1957 Gunmetal Grey Restoration

[Splash440]

Needed to repair the bottom of the spare tire well. It must have seen a lot of water in the past.

[Splash440]

Fixing the trunk floor was a challenge with the multiple angles. In addition the rear body support that goes from side to side was pretty much gone.

[Splash440]

Some time in the past the rust holes in the cowl area by the door were repaired with a brazing rod. You can not weld around an area that has been brazed very easily due to the difference in melt points, so I just cut it out and replaced it.

[Splash440]

The driver's door was a little better, but not much. It was a little easier this time after doing the other door.

[Splash440]

Both the front parking light areas were rusted by the seam. I had both repair panels that came with the project. The repair panels do not have a seam which I think is better.

[Splash440]

More metal work on the rear valance, rockers and quarter panels.

[Splash440]

The trunk lid had rust around lip like a lot of do. I first had to gently peel the outer skin, then repair the flange. I made the new skin in several pieces to get the rear curve right. Also, my shear and brake are only 30 inches.

The hood was the one piece that was in really good shape.

[seany-boy]

fantastic work. Are you buying repair patches or making your own as you go?

[Splash440]

fantastic work. Are you buying repair patches or making your own as you go?

Thanks, the major panels came with the project when I purchased it, rockers, quarters, rear wheel well, parking light panels. The floor pan inserts were already installed. All the rest of the pieces I made.

[Splash440]

Once I applied the seam sealer I sprayed the inside and the underside with Lizard Skin. I have used Lizard Skin on a couple of projects and like the way it goes on and how it looks.

[Splash440]

Once I got the majority of the metalwork completed I moved on to the chassis. I still may have some tweaks on the chassis once iI get it back on the frame.

I disassembled the chassis and blasted the frame. I have a pot blaster I got from Northern Tools, it works pretty good but is ti e consuming. I use ground glass vs sand because of the safety issues with sand.

Once I got the frame blasted it revealed some pretty bad corrosion.

[ranchbird]

Very impressive work, keep those pictures coming. I gotta say I've never seen a car with so much rust being brought back to life, and rust holes in the frame you just don't see that around here, I've scrapped cars for parts with less rust. But I don't have the skills that you have taking on a project like that, I must say it again very impressive.

[Splash440]

Very impressive work, keep those pictures coming. I gotta say I've never seen a car with so much rust being brought back to life, and rust holes in the frame you just don't see that around here, I've scrapped cars for parts with less rust. But I don't have the skills that you have taking on a project like that, I must say it again very impressive.

Thanks for the kind words. I have to say I knew about the body, but I was not expecting the extent of rust and damage on the frame. However, it was mainly on the bottom of the frame rails so it was relatively easy to fix.

[seany-boy]

it looks awesome, fantastic work. Keep the pictures coming.

[Splash440]

The frame had some issues with the front rear spring hanger. It appears something hit it from underneath and severely damaged the bracket. This was probably done after it had some age and was rusted. The sleeve that the spring hanger bolt goes through was damaged a broken loose from the frame.