Roof troubles

[tmjsong1aolcom]

RE: Roof troubles

Travlin

I spent a few minutes reviewing your web site and all the pics you supplied. Not sure what you actually wan to do at this point but my initial suggestion is to completely strip the car of everything. I mean every nut and bolt and piece of interior All you have left is a shell on wheels.

Need to do this to see some of the inner areas where rust is probably hiding. Unfortunately from what I have seen there is probably rust in areas you can't even see.

As for rebuilding this old girl, I personally would part it out and use it as a parts car for another 58. Sorry about that, but stip first to finish your evaluation.

Good Luck Fuz

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

"I'm kinda with you on that one. I really don't wanna part her out. That's more of a last resort kinda thing. Someone else said that I shouldn't let the "last suprise" make me throw in the towel on her. Problem is that I just "know" there are more suprises."

Well if you want I could send you a pic of my bird and this thing is just one big suprise. I have come to that conclusion after many a evenings like you said thinking about parting it out. I bought mine, a complete car, for $500 and I could bring in more than that for it.
I just try and imaging the way it will look after I finish it. I have found everything wrong with mine that anyone in here has posted. It is kinda everyones troubles wraped up in a messy little package.

By the way if you don't want anymore suprises and you got a place near by that can do it I would strongly recommend getting it dipped in an alkaline vat. It will get rid of anything that isn't steel and let you know exactly what you have. Just be ready for anything. Also it will make the car last alot longer. I plan on doing it soon. I'm getting a trailer this weekend and then I'll start the pricing.

The biggest thing that keeps me going is those people who tell me I shouldn't or that I can't.(Mainly my father) I wanna get my car done before him. He's building a 69 Roadrunner that I got him when I was in school several years ago.(Yes I am very young.)

Good luck in your project and ignore those who tell you to part it. Its the devil talking to ya.}>

Brian Costello

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

HI
LOOK, THIS IS THE DEAL, install a BIG Motor, a 4 spd and drive. If a wheel or anything else falls off/breaks, stop the car, get the pcs. and put them in the backseat, fix it when you get home. these cars are too much fun to part out, rusted or not they have such cool lines that the paint really does'nt matter. i know back when i had 1 in the army that i cut the top off of and put conv top on, i also put a 4spd and 428 in and what a sleeper it was with the rust, bad paint, butt more than that it was always a blast to drive, even when it quits running, oh yea make sure you have brakes for that big motor it needs.
good luck
mark

http://hometown.aol.com/__121b_FojEKQwVtSeOHm1hQU6s5rZsDWU2xL6x

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

I know that by reading your posts that you would prefer to stay as original as possible. Myself, I like a mild custom, trim removed, shaved door handles, lowered, disc brakes, 59 cadillac bullet tail lights, the good stuff. An original car is not necessarily worth more than a custom in reality, only to a collector of original classics, It all depends on who wants to buy it if you sell it. What I would do for the roof rails (and I thought about doing this to my 60 even though mine are perfectly good) is just cut them off and weld the seam back together. This would make for a nice smooth look to your roof. I know I'll probably get some flack from the original fans but what the heck. A lot less work than making a convertable. I looked at your site and you do have your work cut out for you. Just keep in mind when replacing your quarters and any sheet metal for that matter, go slow and only make quarter to half inch welds and alternate until you have one long seam. Also let the weld cool before you make another one. What I did when I replaced my quarters is I had a wet towel and when I made a weld I cooled it off right away so as not to let the heat spread and warp the panel. It took me a whole day to do one side but it did not warp and was nice and straight.

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

>I know that by reading your posts that you would prefer to
>stay as original as possible. An original car
>is not necessarily worth more than a custom in reality, only
>to a collector of original classics, It all depends on who
>wants to buy it if you sell it.[/i][/font]

[font color="black"]Absolutely agree! I would prefer to stay as close to original as possible, but at this point, a mild custom isn't out of the question either. I just wanna get her out and http://www.nfl-world.com/forums/imag...lies/drive.gif

And you are exactly right about a car's worth ... It all depends on the buyer.[/font] http://www.nfl-world.com/forums/images/smilies/deal.gif

Of course, I don't plan on selling her once she's finished either. http://www.nfl-world.com/forums/images/smilies/nono.gif

[font color="blue"]>What I would do for the roof
>rails is just cut them off and weld the
>seam back together. This would make for a nice smooth look
>to your roof.[/font]

[font color="black"]If you mean the rain gutters, that's a thought. The rails I'm refering to however are the roof supports above the door glass. Unfortunetly, I cannot cut those off.

