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Projects 59 Custom 300 rust bucket... A journey back to the road

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by SoulProprietor, Mar 1, 2016.

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  1. Glass it for now...metal patch later

    11 vote(s)
    8.0%
  2. Metal repair is the only way

    116 vote(s)
    84.1%
  3. Glass it and forget it

    11 vote(s)
    8.0%
  1. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Hello again all. I made a post back about a month ago introducing myself and this old gal... She's a bit rusty... But she's mine...
    I have decided to go ahead and jump on the work. I can't stand just watching her sit and rust. Now as I said before, I am a novice when it comes to working on classic cars... I appreciate them, I am mechanically inclined, and I know my way around several important techniques... That said, I'm not sure how good I am at evaluating the state of a vehicle body and what steps I need to take first... I'm not one for having to do work over again... I'd rather get it right the first time when possible... So I'm hoping some of you can offer me a little advice.
    Given her condition, it seems like a great place to start is the roof. (We won't even talk about pans or rockers...they will be replaced) image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg She has rust holes all the way through... A fact that was hidden pretty good by a not-so-good bondo job...Here you see what appears to be body filler smeared over what appears to be poorly treated rust ... If it was treated at all. Follow that up with what appears to be a drip edge filled with window caulk...who does that? Is that a valid repair?!...anyways, she won't be venturing out from under the roof until hers is up to par... Now the question... Given the damage and my entry level budget, would a glass repair be in order until I can either replace the roof (if I can even find one)... Or should I bite the bullet and have it cut out... As you can see in the picture, there are some body lines to deal with... Then the other question... This was my first classic... I think I got a decent deal on it... That said, is this level of rust on the roof an end game? Thoughts questions comments all appreciated. Thank you for taking time to ready and throw in some input :)
     
  2. A lot of work is before you... good luck. Mine has zero rust on it, I was lucky to get a good one.
    on_trailer.jpg 221-023.JPG
     
    SoulProprietor and 59IMPALER like this.
  3. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Very clean, Bob. Thanks for the input. I love that body style... Wish I had fared better with condition... But hey, I consider it a learning experience... I'll do my time. Very nice ride.
     
  4. Thanks, bought it on an impulse too in July of 2014. May have it running/ driving within a week or so. Need any advice, just shout. 2-1-020.JPG
     

  5. First things first . Get a grinder going and grind off all the filler from around the drip edge area . That will be your starting point . You need to see what your after !
     
    Nailhead Jason likes this.
  6. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Gotta love impulse buys... Mine was too. Bob, what mill are you going to be running? Mine came with the stock 223... I may need some assistance figuring out the linkage if you have any insight. It is missing a spring or two. aw1950 you are right on it... Going to buy a new wheel and start grinding sometime this week. Thanks for the input. I'll be sure to post pics as it comes along.
     
  7. I'd look for a donor roof... that one's pretty bad. And the 'caulking' is factory, Ford used sealer at the drip rails during that era.
     
  8. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Thanks Steve. Yes I'm sure that'd be the most ideal thing to do... I do have a feeling that this roof may be hard to find... Been looking for a hood for a while with no luck...I may just have to do the best I can with what I have... Again, learning experience :)
     
  9. That repair may not be as bad as you think. I just did this over the drivers door on my truck, first scrape out the caulking, then grind out the old bondo so you can how big of a patch you need. Basically you need to make a patch with a flange on it that can be spot welded to the driprail. You will have to learn to make patch panels at some point,might as well do it in an area thats easy to access and see. Its intimidating at first but we all had to learn at some point. I screwed up lots of stuff, still do. But in the end try to do it as proper as possible and you can look back and be proud. Sweet car by the way. :)
     
  10. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Thank you for the reply michael knight! I really do want to learn how to do that (making patch panels) and this car has PLENTY of opportunities for that. I've just heard that the roof is an area you definitely do NOT want rust... I don't think she's too far gone yet but I'm no professional... Your optimism definitely lifted my spirits :) thanks!
     
  11. Maybe not as hard as you think. Some 'junior' Mercurys and Edsels used the same roof. I think you could even use a 4dr roof from the same models if you split it at the drip rails. Or maybe even convert it to a hardtop with the right donor... ;)
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2016
  12. The '58 Ford roof was ribbed... not for her pleasure. I would try Owens Salvage in Texas for anything you need. He came through with the parts my car was shy of. Bob has a web site and he's on here too, forget his user name though.
    http://www.owenssalvage.com/
     
    michael knight likes this.
  13. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Well mine is a 4dr so maybe I could find one with some luck. Thanks for the lead Bob. I'm looking at all my options at this point and weighing them... Thanks again for all the input :)... I'm going to grab a grinder this week and dig a little deeper to see the full picture, however ugly it may be
     
  14. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Oh, and convertin to a hard top would be AWESOME if that is doable... Again, mine is a 4dr
     
  15. ^ His user name is FLAT-TOP BOB
     
  16. Stormtron
    Joined: Apr 30, 2009
    Posts: 215

    Stormtron
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

  17. I wasn't going to suggest a different car, but they are out there. By far the 58E (Custom 4 door) and 64F (Custom 2 door) models are most plentiful at 249,000 and 228,000 units respectively. Any other models are a lot less, around 4000 to 53,000 units made.
     
