1959 T-Bird Build

[keith]

Keith, what exactly is this first shot of on the car?



Is it a place where rain water could not escape?

What are you using for equipment to sandblast with??

best
John

That is where the cowl meets the frame right behind the front wheels. I dug a lot of stuff out of there. It must of came from the windshield wiper panel area. Oh and a couple dried up mice. I am going to cut the bottom of the fenders and rocker panels off to get back there and repair those areas.

I use a Tip brand sandblaster. I think it is called the 99'er. I got it used from a friend who bought it in the mid 80's. Never had a problem with it. I also use silica sand. I have used regular sand , but you spent a lot of time sifting and it's wet sometimes in the bag. So you have to spread out on a tarp in the sun and rake it. Then living in a high humidity part of the country you better get it bagged up before sundown or you get to do it again the next day.

I have a 2 stage 7hp Ingersal Rand comp.

Keith Daleen
Sedalia,Mo.

[JohnG]

Thanks! Now you describe it, I can orient my view. You removed the splash shield (which must have been junk) and revealed what I gather is a classic Squarebird rust area.

For what it's worth later, the splash shields have been reproduced.

Do you feel you can repair it and maintain the structural integrity??

[keith]

The splash shields were missing. The holes were covered with fiberglass, bondo and undercoat.

I fell comfortable replacing the missing pieces.

With the car setting on the ground the door gaps are good. No saging.

When working on a car like this, a unibody, it is very important that when the car is raised off the ground it must have the jack,jackstands or lift under the front crossmember where the lower a arms mount and on the rear axle.

[JohnG]

Ah! Undercoating!! Good for hiding things one shouldn't be hiding...

How are the various rear subframes??

[partsetal]

Keith,
I've done several of these, and on each car I found that the inner rockers are usually weak when the sections behind the wheel are as bad as yours. Have you probed them yet?
Carl

[keith]

Keith,
I've done several of these, and on each car I found that the inner rockers are usually weak when the sections behind the wheel are as bad as yours. Have you probed them yet?
Carl

No sir, I haven't made it that far. Thanks for the heads up.

[Anders]

Keith, what exactly is this first shot of on the car?



Is it a place where rain water could not escape?

What are you using for equipment to sandblast with??

best
John

On this pic, it looks like the oval holes should be opend. Or?

[tbird430]

Ford welded an oval metal "plug" over those holes originally. There was a VTCI member years back who had some plugs reproduced in rubber. This way that rust prone area could be cleaned out from time to time...

-Jon in TX.

[GTE427]

I recall that in the VTCI scoop. Either Bill Van Ess or Fuz Johnson sent that info in. Was a helpful article to aid in cleaning out the rockers to help perserve the car from further rust.

[keith]

I started making the frame repair pieces last night out of 16ga.. That's what the frame measures just past the rust out.

I am going to make the metal oval covers out of 18ga. to cover the inspection holes. I will make the cover in the same design as the old Ford sending unit covers used in their trunks floors in the 30's40's and early 50's. It will be fashioned with 1 screw for easy access. Of course next next 50+ years should be kinder than the last 50!

I did get a chance to look at the inner rockers as suggested by "partsedal" Carl. Looks like the first couple of inches are weak, but seem strong past that. It will require the lower fender to be removed and the rocker panel. The rocker panel was going to be removed anyway for replacement so no big loss there.

Thanks for all of the kind words and suggestions. I will get some more pictures up later this week.

[Alan H. Tast, AIA]

I recall that in the VTCI scoop. Either Bill Van Ess or Fuz Johnson sent that info in. Was a helpful article to aid in cleaning out the rockers to help perserve the car from further rust.

That would be "Mr '58 Convertible Registry" himself, Bill VanEss. I would have thought Ford used a vinyl plug there in the first place.

[Dakota Boy]

I wish I had Keith's bodywork skills...

[GTE427]

Ford welded an oval metal "plug" over those holes originally. There was a VTCI member years back who had some plugs reproduced in rubber. This way that rust prone area could be cleaned out from time to time...

-Jon in TX.

Bill Van Ess submitted an article in the VTCI Scoop May/June 2004 and stated that he had rubber plugs made for these slots and offered them for sale.

[YellowRose]

1959 T-Bird Build

Bill Van Ess is still a member of the Vintage Thunderbird Club, International (VTCI). He has the 1961 Tbird Registry and can be contacted at billvaness@juno.com If he is still marketing those plugs, please let us know.

[57ford/60thunderbird]

hey keith,
when i saw the befor pics i was like wow he gonna redo that? but then .....

looks like youve got your work cut out for you
my 60 is as bad if not worse but most of mine is obvious not hidden
but going off the pics of the cool 40 you can handel it

modify away my bird wont be restored either ill be doing the patchwork
by myself as well but first my 57 ford will be done

id just like to get my rusty bird road worthy so i can enjoy it some

and btw my name is keith aswell