Projects My 1959 squarebird mild custom build thread

That looks fantastic. I didn't think I'd like earth tones on a Bird but that looks sweet. Very nice paint work



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Yes it is!!

 

Thanks!

I thought about chrome reverse wheels at the beginning of the project, but I will be running the 57 Lincoln caps. I may in the future get a set of chrome reverse and have both options, but that won't be for awhile. As for the grill, the stock 59 grille is going back in it...the 59 tbird grill looked alot like the tube grills guys were making in th late 50's early 60's that showed up on alot of customs. I'm also keeping the grille as that and the tailights will be the only thing on the exterior that will identify it as a 59. Squarebirds have always been a favorite of mine, and they are ripe for mild custom treatment. All you really need to do is take some trim away and they start to look really good.

Thank you

Thanks Dean

 

I'll throw up a few more pics of when we threw the wheels on and pushed her outside.
Its sitting up pretty high as it doesn't have the engine/tranny in it in these pics, so the stance is off

 

Then Ian and I wasted no time, and got the engine and tranny back in, you can see the front end has come down quite a bit. The valve covers and breather are still at the paintshop getting a coat of pearl white to match the roof, the blue valve cover are just temporary. We then put her on dollies and pushed her to the back of the shop until next weekend.

 

and just for fun...here is the original photoshop of the colour scheme

pretty close eh?

 

Bitchin
I think the Lincoln caps look perfect



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That colour is bang on. A really sharp looking custom. I can't wait to see the finished product!

 

Really very nice.

 

All I can say is KOOOL! Been following two of these Square Bird threads, one morphed into a Riv. Yours is the best!

Cheers, Don

 

Very Nice!!

 

Thanks AJ, you'll see alot of it this spring/summer...I'm going to drive the wheels off it

Thanks, any news on yours?

Thanks

 

I just found this thread! Wow, very cool, I was never a big fan of the square birds, but this one has really changed my opinion, very nice!


Posted while on the run with Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Nicely done, looks great!

 

Thanks man. Squarebirds are an aquired taste, but they certainly do have potential for a nice custom.

Thanks.

I got back at it this weekend, although some snow and a car accident tried to stop me. I didn't take many pics of what I was doing, but I stripped and repainted the steering column, radiator, hood latches, steering linkage and steering cylinder. I will post up some pics of all that stuff later. Ian did however get the headlight assemblies back in and I snapped a couple quick pics of that. One of the very few accessories added to this car are the chrome headlight eyebrows, its something we have put on all the cars.

 

Just a heads up to those following along. I went back last night and fixed the broken image links in this thread, from when the HAMB got updated. So now the thread has all the pics back in it, for those who haven't followed along from the beginning.

 

Sweet...that was a lot of work, thanks!

 

Very nice!!!! I've always liked the squarebirds, as well as the babies, and even the bullets. Hells Bells, I like'm all....... But, when I was in high school, my Dad bought a '59. Wimbledon white with white/aqua interior. I removed the trim from the scoop, and loosened the mufflers so that I could move them back and forth when I got to use the critter. We moved to South America, and I had to take that bugger to a used car lot and sell it. Man was I sick. My Mom called the local boneyard and paid seventy five bucks to have them haul off my older brothers cars. A sweet Model A,and a very original '34 many door sedan. I often wonder what happened to her.
Keep up the good work, my friend........

 

@cabong thanks!

We plugged away at it over the weekend. Reinstalled the grille into the bumper after a good polishing. Mounted all the repainted bumper brackets, then put the front bumper back on. It will still need to be properly adjusted to the body, but atleast is hung and not taking up space in the shop. Ian also got the inner fenders reinstalled on the passenger side. We also got alot of the stuff under the hood back on, and Ian started the wiring under the hood. I will get some better pics of the progress next weekend

 

Car is looking great!

 

Thats a beautiful color. It is going to look unbelievable when complete. My project got hijacked once it got to the painter. The result was a fiasco of epic proportions, thankfully it is now in the hands of a first class shop who can be taken at their word.

 

Thanks!

Thanks....its nice finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm sorry to hear about the paint situation with yours...I'm glad you found a good shop, I hope it all comes together. I'm really itching to see how yours is progressing

 

a few things to update...

I got the steering linkage repainted and lines cleaned

painted the steering cylinder gold. I have new bushings on order so I can get the linkage back in, and the column reinstalled

speaker grill for the center console painted gold

I also got the drip rail trim put back on. These things give me a heart attack when putting them back on, but these went on pretty painlessly

 

I also had limited time in the shop this weekend. But I did get a chance to knock out something I had been slacking on. Since the bumper is back on and I am removing the bumperettes, this leaves the mounting holes showing on the lower front bumper. Larry Watson, did the same on his famous t-bird, and covered the holes with bullets. In order to do this, you need to cut the profile of the lower bumper rail into the bullets. Since you can't just buy something like that, you have to make due. So this is what I did:
I started off with a pair of accessory bullets I picked up at a swap meet. These were about the right size I was looking for and had a threaded boss on the back, which was about the same size as the hole in the bumper for the bumperette.


And this is the hole we are going to cover.

 

I taped up the chrome and marked off the profile I needed to cut away in order for them to sit flush on the bumper. I needed to mark the profile of the lower bumper rail on the tape so I knew what to cut away. I did this using the bumperette I removed, you can also do this with a profile gauge. I then used a cut off wheel to remove the large amounts of metal, then a carbide bit to get closer, then files and sandpaper. I had to keep test fittings and filing until I had the fit nice and tight.


Here you can see the threaded boss, the diameter of the boss was the same as the hole in the bumper, so this fit right into the bumper like they were made for each other

 

here is the finished result

before:

after:


both

 

Holy crap, what a simple item that makes a huge difference! Nice job...I'm not jealous, no, I'm not jealous, not at all.......

 

Love it!

 

Just read through the whole thread...love both the square bird and the bullet. You guys make me want to co out to the shop end start tinkering with my truck.

Do you attend the syracuse nationals? I'd love to see the car in person when done.

 

Looking good Brent, the more trim and chrome you get on it the better it looks! Can't wait to see it on the road.