Customs Finally starting on the wife’s 56

Are you going to make the floor piece? Damn, buying panels for these cars has become expensive! There's a lot of metal work there, cowl rust would keep me from buying a Tri 5. Please keep it a 210! Looks like you have all the trim. All that Bel Air stuff around the windows is a pain.

 

Yep. Making the floor pieces.
The cowl is simple on these cars.
Easier than the dog leg.

 

Cave man fab work
Pattern

Transfer details with a punch

Scribble on some sheet metal

roll some beads. Not exactly as OE but ok for a HF roller. Crude but ok for this project

Then figure out the flange

Use this info to bend in a brake. The last bend was the furtherest in. Flipped upside down and squashed to make the soft roll.
the end of the flange area needed flattened out to match the original. Hammer time



Then start pounding out the detail

Roughed in floor. Needs some more banging but will work for this beater
The cowl edge shaped with a shrinker/stretcher. Need to finishing trimming off the old flange at the cowl. Prep the front crossmember for welding and hammer and dolly the weld area along the splice lines.

 

More caveman fab
Inner dog leg pattern

first piece


second piece

flange it with pliers

do some shrinking and stretching
Trim and tack

test fit

close. I’ll make the other inner piece next.
Tack it all together but won’t weld until the doors are fit

 

Looks good Anthony.

 

looking very professional

 

Anthony, you metal wizards amaze me! Very nice work!

 

Wish I was over 50 years younger so I could be a student in your shop class. The skills you have and are passing on to your students is amazing. Thanks for the photos on this and your other projects as well.

 

Well, I’m trying to post the how to as best I can.
I’m using very low buck tools.
Trying to show folks you can do good work with minimal investment.
It’s breaking a part down to manageable steps. I shop with a Pullmax (stamping machine) could build that inner dog leg in one piece.
But with a hammer, some shears and a cheapo HF shrinker/stretcher, we made a usable piece.

 

Got another inner dog leg piece tacked

the other dog leg piece is ready to final fit and weld. I’ll trim the top even and butt weld

Got a decent rocker gap for a quick fit check.

 

just read the whole thread and all I can say is, "Thanks, Teach!". I"m a visual learner so I'm learning!!!!!

 

These rides got some goofy gaps.

 

They're definately NOT precision. Just gotta go with the best overall you can get.

 

Ya ain't a party pooper, but you poop parts pretty well

 

Lower A post work

 

Just read the whole thread. I will be going back and remaking some of the pieces on my Sedan Delivery project. I made a "road map" of the drivers side floor panel almost exactly like you did. I'm glad to see I did it the way the guy that hits cars with hammers does it. When I get done with my car, I hope that guy will say "I'd drive that!"

Amazing work on all of it. Go man go! Keep learning the rest of us out here struggling. You make it look easy!

 

More caveman fab.
The bottom portion of the cowl drain area.
Make a pattern. Wrinkles indicate shrinking. The wife got involved using the torch (my heating tips are at school so we had to use the cutting torch)




there it is in its raw shaped glory.
Hammers, ball peen in a vice, panel bag, acetylene bottle cap welded to a bench and heat.
My hands are tired
I’ll dress it up in the morning

 

Wife took a couple live action shots

My planishing set up in action

 

Bottom A post bout worked out

 

Time for a shower and bed
Breakfast and shopping with the wife, loaded up a flatbed full of scrap, cut up some auto art for a friend (tailgate/bed section bar material) banged and welded on the 56, assisted my son with his 51 Willys project (more welding), worked on the tractor, cut grass, ate a steak, local cruise in, then more work on the 56

And a milkshake

 

Thinking about dialing in the stance after the rockers. Do that before I remove the chassis for blasting.
Looking for recommendations on power steering, spindles, springs…….
I’ll do the added caster upper shafts
She digs how this one sits

probably use OE steel wheels and poverty caps.

 

This guy said he used 2 inch spindles, 1 inch coils and 2 inch rear blocks

 

My short stint into the tri five world showed me that power steering wise, the Borgeson box was about your only choice if you wanted reliability as far as power steering fluid leaks. Mine had the dreaded 605 conversion about 2/3rd done, and after learning here that it was a bad move, I went back to a stock manual box.

I forgot to say that in the dirty south, borgeson power steering box translates to "too much bucks!" Lol

 

If I was the primary driver, I’d keep the stock box. The wife’s wants PS.
I’ve heard about those boxes leaking.
There is a 600 and a 500 box out there.

 

I get it brother lol, buy a bigger steering wheel and put the bearings in the idler arm

 

I put a box for a 88 Cutlass in my Lincoln, think it’s a 600 ? Can steer it with one finger. Just don’t get a close ratio box, the turning radius will be about like a football field.
My box fits about all the G bodies as far as I know. I bought a new one made by Lares off of RockAuto.

 

One more piece. Floor next to the dog leg. Tack welded.
Left the section of floor that’s getting removed that transitions flat to align this new piece.


inner rocker welded, A post whooped.
Outer rocker and doors fit.

 

I'm picking up little stuff just looking at your pics. Such as the magnets holding your paper pattern on the piece with compound curves.
You must work at a fast pace to fab so many pieces this quickly.
Like warp factor 7.