  18. steinauge
    Joined: Feb 28, 2014
    Posts: 1,507

    steinauge
    Member
    from 1960

    You can fix anything if you want to bad enough.When fixing rust like that remember to multiply what you can see by 4 or so.I had an OT car that had that sort of roof damage.I cut out all the rust I could find,welded in new metal and 6 months later it started to come through(this was long before POR 15).I should have taken the roof skin off and fixed the mess underneath first.You might keep that in mind.Live and learn I reckon.keep in mind that you can drive the car while fixing it.That (at least for me) helps a lot on big jobs like that.The people on this board are incredibly helpful.If you want to learn a LOT about sheet metal repair in a hurry read Big A and Finnrodders threads on their shoebox Ford builds.
     
    Crazy Steve likes this.
  19. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    I'm thinking I'll stick with this car for now... I really do want a lasting repair and something worth having and I'm willing to put in the work. Mainly I will just be needing guidance on proper ways to do things... There is a lot of racket online when it comes to auto body repair. How difficult is it to take the roof skin off? I imagine there is plenty to address underneath...
     
  20. Oh man, thats alot of work but its doable. You will need to remove the front and rear windshields and headliner.
    Then buy a bunch of drill bits to drill out spotwelds.
    when the skin is off you would probably find that the flanges(pinchwelds) may need new metal welded in, at the very least have it sandblasted and epoxied.
    You can remove some interior panels and check what that area looks like before removing the skin. I usually do the screwdriver test on something that im unsure about
     
  21. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Ah. Well Im on the fence as to whether I want to go ahead and tear down the car... It would be nice to drive it a little... But then again, I don't want to let any damage continue to get worse. I guess I may have to just go ahead and settle on the long haul approach and get it straight before wanting it on the road again... I can still dream.
     
  22. Being it's a 4dr, I can't believe that finding another roof would be that difficult. You may have to do a bit of a search, but a rust-free unit will save you a ton of time. And I don't think I'd skin it either; that's rotted from the inside out, so you know the inner structure is every bit as bad as what you're already seeing. Better to pull the glass, brace the body, and just chop it off at the posts and weld a new one on.
     
  23. To be perfectly honest and blunt, use your 59 for a parts car and search for a better Ford.
     
  24. Yeah, I wouldn't think that a decent stripped-for-parts 4dr shell or semi-complete car would be that hard to find... Maybe not locally, but somewhere within trailer distance.
     
  25. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Ouch... Yeah not what I wanted to hear but those thoughts have entered my mind... That said it would be hard to procure another car at this time... Maybe if anything this would be a good practice car? I don't know at this point
     
    czuch likes this.
  26. steinauge
    Joined: Feb 28, 2014
    Posts: 1,507

    steinauge
    Member
    from 1960

    Drive it,just park it out of the rain so it doesnt get any worse.Looks like you have that covered.Start fixing the least worse places while you look for a roof.As crazy steve says replacing the whole roof would be a far better way to go and a lot less work.Starting on the other parts of the car will give you a more manageable learning curve too.If this is your first time around I really would make a point of keeping the car driveable as long as possible.Driving the car occasionally will go a long way to preventing project burnout.
     
    Frankie47 likes this.
  27. Stormtron likes this.
  28. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Decisions decisions... I'm gonna see what the grinder wheel brings to light... We shall see, one piece at a time :) thanks again for the input all
     
  29. I was thinking, since the roof is so bad, you have to worry about the a-pillars and the bottom of the windshield area. You can take off the inside trim and the outside and get a better look at it. Look up under the dash, but the heater box will be in the way for most of it. Look for rust running down to the kick panels and toe boards. Carpet and that thick padding hold moisture too well.

    I was having a new windshield put in mine, so we popped it out (was busted anyway). My glass guy had warned me that the channel is a good area for rust to accumulate. Luckily it was okay. I had the whole interior out as well as the dash and heater assembly.
     
  30. SoulProprietor
    Joined: Feb 1, 2016
    Posts: 83

    SoulProprietor
    Member

    Good points... Since the car isn't running right now anyway, I can go ahead and tear down at will... I've been debating doing this anyway. I feel a full tear down coming on... Catalog parts as I go... Worst case I'll have a parts inventory... I guess I just liked fooling myself into thinking I could do a quick fix... Quick and good don't mix... I want something that will last
     

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