The Forward Look Network | ||
| ||
The Resurrection of 'Rusty' [the '59 Sport Fury] Jump to page : < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ... > Now viewing page 6 [50 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
Forward Look NON-Technical Discussions -> Members Rides | Message format |
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | ccpanel - 2013-04-12 12:11 AM how about a photo of the car showing the whole thing? You have done soo much in teh details it kinda hard to see a car in the pile of newly fabricated parts! from all the pics and comments I bet you are replacing half of the original steel! a task of huge proportions! congrats! I'll have a photo or two showing the entire body shortly. Just about done with the heavy welding and fab work. ---John | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | I had saved the old quarter panel skins for a reason-The trim holes in the panels were for a base model Fury and not the Sport Fury. I thought the lower line of holes might be the same, but no such luck. I measured the placement of the holes and spacing, and used a trim insert too determine their location on the quarter. Holes were then drilled with a 1/8" bit, then larger to the necessary size. ---John ('59 SF convertible 001.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 002.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 003.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 004.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 001.JPG (126KB - 329 downloads) '59 SF convertible 002.JPG (125KB - 329 downloads) '59 SF convertible 003.JPG (125KB - 329 downloads) '59 SF convertible 004.JPG (125KB - 331 downloads) | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | The driver side was then done the same way. Afterwards, all the trim holes that were not going to be used were carefully welded up, and ground smooth both on the inside and outside. ---John ('59 SF convertible 005.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 006.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 007.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 008.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 005.JPG (125KB - 337 downloads) '59 SF convertible 006.JPG (125KB - 331 downloads) '59 SF convertible 007.JPG (126KB - 337 downloads) '59 SF convertible 008.JPG (126KB - 338 downloads) | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | The large medallions were interesting to get the placement for the holes to be drilled, as they were offset. These are specific for each side, due to the shape of the panel. ---John ('59 SF convertible 004.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 005.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 004.JPG (126KB - 325 downloads) '59 SF convertible 005.JPG (126KB - 326 downloads) | ||
Resurrector |
| ||
She's coming along nicely John! That '59 body is going to look so good, especially in convertible form. I've often thought if GM had built that body, they would have hidden the gas filler behind that Fury Medallion, seeing as how they seemed to love hiding the filler in unique places | |||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | Thanks, Jeff! | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | The convertible top cylinder mounts were eaten away badly, but these were all I had to work with. I carefully removed what was left of them in order to determine what their mounting pieces looked like. I blasted the loose rust off the mounts, and found they were badly pitted, and in places half their original thickness. I heated them up cherry red, and filled the low spots with brass, then removed the excess. These will work fine now. ---John ('59 SF convertible 001.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 002.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 003.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 004.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 005.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 006.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 007.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 001.JPG (125KB - 327 downloads) '59 SF convertible 002.JPG (125KB - 319 downloads) '59 SF convertible 003.JPG (125KB - 323 downloads) '59 SF convertible 004.JPG (126KB - 319 downloads) '59 SF convertible 005.JPG (125KB - 319 downloads) '59 SF convertible 006.JPG (125KB - 326 downloads) '59 SF convertible 007.JPG (126KB - 311 downloads) | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | I had enough of the remains to one of the underbody reinforcement brackets, that I was able to come up with a suitable replacement. The corner underdash brackets from a 1960 Thunderbird were identical, except for the missing captive nut, and the length. I cut the bracket down, and found a suitable threaded nut that was close to the original. Thanks to the help from Matt Dorshug, as he supplied proper placement measurements from his own convertible, I was able to drill the three holes and line up the underbody brace. ---John ('59 SF convertible 008.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 009.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 010.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 011.JPG) ('59 SF Convertible 001.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 008.JPG (126KB - 307 downloads) '59 SF convertible 009.JPG (125KB - 322 downloads) '59 SF convertible 010.JPG (133KB - 323 downloads) '59 SF convertible 011.JPG (125KB - 313 downloads) '59 SF Convertible 001.JPG (125KB - 317 downloads) | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | Now that all the heavy welding is completed, time to have a blast! Sand blast, that is. One of my most dreaded messy jobs, but I refused to take the body somewhere to have it screwed up after spending all this labor on it. I rolled the rotisserie outside the barn, and spent nearly a day and a half lightly blasting the inside and hidden areas, as well as the outside. After finishing, it took another two hours blowing sand from crevices and such. Finally, I sprayed a good coat of etching primer throughout the body. ---John | ||
