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53 Belair conv rust repair

1M views 6K replies 111 participants last post by  Eduramac 
#1 ·
I just brought home a 1953 Chevy convertible Monday that is 100% there. 100% there except for the bottom 6 inches that is. I have always built rusty cars no one else wanted but have tried to do a quality job of repairing them on a budget.

The key wordhere is budget. I admit to being frugal but friends all say I am cheap. Whatever, for me to be able to enjoy this hobby I must be able to build the car and have my money invested, not just spent

The cost of replacement floor pans, floor braces, inner rockers, outer rockers, lower quarter panels, tow boards, trunk pan, rear pan extension, tail pan, and rear splash apron is well over 3000 dollars. That is money that will buy front suspension, rear axle, and good buildable engine. Maybe even a complete parts car.

I have basic sheet metal tools but nothing exotic. Small 3' brake, Shrinker/stretcher jaws, home made slip roll, and a home made english wheel and 110v mig welder.

My purpose here is to show the new hot rodder who is apprehensive about what he can do what is possible with a little time and patience and not much money.

Below is the patient. She has stage four cancer but we are going to try to save her. If we don't who will? :mwink:








So far I have stripped the inside, removed the front fenders and adjusted the doors. If the body shifts or moves during the build process I want to know it before everything gets welded together. Frequently checking door gaps will let me make sure it has not moved.




Tomorrow I plan to cut the toe boards loose from the front floor brace and expose the brace. The first job will be to remove the brace and reproduce it.

I hope you guys follow along and feel free to comment share thoughts, opinions, etc.

 
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#891 ·
It would actually be plenty of room If I did not share it with family cars, mowers, a/c handler, hot water heater, etc, etc. Still, There a lot of people getting along with less. I don't need to complain. I am thankful I can afford to play with my old car.

There are many who can't do what I get to do.

John
 
#898 ·
I am sure that is true. My biggest issue is a place to store the seats, the top mechanism, a Cordoba seat that was given to me, the Lincoln
versailles rear end, fenders, hood etc, etc. It would be good to just be able to rent a storage building or buy an out building.

Usually, you can put things in the rafters but with a basement shop there is no luxury of attic space.

John
 
#899 ·
Tell me about it John, I have one of those funky metal storage sheds out back. It is water tight as I sealed it during assembly. It really is pretty darn nice building it properly with shelving bolted in to increase it's structural strength. But I am thinking about adding on to the back of the garage. I am having a guy come over to look at pouring a concrete slab for me.

Brian
 
#902 ·
When I built my 30' by 30' shop 25 years ago, I built it with 16' walls. I then built two 30' by 12' mezzanines above the floor. Second level along the side and the third level across the back. The second level is supported by the wall of a 4"8" bathroom (complete with shower that I've never used) and a small parts/nuts and bolt room. The third level I cantilevered off the back wall with two 2'square ( very heavy walled) tubing. On the the face of each level I built my own continuous glue lam. No supporting posts anywhere. Unfortunately everything is so packed with clutter I had to put my machines on wheels so I can work. I'm so darned lazy I just can't seem to get things straightened out. My problem is when I pick things up I don't no where to put them. I'm one of those people who can't throw anything out It drives me nuts!

BB :confused::confused:
 
#905 ·
Kind of hard to see the building behind the New Holland and Pete but it's 35' wide, 53' deep. 16ft ceiling. The doors are 14' tall. There is a divider wall between the overhead doors the length of the building. Right side is 14' wide, dirt floor, cold storage. Left side is 21 ft wide, heat, running water, floor drain in concrete floor, 100 amp 240 volt electric.

 
#906 ·
Kind of hard to see the building behind the New Holland and Pete but it's 35' wide, 53' deep. 16ft ceiling. The doors are 14' tall. There is a divider wall between the overhead doors the length of the building. Right side is 14' wide, dirt floor, cold storage. Left side is 21 ft wide, heat, running water, floor drain in concrete floor, 100 amp 240 volt electric.
Go ahead, Just rub our noses in it. :D

John
 
#907 ·
It's packed. I have a 4 post lift on the right so I can get 4 cars in it along with enough parts to build 3 more cars. There is barely enough room to walk beside the cars ...:rolleyes:

Shop side isn't much better but I try to keep a bay open to accommodate our cars when they need service. Right now my 2000 K1500 with plow is taking up a lot of space. I like to keep it inside for when it snows and it snows every other day here...:mad:
 
#909 ·
boothboy , you sound like me . i can spend all day cleaning things up only to realize i just moved things from one side to the other. after the holidays i am going to do some serious downsizing. if i haven't used it in 10 years it's going into the junk trailer. building a barn will help get all the farm and building stuff out of here. i swear i could have this 40 acres under roof and still be cramped .
 
#911 ·
my problem is i have 3 16x25's inside the 40x90 . but i loose a lot because i built it to drive through with a trailer. if i cut back to 1 or 2 cars i would be fine. that is my goal for the new year , retire and only do my own and maybe 1 vette at a time. but i am done with rust and dents . just cant beat on this metal any more .
 
