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Rust Be Gone - 1959 Convertible build

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  • lawyercalif
    Experienced
    • May 12 2011
    • 240

    Rust Be Gone - 1959 Convertible build

    Last month I started the re-build on my 1959 Convertible. I purchased this car on Ebay in April for the meager amount of $7500.00. It was a good 50/50 car, it ran and looked good 50 feet away. Up close though you could tell the prior body work was a patch job. After opening it up, I found you get what you pay for.

    I was going to do all the work myself. I knew it was going to need rocker panels, inner rocker repair and floors. I also did not like the wavy look of the quarter panels so I decided to replace them also. After much investigation and research on this forum and others I knew the inner rockers were going to be a big job. Since this is a convertible strength is everything.

    I had thought about cutting good ones out of a rust free parts car if I could find one. Then I read on the forums about a person using rectangular tubing to strengthen them. So I purchased some .125 wall 2"x4" steel tubing in about six foot lengths. They fit perfectly after cutting out all the rust.

    I stopped by Tops Auto Body in Perris, California and talked with the owner Joey Sanchez. What a great guy. We struck a deal where he would do the rust repair, replace the quarter panels and rockers on both sides and give me a high quality paint job. His price was reasonable at $6500, but he admired my car so much I asked him if he would like a 59 Tbird of his own. He was interested so I traded him a 59 Coupe I owned in exchange for the work. Everyone was happy.

    They took the car in immediately, first they fixed the floors, then they cut away the rusted inner quarter panels up to where the convertible L shaped bracing begins and welded in the rectangular tubing on the passenger side, when they pulled off the quarter panel we found the wheelhouse was worthless, more rust than metal. As luck would have it I found a parts car right here on the Square Bird Forum that was pretty much rust free. So it gave its wheelhouse as its first donation.

    I have been taking picutures as I go and would love to share them if someone would help me with the information on how to do this. Do I have to upload them to photobucket first?

    Anyway if anyone would like to see the pictures of this build let me know and I will try to update frequently.
    Last edited by lawyercalif; September 22, 2011, 06:18 PM.
  • Dakota Boy
    Super-Experienced
    • Jun 30 2009
    • 1561

    #2
    I believe if you are a paid member on this board, you can load pics right from your PC.

    Joining this site was the best 20 bucks I ever spent
    http://www.tbirdregistry.com/viewdat...ryNumber=33517

    Comment

    • lawyercalif
      Experienced
      • May 12 2011
      • 240

      #3
      I just paid the $20.00 before I started the thread. I guess I need to wait for authorization. I have plenty of pictures to share.
      Last edited by lawyercalif; September 22, 2011, 06:39 PM.

      Comment

      • YellowRose
        Super-Experienced


        • Jan 21 2008
        • 17188

        #4
        Rust Be Gone - 1959 Convertible build

        Hi Daniel! Thank you for your donation. I was out of pocket this evening and just processed your donation a bit ago. You now have the Member icon next to your name indicating that are a Paid member. As such, you can now upload pictures directly to our server. When you post something, if you look down below this box I am typing in you will see the Additional Options section. In it is the function for Managing Attachments. Clicking on it will take you to that where you can upload your pix. Keep them at 800pixels or less. You will see the file size limitations for each type of file format allowed. You can upload 5 pix at a time and then five more for a total of 10. You have come across a good deal with that parts car and the arrangement you made for the work with him. Invite him to the Forum also! Thanks for the update on your work and we will certainly enjoy seeing the pix. If they are of a technical nature showing the modifications or restoration work done to it, post them here for others to view and use. If they are just general pictures of what the car looks like now, post them in the "Our Rides" Forum below. If you have problems posting pix, give me a call and I can talk you through it. BTW, as a Paid Member, you can also have your own webpage on the Forum. If that interests you, email or PM simplyconnected, our Webmaster and he will set you up.

        Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
        The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
        Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

        https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
        Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
        https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html

        Comment

        • simplyconnected
          Administrator
          • May 26 2009
          • 8778

          #5
          lawyercalif, I wrote you an email re: picture posting. Give me a call. - Dave
          Member, Sons of the American Revolution

          CLICK HERE to see my custom hydraulic roller 390 FE build.

