Projects West Michigan 49 Shoebox Resurrection

Looks good Justin

 

Great reconstruction. Only a Friend.

 

You are giving me inspiration and a few great ideas how to tackle a friends shoebox with almost as much rust. Keep up the good work.

 

not sure if I feel inspiration or dread looking at this project

 

Probably a little bit of both. LOL

 

Thanks! The hardest part was actually getting going on the project. Now that there is some solid steel in there it makes me actually want to go out and work on it. There is actual steel to measure from AND weld to.

Justin

 

I'm jumping in the shallow end head first with my project, but I'm gonna love every minute of it

Sent from my XT1710-02 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

So the latest on the 49 so I finished up some small detail areas around the inner wheel well area and made patches over the axle. But the larger item was fitting the quarter panels for good. Now, I have done a lot of research on the best method of welding the quarters on....Butt weld or the overlapping seam. I chose to butt weld them. The metal is thick and i'm OCD enough to make the fit nice. As seen before I had the new panel kleko'd to the body. Io get that nice weld seam I took my cutoff wheel and simply sliced through both pieces of metal and then butted everything together. What I have found out is the tighter the fit the better the outcome. If the welder is set properly and you do a good tack look at the back of the panel, there will be a nice dot where you can't see the seam at all. What I have found is with a gap, I was trying to do a quick tack not to keyhole the metal.
After a series of tacks, I go back and grind just the crown of the weld down. It just makes a nice surface for the tack next to it.



After tacking the quarters in place I figured it was time to also fit the tail pan. The trunk lid fit really well so I naturally wanted to have the tail pan fit good. I found that a 1/4" nut is 3/16" thick...same as the trunk lid seams. So I made some little tabs to tack to the tail pan and simply butted it to the trunk lid. Before holding the piece in place I marked the center lines of the trunk lid and the tail pan for quick and easy fitment. Worked out great!! One problem...no steel there to hold it. HAA The story of my life. At least I have good metal on both sides of this piece.
We now have a solid perimeter of the car!! One thing I noticed on the trunk lid is that the inner structure is rotted worse than I thought...More metal work. That will be another days work. Stay tuned to another episode of "This old Ford...

 

Seeing the pics and the class of work makes me Proud to know there are dedicated people out there. Great work.

 

Thanks 48fordnut. If you have time to do it once, do it right. Well at least give it your best shot.
So after the wire wheel hit the inside of the trunk lid that opened up a big can-o-worms. I thought that I could just cut some of the inner structure rot out and weld it to the pinch seam of the outer skin....nope. I said screw it and literally cut 3" off the bottom of the trunk lid. Over time water got into the lid from the license plate holes as well as the latch access hole and nature took it the rest of the way.
Now I don't have a hem die for my bead roller so I made the outer patch piece and then cut out a 1/2" strip and laid that onto the outer patch, but on the inside. I then tacked the whole seam on the outside, or where the lid and the body meet. Right or wrong, it worked, looked good and I was able to make that seam just the way I wanted it.




There is a slightly flat spot in the center of the lid where the license plate mounts so instead of using my shrinker, I just did a little relief cut to flatten that center area yet keeping the nice radius of the tail panel.
Then inner was now ready for new metal. I simply used my CAD skills and made some poster-board templates and went to town! I also bought a new latch as you guessed it...rusted beyond repair.




Now installing the latch was a pain in the ass. So I cut an access hole to be able to get at the inner workings. I will eventually make a small cover and use some riv-nuts to hold it in place.

I did screw up a little... I should have welded the outer skin before tackling the inner structure... I can't hammer and dolly the little weld seam pucker out.. My thought was to get the strength back into the lid before welding. Well it's maybe 1/8" in at the seam looking at it with the straight-edge. Live and learn.


Well i'm glad that's done...LOL

 

I don't think done is in your vocabulary.

 

Shoot..You are correct. LOL The thing in my profile picture to most is done, but i'm always doing something to it. LOL

Justin

 

The most beyond the grave shoebox Ford I’ve ever witnessed getting new life.
My hats off to you,


Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.

