49 More-door build

Yeah I saw some stuff like split manifolds and multi carb intakes. Maybe someday but for now I just want it on the road. I've got six days off; three I get to spend in the garage, the other three mama has me doing chores but that's OK. I got out there early this morning and finished repairing the crossover, building some shock relocation mounts, wire brushing off the front of the frame, and hitting it with a coat of paint. I've got both side of the suspension tore apart for cleanup and reassembly, and I pulled the dashboard out to sort through the mess of chopped wiring. Taking a road trip tonight to pick up a better steering box and back on it early tomorrow!

Really nice fix on the X-Member, looks good with the paint on it!

PS--It's still not too late to call Arrington!!!!!!!:LOL::LOL:

Thanks, Dave. The plate I repaired with is twice as thick as the original so it should hold together pretty good. Wish I could take you up on the hemi! I'm trying to keep this whole thing under $1500 so I think that leaves the hemi out of the picture.

Got all the suspension and steering back together today and got it back on it's feet. After looking at the mess of 60 year old wiring I grabbed my side cutters and chopped it all out. The insulation was crumbling off when you touched it so I figured I better just start over rather than burning the thing to the ground. I also glued the headliner back up. That crap brown dash had to go; the puke green is bad enough. I like this color better.

That's for sure the best thing to do with the old wiring!!!! The trash can is the only place it works good!!!

Hey mate you gotta leave the puke green on the outside of the body as that is part of it's appeal. Very nice work Falcon and yeah, the twin carbs and dress up gear can happen late as you use this girl for cruisen.

Thanks guys! Dont worry, I plan on keeping the green for now. Of course if I ever turn it into a two door roadster.............:rolleyes:

Here is a link you might want to take a look at: Manifolds by Moose

The dash and frame look really really good. The old Plum won't know how to act with all that niceness you are putting on it.:D

Don

Thanks, Don; I can only handle so much "beater" in my beater. I need a little shine here and there.

That's a cool link, Jeff. I might take a look at one of those down the road.

I pulled out the seats to see what I have to deal with for a floor. It's pretty rough with some really bad repairs. Some previous owner laid sheet metal right over the rusted out metal and fiberglassed it in with fiberglass cloth and resin. Plus they put on new outer rockers but left the rusted out inner rockers in place. :CRY: But in keeping with the cheap driver theme, I'm not tackling all that at this point. For now I'm just going to cut away whats completely gone,put some patches in, and hit the rest with rust inhibitor to stop the progression. I just need a solid place to put my feet and something solid to hold the seat in.

Also painted up some of the trim and power washed the engine. I was just going to put in in as is but I think I'll set it on a stand, pull the pan, and make sure the bottom end looks OK. I probably need to see what the clutch looks like before I bolt it in, too.

The pieces look good!!!! time for some 20ga. and the bead roller for the floor, huh?

Oh well, if it was easy everybody would be doing it!!!

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Originally Posted by Dave Severson

The pieces look good!!!! time for some 20ga. and the bead roller for the floor, huh?

Oh well, if it was easy everybody would be doing it!!!

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Yeah what he said . But you make it look easy Falcon

Looks like I'm going a little bigger than 20 gauge. What do you do when you keep cutting and there's nothing solid to weld onto? I went to the steel supply and got a 4 x 10 sheet of 16 gauge and an extra spool of MIG wire. Looks like it's getting more floor repairs than I thought. Also I never did trust those old single reservoir master cylinders. This one is for a 67 Fairlane; I've got a plan for a bracket to make it work. ORielys still carried the factory wheel cylinders; only $21 a piece.

I don't know how easy this will look, Bobby!

Falcon,,that floors ugly..Glad you are doing it..Patience,perseverance,and a whole lotta mig wire..:confused: I think I have been in the fiberglass too long..:LOL: That makes me cringe now..:LOL:

I didn't have much of a choice, Robin. Just standing on it I felt like I was going to go through and hit the ground.

Wow, this was worse than I thought once I started cutting. The drivers side was worse so I'm knocking it out first. The bottom 4 inches of the B pillar was gone as was 1/2 of one of the braces and the inner rocker. It looks like someone had put a new outer rocker on right over the old rusted out one at one point. So I didnt have to remove the old rocker, it just fell out on its own once I started cutting. I'm not fixing it all right now; just building a structure that will support the floor and give me something solid to build from if I decide to go back later and go further with it.

Hearing how they fiberglassed over the rusty floor brings back so many memories of how some "repairs" were done in the old days. I've seen plywood screwed over rusty floors, then tarred over, rags and newspaper shoved into rusted out body panels and bondo'd over, and chicken wire and fiberglass cloth used to make new body panels ! :eek:

When I lived in Pennsylvania the cars had to pass State inspection 2 times a year and there cold be no visable holes in the body or frame from rust. But all you had to do was shove some rags or newspaper in there, put a layer of bondo over it, spray it with some paint, and you were good to go. I've bought cars where the frame was almost completely gone from rust, but the bondo routine made it pass inspection. :eek:

You are doing a really nice job on the old Plymouth. Those repairs will make it so much better. :)

Don

Thanks, Don! I think the only thing worse than fixing rust out is fixing someone else's attempt at fixing rust out. I really believe you spend more time and energy doing it wrong than just cutting it out and trying to do it right.

