched the interior and ordered material, and in general tried to get all my ducks in a row for the things that had a long lead time. It was time to turn my wallet upside down and start shaking it in earnest..............

To be continued.......................

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Guest 4 bufords

glad you are working with safety in mind.make sure you have your cell phone handy.when my 57 fell of the jack,i called 911,4 bufords from ct

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glad you are working with safety in mind.make sure you have your cell phone handy.when my 57 fell of the jack,i called 911,4 bufords from ct

Being a pilot safety is ingrained in my nature. Still, there are times I do something I know is dumb but figure "It'll be OK". The general rule of thumb is "if it seems like it MIGHT be unsafe, it is"..................Bob

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I was happy to finally be done with body work for awhile. I far prefer mechanical work and restoration so the body would rest while I tackled the mechanicals. It was a nice change.

The frame was put on jack stands and all the running gear and associated parts removed. It's pretty easy removing the front springs with the weight of the engine car on them but with only the frame for weight it was a challenge. I finally made a spring compressor to remove and replace them with no problems or disasters. I was able to muscle the stripped frame onto a cart I cobbled together for the purpose and wheel it out for sand blasting. My loader came in handy for flipping it.

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The more visable surfaces of the frame was skim coated with filler, sanded, and then painted with 2 coats of POR-15 brushed on. I prefer brushing because the paint can be worked into joints and crevices where spray doesn't like to go.

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The frame was put back on the stands and all the running gear reassembled. All new stainless lines were installed along with new brake cylinders,

front end kit, hoses, shoes, bearings etc etc. Lots of stuff on the frame was originaly bare metal (rusted). Every part was bead or sand blasted and coated with either por-15 or clear coat included things like brake springs, clips etc. Eventually the frame would be built up complete with all running gear, engine/trans exhaust etc before replacing the body....................

To be continued

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Edited by Bhigdog (see edit history)
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Saying, "I KNOW EVERY BOLT AND NUT ON THIS CAR", takes on a NEW MEANING.

I have done several very serious restores/customs, but this is a perfect example of YOU saying, "I CAN DO THAT".

I wish you well, not that you need to hear such. YOU ARE THE MAN.

Dale in Indy

Thank you. That's very kind. I do seriously believe that the majority of folks here could do the same if given the opportunity and will..................

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I feel so much like you, WHEN A PERSON, "WANTS" to do something, and puts their mind to do such, well normally they can do wonders.

I started hands on stuff when I was 11 or 12, and been loving every minute of such since.

You probably look at a certain task/issue ONE AT A TIME, to me that's how I have been able to accomplish this and that. Looking at the complete project can be overwhelming, at least that how it works for me.

Dale in Indy

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With the front suspension restored and in place the rear and drive train were next restored. For the rear I didn't take apart any more than I had to. The gears and bearings were flushed and inspected. The bearings felt smooth with no play and the gears looked good with a good wear pattern so I felt it best not to disturb the set up. All seals were replaced.

The trans was totally torn down and rebuilt with a fair amount of hard parts replaced, new clutches, and new (exchange) bands.

By now the engine block and heads were back from the machine shop and I could assemble the engine. The crank was in excellant condition so the journals were only polished and standard bearings used including the mains. When I disassembled it one of the piston skirts was half gone but a .030 rebore cleaned the cylinders up. The rebuild was a more or less standard job. Block boiled and shot blasted, all wear parts replaced, heads planed flat, valves/guides/springs brought within spec and hard seats.

The starter, gen, carb, power steering pump, were all disassembled and rebuilt. With the starter and generator getting their commutaors turned and mica undercut, new brushes, bearings etc etc etc. Basically if a component could be disassembled it was for inspection and repair or replacement of any deficient part. This was a very time consuming but very enjoyable work for me.

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I always run my engines in the engine stand for 30 minutes of so to check for major probles before installation. I build a quickie front support at the front for support and torque control. A garden hose for cooling water, a gallon can for a gas tank, some jumper cables and wires and fire it right up. The engine in the pix is running as the pix was taken, note the white pressure gauge above and to the left of the filter can to monitor oil pressure. Besides a good way to check for problems it's a hoot watching it run in the stand with straight pipes. Don't forget ear plugs.

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The rolling frame was now pretty much together. The engine/trans/rear were now checked for operation in the chassis. I raised the rear tires off the ground and checked the trans for to make sure it shifted as it was supposed to. I also ran a pressure check. It would have been a lot easier to fix problems now rather than after the car was together.

To be continued..........................

