Projects I destroyed a nice old car, help me fix it

So i'm what i think they call a rockabilly. I like to chop up cars and drive old junk around, usually ramblers. I think my dream car ia a 32 deuce, but ramblers are cheap.

So ive got this problem. I bought a 64 rambler back in august of last year and it was a mouse nest poor running unloved piece of machinery, but there was almost no rust on the car at all. Being in love with it, i bought it or 600 bucks and drove it home. Sometime around February, i was up for several days straight(engineering student) and i came home and decided to start cutting. I started to do a 2 door conversion on this poor old car, and now i'm freaking out thinking i did all this in a psychotic episode. I really like this car and think it has potential, but now i'm in the "finer work" and its not near as rewarding as cutting a door in half and lengthening it. What should i do guys, it still runs, and the driver door is almost "finished" but Im unhappy with my work. I have a really hard time staying focused on one thing these days, I have about 4 hours a night to work on it, and am buying tools left and right, but i need to make significant progress before school starts back up this fall. Help, this project is dragging me down with it, I feel like I took a car that had potential as a mediocre 4 door and turned it into a garbage ball. Where do I even jump back into this, i'm almost embarrassed to post pictures, as its pretty messed up. I think if I could focus, i could do it, but dang, last week, i painted the front fenders with base coat, just to see what it will look like. Will you guys help me make a concise list of what needs to be done to get back on track?

 

Well they say that meth is hard to kick.

Looks like you are about 1/3 of the distance, just make it a two door and drive it. Too soon to think about paint at this point, mechanicals and driving is what you need to think about. Primer it when you have finished doing the body and drive it until your next break.

 

Can't really help you but I am gonna reach for the popcorn and watch....

 

Sure looks like you may have opened the proverbial "Pandoras Box". I'm at a loss as to what to tell you to do from here. I think you would have been much better off just welding the back doors shut, removing the handles, filling and then worrying about paint. Do like 'Beaner says. Get it safe and driving and go from there . Good luck.

 

Well, at least my attempt to reupholster the seats is going well. So really, there is no help? Damn, I had the vision and ambition for it, but to many nights I spend 4 hours putzing around not fixing any of it. A lesson i learned is that you shouldn't ask friends for help, all they do is drink your beer and make fun of you. That's probably my biggest problem, my dad keeps telling me its destroyed, boo hoo, worlds smallest violin ect. Anyone got any spare motivation? My angle grinder stole all of mine...

 

Easy buddy, easy... just hand me the cut-off wheel everythings gonna be alright. porknbeaner has gotcha on the right track!

 

I'm Benno, I think you should keep on it. It doesn't look bad just needs finishing. Every project always gets uglier before it gets prettier. Check out what others have brought back from a rusted riverbed car.

IF it were mine I would keep it red when I was done.

 

You were planning to put a B pillar back in? I know that you didn't have extra front doors to stretch, but doing it as you did with two welds takes some skill. Are you competent with the fab, or are just learning? Is this a keeper or just your first custom to drive for a few years and then move it?

 

Welcome to the HAMB.

Looks like you leapt right in and could have done a bit more planning beforehand, but don't let it overwhelm you.

Can you maybe show us an example of what you were trying to do?

Does it run and drive without the doors flying open?

Does the 2 door hardware and glass fit into your stretched door?

 

I can't even make out what stage it is at, at this point.
I too am goin' get some popcorn.

Make a sketch of what you want then follow that blue print, use a copy machine. OR:
Finish the Drivers side, very well, and Don't touch the pass. side. That would be a KICK. Story goes: Rambler had a screw-up in the assemble line. Love it, that's the story and stick to it..

 

I would cut the back half of the roof off, and move the rear portion, including the rear window forward about 10 to 12 inches.

 

Make it the only 3 door Rambler out there. You like different (Ramblers) so, there you go.

 

Listen to the wise sage porknbeaner.

Hey, I can't throw too many stones, I've got a few train wrecks in my past. You gotta learn somehow.

I'm not a Rambler maven, but did they offer a two door that year? Maybe snag some two door doors and pursue that tack? There are several threads on here about converting four doors to two doors. You might seek them out and see how others have fared before.

 

Ignore your friends, don't let them in the garage for now.
Everybody here has at one time or another, had to rework something they "thought" was good.
If I didn't have to do everything at least twice, all my shit would be running today.
Take a deep breath, and think it through. Yeah, it might suck, but remember how much fun you're having.

 

Destroyed it....yes you did! Don't worry, it was only a Rambler. Things usually go like this:
Point A to point B to point C. Not point A to point M. Easy on the Red Bull brother.