dukeboy |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 6203 Location: Big pimpin' | John, Awesome work. Those '60 Thunderbird pieces are many times what I do as well. Find something close and use that. I am amzed at the amount of work involved here. Again, Keep messin' round and you'll have a driver. | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | dukeboy - 2013-04-18 9:57 AM John, Awesome work. Those '60 Thunderbird pieces are many times what I do as well. Find something close and use that. I am amzed at the amount of work involved here. Again, Keep messin' round and you'll have a driver. Thanks, Chaney! | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | Here are the photos I meant to attach, except the computer wigged out. ---John ('59 SF Convertible 002.JPG) ('59 SF Convertible 003.JPG) ('59 SF Convertible 004.JPG) ('59 SF Convertible 005.JPG) ('59 SF Convertible 006.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF Convertible 002.JPG (125KB - 315 downloads) '59 SF Convertible 003.JPG (126KB - 309 downloads) '59 SF Convertible 004.JPG (126KB - 322 downloads) '59 SF Convertible 005.JPG (126KB - 310 downloads) '59 SF Convertible 006.JPG (126KB - 307 downloads) | ||
wizard |
| ||
Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 13054 Location: Southern Sweden - Sturkö island | Some work you've done there John - like "Bring em back alive" That car sure is a Phoenix | ||
Windsor59 |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2596 Location: Upplands Väsby, Sweden | Hi John Found a pic at my Sport Fury I had before. quarter panel skins holes (P1010010.JPG) Attachments ---------------- P1010010.JPG (98KB - 311 downloads) | ||
BarnFind57 |
| ||
Elite Veteran Posts: 957 Location: Signal Mountain, TN | Wow. Just wow... Nice work, man. | ||
oldwood |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2905 Location: little rock, AR | Well hell your almost finished!!! LOL Building the mtr. and drivetrain is the easy part. | ||
dukeboy |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 6203 Location: Big pimpin' | I'll say it yet again, this thread should be ear marked for Anyone that thinks their car has too much rust to save it. | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | wizard - 2013-04-18 10:20 AM Some work you've done there John - like "Bring em back alive" That car sure is a Phoenix :) Thanks, Sven!! | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | BarnFind57 - 2013-04-18 1:48 PM Wow. Just wow... Nice work, man. Thanks, Rick! Nice to see you out enjoying your ride, lately!! ---John | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | oldwood - 2013-04-18 2:03 PM Well hell your almost finished!!! LOL Building the mtr. and drivetrain is the easy part. In reality, I had most of the mechanicals ready, but that was years ago, so hopefully most has no problems. I will be restoring and adding the convertible frame parts to a coupe frame next. ---John | ||
wizard |
| ||
Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+ Posts: 13054 Location: Southern Sweden - Sturkö island | Now to the big question John - would you ever be able to sell that car???? All the love, blood, sweat and pain you put into her will never balance - but you might have the car that you really wanted and eager for since many years. | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | That's right, Wiz. I'd better keep this one, as too much time will have been invested in it. It does have some sentimental value, as a good friend [Dammit Jim] found it, and my friend Roger helped me with it. Both have passed on now. ---John | ||
PlymouthFury |
| ||
Expert Posts: 1324 Location: Hickory, NC | John your work is looking great... Won't be too much longer before she's starts becoming a car again! | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | PlymouthFury - 2013-04-20 6:58 AM John your work is looking great... Won't be too much longer before she's starts becoming a car again! Thanks, Austin!! | ||
MOPAR-TO-YA |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 5139 Location: cornpatch county, Southwest IOA | John, with all the patience, mental determination, and time-- you must not have any kids at home--or maybe even none. How else could a person do all the work you have done to get to this point??? My up-most respect for your skills , and hope someday I will be seeing this car on your next roadtrip adventure! ...........................MO | ||
wbower3 |
| ||
Walter passed away on Jul 29, 2014. We will miss you, Walt! Posts: 5358 Location: Heaven Above (Formerly Oklahoma City,OK) | John, what's your completion date? I need a quarter panel made for the right side of my CRL, and I want to ship it out for you to do it. You do too good work. Awesome even!. Walt | ||
60 Plymouth |
| ||
Elite Veteran Posts: 1060 Location: Building incorrect cars since 2000!! | Gives me hope John!! Looks great | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | 60 Plymouth - 2013-04-20 5:22 PM Gives me hope John!! Looks great Thanks, Aaron! ---John | ||
