Projects It's as bad as it looks

[1/2done]

I had to sell my gasser to keep a roof over my head, I didn't want to but sometimes you have to act like a grown up. I really wanted a metal working project to work on, I have 2 4x8's of 20ga so I can work without spending money for a while. So some extra parts and some trading later and I'm the proud(?) owner of a '40 Ford coupe that was in a garage that burned to the ground.







I've never used a shrinking disc before, but I think this may be a good time to learn. The rest of the body parts are from a different car so they only need rust repair. Plans are to get all the metal work done and then decide a direction, I'm leaning toward a Lake style coupe.

[sawbuck]

wow...gonna save it...cool..and good luck....keep us posted.

[captainjunk#2]

i will follow this thread the metal work alone will be worth the veiw time good luck with it

[Mazooma1]

good for you...you save some neat stuff and exercise your skills at the same time...

[buckeye_01]

You are certainly ambitious. Good luck.

[AstroZombie]

Nothing wrong with doing what you have to do. Sad to hear you had to sell your gasser, but in the end this may be for the better. You'll get to learn more metalwork, and also get the thrill of the next build. Good luck, doesn't look like too bad of a start.

[Jim Sideways]

I like 40 Fords. Good luck, keep us posted...

[xlr8]

Not to hijack the thread, but what kind of luck do you generally have working metal that has been burned? I saw a pretty nice old chevy coupe body once years ago that I asked the guy about buying and he said it had been through a fire and even tho it looked pretty good it was ruined and he wouldn't sell it to anybody. He said he had tried to do some work on it and it was hard and brittle and the metal wouldn't work anymore.

[pasadenahotrod]

Years ago a friend bought a 39 Chevy coupe which had been in a garage fire some 30 years before that. The guy repainted the car several times and the paint just sloughed off every time after a few weeks or months. We parted it out.

[Anchorboy46]

Looks like you got a good start there. Good Luck! Mikey

[1/2done]

Originally Posted by xlr8

Not to hijack the thread, but what kind of luck do you generally have working metal that has been burned? I saw a pretty nice old chevy coupe body once years ago that I asked the guy about buying and he said it had been through a fire and even tho it looked pretty good it was ruined and he wouldn't sell it to anybody. He said he had tried to do some work on it and it was hard and brittle and the metal wouldn't work anymore.

Originally Posted by pasadenahotrod

Years ago a friend bought a 39 Chevy coupe which had been in a garage fire some 30 years before that. The guy repainted the car several times and the paint just sloughed off every time after a few weeks or months. We parted it out.

If it ends up unworkable I'll build a "survivor" dirt car and paint it with house paint.

[Anchorboy46]

One other thing, use some of that "metal etching primer" first, so the paint wont come off.. Mikey

[RichG]

Right on!

[shooter54]

picked a good one to save.
good luck with it.

[Stevie Nash]

I hope you have some bodacious metal working skills....

[Hyway Hauler]

Jesus H. Christ! you have your work cut out buddy...but I've seen worse one turn out great!

[61 chevy]

make a good rat rod

[58Fridge100]

I don't care what sort of metal it is- it will take paint if you have it sandblasted clean and then spray it with epoxy or self-etching primer.

I'd straighten up the overall body shell enough to have consistent gaps for doors, deck lid, etc. I'd even test fit some glass just out of curiosity to see exactly how bad it is. Will be interesting.

[1/2done]

Originally Posted by 61 chevy

make a good rat rod

I'll crush it first.

[The37Kid]

Good luck, if it was burned, that is one thing, if the fire dept hosed it down that is another. Getting it to stop rusting will be another problem. Not trying to kill your ambition, just passing along things to think about.