I gather you're in Wyoming I'm not going to do you much good from Ohio, but have alook thru this thread. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...channeled-car-lets-see-how-you-did-it.556115/ This isn't a hard fix ,it's the details but not hard. Sloppy cuts simply go away with larger horizontal pieces, missing vertical get filled with new metal,structure goes back where it can.
When I was 16, making cardboard templates of 'Sloppys' suggestions worked fine. Then go to 18 ga cr steel.
If the doors open and close reasonably well, before you cut any of the floor out / loose, brace the body with 1" square tubing. This will help you keep things aligned. After you fix the floor this tubing can be removed, and hopefully the doors will still work correctly.
I had some 3" x 3" x 3" Z bar concrete form left over from a job and used that. It's maybe a little heavier than I need but it was free. Since my frame is the same width front to back, I located the body on the frame, measured for out rigger supports and welded them in. I set the Z-bars in place, tacked them in and dropped the body onto the Z-bars. I still have to scribe the outside line of the body onto the Z-bar and cut off the excess. Done.
I remember a "how-to" story in one of the little books that showed how to use L-brackets to channel a car - just like your dad did - complete with hand-drawn illustrations. I'll bet he used that magazine as a go-by when he channeled his coupe. I'm sure I still have the magazine and I'll scan the article if/when I find it.
With all due respect to your dad, I hope that you will fix some of the aesthetic shortcomings of his build as you re-engineer his car to be safer and more street worthy. Giving the chassis a more contemporary 3-degree front tilt and then channeling the body to match would be a really good start...in my humble opinion. You really wouldn't have to change much to accomplish this and the improvement in the car's appearance would be immense. Just a suggestion. .
With the family history of your car, I think I would look at what your Dad did as needing completed, not cut out and redone. Just fill in the gaps and finish what was started, unless you have a problem with the channel aesthetics from the outside. Kick ass project by the way.
Your Dad's Hotrod profile/stance rocked...and from what I read into your post @GasGas300 I believe you will go out of your way to bring it right back to it...hopefully including the www bias plys solids and caps...1957 proud... I look forward to your turning a key stepping back into a lifestyle uniquely experienced by your Dad and I suppose for some time by the fellow you purchased it from...I have a Hotrod that I cherish but a ride in that monster of a Hotrod would really be nothing short of priceless... You have a lot to look forward too. Gas out of curiosity what is your area of expertise and what was your Dad's? Just curious...
personally, i would throw that floor out by the curb, put in some 1x1 tubing, side to side and some front to rear, then attach a 18 gauge floor to that. This is the strongest method.
So about the job your father did nobody's mocking it at the time that was the best to do if your dad had more tools and experience as of now he would have done a better job so taking what your dad did and making it better does not hurt it at all only makes it cooler that he worked on it and you worked on it Sent from my SM-J737A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
That's very true. However lowering the chassis some first could easily put the body at the same elevation from the ground with a lot less Chanel and a lot more interior room. Be easy to get the chassis down four inches without trying too hard. Then set mock the body to this stance Now fix the floor ! Best time to do it
Oh my , great history , nice looking car, like the others have said. It's now yours to make your own. Finish what your dad started. With the advice and help here you can do it. My project to be (if I get off my arse n wade into it) starter in 51 when bought new, sold to my uncle, traded to me wen I got back from desert storm. Mines all stock. But I love that iron hulk. That sentimental goo can be a driving force all its own.
I posted some photos of this instead of drawing. If you can't tell by them it's much the same only There was enough stock sub rails I attached the bottom flange to them with Plug welds. Worked well.
I would cut the floor out set the body where I wanted it and build a new structure to hold the body in place.
Thank you all for the great advice and encouragement. I amazed at what a great bunch of people on here. I understand that when my dad built this car he did the best he could with the torch and skills he had at the time. It's my turn to finish his work on how he would want it. He was a rancher all his life but always did fabrication work and he got very good at it. And I have his wire feed welder that he bought a few years before he passed away. I did get the chance to tell him I found his car but did not have a deal made to buy it before he passed. I have never done a project of this size but have the mechanical background to do this and a supportive wife that is just as excited about this car as I am... And the newfound support from this group!! Sloppy. Thanks for the drawing and the ideas. I plan to proceed in this fashon Nick. Good idea on the supports. The doors close fine and I want them to stay that way Missysdad. I hope to improve on the rake and position of the tires in the rear fenderwell. It should be fairly easy to do this Stogy. Yes bias plys and baby moon hub caps for sure. And the hemi is at the machine shop right now getting bored .030 over. I have a great 4 Stromberg manifold just waiting that is very similar to what he had on it. Also, I remember him telling me how he modified the rear wheels for the right setback. The rims have evidence of the rivits being removed and replaced just like he said. I just hope they are fairly true. Thank you for all your advice! I will keep you posted.
find or borrow a copy of COOL CARS / SQUARE ROLL BARS... one of our hotrod heroes channels a '32 tudor in one day... pretty cool ! check it out...
I'm nobody, but I'll give my 2.5 cents. I'd embrace the look and history of the car and just make stuff safe. Look at old photos and other cars of that era. If you want a "highboy" than get another car and build it that way. Respecting the history of these cars that survived the fads over the years is important. Just like the hard-chop/heavy rake look is "cool" right now, another will come along, but unique cars that were actually done back in the day are getting few and far between. I'd spend the time to cut out the inner framework that's unsafe and redo it. make it sit and look like it did when dad built it. Either way it's rad and can't wait to see what you do with it! -Matt/ITG
floors are simple you can build the perimeter or the step for the channel with a sheetmetal break and some simple shrinker stretcher work. The rest is super easy and no fancy tools required all this is from a modified Harbor Freight bead roller and bench shear. The trans tunnel end was some simple hammer work over a acetylene bottle cap welded to my work bench the rest was just clever knee bending work.
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