Hey guys, decided to get a thread going. Be a few pics to go thru before getting caught up but here we go. I’ve had this since ‘96 and it was done once real quick so i could drive it around, then upgrades started happening and put on hold, work on it again then on hold etc. Now its being done a second time from scratch. First a lil history of the car. After spending a couple years looking for the car i wanted in the shape i wanted (little/no rust etc.) my younger brother found it one day just driving around the neighborhood. He took me to the car to check it out and this was “the one”. We went back home and told pops we found the car and i asked him to spot me the money. After a quick laugh (wasn't my first project going on at the time) like “ya right” i let it go, only to come home from work the next day to find it in the yard, so i spent the next few weeks keeping only what i needed for gas and a couple bucks for myself and happily gave the rest of my check to my pops repaying the $1,200 for the car. Here is where i found her when i got home. Thats my ‘64 Chevy next to it, one of the projects at the time Had no glass, interior was old and shot, motor was all there but in pieces. First thing i did was rip out the motor and put a 327 / 350 in it, new reverse K trans mount, glass and primered. got her running and goofed around in it. Some upgrades came along the way here and there, 2” drop spindles, front disc brakes etc. The is her around this point in time.
After driving her around i was never happy with the steering etc. so i ended up getting a MII kit and put that in. aside from a few times around the block, and a couple moves driving it to the new house(s) she was put on hold for some time as life got in the way. Guess that brings me to now, this is my weekend project to updates will probably be slow
Soo basicly after doing some sanding for a quicky paint job that i originally was going to do i found some crap body work and the next thing i knew i had the car down to metal so i can see what else was done wrong. At that point i decided to pull the body and start with the frame. had it blasted then i removed what was left of the o.g. trans mount i cut out and a couple other brackets etc. and fixed a few welds i did that was hard to do under the car i'm not the best welder but its there and its not moving had to bang out this piece whatever the hell its called, i just know many cars don't have it anymore.
then paint i used LIC-30 gloss black during this time i had my MII parts powder coated gloss black and my headers ceramic coated
after a couple weeks drying in the sun i started putting things back on (reverse k member was powder coated) hats etc.
and more bolting on front end pretty much buttoned up so now starting on the rear also between things to pass time and still get something done i've polished a few molding pieces here and there, a bunch more to do yet before and after and this kinda catches me up till today. originally i had planned on doing the car black but one day i got a wild hair in my ass and looked up the paint code on the body tag and found out its was Mist Green so that is the color now , og on the outside ... interior will be slightly modified because i'm not fond of the color combo they used then, but not set on it yet and have plenty of time to decide. other than this i have a few accessories i've picked up and will post pics of later. other than that that brings me up to today i think and i'll call it a day.
Hey Brotha ! Glad to see you started a build thread on the Fleetline Chem! Progress is great so far keep the updates coming, Whats the deal you have your own paint booth? Guess I never caught on that you were a painter. The trim is turning out nice , ill have to bundle up all mine for my cars and send it to you keep you busy while your waiting for paint to dry! HAHA
Hi, nice work!!! You wouldn't happen to have a extra passenger front door garnish molding that you'd want to sale would you? PM me at [email protected]. Thanks
thanks, i will yo! ya i've been procrastinating. i work at a vw resto shop so ya, guess i have a booth trim i'm still perfecting, takes time so you won't get it back in a hury thanks guys!
Not much progress last couple weeks, its been hot Picked up a couple accessories, dunno if ill use tho. Lock ill use for sure.
That's a great set of NOS accessories. Are you planning on going with one piece bumpers or sicking with the original 3 piece? The only reason I ask is I always thought the 50 bumper guards looked way to big compared to the 49 guards, just my 2 cents. But if you are going one piece than you will probably skip them all together. Anyway, nice work so far.
I like what you've done to the Fleetline so far. I'm looking at those stock lower control arms on your M II and I don't see any struts in any of your pics. Don't you have to run the struts with that type of lower arm? Good luck on the build, I love those old Fleetlines. Keep the pictures coming.
Thanks. I got it on ebay, then like 2 weeks later i saw one cheaper at a local swapmeet, murphy's law. I have 1 piece bumpers that came with the car when i got it. I do plan on getting the accessory guards (i call them over riders) later on. Thanks. Yes these have the strut arms, i didn't put them on the first go around and don't have them on now at the moment, due to me having to find them.
Todays progress was the rear end. I've been going in to work early for last few days so i did the springs earlier in the week. (for the vw guys that might be looking, thats a 54 barndoor back there ) Got this far and the heat started to kick in so i called it a day. Have to get some rollers still. And my spot is a vortex for debris so its time to clean it up again, wipe the frame down and get me some tarps. Next week i'll start on the motor, cleaning it up and hopefully painted along with the trans and drive shaft. Planning on chassis being done by the end of the month and starting the bodywork in july. Perfect time here when the monsoon season starts and its hot and humid.
Thanks fellas. Not much going on this weekend. Got my heads back, had them freshened up and pulled the motor out and stripped the old paint off. Started taping the block off, got the heads taped and those are ready. Hoping i can get them, trans and drive shaft painted by friday. Next couple weeks i'll be busy so at least they can sit long enough to dry.
Nice looking project.Keep the updates and pics coming.Know what you mean about the locking gas cap/door.Put one on my OT truck.Funny thing.My gas mileage went up by about 8mpg.Hehehe. Good luck.Have fun.Be safe. Leo
Thanks! As far as the rear-end, it's just a 10b from a 60's camaro. Thanks! Thanks! Not much to update, been so hot and humid last coupla months so i've taken a break. It's starting to cool off last few days so i'll be back on it again soon.
Great Work, don't lose your momentum. And yeah I saw the "pressed bumper" on the rear of the bus so I knew it was early. BD's are cool !
Hey guys, been awhile since i posted last. Life got in the way some having some family move in to town and such. But i'm kinda back to work on the car. To get caught up here are some progress pics ... After the chassis was done it was getting kinda hot so i started dressing the motor Not the current state, still have to get a carb and paint the aircleaner but the booth has been full almost nonstop lately. Around this time i sent the body off to the blaster and had it done with black oxide. She was neglected for a bit This is the day of good and bad. Good its finally done, bad is when you find all the stuff you didn't know was there :/ Like this bondo patch. Found a few holes that was drilled for pulling and just bondo'd over it. Our rotisserie is out on loan across the street so i said the hell with it and primed it on the trailer First up was addressing these issues ... Thats the bulk of my metal work needing done short of a few holes needing plugged. I started with this one first Shaped a new piece and replaced plugged the welds i drilled out for the tire well. still need to replace the tire clamp items. cleaned off the bondo in this area to dolly it out started doing that and next thing i knew i was here fixing a couple holes on a side note, if anyone has a pic of clean corner(es) i'd like to see so i know how the crown molding goes ... have a few holes on each side and i assume not all should be there, thx. then i moved on to this thats gonna do it for this post, i need to upload some more pics to photobucket but its fathers day today and i think im gonna go outside and grill some food and toss a few beers. cheers!
The Jalopy Journal
