'59 convertible restoration progress

[pkingco]

Starting to look whole again... body panels fitted, hood will come off again for engine/tranny, etc. Hopefully next week.

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[bird 60]

Coming along very nice.

Chris.....From OZ.

[simplyconnected]

Lookin' better than 'factory'!

[Tbird1044]

Wow. Looks like you got the lines really straight. Nice Job.

[YellowRose]

Peter, thanks for posting the pix! As Dave said, she is gonna look better than "factory" when you get her all put back together again! Congratulations!

[Dan Leavens]

Peter very nicely done and as mentioned no "cutting corners". Well done. Regards

[pkingco]

After another long delay, finally getting the bird together. Brake lines, steering column, engine all in today. Flywheel resurfaced and in. Inspected the differential. All good inside. Drive shaft U-joints replaced. Clutch and tranny going in tomorrow.

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[tr59bird]

What a beautiful job you are doing. The skill and determination required for such results is impressive.

[pkingco]

Some more progress pics from this week. Wiring harnesses going in now... slow process. I plan on finishing the dashboard this weekend, so hopefully all of the electrical can get connected next week.

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[pkingco]

Engine bay shaping up. And I got the dash covered and installed last weekend. Then pulled it out and removed the pad because I didn't like the way the curves were fitting. Removed all the glue and did it again. Looks much better now. Re-installed the dash and later realized I had the side brackets on backwards. So removed it again and sorted it out, after cross-threading one of the steering column bolts and chasing those threads again. As usual, everything takes more time than you think.

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[bird 60]

Coming along beautifully.

Chris....From OZ.

[Eric S]

Takes more time than you think but the more you do it, the faster you become at doing it !

[pkingco]

I found a good solution to the ill-fitting fiberglass defroster ducts I bought from Pat Wilson today. They aligned to the original screw holes ok after trimming some excess material from the top edges, but the rigid construction made them align quite far off from the outlet extensions on the box. I first started with the dryer hose and roofing rubber clamped with band clamps, but that proved to be too bulky. So I bought some 3" dryer hose and 4" heat shrink tubing and that worked perfectly, allowing just enough clearance for the windshield wiper cables and glove box hinge. Had to trim some of the round part of the ducts off to provide enough space for the hose and wrap to make the connection.

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[pkingco]

Some progress this week. I have most of the wiring completed, with a few stragglers... sorting out tail lights and overdrive. Fitted the console and heater control panel, and found out that one of the speakers I installed hits the tranny tunnel. Oh well, time for another re-do. Painted the tail lights this weekend and installed them today.

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[bird 60]

Looking good. As Elvis would say.....slowly but surely.

Chris.....From OZ.