Projects Ever bit off more than you can chew?

Are you in Washington state? I'm in Wisconsin, so I don't think I can come there personally, but the steps are pretty easy to do, I can explain them one by one.

However a thought occurs, if you really want a fastback and not a 2 door sedan, I'm going to suggest you fix the floors up nice in the 4 door and then swap the roof, doors and quarters of the fastback onto the 4 door body. It'll lay the car up longer but than the 2 door sedan thing but you'd achieve what you're going for without having to rebuild so much.

The cowl and firewall up to the top of the windshield pillars, the floors and rockers and inner rear fenders and trunk floor are all the same (assuming both of these cars are Specials) and since the 4 door seems to be much more intact, I think you'll end up a lot of time ahead rather than trying to rebuild the 2 door body from scratch. You'll be able to reuse most of the rear quarters from the 4 door. The roof and quarters would go on in one big piece, would help to have an overhead winch but a bunch of guys and a few long boards would also do it.

I've never actually done that before, but I've done a similar type swap with an off-topic convertible into a hardtop body and it's not too terrible to do, I think you could still come out hundreds of hours ahead and then you'd have a fastback instead of a 2 door post sedan.

 

Awesome. Thank you.

 

Check out the '60 Plymouth build by Cold War Motors on YouTube. They swapped out a really rusty Plymouth body onto a similar '60 Dodge chassis. Still not finished but it is sure looking good.

 

I once started a 1950 styleline car I bought for relatively cheap. I had no plan, did not even know where to begin so I sold it and started collecting driveline parts for my next shot at a car. fast forward 2 or so years and I spot an ad on FB for a 51 chevy for 400 bucks. so I snagged it and it was not too bad at all. I started one thing at a time and and knocked out little jobs that got my confidence up. Once I felt pretty good, I tackled the big jobs and it amazingly came out all right!

 

There are a lot of cheap parts cars on face book, what other years would interchange and have the same wheel base, maybe you could find a donor car / body that's been setting upside down and has a good floor and rockers
(3) Marketplace - 1950 Buick Special · Special 40 series | Facebook

later kb

 

Usually everything I obtain is a little over my head, best bet for me is to just stick with it and everything I do, just make it the best so I don't have to do any rework. One thing that I could never figure out, is that when working on other people's vehicles, no matter what is required, it always comes out great.

 

First, you have to have the mind set of accepting the challenge. If your thinking you bit off more than you can chew, you probably have. The coupe in my avatar was worse than what you have, but I trudged on for over 8 years to finish. Huge learning experience, but I`ll never take on a car that far gone again.
Unless I come across a cheap 41 Willis
Good luck which way you choose, love those fastback cars.

 

I'm for keeping the Jetback vs making a 2 dr hard top. The hard pieces are going to be the rear glass being a big #1, the rest is second as Buicks aren't plentiful. I had a 1950 56S (Super Jetback) 2dr in the late 90's in pieces. I'm always on the hunt for another OR a 1950 Olds 98 2dr fastback (which is even harder to find).

Does your cars have the cable or key hole in the port to open the hood.

Both of the cars are Specials so front glass will fit. You can get universal street rod style floors and trim to fit, build the inner panels and then patch the outer panels. The floor and inner structure doesn't really matter how it looks as long as the structure is strong and weather tight. The rocker panels matter what they look like.

Either buy new and trim or find a parts car to cut them out of, at least you have your 4 dr for reference.

BTW it's good you have all the grille teeth as they are numbers and can't be swapped around.

 

The place to start with the 2 door is to get everything out of the inside, get it cleaned up, and brace the body. 1/2" electrical conduit works well for bracing, its cheap, easy to cut and pretty easy to weld, and will hold up. Weld it in place, cut it out when the body is solid again. You need to brace the body so the bracing is just above the tunnel, it needs to be braced across the car, at the front door posts, at the rear of the door post, and possibly at the front of the rear wheel tubs. Then you need to add bracing across each door (be sure the doors open and close nicely first, this is a great time to make sure the doors are right), towards the bottom 6" to 8" above the rockers on each door, and up near the bottom of the door glass on each door (if the upper body is solid, these upper door braces may not be needed). If the doors still open and close nicely, you should be able to remove the doors. Then you need to connect each piece of the cross braces together on each side as well. An "X" brace at the center of the body helps a lot too, but it makes it harder to build the floors and rockers.
Once its braced, remove the front sheet metal and doors (if you haven't already). You start with the rockers (which run from the firewall to the rear wheel wells). Make sure the top of the rockers match the bottom of the doors, like they are suppose to. It sucks to build the rockers and find out the doors don't fit, or have a huge gap between the doors and the rockers.
That will get you started. Gene

 