          "We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"
          --Lee Iacocca

          From: Royal Oak, Michigan

          Comment

          • lawyercalif
            Experienced
            • May 12 2011
            • 240

            #6
            Thanks Dave. I think I got it. Here are a few pictures.
            Attached Files

            Comment

            • YellowRose
              Super-Experienced


              • Jan 21 2008
              • 17188

              #7
              Rust Be Gone - 1959 Convertible build

              Wow! That is quite a bit of damage to the old girl! But with a parts car and the help you will have, she should be looking great again in the near future. She will be something to be really proud of when you get her finished. Show us some more pix as you can, Daniel.

              Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
              The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
              Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

              https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
              Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
              https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html

              Comment

              • Guest

                #8
                See guys and all you visitors, this goes to show what someone is willing to do to get this old gal back to her glory! I just wish some more people would jump in and save a old classic!
                RESTORE DON'T CRUSH!
                Richard D. Hord

                Comment

                • lawyercalif
                  Experienced
                  • May 12 2011
                  • 240

                  #9
                  Yesterdays pictures were just the beginning. Those showed the floor and passenger side inner rocker repairs. Todays pictures show what was under the quarter panels and how the donor car was used to repair the damage.

                  Before we are done with this project we will have done both front floors, both rockers and inner rockers, both quarter panels and wheelhouses, new interior, new top, and a new paint job keeping the color similar to original. Then I will install the completely rebuilt 390 with edelbrock performer manifold, RV cam along with a rebuilt C-6 Transmission which I have sitting and waiting to go in.

                  I will continue to take pictures as the project goes along and will share the ones I think might be of interest. I know that when I was trying to determine how to fix the inner rockers and I heard about the rectangular tubing being used, I would have loved to have seen the pictures of that.
                  So if there is anything in particular that you would like to see let me know.
                  Attached Files
                  Last edited by lawyercalif; September 23, 2011, 10:59 AM.

                  Comment

                  • jax
                    Apprentice
                    • Jun 27 2010
                    • 47

                    #10
                    59 Vert

                    She is looking good!!! Glad to see the old car got you some good parts!!! Keep us posted.
                    TBIRD REGISTRY #19539
                    1959 TBird
                    1958 F100

                    Comment

                    • YellowRose
                      Super-Experienced


                      • Jan 21 2008
                      • 17188

                      #11
                      Wow, Again!

                      This is great, Daniel! This should be a really good help to others who might have to go this route in the future to fix their Squarebird. Keep those pix coming as you can and commentary. This is excellent!

                      Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
                      The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
                      Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

                      https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
                      Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
                      https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html

                      Comment

                      • keith
                        Super-Experienced
                        • Feb 13 2010
                        • 564

                        #12
                        Thanks for posting your pictures. I enjoy threads like this. I feel threads like this help others to re think..... maybe I can bring this old car back to life instead scrapping it.

                        I agree with Richard's statement "save a old classic".

                        Keith
                        Keith
                        Sedalia, Mo.
                        sigpic
                        CLICK HERE for Keith's web site

                        Comment

                        • lawyercalif
                          Experienced
                          • May 12 2011
                          • 240

                          #13
                          Special thanks to Member JAX who sold me the parts car.

                          Comment

                          • jax
                            Apprentice
                            • Jun 27 2010
                            • 47

                            #14
                            59 Vert

                            Thanks goes to you! You saved it from the scrapper! Sorry we didn't get to meet in person. Keep the pictures coming!!
                            TBIRD REGISTRY #19539
                            1959 TBird
                            1958 F100

                            Comment

                            • YellowRose
                              Super-Experienced


                              • Jan 21 2008
                              • 17188

                              #15
                              Rust Be Gone - 1959 Convertible build

                              As a reminder to all, if you have not registered your Tbird on John Rotella's Thunderbird Registry, www.tbirdregistry.com you should do so, including any Tbird being used for parts, or any Tbird headed for the crusher. You can do so from his registry, or from our Technical Resource Library. You can check the VIN # of your Tbird on his registry to see if it has been registered in the past by a previous owner. If it has been, and that ownership has changed, you should update the registry entry for that Tbird. If it has not been registered, do so by providing him with the VIN # and if you have the Data Plate information, that also, plus any other important information about that car. John is trying to document the status of every remaining Tbird he can.

                              Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
                              The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
                              Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

                              https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
                              Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
                              https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html

                              Comment

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