 

One of the open tasks to wrap up real quick was the inner wheel tub tie ins. Pretty straight forward parts to make. The best part about no trunk floor is the ability to sit on my stool inside the trunk to fit these little pieces. LOL


I did something similar to the ones on the top of the tub. They were only 3/4" and kinda hard to get a pic of them.

Justin

 

Damn, man, your persistence is admirable. And I love that you're saving this old girl.

 

Thanks Peanut 1959!!
Nice weather + new sheet metal + bead-roller + rusty car = solid...progress.
It is time to tackle the trunk and get rid of that funk in the trunk. After doing some research, the outer parts of the trunk floor (I call them the trunk wings) do not actually get welded to the outer sheet metal. There is a seal that goes between the floor and the outer metal. Huh. So I formed up some 1"x1" 20 gauge and pulled out the shrinker and stretcher to form up some curved pieces to match the outer skin. Once I was happy with the shape trying to keep the new piece about 1/8" away from the outer sheet metal made a poster-board template to check the fitment and then went into real steel.

Now with that 1x1 square steel frame, or sub-frame I made this made the trunk steel fitment pretty easy as there was actual steel to measure off of. I made the main floor in 2 pieces so it would be easier to handle. I did a step on one of the panels so that I could plug weld it together. Plus this was the center line of the trunk. I then made a panel out of 16 gauge to fill in between the tail panel and the sub-frame. Some more poster-board templates were made to fill in between the sub frame and the new trunk floor. A lot of in and out with the steel, but this was made pretty easy wit the klekos. There is a little bit of hammering of the old metal to get it to fit up to the new steel, but over all it is ready to weld out!








Some pictures of after welding, and I also made up some new pieces for the filler bulkhead. I used the original bulkhead and seal and used some riv-nuts in the sheet metal to bolt it back in. I also made an access panel to pull off to make it easier to take the hose clamps.



Look mom, NO BRACES! After I welded in the package tray brace it was time to pull out the bracing. Hey, it didn't fall apart!





Miller time..

 

Hot Damn, that's nice work. Originality be dammed, even Henry would be proud of the work you've done to save that rustout. You are a master craftsman.

 

Awesome work. Good planning and execution.

 

love this build

 

I also did a similar modification to strengthen my bead roller. One additional suggestion: Throw the hand crank away and mount a steering wheel - as big a one as you can find - in its place. That way you can roll beads without reaching all around the old arc of the crank handle. The steering wheel makes it especially nice for "joggling" the roller for starts and stops.

You are doing an excellent job of photo documentation. That will stand you in good stead when others want to see your skill set.

Nice build.

SUBSCRIBED

 

Thanks guys! I just hoe that some will see this and maybe dive into saving their car someday. The absolutely hardest part was actually starting the process. Starting literally with nothing there and photos and comments on other builds here.
Justin

 

I'm working on the same area of my 56 Fairlane right now. Wreck and rust damage both. Your experience is just what I need and much appreciated!!

 

Is MI. considered in the rust belt? If not, the map should be changed!

 

Shoot, its the dang belt buckle of the rust belt. LOL

 

Not just a belt buckle...a big, shiny hubcap-sized Peterbilt belt buckle. Great work so far.

 

Dang the skills are building along with confidence, i can see your regular day job changing.
Been there ,done that with our shoe box. I was stubborn and said nope body is not coming off and stubbornly repaired lots of floor and outrigger rust with the body on. Finally saw sense and removed the body and work was way quicker and cleaner, plus got to paint and blast whole frame and deck line the floor properly.

 

HAA! YEP!
Thanks!!

 

Thanks! I kinda want to keep this as a hobby vs putting food om the table. Heck, my next project is my wifes 2010 F-150. The cab corners are bubbling and the rockers have some holes in them. I wash our vehicles ALL the time too! I joke with the wife saying this almost 70 year old car has more solid rockers than her truck. LOL
The thought of pulling the body crossed my mind. With so much of the perimeter not there I couldn't see where I could even lift from or even support things from. But I totally agree with you in regards to being easier and even a higher quality end product. This will eventually have the body off and the chassis re built as well.

Justin

 

Not a custom car, but very relevant humor.