Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 After many years of searching I finally found the dream car that I wanted to restore. I fell in love with the 57 Roadmaster while I was deployed in Iraq in 2003. Ever since I saw the all black hardtop in a Hot Rod magazine my dad sent to me while I was away I have been searching high and low for one to make my own. In August of 2108 I found one that was located in Texas that was originally registered in Missouri. I will get to the point of that later in the post but the original state of registration helped me decide on what color the car will be painted once it is complete. Here are some of the pictures of what I have started with. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 The journey begins Tear down begins, My dads 57 Oldsmobile project is on the hoist next to mine. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Now the fun begins. I am going to take a perfectly good frame and cut it up so I can upgrade the front suspension to a 84 corvette front suspension. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 The crossmember is from Flatout Engineering that fits nicely in between the two frame rails after you remove the spring pockets. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Glad to see you started a thread finally! Welcome! Can't wait to see more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 7 hours ago, lancemb said: Glad to see you started a thread finally! Welcome! Can't wait to see more. Lance, I started it back in September so I will be adding more in the next few days. It has been a long time coming but for just working some nights and weekends I have made so pretty good progress so far 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Some more pictures of the front end 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 I couldn't help myself after I completed fitting the corvette front end to the chassis I put this old girl on a diet and removed the rear end that looks like it belonged in a dump truck. I went with a GM 12 bolt that I believe was out of a full size Caprice Wagon. I am not 100% sure but, for $30 bucks with all the brackets already removed and axle lengths that fit the track width that I need to put the wheels I want to use on it I felt like it was a no brainer. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Well to mildly put it when I bought this car it seemed to be pretty solid and straight. For the most part all of the body shell and sheet metal just has surface rust and the normal dings and dents you would expect to find on a 64 year old car. Upon further review after disassembly this car is pretty close to being a rot box. The entire drivers side floor is rotted out, both rear wheel tubs and outer wheel wells are rotten, inner and outer rockers on both sides, and both lower front quarter panels are junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Some pictures of the floor pan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Just finished this up yesterday. I still have quite a bit of body work to do but the left side is solid again minus the wheel well which i intend on tackling this weekend. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) Has anyone ever replaced the rubber seal between the outer rear wheel wells and the rear quarter panels? I received this from Summit today and I need to look for another source that has custom length cut pieces. This weather stripping is from a 1957 Chevy but is way too short for the Buick. I would be very receptive to anyone who has reworked their wheel wells and replaced the rubber seals. Edited January 27, 2021 by Idntknowpr replaced picture (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosage Chavis Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 20 hours ago, Idntknowpr said: What type of car lift is this and how high does it lift? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 hour ago, Kosage Chavis said: What type of car lift is this and how high does it lift? It was made by Autolifter out of Wichita KS. and raises 6' 8" but I think they went out of business quite a few years ago 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Nice work! Much of that rust looks familiar. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 You mentioned an all-black one that inspired you, and this one was all black from the factory. Will you be making it black again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 10 minutes ago, lancemb said: You mentioned an all-black one that inspired you, and this one was all black from the factory. Will you be making it black again? Lance, As I mentioned in the beginning of this thread I purchased the car in Texas but it was registered in Missouri which lead me to the final decision of the color of the car. Long story short, I will not be going back to the original black as it came from the factory. I have decided to go with the ruby red that ford is using because it matches the colors of the US Army Combat Engineer. 29 years ago I started my career as an Engineer in Fort Leonardwood MO. The ironic / unbelievable thing about this car that I have found out when I was hanging all of the trim and bumpers on it to identify what I had and what I needed was that the car at some point in its life was a registered vehicle on Fort Leonardwood MO. Once I saw the base registration sticker on the front bumper of the car I knew that it was meant for me to have and the color was easy to choose. My goal is to have this car complete so I can drive it to work one last time on my retirement day to book end its journey. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 Well yesterday was a bit of a challenge trying to fabricate a new inner fender for the drivers side. Unfortunately we did not have much to work with to create a template from the original due to the rot but, the drivers side was in much better shape then the passenger side so that was where we started. I had to cut some of the inner tub on both ends to remove the rot and get back to good solid metal. Here are some photos of our progress. I hope to have this one at least tacked in place all the way around today and tackle the passenger side in a couple of weeks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 Still some more work to do on the front side of the well. In the second picture you can see the gap we still have where the belt line of the quarter and the inner well intersect. More trimming and fitting today should get that tightened and sealed up. I am also curious if anyone knows if these cars actually had a rubber train tube in the rear window channel or did Buick just design the car with the hole to drain. I ask because I purchased a set of so called drain tubes for a 57 Buick from CARS and they are huge compared to the existing hole. