I have to laugh to myself every time I see one of these ranchwagons in "as found" condition.... They're ALL rusted nearly to death! If it was some other car people would have scrapped them. What is it about these particular wagons that drives people to try and save them? I've got to thank HRP for doing such a beautiful job on his. It inspires us to keep forging ahead.
Chuck,the desire to save these rust buckets can probably be traced to a abnormal malady in our DNA, that or we are just gluttons for punishment! You guys are doing a impressive job. HRP
OK, Here's today's effort. We started to build the interior bottom pan. Drew it out on a sheet of 18 gage. It needs a 90 degree bend along the CURVED side. First we rolled it in the bead roller to form a bend line. Then we had to run it through the shrinker till the sheet top was once again flat. This really worked well. Then we used a brake on the back straight side and bent a welding tab. Here's a picture of a moron welding it in place. This all came out well and was easier than we expected. Now for the hard part.... The exterior sheet metal that is bent on a reverse curve! We thought that we could bend it out as a straight piece and then maybe curve it by shrinking the welding tabs. Here's a look at how far we got today. We are gonna have to re-make this piece and bend it a bit further, but the approach seems as though it will work.... We learned a lot by screwing up this piece, but that's what its all about, right? If it was easy the girl scouts would do this shit....
I'm impressed,I especially like the idea of using the bead roller before shrinking,,I wouldn't have thought of that although I'm sure I would have worked harder instead of smarter! I never took any photos of our mistakes but I can assure you guys there were plenty of half done scraps of sheet metal scattered around. You guys are doing a beautiful job! HRP
Hey Danny, what is your engine tranny combo? I've got to start giving some thought to this. I'm no engine builder, so is there a crate engine supplier for Ford? There seems to be dozens of them for Chevy... Ford not so much.
Plenty of Ford crate motors to choose from just have to look for them.You could start here:http://www.tuffdawgengines.com/ford small block.htm Also available from Ford Racing but most have zero warranty,also Summit has Ford crates too want something really wicked try Woody here:www.sbftech.com
The first site has only "enhanced" engines... I'd be more comfortable with a stocker. Its strange that they don't post prices either. You can get a stock SBC for about 1,500 bucks. I'm not finding anything like that in the ford arena... Havent checked Summit yet, though.
Any local machine-shop-slash-engine-builders in your area? If they can build a SBC they can surely build a SBF. I like dealing local whenever possible. A good shop will stand behind their build, and IF there's an issue you can drop it off rather than crating it up and shipping it somewhere, not being able to deal face to face. My recommendation? Use a 302 block, bore and stroke it to 347. These are AMAZING little engines that are reliable, run forever, and make GREAT low and high end power. Nobody will know externally that you have a monster under the hood either. My '27 T Roadster build: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t= 734383
I bought a 84 mustang that belonged to a close friend and he bought it new. In 2007 He completely rebuilt the engine and transmission,,he spent a good bit of money and then decided he was going to buy a new Mustang in 2008,,he offered me the car for a pittance. I got a great 302 & a 5 speed transmission. You might check with your local Ford dealer about a replacement engine,,,I know Ford offers high performance engines but they should have a stock engine available. HRP
We knew today that we would face the hardest panel to re-create. It has a hollow, and 2 long curves one horizontal, and one vertical. Last week we screwed up our first attempt. Today we screwed up the second, third and fourth. We could bend it with the shrinker in one plane, but we had to make relief cuts in it so it could bend in the other two. We did finally on the fifth attempt get an acceptable fit. Here's Steve grinding down the last of the welds that I laid in the relief cuts. It really doesn't look too shabby. It'll need some primer and glaze but its real close. Here's a photo of the old rotted one next to the new. It took the two of us about 4 hours to do this, but we were satisfied that it happened at ALL!! Next week we should be done back here and can move on to another needy area.