 

This is my first custom, I have played with old cars since I was 15, and I’m now 22, so a little experience. I never ever have any help with any of them, because no one is willing.

So here is what I have done chronologically.

• I did a lot of this with a crappy set of welding goggles, once I got my auto dark helmet; my weld quality increased 10 fold.
• I am required by my dad to never keep the car in the garage over night, nor any big parts, so it’s always a blitz play to get something done. Thank god we moved out to the country.
• First night I cut the driver’s door crossways and lengthened it 7 inches with some box tubing.
• Then I cut the pillar in half and moved it back where it would interface with the door latch.
• 
  
• Then I cut the 7 inches out of the middle of the back door and used it to patch the gaps.
• Once this was done, I welded the remaining two pieces together and welded that into the rear quarter area.
• I tried and tried to make roll down windows work, but was unable to form the lexan I got in the cheap, so I decided to make them fixed, but removable like t tops.
• I fabed up a vent window frame out of aluminum stock and that works really well for holding up the lexan sheets.

The passenger door I actually removed the outside sheet metal from the structure and lengthened the structure first, these pieces are currently tacked together.

Both doors open and shut as they are supposed to, but the passenger door needs a ton of metal work now, but it opens and shuts.

The inside of the doors and “quarters” still need to be finished, the driver door needs reworked as the whole thing looks bulged in the middle. I need to make the windows for the passenger side, finish the passenger door and pillar.

Im in th process of re covering the seats on rainy days, and that is probably the best part of the car. Plus, I have to do no rust repair, as the floors are perfect, and the body rust has been fixed by the previous owner.

I know a lot of it is “wrong” but what really needs to be corrected before I continue? I want to keep pushing, but I am worried I hugged this bunny too hardL . Would I be better off fabbing doors completely from scratch later? I wanted a hot rod and I ended up with a really crappy tool shed. It still runs, and it runs really well, for a 6. But anyways, I’m taking tonight off car work, to sit down and plan this whole thing out.

Thanks for the quick reply's

 

LOL I decided to make a mini wagon out of a '55 Ford ranch wagon once. Everything was fine, just remove the doors and move everything forward. The problem came when we discovered that getting in and out by the rear hatch was a real pain.

The car won't look so bad, I would put the b pillar back in if it were me and cut lexan for side glass and call it good. Its work but what isn't?

 

Weld it all together and jump in like the Dukes of Hazard....it's a Rambler.

 

Figure out what you want to end up with, send it to "photoshop" ( Mr. Moose is very obliging) and at least you'll get a glimpse of what could be. If you paid $600. bucks for a running , driving car you're ahead of the game already. Tack it together and drive it; finish it when you're through with school. Maybe you and the car need a bowl of ice cream and a nap?? Works for me.

 

I would suggest leaving the roof alone. That's a whole 'nother can of worms and unlike the doors, it's structural.

I think you might be closer than you think you are; you're just having a bit of a panic because it's not quite shaping up yet... though I think losing those Mullet Wheels and going back to the steelies would help!

 

Hmm, lots of varying opinions here, I'll pick the nicest ones. Well, I got a new DA sander, and a line sander is in the mail, got two gallons of filler waiting to be used. What do I do if my girlfriend doesn't like it?

 

Hub caps it definitely needs hub caps.

Leaning the back glass forward a little bit would help but I would not even worry about that part of the build yet. Get it working with the doors first.

 

Let her pick something out.

 

I actually like the glass angle the way it is

 

Leave it as it is for now. Finish what you were doing as best you can and make it as nice as you can, as well as road legal so, you know, you can drive it. Getting into chops or roof line stuff is going to make another mess and be a money pit for this project.

I think now is the time to figure out if you want a Kustom or a Gasser though, because Lexan windows say Gasser to me.

 

Let her buy her own damned car.

If it is a matter of a car ( or a bike for that matter) for a chick we are all pretty much screwed.

 

I was actually thinking "gasser" I even have a mini keg in the trunk I've been saving to make a false "moon tank". However, I cannot afford in time or money to build a straight axle or to build up a gasser engine. But I'm just dreaming , actually, this is what I really want.

 

Those old Ramblers seem to take to a Gasser build very well. Don't sweat what you can't do now. Get it done and driving. Make it as cool as you can with what you've got and do the rest later.

As for fixing what you've got to deal with now, I'd suggest you find a pair of unmolested doors from a 64 Rambler coupe and make the body work with them, rather than going with the stretched doors. That way at least your glass is going to roll up and down.

 

Your sense of humor will help, I think, and as for your girlfriend's opinion, you're pulling our chain, right?

 

Is there a demolition derby in your area this summer? Just kidding. Make a shorty out of it. I'll be watching this thread too. Good luck....