Saving another 59

[stu454bb]

Well your right Dgs, but the original glass has moisture damage between the layers of glass, and one piece is cracked. The guy doing the side glass says he is now able to print the old logos onto the new glass. Not sure about the date code. I would love to use the original stuff, but its just not up to the standard I need.

[FINSRIN]

Love Tbird (and old car) saves. You guys are doing great. Looking forward to more postings.
Bill

[stu454bb]

Back again. This is what a square bird looks like in boxes. Seems there are parts everywhere. Bumpers in wraps, boxes of brackets and stainless trim, door and window mechanisms. A whole box full of sandwich bags containing screws and bolts. You have to be methodical when pulling parts. Its so easy to loose a small bracket or a couple of screws. Each section of parts is labeled and boxed before the next is removed. Everything is being stored in a small garage at the side of the house.
With the bird near totally stripped, I trailered her down to Sydney town to the panel shop. And the old girl got plenty of attention along the way from passing motorists.
Dave is the panel guy and he wasted no time in tearing into that caved in quarter. Now this car came with two rear quarter panel repair sections. Dave is only using the lower, choosing to straighten the upper section himself. I really take my hat off to these metal workers. To have the ability to cut and stretch and bring back the original shape is a true skill. It took little time for Dave to bring back the beautiful lines of this old bird. There is a bus load of smaller repairs to take care of, but the shell will get soda blasted next. This will reveal any little surprises we have not found yet. And its not a cheap process. About 2k for a car this size. Couple of pics of the parts storage and the quarter repair.

[stu454bb]

Pics of the repair.

[DKheld]

Wow - nice panel repair and I agree that the metal folks can sure work some magic - my attempt to fabricate a metal A/C duct worked but I sure am glad it is hidden.

You're moving along nicely on the resto - very quick in fact.

Thanks for the update - really like the pics - keep them coming!

Eric

Squarebird in boxes - heh.....

"some assembly required"

[lawyercalif]

What I noticed is how nice and rust free that inner rocker panel and wheel housing looked. Looks like you picked the right car.

[YellowRose]

Saving another 59

Stu, thanks for the posts and the pix! They are great to see. I got a kick out of the "Squarebird in a box" and the "Some assembly required" comments. Been there, done that, to some extent! The body work is looking great. You won't even know it is the same car down the road. Keep the comments and pix coming as they continue to work on her.

[GTE427]

If you have fender skirts and haven't done so yet, test fit them now as they can be problematic if you wait till you're finished.

[stu454bb]

Thanks guys. Ill make sure Dave test fits those fender skirts, don't want any problems down the track if we can avoid it.
Eric, we hope to be finished for a big show in Canberra in early January next year. So far, so good. Still need to drop the motor at the engine re builders and the trans at a mates shop. All the chrome is off to the plater. Gettin ready to empty all my pockets. My theory is to do something a least every other day. Even if its just paint a couple of bolts, or pull down the steering pump, or polish some stainless trim. If you keep plodding away, sooner or later things come together. If you don't look at it for a month, its starts to get away from you. Its a discipline. You guys know what I mean anyway. Next time,
SODA BLASTING

[stu454bb]

Soda blasting. I wasn't able to be there when it got done. These pics where taken by the beater. The process cleans up the old metal like new but sure leaves a mess. The stuff gets every where. I would not recommend a partly dismantled car getting done. But for us, its the way to go. Basically all the paint has been removed from the boot and engine bay, as well as the outer panels and cabin. This shows the real story of your project. There is nothing left hiding. Overall, the car has very little rust. The floors, sills and firewall are like new. Small sections around the trunk lid, and one corner. The area behind the sail trim, where the roof meets the body has a few small holes as well. There's a couple of dents over the body in general that need attention. Nothing that Dave and more money cant fix.

[Dakota Boy]

Holy smokes, thats a LOT of work you have going on there.

Restoring these old cars is like planting trees; they'll be around long after we are gone.

[JohnG]

superb work!!! Nothing better than getting all the old paint off, even though it reveals problems you would not have thought existed.

Did you get the VIN yet ??

Good luck!

John

[RustyNCa]

also if you still have the front plate you can sell those on ebay.

pete

Yep, don't throw those license plates away. Sell them on ebay or the HAMB.

Cheers
RustyNCA

[Anders]

Great pictures. Also very interesting to see how it looks behind the panel.

[JohnG]

the old plate might provide a way to trace some of the car's history . . .