Thread: I'm a new user from San Francisco looking for some advicee

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Very nice car!!!! I see you even have the black license plate for it. Well worth the planning, money, and effort you are putting into it....

Well, she's got plenty o' patina!!

It's a Standard rather than a Deluxe; single wiper, plain grille the most visible ques. I like that it's got trunk rather than rumble.

She's seen some modification over the years. Probably a cheapo repaint at some time. The interior was redone at one time, and that metal sheet replacing the fabric top insert was probably pretty obvious to you.
The sealed beam headlights are a mod, and the engine is not an original. It's an 8BA, '49-'53. None of that's a real negative, in fact the lights are an improvement and will make your 12v conversion even easier. The later flathead (ignoring unknown condition) is better than the original, a bit more power too.

If it were mine I'd give it a real thorough cleaning top, bottom, in and out. Get the drivetrain in good working order, and do the hydraulic brakes as we've been discussing. A nice mellow dual exhaust. Then I'd drop it so it sat like my '36 did. If the wire wheels are in good condition I'd blast them and have them powder coated in a nice creme color, pop on some stock caps, and put on some black wall bigs and littles. Put in a new headliner from Lebaron Bonney and neaten up the door, kick panels and seat cover, lay down some carpet and then drive the thing with a big grin. Then over time spruce up the engine compartment with some detail painting and a few chrome bits like acorn covers and air filter. Same clean and paint on the underside. Try to polish up the chrome on the bumpers knowing that the rust and scratches would still show.

I'd cover up the spare rack mounting holes with the rear license plate, using one of those old timey lights to set it off. When it comes time to patch that hole in the trunk floor, have a good metal man make a patch that looks like the stock floor that's replaced, not just a flat chunk of steel. In the short run, to keep exhaust fumes out, any temproary seal is fine, just don't screw up the original shape. When the time comes, I'm guessing at least the driver side lower quarter panel is rusted through (the same water that got the trunk floor had to go somewhere), patch panels are available, or a good metal man can shape one.

Despite some of the revisionist story telling you may hear, this is just the kind of car we could afford, and would drive as a daily car in the early '60's. We wouldn't do anything major that would disable the vehicle for any length of time because we'd be grounded til it ran again. So that's why little things were done as time and money allowed. The car was in a constant state of change, improvements made in small steps. This is a neat car to capture that escense.

Please understand that any comments or suggestions I am about to make are done as honestly and as kindly as I can. No one on this forum takes shots at anyone seeking answers, but we do have to be straightforward in our replys. It would be very unfair to you to just say what you want to hear. You came looking for answers and we will do our best to help you get to your goal.

Yes, the car has a fair amount of patina to it. It is, after all, a 72 year old car that has been sitting for the last 25 years, so time takes it's toll. However, under all that patina it seems the body is pretty solid and straight. What the car REALLY needs is a total, frame off restoration. That is what it really needs, but doesn't necessarily have to get right now to make it usable. You could clean it up somewhat, upgrade some of the mechanicals, and be driving it until the time and money come for that restoration.

$ 2000.00 is a lot of money...............until you start buying car parts. Tires and tubes alone are going to take $ 700 out of that amount. Shopping wisely, you can get all four brakes in the later "40 to '48 style for maybe another $ 600.00. But then they will need wheel cylinders, shoes, master cylinder, lines, hoses, etc. You could very well be out of money when that is done.

Bob mentioned another thing I hadn't thought of.......the wiring. It may or may not be still servicable after all these years, but it must be addressed, as wiring problems will cause you headaches you can't imagine.

The car has been sitting for 25 years, so don't be in any hurry to get it going. If you can, get the engine running on a seperate fuel tank (plastic 3 gallon boat tanks are great for this and cheap) Your stock tank at the very least will need boiled out and lined. Change all the fluids. If it runs, have your radiator redone and put new hoses on everything. Drive the car around the block to see how it shifts, etc. If it seems ok, then start spending your money on brakes, tires, etc. Pressure wash it inside and out, and underneath too.

Now you can formulate your plan to restore/ hot rod the car, because you will really know what you have. I think the later engine is also great, as Bob mentioned. Much better than the '35 flathead. Maybe the transmission is a later one too?

Bottom line, you have a really great start here, but building or restoring cars takes lots of time, skill, and money. Take one step at a time and you will be ok.

Good luck,

Don

So I've been working on my car and I've gotten alot of stuff done. I've completely gutted the interior of the car except for the dash and the gauges. So what does everyne thing??? Do all of the hidden areas look like they are in fairly good shape??? Should I atleast throw some primer on to prevent any rust from spreading??? Also, as you'll be able to tell by these pictures...does the floor board look salvageable???
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a33...e/DSC00453.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a33...e/DSC00454.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a33...e/DSC00455.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a33...e/DSC00456.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a33...e/DSC00457.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a33...e/DSC00458.jpg

Looks pretty good in the pictures except for that spot in the trunk we talked about a couple days ago. Best thing to do is get an awl, or similar, and poke around to see if any of the "surface" rusted areas is very thin. Looks like the drain trough under the back glass is even in decent shape! If not, you'll want to fix that too since that catches the water that rolls down the back glass. Still think you might have some rust issue at the bottom of the quarters.

Wow Boss, you've been making progress. Looks really good, and this car is certainly no rust bucket. Metal looks very solid. Others may have better suggestions, like Por15 or similar, but I like old fashioned Ospho to treat rusted areas. It is cheap, and flows into nooks and crannys because of it's waterlike consistency. A quart is something like $ 7.00 in hardware stores.
Here is a little write up on Ospho:


The active ingredient is phosphoric acid.

Ospho is greenish liquid with the consistency of water. Brush or spray it on rust after just knocking off the loose scales and it pretty much stops rust dead. It also leaves no residue. There is a product called "Neutra-rust". It may have ospho as the active ingredient but its in a milk-like base that changes from beige to blue/green when applied. It then leaves a sand-able coating.


Ospho stops rust, prepares rusted surfaces for painting. Ospho is a primer-not a paint. You do not have to remove tight rust. Merely remove loose paint and rust scale, dirt, oil, grease and other accumulation with a wire brush. Apply a coat of Ospho-let it dry overnight, then apply the paint. When applied to rusted surfaces, Ospho causes iron oxide to chemically change to iron phosphate - an inert, hard substance that turns the metal black. One gallon covers 600 square feet.

part# description
1280-011 ospho 1-qt
1280-01 ospho 1-gal


Like I said, there are many other products, but for the money, I like this one a lot.

Don

First let me say "Welcome to CHR". I have been away for a little while with a broken arm and avoiding typing. That said, from your photos it looks like you have a terrific car with a lot of potential. What others have said about your priorities are true. Things cost money, but don't have to depending upon your level of sweat equity and skills. Doing your own work you could likely rewire the entire car for about $500 for a good wiring kit including the extras. You could get away for half that price with a cheaper kit, but electrical fires, especially inside the car are a bitch, so I would go with a good kit.

You mentioned chopping the roof 2 -2.5 inches. Certainly would make a nice looking coupe. If you have never done a chop I would strongly suggest having a pro shop do it. Better yet - don't do it. A couple of more inches can be very nice. Don't get me wrong, I am not against chopping. I have a 34 Plymouth sedan with a 4 inch chop. Looks terrific, not all that comfortable driving if you are over 6' tall.

My choice, and I am sure I might be in the minority, would be to restore the body to original ( love the roll down rear window) and modernize every thing else especially anything related to safety (brakes, wiring, suspension, powertrain). But then, the car is yours to do with as you choose. Regardless of what you do, always make good choices, then the regrets will be minimized. This can be a great and rewarding project for you.