Got most of the drivers side cut and tacked in tonight.

It's coming along. I can relate, I was inside the 37 doing somemore welding and grinding on my floor today.

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Originally Posted by falconvan

I didn't have much of a choice, Robin. Just standing on it I felt like I was going to go through and hit the ground.

Wow, this was worse than I thought once I started cutting. The drivers side was worse so I'm knocking it out first. The bottom 4 inches of the B pillar was gone as was 1/2 of one of the braces and the inner rocker. It looks like someone had put a new outer rocker on right over the old rusted out one at one point. So I didnt have to remove the old rocker, it just fell out on its own once I started cutting. I'm not fixing it all right now; just building a structure that will support the floor and give me something solid to build from if I decide to go back later and go further with it.

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Oh,yum..been in places like that before..:D Just gotta take a deep breath and immerse yourself in it..Very satisfying when its done though..Lookin good,mate..Keep going..**)**)

The other side was easier; lots more solid metal to work with plus the braces were all in good shape. I've got one section left to do; should be able to wrap it tomorrow.

Last few....

Looks fine Falcon!!! Going to have a nice, solid floor in your new driver, for sure!!!! One thing I've found about doing the nastiest parts of the build first, it sure does make the rest of the work seem pleasant!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:

That's good advice, Dave. Do the worst first and it's downhill from there!

Pretty much finished the floor today. I had a few spots with some small pinholes so I rust proofed them and hit them with some All Metal filler; as soon as it dries I'll do all the edges with some seam sealer and paint the floor with some POR-15. Next we move onto the brakes!

Ok, that's about as far as I'm going with the floors. I seam sealed the edges and the welds and hit the whole thing with POR-15. Next I'm going to start on putting the brakes together; I should have everything I need. I also pulled a complete front to rear wiring harness out of a Olds wagon a friend of mine was scrapping. With some slicing and dicing I think it'll do the job fine.

Looks good!

"..... Next I'm going to start on putting the brakes together;......"

Yup, you get one thing done and there's always the next step. I finished up my floor (for now) today, I'm debating wether to hang the Dana or build the steering next.

Now that's one heck of an improvement on the floor, turned out great!

After all the rust and other nasties, the rest of the project looks like a cakewalk, huh??:LOL::LOL::cool::cool:?

Yeah, this was definitely the worst part of the car so I'm glad to have it done. Now for brakes and get the flathead up on an engine stand to crack it open and see what we've got.

Much improved. Replacing rusted out floors is a thankless job but the way you did it is the right way. You won't have to worry about pulling a Fred Flintstone anytime soon. :)

Don

Thanks, Don. It still needs work on the rockers but at least I know there's something solid to attach them to if I ever decide to do it.
Here's what I came up with for the brakes. The old master cylinder was shot and I wanted something with a dual resevouir anyway. This one is a replacement for a 67 Fairlane. The old one had the pedal pivot incorporated into the casting so I had to build a bracket. It came out great; bolts right in where the old one was and the pedal is in the correct location.

Back from Vacation and Falcon you have did another great job . As said no one see's the floors but it's nice to know while in the driver seat you have some solid work to rest on . Congrats .

Thanks, BS! I hope you had a great vacation. Yeah, if the worst happens and I have a fender bender, I'd like the floor to have enough integrity that the seat will stay attached to it.

Over the last few times in the garage I've got all the front wheel cylinders replaced, new shocks installed, and all new brake lines plumbed in the front. Still need to do the rear but that's coming up later. I got the broken seat slider fixed and the front seat back in, plus got the engine up on a stand so I can take a look at the inside. I've got a few days off so I'm going to try and tackle the wiring some cleanup and repair on the inner fender wells in the front clip, and maybe get the oil pan pulled from the motor so I can get a look at the bottom end.

Getting along very nicely......great job on the floor......no more Flintsone Mobile..lol

You must be an a race with someone...Realy coming together nice

Thanks, Charlie. No, not a race I just want to drive it. The last couple I've built I had them for sale so I didn't get to enjoy them much. Im working on a 48, too, but it'll be a while before I get it finished. This will be my crusin' beater so it's on the fast track.


I had one side of the fender wells rusted through so I did a little patching and then painted the whole thing with POR-15.

Here's what I have for wiring; a friend of mine was scrapping a early 80's Buick G-body wagon so I just took everything front to back. I laid the whole thing out and started cutting out all the extras and labeling everything. After a few hours I had it trimmed down to a fairly simple harness that'll cover everything I need. I went ahead and mounted the fusebox; i"ll start putting the rear harness in tomorrow.

Nice work on the inner fender!!! You're getting a lot done before the cold weather sets in.

Have you poped the pan on the engine yet???