Customs Wagon hunt may be OVER!!! 1952 DeSoto wagon is HOME!

Screw that guy.

 

This is exactly why I invested in my own machine. Tired of flakey contractors. Screw all of em.

 

Good news, bad news. I put the (supposedly) finished and bound carpet in yesterday. Surprise, surprise, exposed edges unbound, footwell pieces ill fitting, front and rear sections don’t meet. Not usable by any metric.
I was furious.
So, even though I said I’d have no further dealings with the guy, I called the “upholsterer”, and sent him photos. I told him I couldn’t use it, and reminded him he’d promised floor mats, which he didn’t make.
I insisted he do it over, and provide floor mats, and to my surprise he agreed.
On a positive note, the door cards fit perfectly, and do look good. The seatbelts match the interior perfectly, and I have them ready to mount, after I get carpet that fits.

 

New floor, side panels and tailgate cover. Now some stain and varnish. This is the view that made me want an early '50's Chrysler or DeSoto wagon. I LOVE this.

 

Looking great Brain!

 

I concur wholeheartedly.

 

Cut the top off the original, rusted out, tailgate inner panel to use as a garnish molding for the new birch one. Brilliant.

 

It’ll get wood grained to match the rest of garnish molding.

 

The A/C vents, brake controller, and a bunch of other stuff is hanging from the bottom of the dash. I'd liked to have made things tidier and used the stock valance panel from dash to firewall, but the A/C, accelerator and brake pedal hanging from the firewall made that impossible. So, this now "done".

 

I like that AC unit-you probably posted but I missed it-what is it?

 

It’s a Vintage Air generic model, heat/defrost/air, the Max Cool or whatever they call it. with their below dash vent housing. I had to shave half an inch from the bottom lip of the dash, but it fit!

 

I think it's going to interfere with my record player.

 

I've never had A/C in a hot rod or custom, we'll see if this was really worth it. The car has a cowl vent, which always works pretty well...

 

Listening to Ray Wylie Hubbard, laying down some spar varnish.

 

Snake Farm! Just sounds nasty.....

Everybody turns a bad trick now and then....

Love me some RWH!

 

Have you seen the '53 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country wagon on the Bring A Trailer site???? . . . . . . . . . sold for $20,250

Your wagon is looking GREAT....

LynnW

 

I also like this lyric from Conversation With The Devil

I said, "Oh man, wait a minute there's gotta be something wrong
I ain't a bad guy, just write these little songs
I always pay my union dues, I don't stay in the passing lane"
And he said, "What about all that whiskey and the cocaine"
I said, "Well, yeah, but that's no reason to throw me in Hell
'Cause I didn't use the cocaine to get high
I just liked the way it smelled"

 

Your wagon is looking good.

 

Pretty much is…

 

Gotta love Choctaw Bingo, Cooler 'n Hell, and Up Against the Wall Redneck Mothers!

 

Completely traditional. Spar varnish, natural birch, leather. Smells good too.

 

Looks damn good, Brian!

 

Well, the upholsterer flakes out again. No show with the carpet, which he came out with Monday to measure to fix what he screwed up first, and take my pattern for floor mats. His claim today is he doesn’t have binding. Which he’s known he needed a week ago. I’m made more trim panels, mounted speakers and am putting the rear seat in.

 

Very nice - to me, your cargo area has just the right look. Spot on!

 

It's not quite finished, but we're close. I'm getting MY end of the upholstery done, the guy who's supposed to be doing it was a "no-show" today with the carpet. That he took back to his shop to "fix" it, and make the floor mats he promised. Today's excuse, when I called him when he didn't show, "I ran out of binding, and had to order more." What a clown.

 

Gonna look great hitched up to the Spartan!

 

Today I got the carpet fitted, put the front seat in for the last time and got the seat belts in. Everything matches very well, the carpet actually looks pretty good, in spite of the job the guy did making it. The raggedy binding is pretty much hidden under the seat, and with the new, thicker carpet padding I bought, it fits much better. The floor mats I guess he decided was another thing I could do myself, so I'm ordering binding and that rubber stuff with the little nipples on the back for those. I also need to order another couple yards of carpet to the area under the rear seat cushion. Again, something he must have figured I could do myself. I have to go to Fields Fabrics and try to match the ultra-suede he made the headliner from, to make the pillar trim panels, but, I have a walking foot machine, a couple cans of 3M Trim Adhesive, and I'm not afraid to use 'em.

 

Looking really good, Brian!

 

Brian, it’s really coming together!!!
It looks really nice!!!

 

Dam fine work YOU accomplished.