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 We knew going into this weekend we were going to be in for a difficult job rebuilding the drivers side inner fender. We didn't quite get to where we wanted to be this weekend but, all in all it was fairly successful. The driver's side is at least workable and should be ready to be tacked into it's final place the next time we work on it. I went with 16ga steel for the replacement panel so it should be pretty solid once it is complete. And on the brighter side at least I have a template for the other side of the car. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Made some more progress over the last few weeks. I now have a solid car again. inner and outer rockers, quarter panel, and passenger side rear wheel well have been replaced. The wheel wells were quite the job but I think they have turned out great from where I started. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 Well it has been awhile since I have posted any pictures or progress on the Buick. So here is the update of where we are at today. Inner and outer rockers have been replaced, drivers side floor pan replaced and repaired, all drivers side body mounts rebuilt, both lower quarters replaced, both inner and outer wheel wells repaired, trunk pan repaired, both rear body mounts rebuilt, firewall shaved clean, cowl sealed up, bottom side of the entire floor pan seam sealed and coated with bedliner, inside of the roof stripped and painted grey. Today I am going to finish sanding the firewall and start to remove the bracing inside of the car so we can start fitting the 57 olds dash into the car. I hope you guys like the pictures and don't be to mad at me for cutting this car up. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Progress looks really great. This car was rough when you got it. As a moderate custom it will look awesome. No reason to be mad about it, because it's far better to be saved and modified than not to be saved at all. Please keep pictures coming! 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 I am getting pretty close to putting this thing in primer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodneybeauchamp Posted April 26, 2021 Share Posted April 26, 2021 Hi, interesting project. Appears like you filled in the fresh air intake above the firewall on the cowl. I’m not familiar with this model but if that is the case how will you get outside air into the cab for the heater and air conditioner and just fresh air? Rodney 😀😀😀😀😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted April 26, 2021 Author Share Posted April 26, 2021 Rodney More than likely I will pull the fresh air hidden from behind the grill and duct it into the cabin behind the inner fender wells Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 (edited) It has been awhile since I have posted any pictures. Here are the photos for the 57 Oldsmobile dash. It turned out nice. I took the wings off of the Buick dash and grafted them into the Oldsmobile dash after we got it centered and attached to the car. A lot of cutting, trimming, fitting left to go but, I should be able to use the original Buick window trim with some modification for the placement of the clock from the Oldsmobile. Edited June 26, 2021 by Idntknowpr (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 Floor and firewall seam sealed and painted. Starting to work on location of air condition and heating unit under the dash 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 (edited) We hoped to have the car in epoxy primer by May but my wife decided to blow the motor up in her car so I am now a month behind. Never the less we got it sealed last weekend. This is the first car I have ever painted myself, its not bad but, I have a lot of practicing to do before I attempt to shoot it with color. I still have a lot of body work to do especially on the drivers rear quarter and fender but the car is sealed and i do not have to worry about rust anymore. Edited June 26, 2021 by Idntknowpr (see edit history) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 VERY NICE! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 Thank you John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 Awesome job!! When is your target completion again? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 Lance, I am hoping to have it done by June 2023 in time to go to the back to the 50s car show in Minnesota. My progress more than likely is going to start slowing down because I’m going to be getting into the expensive part of the build 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share Posted June 28, 2021 Shaved the door handle on the passenger side today 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share Posted June 28, 2021 Well I still have a lot of work to do on getting the door fitted but with all of the metal work that had to be done on this side with the quarter and rockers I am pretty happy with where we are starting with the first fit. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 On 6/28/2021 at 6:09 PM, Idntknowpr said: Well I still have a lot of work to do on getting the door fitted but with all of the metal work that had to be done on this side with the quarter and rockers I am pretty happy with where we are starting with the first fit. Phillip - long time, no hear. Any progress? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted December 22, 2021 Author Share Posted December 22, 2021 8 hours ago, lancemb said: Phillip - long time, no hear. Any progress? Lance I will be posting some pictures this week. We rolled it out of the shop on its own wheels last weekend. I still have an awful lot of work on gaps and sheet metal fitment but, I am close to tearing it all apart again so I can sandblast the frame and paint it. My dad has officially passed me with his restoration of the 57 Oldsmobile his chassis is painted and ready to hang new parts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idntknowpr Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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