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Bob, love the blow by blow, frame off, description. Phenomenal work there, my friend. Not sure if I would have tackled a project in such disarray! Great write up on the challenges of bringing one of these beasts back to reality from the abyss of the crusher. Can't wait to see and read more of the process.

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Thanks Jim. The secret of a big project is the setting of sub goals. As soon as the body was off the frame I felt like I was sucessful and the project was finished. Having never rebuilt an automatic trans, that by itself was a sub project the completion of which I considered a "sucess" etc etc. It wasn't until the very end, installing the interior, that "finishing" the car was the goal. Before that even smaller jobs like rebuilding the starter or generator provides a morale boost when it's painted up all pretty and you bench test it and watch it spring to life looking and running like new.............................Bob

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With the body repaired but still needing cosmetic body work and the frame a near complete rolling cassis I wrestled with how to sequence the project. I finally decided to continue by putting the body on the frame even though that would complicate the project and mean lots of masking/unmasking, covering up and cleaning up. Everything on the body lined up while it was on the frame during the repairs but when I replaced it on the frame it would be with new and slightly different isolation pads and there were a number of body mount shims that may or may not be correct now. So rather than paint the whole car off the frame and then find out there were alignment problems I decided to final place the body on the frame, check all the margins, adjust body shims if necessary, then do the cosmetics and paint knowing everything would fit correctly at final assembly.

The firewall was painted before mounting the body for obvious reasons. This was the first time I actually saw Cherokee Red other than a paint chip. I was not so sure I made the right color choice.

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The 2 X 4 frame was reassembled, the body raised, the chassis placed under it, and the body lowered into place. In the above pix the body had just been set. The again dismantled frame parts are visable on the floor. I had previously made all new body mount pads and they were taped to the frame to hold them in position as the body was lowered. The body had a 1/4" of rock on the frame and could be shifted quite a bit while still being loosely bolted. I took out all the rock with steel body shims and centered the body to the best average fit and bolted it down tight. The doors and trunk were rehung and adjusted and the front fenders set in place. Surprisingly everything was still fine. They were all removed again and I could start on the body work.

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One advantage to the body being on the frame was it was mobile. On nice days I would tow it out side to work on the body especially if it was doing a lot of sanding with it's dust and dirt. I would cover the engine as best I could but eventually everything was dust covered and cleaning/detailing of everything from the frame up was just another job to be completed. At this stage I had installed a steering column so I could tow it around. I can't remember if it was the donor or Century column. Probably the donor.

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To break the monotny I worked on both the body and body parts at the same time. I might spend a couple of days on the doors, go back to the body, do the trunk awhile etc, etc. Every body part needed something. New metal patches on the fender bottoms, rust repair on the door bottoms, dings, dings, dings of course on everything so I was never out of something to do.

The best way to find the smallest irregularity in a panel is by feel. Once the panel is sanded smooth, running your fingers with a piece of tee shirt under it slowly over it will pick up the smallest bumps or dings that your eye can't see. Until it's painted that is. A wipe with prepsol to put a sheen on the panel is good too but your fingers are incredibly sensitive.

In the above pix I see I've already painted the cowl and window frame. I painted the car in pieces and sections both for control and to manage my time. That is not a problem with non metallic paint. I wouldn't try it with a metallic.

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Finally the big day. Back then I didn't have a drier for my air supply so I only painted in the cooler months when the air was dry. Temperature was also important so I always had to pick my day.

When I'm shooting I'm always wound up tight as a spring. My wife has learned never to interrupt or even speak to me. When shooting it's a given something will go wrong. It's only a question of how bad it will be. Will you spill a quart of paint, drag the hose over a freshly painted panel, the cup dripping paint onto your job is always nice, as is the moth, sicked by the fumes who falls onto the hood and then tries to crawl away.

Anyway, my painting routine is the night before I sweep then wet mop the floor twice. The heat is left on all night. In the morning I shower, washing my armpits real good and use no deodorant. The heat in the shop is turned up high while I'm getting prepared because it uses a blower that I want off during shooting. I put on a lint free paint suit and the car is wiped with prepsol, the paint mixed, a light wipe with a tack cloth and I shoot. With Centari I use a hardener, a few drops of fish eye killer, and shoot 3 wet coats, 4 if it looks a bit dry.

At the end of this day there were no hose drags, drips, fish eyes, runs or dry spots and no sick moths crawing to thier deaths. I was exhausted............................

To be continued.........................

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Edited by Bhigdog (see edit history)
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