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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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#1,108 ·
Don't be making fun of me. You know how sensitive I am.:thumbup::D:):rolleyes:

It appears this rear floor pan can be made in 2 pieces. Still have to add an inch or two to the front and it is a little short to the inner quarter but it should work out well I think. The bends up and around the drive shaft hump and at the rear where it turns back over the axle will be less angular or more rounded when they are formed into metal. Getting there though.

John





 
#1,110 ·
Yes there is David. I will draw it out and down over one of the English Wheel anvils as I did with the door skin but with more force. For the tighter bends I have a couple of T-dollies. One has about a 1 inch radius and will make a nice roll with a rubber mallet.

I will ask Barb to take some pictures of the process when the time comes.

John
 
#1,112 ·
Transferred the paper pattern to a piece of 18 ga sheet metal today and cut it out.

Next I laid out the beads and flanges and played with the bead roller in order to make a 1 1/4 inch wide flat bead as the factory had used. By using a stepping die and running a separate pass or each side of each bead I managed to get pretty much what I needed.

Here are a couple of pictures.

Pattern transferred to metal



Cut panel out with Beverly shear.



Rolled beads into panel. I left the test piece in the picture I used to set the machine up for the bead I needed.

 
#1,115 ·
I don't do body work at all but it amazes me what can be accomplished but someone who is motivated enough. I envy the talent that it takes to complete a project like this. What I envy even more is the patience it takes. I don't think I could buy a car and go months or years before the first drive. Just curious does the engine run.

Good luck with it.
 
#1,116 ·
Thanks for the kind words Chet....No, the engine is stuck tight. I have made no effort to break it loose.

My intent is to build a good highway car with V8, PS,PB,AC,HEAT, though I do intend to run a 4 speed.

I am kind of watching for a 1/2 ton truck with a v8 manual trans that I could drive for a year or two and then let it be the doner truck. It needs to look really bad and run really good.:D

John
 
#1,122 ·
53 rust repair

John, sounds like you have a great plan for your 53.Your end product is going to be very nice indeed.I am currently building a 48 chevy style master.I love the build process, it is very rewarding.I think 53and 54 are much underrated in the beauty they present.If you want to see a real show stopper, go to interiors by shannon and check out the 54 conv. Thx for sharing your build! Bob R.
 
#1,123 ·
I debated whether to wait and post pictures until I had this panel made but decided to go ahead and post what I had gotten done. Probably more for me than anything else just needed to show some accomplishment even if it wasn't what I hoped to get done.

My first step was to roll the driveshaft tunnel into it with the English Wheel.



Next I bent the rear kick up at the rear of the panel.



I used the shrinker/stretcher jaws to make the kick down at the front of the panel. The next panel going forward will have a matching kick up here and the weld seam will be on the vertical area.

I also flanged the rear where it spot welds to the rear wheel well but unfortunately I am about 1/4 inch off. I will need to tighten that area up a little.



Here it is clamped in place. It still needs lots of work but it is getting there.

 
#1,127 ·
Mike, You are soooo right. I have told all my friends that the forum has been the best thing in the world for me. The positive feedback from all you guys is priceless when it comes to motivation.

I told my wife a few days ago that I was going to start spreading my progress reports out because I was afraid the thread is becoming too redundant and I didn't want everyone to get bored with it. But, I get so much motivation from all of you guys it is hard not to post and hope for feedback. My posts are just as much selfishly motivated as anything.

With all that said, When I say thank you to the guys that give me positive feedback or a thumbs up I do not say that lightly. I sincerely appreciate the support I have gotten from all of you guys and the comments are deeply appreciated.

I am the winner here.

John
 
#1,129 ·
It is NOT redundant, not only is it cool seeing every single step getting done. But for those of us learning from you seeing stuff over and over is important. Keep up the good work and I mean on the car and on this thread! This is one of the hardest things about working with your hands like this, the little stuff is not mentioned, when the little stuff is JUST what the student needs to hear! And the little stuff is often what the teacher forgets to mention because it comes so easy it isn't even a conscience thought. When you do it as you are on this thread a lot of those little things come out, this is a treasure John, a dang treasure!

Brian
 
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#1,136 ·
No planishing. Since I knew the gas weld would tend to draw a significant amount as it cooled and I knew that on this panel, at that location, an 1/8 in didn't matter I just tacked it at the one end and welded from one end to the other. That would have destroyed your roof but here the shrinkage worked for me instead of against me.

I did stop about 4 times to tweak the edges to keep them alligned.

Also, Using a 3/32 CC rod it is no big deal to fill an 1/8 inch gap as you go.

It was kind of fun. It has been a long time since I have done a lot with the torch. It brought back memories of building the Merc. :D:D:D:D

John
 
#1,140 ·
The third possibility Pugsy is I cut the dart out a little wide and got very lucky that it still worked out very well. I'll take lucky any day, Huh. :mwink:

One little thing I did today I wanted to show was to locate the hole for the body mount bolt. The factory used a carriage bolt here and of course it was rusty and tuff to get out. I wanted to use a regular bolt and experimented with locating it by smacking the panel fairly hard with a rubber mallet. It showed the outline of the bolt head perfectly. I then cut a 1 inch hole with a chassis punch. Worked great. Now the panel lays flat and I marked the bottom for drilling the plug welds. I forgot to by some drill screws this week but I will pick some up.

Now for the scary part. I have to make another one identical to this for the other side. Here goes.

John



 
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