You guys are doing that old rusty POS proud! The beauty of virtually beating yourself in the head with a hammer is that it feels so good when you quit! As long as you accomplish the goal the time and aggravation spent on a part that took way too long will soon be forgotten when you move on to the next stage of the project. HRP
Today was our last day on the rear tailgate area of this bugger. The top piece was all that was left. Steve made a pattern and we bent and taped it to the rear to make sure the tailgate would clear. It did. We transferred the pattern to metal and welded it into place It welded nicely, so not a lot of finessing was necessary. At this point all the major structural rust is repaired. Its time to strip this baby of everything and take it to the sandblaster. I'm not the glutton for punishment that HRP is so we're hiring this done. When it comes to sandblasting I cant get the checkbook out fast enough. We pulled the dash, windshield and all the door innards out so that the blaster can get to everything. We still have a bit to strip out so we'll do that next week. It'll be cool to have a clean carcass to work on. We were at the SEMA show early this week , and as soon as we got off the bus This was in front of us! Its a 53 Ranchwagon that sits on a Corvette chassis. The whole car has been widened 4 inches and the top has been pancaked with the driprails removed. I don't like EVERYTHING about it , but it was damn nice, and its cool to see another one of these beasts saved.
Man that looks great,but you really are missing out on a big part of the fun by letting someone else do the sandblasting! Seriously,you and I know what a PITA that is.. Hopefully when you get the car back you won't have to replace any more sheet metal but sometimes that sand uncovers stuff you were not expecting! HRP
There will still be a fair amount of panel replacement work, but at this point it'll be more in the "bodywork" area than structural panels and posts. That's an area I feel a lot more comfortable in.
Its a 53 Ranchwagon that sits on a Corvette chassis. The whole car has been widened 4 inches and the top has been pancaked with the driprails removed. I don't like EVERYTHING about it , but it was damn nice, and its cool to see another one of these beasts saved.[/QUOTE] I think this car was at Santa Maria/Paso a few years ago. Unfinished but well on it's way. The widening part is what got me.......the guy was doing a really nice job. As are you guys. Nice work so far.
Yeah,I agree and with all the work involved I don't understand shaving the drip rails,,Is the top chopped? HRP
He didn't chop the posts, but he lowered the crown of the roof, and that's why it looks that way. I've always loved the cartoonish high roof, and the driprails should be left on most 50's cars in my opinion. The rear fender openings look a little odd to me as well. But the car was gorgeous and EXTREMELY well done! I know that when I'm done there will be folks that don't like my alterations.. That's just the way it is. The owner worked his ass off on this car and he was very justly proud of it. The more you looked at it the more you realized how much work he had done. (Two windshields, etc.) He was also a really nice guy to talk with.
Was the windshield in two pieces,,like a Forty Ford and have a division bar in the middle? With the crown removed from the top the car takes on a slight Plymouth wagon look. HRP
Today was spent getting the car ready to take to the sandblaster. We stripped out EVERYTHING! Dana cut out the areas where we knew we would have to add patch panels on the body .. Here he is making the cut along the bottom right rear. When it comes back we'll have to repair both the inner and outer panels, but considering all the major work we've already done this will be a relative piece of cake. We stripped out the door and window mechanisms for re-build and cleaning, and swept out and vacuumed everything. I pulled the gas tank and set it aside.Still about 2 gallons of 15 year old putrid gas in it. Then we loaded it onto the trailer... First thing in the morning this baby is off to the blaster. It'll be nice to have a clean car to work on!
Only one inner & outer quarter rusted out,,you got off light! seriously,,looking forward to seeing the wagon necked! HRP
Chuck rebuilt most of the other quarter several yrs ago before it was put on the back burner. We do still have to replace the panel behind the wheel well on that side though.
That makes sence,,these old Fords rust in the same places reguardless of what part of the country it resides,,, You guys are doing some nice work. HRP
Today was a lot of fun. The wagon was back from the sandblaster, and we began work on the left rear quarter. The gas filler door is right in the way of where one of the wood slats will be when we "woodieize" this thing , so the door had to be welded shut and filled. Here it is in the welding stage. I'm not a fan of the "laying frame" school of thought, but I like a car to look tastefully lowered. There are more ways to do this than hacking up the frame and C notching it. In our case I decided to actually blend a set of fender skirts INTO the rear quarters. This gives the car a lower appearance without chopping up the rear frame. Here's a look at that process. Not everyone's cup of tea, but mine for sure. I love the look. Finally we cut the rear for the new patch panel that goes from the wheel to the back tail . We screwed this temporarily into place so we could match up a new inner fender panel to it. Heres a look at the basic modified rear quarter.... There's still lots of straightening and body work left to do here, but you can easily see what the panel will look like in final form. Kind of a Brooks Stephens or Buck Rogers appearance!
Chuck,,that looks cool,I like the skirt idea. BTW,I just noticed in the final photo that the division bar for the sliding glass window is missing,,are you planing to use a one piece glass? HRP
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