1961plymouthfury |
| ||
Expert Posts: 2637 Location: Minor Hill, TN | Looks good I hope 1 of these years I see you at the Cars and bikes on the square in Athens, AL . The more fowardlook cars there the merrier. I know these folks would love to have you attend. | ||
mopardave |
| ||
Elite Veteran Posts: 654 Location: NC | That is just WONDERFUL! You are magic! | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | MOPAR-TO-YA - 2013-04-20 2:04 PM John, with all the patience, mental determination, and time-- you must not have any kids at home--or maybe even none. How else could a person do all the work you have done to get to this point??? My up-most respect for your skills , and hope someday I will be seeing this car on your next roadtrip adventure! ...........................MO We do plan on making a road trip [if we can still afford fuel] as we had a blast doing this with the '58 wagon, and you and Cheryl are on our list to visit again. ---John | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | wbower3 - 2013-04-20 2:07 PM John, what's your completion date? I need a quarter panel made for the right side of my CRL, and I want to ship it out for you to do it. You do too good work. Awesome even!. Walt Thanks, Walt! As to a completion date, it's hard to say, as I need to finish up a body work job on a Merc I was sucked into some time ago. I thought your bodywork was mostly done on your '55, or am I mistaken? ---Joohn | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | Now moving on to the chassis. The original convertible frame was rusted through in places, not worth trying to save, although there were some convertible specific pieces that needed to be saved. I had another chassis from a coupe that had been blasted and painted gloss black years ago, perfect choice for this. I set the two side by side, noting any differences, and measuring any found. ('59 SF convertible 001.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 002.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 001.JPG (126KB - 309 downloads) '59 SF convertible 002.JPG (126KB - 308 downloads) | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | I used a die grinder to remove the special convertible body mounts on each side, and sandblasted them clean. The donor frame was measured and marked for placement of these mount ears after cleaning the black paint off. Then, they were welded on. Convertibles also used their own specific torsion bars, longer to clear the X-frame, so I went ahead and snipped the torsion bar mounts from the frame. ('59 SF convertible 003.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 004.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 005.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 006.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 008.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 009.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 003.JPG (125KB - 318 downloads) '59 SF convertible 004.JPG (126KB - 262 downloads) '59 SF convertible 005.JPG (126KB - 301 downloads) '59 SF convertible 006.JPG (125KB - 317 downloads) '59 SF convertible 008.JPG (125KB - 319 downloads) '59 SF convertible 009.JPG (126KB - 300 downloads) | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | I used a cutting torch to remove the X from the rusty frame, as well as the torsion bar mounts, as they nestle in the end of the X. I measured the torsion bar mounts I had cut out against the cleaner ones from the coupe frame, and found they were the same, so I welded these in place at the proper spots. Then I completely sandblasted the X member to remove the rust from the deep pits. One end of the X on the top side was badly pitted, so I decided to fill these with brass to make it look a bit better. I also removed the remainder of the attaching pieces for the top, these were too far gone to reuse. ---John ('59 SF convertible 002.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 003.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 004.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 005.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 007.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 008.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 011.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 002.JPG (126KB - 318 downloads) '59 SF convertible 003.JPG (126KB - 316 downloads) '59 SF convertible 004.JPG (125KB - 309 downloads) '59 SF convertible 005.JPG (125KB - 310 downloads) '59 SF convertible 007.JPG (125KB - 305 downloads) '59 SF convertible 008.JPG (125KB - 305 downloads) '59 SF convertible 011.JPG (125KB - 306 downloads) | ||
Doctor DeSoto |
| ||
Location: Parts Unknown | I did all this work on my Adventurer years ago. Few realize both the depth one can "drown" in a project like this, AND the satisfaction of mastering it to a point where nothing "scares" you any more ! John, ... you ARE aware than when all this work is done, it's going to be a 59 Plymouth, right ? | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | Doctor DeSoto - 2013-05-03 8:48 PM I did all this work on my Adventurer years ago. Few realize both the depth one can "drown" in a project like this, AND the satisfaction of mastering it to a point where nothing "scares" you any more ! John, ... you ARE aware than when all this work is done, it's going to be a 59 Plymouth, right ? There's not too many projects that I wouldn't consider as long as they are mostly complete. After this one, the '59 Desoto convertible will be easy, as it has little rust, and the '58 Fury which is also solid. The wrecked 300 D fuelie will be a bit more involved, but nothing like this. Hopefully I live long enough to complete a few of them LOL! ---John | ||