I've been thinking ... I should be able to repair the parts over the door glass with flatstock. Above the windshield ... Now that's another matter.[/font] http://www.nfl-world.com/forums/imag...cratchchin.gif

[font color="blue"]>I looked at your site and you do have your
>work cut out for you. Just keep in mind when replacing your
>quarters and any sheet metal for that matter, go slow and
>only make quarter to half inch welds and alternate until you
>have one long seam. Also let the weld cool before you make
>another one. What I did when I replaced my quarters is I had
>a wet towel and when I made a weld I cooled it off right
>away so as not to let the heat spread and warp the panel. It
>took me a whole day to do one side but it did not warp and
>was nice and straight.[/font]

[font color="black"]Thank you for the welding advice -- As a very raw newbie welder, I can use all the help I can get![/font] http://www.nfl-world.com/forums/imag...es/nervous.gif

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

Travlin............I saw your post on Autobody.............hopefully when "antique" returns he can help. Im posting on there as ancientbird58.........and going to use that Metal 2 Metal to fix a small hole in my door..........as well as my fender........after that it gets primed,sanded, blocked and painted...yee haw !!!! My 3 year ordeal is coming to a climax !!!..........and when I think I almost dowsed it with gasoline and set it ablaze........hahahahahaha !!

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

I had to replace the passenger side fender on my 60. Very time consuming because these fenders are welded on. A little advice that you may already know. Drill out all the spot welds or grind them off. Don't be in a hurry and just start ripping the fender off because you want to keep everything straight and be careful not to bend any of the flange areas. Take a few measurements before you start removing the fender like the distance between the fenders in the front and rear, the distance from the wheel well to the ground with the car on stands, etc,etc and when you start tacking the new fender on, line up everything exactly according to your measurements,tack a few places and measure again to make sure nothing shifted, then tack some more then maybe put your hood back on to see if it lines up right. Do the same thing with your rockers and quarters because you don't want to weld everything up and stand back and say hey, this don't look bad! and then go to put your doors back on and have uneven gaps. On those replacement panels, I don't believe they are factory stamped so you have to work with them to get them to fit good. A lot of trimming and fitting. Use only what you need and try to keep as much of the original metal as you can intact. Don't try to cut out the whole replacement panel section because The quality isn't really that great compared to replacement panels for the more popular cars such as the camaro or mustang, they are wavy and have some small ripples in them and they are bound to come with bent corners from shipping. It can be done by an inexperienced person and it is not that difficult if you do your home work and take your time.

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

[font color="blue"]63tbirdrick said:
It can be done by an inexperienced person and it is not that difficult if you do your home work and take your time.
[/font]

Thanks for the advice! http://www.nfl-world.com/forums/imag...k_Emoticon.gif I need all the help I can get!

[tmjsong1aolcom]

RE: Roof troubles

With the continued saga of this 58 and your desire to actually bring it back from the depths of rust.

Your biggest enemy in proceeding with the redo is still finding where all the rust is located and that still requires removing every nut,bolt,ect from the car so you have a shell on 4 wheels.

Deal with the top first. You live in Florida and should be ablle to find a roof from a donor parts car. It is unusual for these to rust so bad and it is very common to loose the rest of the car and still have a good roof. Should be a relatively easy swap. It doesn't matter which year 58,59,or 60. roofs are all the same. The sail panel will have different holes but the basic roof are identical.

But before tackling the roof find out about the rest of the shell.

My grams 58 was recently completed and was full of rust. Unfortunately I would have parted the car out if it hadn't been mt grams car. Snow belt car and lots of rust in the lower extremeties. Replaced both complete rear quarters. with ones off 60 birds. Took me forever to find a pair. The had to replace the rockers, and some pieces from the front fenders. Fortunately the floor pans and the rest of the sub frame metal was untouched. I don't know why but got extremely lucky.

I will be more than happy to help but I personally did not do the resto. I was the parts man and even that was no small undertaking.

Good Luck
Fuz

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

HEY !! TRAVLIN !!!

