Keep going man. I let a car get crushed that I never should have let go of because someone told me it was too much work.
BUILD THREAD Rustier then I thought!!!
- Thread starter RabbitHoleSS
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One thing for sure about your project, it can ONLY get better. It will be something to take real pride in. I’ve taken rotted out total junkers before and made them back to nice vehicles I was proud of. Hope you get cut off wheels, grinding discs and all the other metal working disposables at a good price, your going to go through alot. Again good luck and enjoy learning
If nobody had ever crushed a ‘57 Chevy, then they wouldn’t be popular and they wouldn’t be worth anything. Sometimes you should just let go.
Or, park it in your field and say "I'm gonna restore that one day" to anyone that wants to buy it......
My Bonnewagon had real bad floors too. I used that as an excuse to buy a MIG welder. I cut patches out of Firebird bodies and I fixed it all. I am glad I did. Since it looks like mostly floor damage the up side is that you can make all the Frankenstein welds you want as you learn. No one will ever see them!
Well i started off the day takin out the dash. Theres a ton of how tos on it I used hutchhiperf. It was fairly simple. All ill say is make sure you disconnect all the wires. Do a double check. Before you get it down because its dry and fragile. Take your time. I used picks to wedge in the back of the fuse box. Then i pulled from the front.
Then i started takin off the the nose. It was a PITA. I only broke 2 bolts off on purpose lol. I was able to save the plastic buttons on the bottom. But i couldnt find a how to on it. Ive takin the nose off of a cutlass it was a breeze.... This was not. I started with the obvious. There is 2 bolts in the upper portion of the inside of both fenders. Just stick the 12" extension in there to get it. Im pointing to were the bolts would go. Theres also 3 more right below facing the opposite direction.
Then 2 nuts nose to core support.
Then i found out about these.
1 facing me and 1 facing the trunk on the hood latch. I took the lower bolt out thru the grill.So i knew i had to loosen everything all the way to that hood latch bolt. I actually got that bolt by pulling the metal piece attached to the nose up so i could reach in. I did this last. So everything was loose.
Theres 5 of these black push pins. I used the trim tool to pull these out.
Theres a bolt/nut under each lower light im not sure what there called. So i took them out. This sucked it took a good 1/2 hour to get 3 t15 screws out. I may have cussed the light out. The 2 on top were a PITA. The bottom was easy when i found it. It drops out dont yank.
Then theres these on the bottom corner
Then the headlight mount
Then inside the area behind the grill theres 2 bolts on each side.
Then the one above the headlight attaching to the core support. This is the view you see putting in the bolt.
It threads in the opposite of the previous 2 bolts . if you look above my fingers in prior pick you see the backside of the catch nut.
I almost forgot the 4 broken bolts. The pic below shows the holes in the bumper frame that the bolts go thru to nuts. I couldnt get them off so i snapped em off. Theres 2 on each side. The hole im pointing at and the 1 on the other side of the small light hole.
Then its off after that hood latch area I talked about. I hope this isnt a jumbled mess and I can use it to reinstall.
Im thinkin you can take fenders and nose together but im putting the better nose on it anyway. Can someone tell me what the proper name of this is so i can stop saying small light. Thanks in advance
Then i started takin off the the nose. It was a PITA. I only broke 2 bolts off on purpose lol. I was able to save the plastic buttons on the bottom. But i couldnt find a how to on it. Ive takin the nose off of a cutlass it was a breeze.... This was not. I started with the obvious. There is 2 bolts in the upper portion of the inside of both fenders. Just stick the 12" extension in there to get it. Im pointing to were the bolts would go. Theres also 3 more right below facing the opposite direction.
Then 2 nuts nose to core support.
Then i found out about these.
1 facing me and 1 facing the trunk on the hood latch. I took the lower bolt out thru the grill.So i knew i had to loosen everything all the way to that hood latch bolt. I actually got that bolt by pulling the metal piece attached to the nose up so i could reach in. I did this last. So everything was loose.
Theres 5 of these black push pins. I used the trim tool to pull these out.
Theres a bolt/nut under each lower light im not sure what there called. So i took them out. This sucked it took a good 1/2 hour to get 3 t15 screws out. I may have cussed the light out. The 2 on top were a PITA. The bottom was easy when i found it. It drops out dont yank.
Then theres these on the bottom corner
Then the headlight mount
Then inside the area behind the grill theres 2 bolts on each side.
Then the one above the headlight attaching to the core support. This is the view you see putting in the bolt.
It threads in the opposite of the previous 2 bolts . if you look above my fingers in prior pick you see the backside of the catch nut.
I almost forgot the 4 broken bolts. The pic below shows the holes in the bumper frame that the bolts go thru to nuts. I couldnt get them off so i snapped em off. Theres 2 on each side. The hole im pointing at and the 1 on the other side of the small light hole.
Then its off after that hood latch area I talked about. I hope this isnt a jumbled mess and I can use it to reinstall.
Im thinkin you can take fenders and nose together but im putting the better nose on it anyway. Can someone tell me what the proper name of this is so i can stop saying small light. Thanks in advance
Ive got the knockoff clean n strip wheels. They work ok. I just bought a 90* and 120* air sander from hf we'll see how they do. I got an air saw from the pawn shop, 10 tubes of seam sealer. Im headed out tommorow for 2 in and 3 in wheels/holders for the sanders. I also hit the drop shop at my metal supply store and got a bunch of 18 and 20 ga scraps plus a 4x4 sheet of 20 ga. I feel like i been accumalating tools for this project for a year. By the time im done i might have as much $ in tools as the car lol. Thanks for the kind words and advice.
Vice grips and C clamps are a necessity on your type of project. Ilike a 4 inch grinder with a thick wheel for grinding down the welds. Good hearing protection is strongly advised for all the grinding you’ll be doing, I use ear muff type. A full face shield plus safety glasses should be used. Spot weld cutters work nice for seperating sheetmetal when your going to save and reweld one of the pieces.1/4 and 5/16 drill bits for drilling new plug weld holes. It’s alot of tools needed to do the job easier/better. I’ve been buying tools for 46+years and sometimes still don’t have enough.
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