Projects 1959 Chevy Nomad wagon build

well this has been going for some time but i think having a "build thread" will keep me moving as fall turns to winter.
I got side tracked last December with having to get a section of my intestine removed and just had to have the hernia which resulted from the operation patched up today... anyways

I hope to have the car painted in a still to be determined type and color(s) by next summer. most the major rust repairs are done.
here are a few pictures and a link to my albums

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=12910
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=15353

it is a DIY budget build, started as a monster truck with a blown engine, dropped it on to a 61 Belair frame and running gear, drove it two summers and dug back into the body a year ago.

feel free to ask if i do not post any progress every few weeks.
the next 6 weeks will be slow until i can lift, but i plan to focus next on small parts.

 

Well I starting to heal up and actually did a little work (keeping well with the 15 LB restriction I think)
I have been searching for the dimensions rear valances with hopes of converting a pair of impala one to the wagon / El Camino style. Long story short I got a really beat up one for the cost of postage from a guy who sold a nice one on Ebay. Here is the before and after pictures. It is starting to look like I may even be able to save this one, but as a minimum it will help in modifying the others to work (keep in mind my personal challenge is to keep the cost down and learn how to restore/salvage what is there to work with).
When I got the part out of the box it reminded me of the guy with a twisted piece of scrap he found that he wanted koolkemp to build him a car from

 

gotta love a long roof!keep up the good work!

 

Looking forward to the progress pictures. I've always liked those '59 Nomads....................Mike

 

Yes you have to keep it up. Any 59 is cool but the NOMAD might be the best.
Good luck.

I am trying to pick up a 59 Nomad, maybe this weekend even if I have to miss HCPU.

 

Which is the "before" pic? Just kiddin, lookin forward to seeing progress. Always loved 50s wagons


-LUKEY-

 

Not a lot to update this week (still have post op weight restrictions for ~4 more weeks) , but i did pick up a draft tune on ebay and got a front oil fill /breather tune at the U-Pull it (they tossed it in as we were getting a parts for my brother-in-laws car).
i am thinking since i should pull the 235 prior to paint to do a good job on the firewall, I might just as well put the 283 in and see how it goes.
I do have a set of finned (strait hole) Corvette covers also, so i think it will have a good look to it.
here is what it looks like now (unchanged since i picked it up in Jan of this year)

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=557992

 

here is what the 283 looks like after swapping valve covers and a little clean up

 

Right on.. 59 chevy wagon has to be the best wagon out there. Period. Good luck with the build, can't wait to see more.

 

Looking forward to more pics and progress.

 

cleared today for light duty work so i spent time cleaning up some smaller parts with a wire brush to get ready for some POR-15
of course some showed to be mostly paint with lots of holes so welded in new steel on the worst one, the rest look to be pin holes i may try to plug.

 

love the 283 and Chevy wagons

 

looks good keep up the good work

 

Im glad to see your finally doing a build thread on your wagon , its looking good .

 

Thanks Cody, glad to have the encouragement from you and the rest of the guys who have posted on the thread.
I have a lot of work to do but little by little it will get done.
Keep your weekly updates on you wagon coming, a lot of HAMBers are looking forward to them.

 

Not worth a picture but i have been getting the floor ready to paint with POR-15. Wire brushed the areas with rust. Also cleaned up some areas underneath in the rear to get them ready too. "It's a dirty job but someones got to do it", all part of the process just not the part I like doing too much. Hope yo have some more visible results next week.

 

Great save! Keep up the good work.

 

Good going, another LONGROOF on the road.

 

Enough reading here and everywhere else, I'm going in..
After reading lots of suggestions, opinions and facts, I decided today to start tackling some of the rust I have not been able to up to this point.
On the frame in the rear, I went after all of the loose stuff with a wire brush, what a mess, glad had a mask on. Then I used some "metal prep" (phosphoric acid) from the people who make POR-15. I used in the inside of my tailgate and on some small parts. Directions say to soak it for 30 min rinse it off with water. the rust turns black and the area around it is etched.
As I stated, some say is works great, others not so much, we will see.
I am planning to be my own guinea pig on this one.
Here are a few pictures, i will follow up once the POR-15 is on.

 

Cool ride! subscribed.

 

Cool !!! subscribed also.

 

As promised
It came out okay, the frame and backsides will be fine, the outsides will need a little sanding, but that is fine, since it has to be anyways to accept paint.
I can see where sandblasting would be nice to clean things up.
If the floor looks a little odd, it is, the floor was really butchered up by the guy who had it before me from when he put it on the suburban frame. I used sections from the 61 parts car to fill it in. it is all ready for the POR-15, which will probably be the next step.
It's far from prefect but should be water tight and covered with carpet.
after that it want finish painting the new steel on the rear frame and then get the body mounted back onto frame.

 

Well i have to remind myself that one of the reasons I picked this car was so it could be a learning experience.
Did a lot of painting with POR-15 tonight. worked on the rear above the window (the area that eventually lead me to tear the car apart, again) and the floor. used up most of the POR-15 I bought 5 or 6 months ago.
May try something else next.
Here is what it is looking like, the red in the floor is factory paint in fairly solid condition, the rest was patched or had a lot of surface rust

 

Tonight I got the parts that started the latest tear down of the car back on. The rear sheet metal above the window requires the back window and all the chrome to come off.
Two sets of replacements and a lot of welding of the supports underneath and I am ready to go again.

 

Love the '59 Nomad, only model of '59 I didn't own.
Keep at her!

 

Decided to take on the front wheel wells next. They will be painted flat black and needed to be cleaned up and have some holes filled. I figure they will be good practice and I need to get them out of the way.
Got the first one almost ready to paint. It was a real mess, as i used a wire brush, but I just put a mask on and kept going to keep the project moving.
I am thinking about adding a vent fan to the ceiling, anyone who has tried adding one to there shop? l'd like to do something to keep the dust down.

 

Sounds cool, keep up updated.

 

Sounds like the same project I'm working on, but mine is a '59 Edsel.

 

It is going to be a nice cruiser when done, good work there.

 

From the looks of "the pickle" you have a fairly solid starting point looking forward to see it progress

Thanks it will be nice to have the car a little more "water tight".

I've been continuing on the clean up of the inner fender wells and decided to go a head and remove all of the undercoating from the tire side and am almost done.
Tonight for a change of pace i started on the bumper rework. i had modified the rear mounts to fit on the rear of the 61 frame i used. Now that I have replaced the rusty rear cross member with some basically correct new steel I need to replace the mounting brackets.
A few years ago i got a spare bumper for $5 on eBay so i went after the rusty bolts and got the brackets of and straighten them out.
Once i get it mounted I will get back on the rear valances I'm planning to try to rework a set of Impala ones into wagon valances if i can.
Here are a few Pictures of the butchery needed to get the brackets out so I could fix them. The lower guards were bent under making the bolts inaccessible and since i have some spares i just did what i had to to get them