Theres a nice looking -non running 59 on ebay. The body looks good from the picture. You might want to check it out. Take 2 and make one nice one ????? I checked the interior picture and its got AC and power windows. So far the bid is 1500.

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

[font color="blue"]58tdactyl said:

HEY !! TRAVLIN !!!

Theres a nice looking -non running 59 on ebay. The body
looks good from the picture. You might want to check it out.
Take 2 and make one nice one ????? I checked the interior
picture and its got AC and power windows. So far the bid is
1500. [/font]

Unfortunetly, the wife won't let me try to buy it. Which really makes no sense to me since I'll prolly spend a lot more on the '58 as it currently is. http://www.nfl-world.com/forums/images/smilies/rant.gif

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

Travlin................I just went to your site to see the progress. Believe me when I tell you it brings back memories. Im currently getting ready to paint mine. Its stripped of its " Tupperware Turquoise" and Im tweaking some body work to begin sanding. I noticed your interior pictures and was struck by the fact that your seats have no "bolster" to them ..............dont be surprised if you have repo covers pulled over the originals...............been there done that too. Post pictures of your fender repair if you can. One day Im gonna figure out how to post pictures............in the meantime.............keep up the good work!!!

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

[font color="blue"]58tdactyl said:

I just went to your site to see the progress. Believe me when I tell you it brings back memories. Im currently getting ready to paint mine. Its stripped of its " Tupperware Turquoise" and Im tweaking some body work to begin sanding. [/font]

I have to admit that I really haven't done much to her lately. It's been extremely hot (mid-90s) and it's been raining every day the past few weeks. Of course, it's that time of year here in Central Florida, so ... It's kinda to be expected.

By the way ... Did you get that crease fixed?

I'm definitely getting some of that rust treatment stuff, and M2M. Also going to experiment with using M2M mixed with fiberglass.

[font color="blue"]I noticed your interior pictures and was struck by the fact that your seats have no "bolster" to them ... dont be surprised if you have repo covers pulled over the originals ... been there done that too.[/font]

Oh they ARE repros; I already knew that. But from what I've seen picture-wise of originals, they're right on track. Right down to the silver trim piping on them. They were put on properly though ... There isn't another seat cover underneath any of them.

[font color="blue"]Post pictures of your fender repair if you can. One day Im gonna figure out how to post pictures ... in the meantime ... keep up the good work!!! [/font]

Thanks Mon! As I mentioned on the website, I got the fender this past weekend. It's not bad, but will need a tad bit of work.

I do plan on documenting everything, in word and picture. Just so that I can remember everything ... Every random thought I have about it (when I remember to write them), all the ranting I might decide to do, and every screw up.

So I started writing a journal about the whole thing. Tried to go back over the past couple of months but didn't cover much so far. If you're interested: http://journals.aol.com/squarebird/Squarebird/ Some of it's actually funny (according to the wife).

Also, if you want to post pics it's really easy, but you have to have them online somewhere first. I have a lot of web storage space so, if you need some ... Just ask!

For example, if I wanted to post a pic of say ... that TBird cigarette holder/lighter I recently got, I'd simply type the following:

htttp://i23.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/d5/29/69_1.JPG

However, it would be http://.... I added an additional t so that you could see exactly what I did, and so the pic wouldn't show up instead.

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

[font color="blue"]khanson said:

Man, what a bummer.

Have you looked through the whole car yet so you know "everything"?

Sometimes it's good to know if you are at the end of the sruprises or there are other possible surprises still out there. Don't let the last one get you to throw in the towel. [/font]

The only places I haven't looked into yet are inside the rocker panels -- And I have new sheet metal for the rockers. I've pretty much seen everything else on the car.

I kinda feel like you do in wanting to keep the car as close to original as possible ... But lately I've been thinking "so what?" It's my car, I should just do what I want to it. If I want disk brakes, I should go ahead and put them on.

Maybe it's just a phase.

[Guest]

RE: Roof troubles

My crease???? After digging out A 1/2 inch of bondo..........there it was. It looks like the classic "I backed into your car by accident" kinda thing. My dad who was a pipe-fitter....told me how to basicly "beat it out"........and I did Now all I have to do is smear just the smallest bit of M2M to hide it forever !!! SAY NO TO BONDO !!! }> Im so close to priming and painting I cant stand it.