First thing I did was rockers on my '39. I'm not a trained bodyman, so no idea what's correct, but it seemed best to establish the rockers first. Once I had solid inner and outer rockers, I began filling in the floors. My floors were not too bad in the center of the car, but both floors front and rear, plus toe panels front were all rotten. So I didn't save much beyond a 10"-12" section down the middle.
Once I had floors and rockers replaced, I had to do lower doors inside and out, and established the inner structure first by tacking in the new pieces, and making sure they fit the rockers when I closed the doors. Had to cut the tacks loose and adjust once, but then they were welded solid. Lower skins after that, and then on to lower quarters (inside and out) and tail panel, lower cowl, etc., etc.
I spent 6 months 5 days a week until I finally got all the rotted bad metal replaced. But once I got floors, rockers, and doors done, the rest didn't seem as intimidating anymore.

 

Sure I have. I find when I'm eating an elephant, it's best to take it one bite at a time. Some days I don't have much appetite for elephant and other days I do.

You can probably get some ideas from my 49 Buick builld.

 

luckily I have a NOS rear glass and trim. i have now (2) good drivers side front glass and (2) bad pass sides. so either way ill be on the hunt. both cars have the hinges and cables, so I have 2 sets of those.
The thing that scares me about the 2 door is that I have nothing, to go off. The entire floor, including inner rockers are gone. I just don't know where to start. I can buy inner rockers, but have nothing to attach them to. Once we get a warm(er) day, i think Im going to start tearing off all the body panels and see exactly what i have to work with. Im hoping once everything is off, I'll have a better view if the build.

 

Thanks Gene. That helps a ton

 

When I did the chassis on the 4 door, I felt the same way. Once I got the front end off, and I could see more of the cars guts, and started unbolting and cutting, I felt way better and was able to get it dialed front to rear in about a month. I'm hoping this project goes the same. Staring at it, while its snowing, cold and wet outside make it seem impossible. I think i just need to dig in and I'll feel better. The fastback is one of my dream rides. I have one, and that more than a lot of people can say about their dream car. I should put myself in check and just get motivated.

 

The glass thing, though! I bought a 53 lincoln cosmopolitan HT. Was down in nice dry Nebraska. indoors, since 1962. Only problem...1962 is when the neighborhood kids came by & threw rocks through all the windows. That's why it went inside

 

Mine was the early '50 with the lock inside one of the portholes on either side to unlock the hood and had the key pocket (and key) on the drivers kick panel. Good luck and keep posting.

 

Took Gene Winfields class at his shop in Mojave. Actually at LAX now going home. I think after talking to Gene, the 4 door gets turned into a 2 door and it gets chopped. The fastback will be a challenge for sure, but I don't think I can "not do it". These cars chopped 4" are about the most bad ass cars ive seen. New floors and Conversion 1st, starting next week, chop second. Will most likely sink the A pillars to keep the front glass. Keep the rear window stock. We second a car while I was there and got me pretty confident about the scope of work ahead. Here we go...

 

Good luck to you. We started off under skilled and optimistic. We made it through to this point with more road to travel but the results alone help to keep you motivated. I'm pulling for ya!

 

I think putting the 2 door stuff on the much more intact 4 door platform is the way to go. If you can pull off a chop afterward I think it'd look great. Lots of work but could be really slick.

Also, seems like you have the order of things just right. First is floors in the 4 door, along with any inner rocker or body mount issues you might have. You want all of that solid before you take any body structure away. Then the roof and door/quarter swap, and I'd get that fully completed, welded and with good gaps before doing any cuts for the chop.

This is going to be a massive undertaking, but if you see it all the way through, it should be a fantastic custom.

 

EVER BIT OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW?

The Story of my life! HRP

 

Thanks! I'm looking forward to starting. I'll be asking for help I'm sure

 

I did once. She didn't like it...

 

Maybe a radical idea, what about doing an east coast channel by just removing the bottom 4 inches of the rusted part of the body? Then put that onto a good Cadillac donor chassis and floor as suggested earlier. You may not even need much of the rockers, or they could be much shorter height simple fab. Biggest hassle will be mating the body with the floor, but as mentioned by several previous replies that gets covered up so it doesn't have to be like factory stamping.

Keep the 4 door as a driver when you need a break. Go to shows or a drive to recharge.

 

Never!
Same car, about 6 years apart.

 

I know it's pretty much already been said, but if you never bite off more than you can chew you never grow, you never improve yourself and you never evolve into what you might become.

I'm often over my head, it's a great place to emerge triumphantly from.

 

You forgot the most important tools of all, hammers, lots of hammers !

 

Trust me anything can be fixed...

 

Has anyone ever looked at a picture of a girl, a house, or a car and the item turned
out BETTER than the picture? Never. Ever.

 

Yes. Almost every time. but that’s how you grow.
you don’t learn new skills unless you step out of that comfort zone

 

I totally agree HRP