#912 ·
Thats exactly what I did 5 years ago,or that was the plan anyways.I closed the big shop just before the economy went in the crapper, took two years off and worked on my old cars at home then the neighbors started complaining and the sheriffs kept showing up so I rented a small shop that could only fit my tools and two cars...but once the word got around that I had a shop all my old customers started coming around and little by little I got tied up doing everybody elses work again and my old cars sat and sat, they havn't been touched in over a year...... but I have a hard time saying NO....The only way you can get away with working on your own stuff is to stick to your guns once youve made up your mind....
I guess I wasnt completely ready but the old cars will be waiting for me when I am....Heck I still have two stored at my Bro in laws property and three at the shop...
 
#916 ·
Whats surprizing is even the mechanic next door can blow out one layer of spot welds once its dialed in...he came over for something and sat there watching and couldnt believe it so he tried it and for the next 1/2 hr he not only finished the rest of the welds we cut up a bunch of stuff...its kinda fun, everybody wants to play with it...I feel a bit like Huck Finn white washing the fence..
 
#920 ·
You are THE MAN. I am not kidding, I may talk a bit but when I saw what you have done with what you have I am humbled believe me. I am DAMN HAPPY to have what I have to work in believe me.

Thanks for pointing that out, we need a reminder every once in a while as to how damn lucky we ALL are to be able to do what we do on any scale.:thumbup:

Brian
 
#922 ·
i live at the tail end of where the hell are we road . but it is 20 miles to town if i need supplies or anything . we did get a convenience store some years back. at least i dont have to drive 20 miles for beer :D
i started with a 40's era dirt floor garage . could barely get out of a car in it. i thought i had it made when i moved up to concrete in a one car garage. in those days you rolled it out to work on it then back in at night. painted many in the drive .

and it was uphill both ways in the snow to get to it ........
 
#930 ·
LOL, Bottom row, one left of the middle is even the correct one for the car. :thumbup:

I played for just a few minutes in the basement today. It has been really hard with all the Christmas shopping and wrapping etc, etc.

I bored out the skate board wheel but did not get time to modify the pulley. Here are a couple of shots of what I am doing.

The skate board wheel is exactly the same ID as the shaft for the Harbor Freight bead roller but I had to drill the center out because the bore did not go all the way through.



My plan for the pulley is to cut off the inside half of the sheave and sharpen the other lip to a point.



Even though it is not ready to use, I ran a piece of 20 gauge through it and was pleasantly surprised at how easily it tipped a sharp 90 degree flange. I believe this will be a very effective way to tip a 90 degree lip for the door skin.

 
#934 ·
door skin

When I did the deck lid skin for the 29 nash roadster I used the brake to just get a very slight line on the sides, I bent the top hem seam so I could hook it over the flange , I used the brake line to follow to fold over the for the curved sides. I think I paid a lot more for my 2 piece hub and pulley from burdens, I bought the "skate board wheel" from reids, it was the orange one that had the right hardness, the gray one was too hard, I should have thought about a 22 mm bit, then I could easily make more dies.
 
#935 ·
When I did the deck lid skin for the 29 nash roadster I used the brake to just get a very slight line on the sides, I bent the top hem seam so I could hook it over the flange , I used the brake line to follow to fold over the for the curved sides. I think I paid a lot more for my 2 piece hub and pulley from burdens, I bought the "skate board wheel" from reids, it was the orange one that had the right hardness, the gray one was too hard, I should have thought about a 22 mm bit, then I could easily make more dies.
I am not following how you used a brake on the curved side. What am I missing?

John
 
#940 ·
metal brake.

Instead of using a scribe, I used the brake to just leave a good straight line. I have had aluminum start to tear when I scribed a line. probably too deep a scribe. I usually just use a hammer and dolly to make the fold on a curved surface. But I do have the V belt pully on my bead roller and will spend some time on the lathe to rework it into a tipping die
 
#942 ·
Instead of using a scribe, I used the brake to just leave a good straight line. I have had aluminum start to tear when I scribed a line. probably too deep a scribe. I usually just use a hammer and dolly to make the fold on a curved surface. But I do have the V belt pully on my bead roller and will spend some time on the lathe to rework it into a tipping die
So you are marking the line with your brake BEFORE you are putting the curve in it?

That looks like a slip roller in the background. Have you posted it somewhere. I have been looking at some junk farm machinery for parts to make one.
Yes, it is made out of a set of rollers that came out of a paper mill. It was made by a dear friend and neighbor for me when I lived in Knoxville. He also made my English Wheel.

John


 
#941 · (Edited)
slip roller ?

That looks like a slip roller in the background. Have you posted it somewhere.? I have been looking at some junk farm machinery for parts to make one. this one powers all 3 rollers.
Home made sheet metal roller - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information
I had problems using the schools old roller when making a one piece top hood for the T speedster, the metal would not feed very good when one end was tight and the other one loose to roll a cone profile for the t radiator end.
 
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