Lisa P |
| ||
Veteran Posts: 260 | Wow John, it looks awesome! Thanks again for all the photos and explanations of your restoration processes. I hope to use some of your techniques if I ever rescue another one! | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | Lisa P - 2013-05-05 5:19 PM Wow John, it looks awesome! Thanks again for all the photos and explanations of your restoration processes. I hope to use some of your techniques if I ever rescue another one! Thanks, Lisa!! | ||
ronbo97 |
| ||
Expert Posts: 4043 Location: Connecticut | John - An alternative idea to filling in the x-member pitting with brass is to crank up the settings on the MIG welder and puddle some weld bead in the rusted out areas, moving the nozzle in a circular motion. Then grind to smooth out. This would restore strength to the rusted out areas, where brass is a softer metal, not yielding as much strength. | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | ronbo97 - 2013-05-06 6:58 PM John - An alternative idea to filling in the x-member pitting with brass is to crank up the settings on the MIG welder and puddle some weld bead in the rusted out areas, moving the nozzle in a circular motion. Then grind to smooth out. This would restore strength to the rusted out areas, where brass is a softer metal, not yielding as much strength. I considered using that method, but I was waiting on a replacement liner for the welder, as it was not feeding correctly. The metal was not compromised enough to be any concern in using the brass, and I was able to keep moving along. ---John | ||
60 dart |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 8947 Location: WHEELING,WV.>>>HOME OF WWVA | i used that brass method quite a few times , works like a charm . i figured you were good Big John but you're way past good ------------------------------------------------------------later | ||
Doctor DeSoto |
| ||
Location: Parts Unknown | Watch out, John ! Sounds like Chuck is fixin' to give you a kiss here pretty quick ! | ||
60 dart |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 8947 Location: WHEELING,WV.>>>HOME OF WWVA | and a hug----------------------------------------------------------later | ||
Fins/413 |
| ||
Extreme Veteran Posts: 530 Location: Wake Forest, NC | John I find this thread inspirational thanks for sharing. | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | The X is then primered to prevent flash rusting. Mating the convertible X to the frame-These are installed from the bottom of the frame at the factory, as the ends of the bars overlap the frame rails. After setting this in place, I mounted a lower A-arm to each side, and test fit each torsion bar. Looks good, so each weld was completed. ('59 SF convertible 001.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 003.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 004.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 001.JPG (125KB - 308 downloads) '59 SF convertible 003.JPG (126KB - 309 downloads) '59 SF convertible 004.JPG (125KB - 339 downloads) | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | I had a couple friends help flip the frame over, as now it's getting heavy! It has been in the 90's here for daily high temps, and welding in the heat is not the most fun you can have, but I wanted to press on. As I stated earlier, the bottom of the X overlaps the frame, and the top has gaps on each corner for installation at the factory. Apparently, the factory just used nondescript pieces of scrap to join the X to the frame, there was no real common size or shape. I cut four eliptical pieces from a piece of steel the same thickness, and used them to join the frame to the X support. After tacking all four corners in place and making sure the fit was good, the pieces were welded completely. Voila! A convertible frame! ---John ('59 SF convertible 002.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 004.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 007.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 009.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 002.JPG (125KB - 319 downloads) '59 SF convertible 004.JPG (124KB - 306 downloads) '59 SF convertible 007.JPG (126KB - 262 downloads) '59 SF convertible 009.JPG (125KB - 259 downloads) | ||
big m |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 7808 Location: Williams California | Big Al's son, Damian, wanted to earn a few bucks, so I put him to work scuffing and preparing the frame for paint, then I suspended it for painting, semi-gloss black. ---John ('59 SF convertible 011.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 012.JPG) ('59 SF convertible 013.JPG) Attachments ---------------- '59 SF convertible 011.JPG (126KB - 311 downloads) '59 SF convertible 012.JPG (125KB - 309 downloads) '59 SF convertible 013.JPG (126KB - 303 downloads) | ||
MOPAR-TO-YA |
| ||
Expert 5K+ Posts: 5139 Location: cornpatch county, Southwest IOA | John, by any chance, have you kept track of how many spools of welding wire you have used on this project?.........................MO | ||
hemidenis |
| ||
Expert Posts: 3889 Location: Northen Virginia | Amazing job John, great craftsmanship I love to see this car getting back to life. | ||
Jump to page : < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ... > Now viewing page 6 [50 messages per page] |
Search this forum Printer friendly version E-mail a link to this thread |
(Delete all cookies set by this site) | |