Projects Can you say determination.....Impala resto

This was posted not to long ago, but still amazing!

 

skim is a H A M Ber, just do a search. he's a great guy, and really down to earth. and yes, his VW's rule too

 

Tony is a real good friend of mine. He is an artist, that is all there is to it.

What really impresses me is the budget. I worked with him for over five years making the exact same amount of money and I would struggle if I had to put a new set of tires on my pickup. He is the epitome of dedication. It will mean a lot to him to know that he is getting some recognition on the HAMB.

 

I would also like to see the build up of that black convert that skim says is his inspiration....That car looks dead straight too......Is this what Skim does for a living? If not,,, it should be......

 

Thanks guys. Its been about a year and a half of work and its been frustrating. I found this car about 3 years ago and thought it was too much work for me but after I couldnt find a descent one under 10k I figured for the price, what have I got to lose.

I never welded before this so its really taught me to appreciate the learning process and appreciation of the guys who really do metal work. Im still far from being "good" and everytime I see welds that I did in the begining, I pretty much end up redoing them over but it was those same bird shit welds that helped me get to this point. If you had asked me 2 years ago, I didnt have a clue.

I still have a full time job, Like Pryce mentioned we worked together for a few years as railroad subcontractors and all we did was talk about cars. Infact, hes the one that told me about the HAMB years ago. Now I just try to get as much as I can done after work or on my days off.

Once again, thanks for the kind words guys.

As for the black 61 that inspired me, I really dont know the full story on that one but I saw that and figured if he could do it, I could atleast try to do it.

 

my jaw was on the ground the whole time i was reading that thread, incredible work!

 

You've got some serious ambition.

 

Awsome build pics....but I cant help but thinking that it would have been a whole lot easier to graft the required rag-top pieces onto the rust free four door.... I have a nice solid 64 Pontiac Laurentian and have a lead on a smashed 63 Parisienne rag and thats what I am looking at doing...love the color choice as well!!

 

Well, I guess I should just quit my bitching...

 

man that dude was driven , the tin worms had made a meal of that car and then some , awesome job on it so far

 

I've done the hardtop into convertible swap-over (using a wasted '69 Buick Skylark convert but a really solid '72 GTO hardtop) and it's doable, I almost think this one is doing it the hard way. But well done for sure, I laugh when I see people bitching about how rusty a car is because it needs toe boards and rockers.

I've always wondered how much more difficult the convert swap-over would be if the solid platform car was a four door. I will have to try that some day.

I haven't read all the way through the '61 thread yet but it's looking good so far and will be worth all the effort when finished.

 

Welcome SKIM--Holler at your boy!

Railroad subcontractor....O-shit...I'm just HOBO..lolol

Rack'em up, hit'em u & send it down the line..

 

Dear GOD! I feel really lazy. I gotta get to work. That guy is an animal!!!!

 

I just finished reading the whole thread and I'm really impressed. Not just with the metal work but the quality of the paintwork too, even on the underside of the floors.

This guy will have some of the best before and after pictures ever taken.

 

No kidding.... the underside of the car is nicer than most cars top side....most guys would have just seam sealed it underneath, shot it with some epoxy or rocker guard and called it a day.The attention to detail is really nice to see..I really dig that color too....

 

Heres a 61 4 door to convertible conversion build topic on Layitlow.com

http://www.layitlow.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=345870&hl=

As for people wondering, the conversions from 4 door and 2 door h/t to convertible have been done for a long time now but those cars are reffered to as "Cutter Cars" or "Conversion Rags" - I just chose to not go that route even if it meant more work. Since it left the production line as a vert, I wanted to keep it a vert, same vin numbers etc, even if it meant more work, I didnt want to build a cutter rag. Again thanks for the input fellas.

 

Great job SKIM..
I forwarded the link to a good friend of mine who's into Impala's as well just to show him what you've done.
As i mentioned up a way's in this thread, i had a 61 rag a few years back, but because of other project's and lack of cash at the time it had to get sold..
Seeing your's make's me wish i hadn't sold it..
It ended up going to a fella on layitlow from Mi..but i can't remember his screen name..
In fact i was over there the other day trying to search and see if he's posted any progress of it..but didn't find anything.
Anyway, you should be damn proud of what you've done as i'm sure you are.
I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing your finished product so please post some pics here when you can.

Tony

 

Amazing work...

 

Hey Tony was it this one?
http://www.layitlow.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=296693

 

On one that new, probably more work, you'd have to swap in some 2-door quarters, and those particular GMs have varying wheelbases on different body styles. On something older where the wheelhouses are different and you really need to go to the bare floorpan to put it back together, it's probably a toss-up either way.

I too have to shake my head sometimes at the way people bitch and complain about even a little rust, they wet their pants at a car that needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. I had one complaining the other day about a car and I asked them if they'd ever gone to Hershey or Carlisle and priced out parts off the car. Got a response saying in part "I heard of Carlyle, where's Carslile?" .... apparently there's at least one person in Iowa who's parents are brother and sister.

That's what makes a project like this so much more amazing, not only is it completely alien to most people's minds, but it's even the hardest route of the choices out there for the guys who can concieve of the idea of going so far to rebuild a car.

 

Skim--Lololol--Thats the one....One of my boys bought that car years ago (complete) and dismantled it with the intentions of making it an all hopper but then lost interest in it. Its a damn shame cause that car had alot of potential but all the neglect killed it along with some other issues. Hell, the og motor got left outside and a snow plow pushed it into the bushes where i guess it still is but who knows...Thats what i was told...Regardless, It was still worth saving and glad to see someone doing something with it....

 

Skim--Not for nothing man...But i just found this is one of the most talked about threads on the net...Its on every forum!! Nice job...

You German Folks RULE!!....post'em up!!

 

Yeah SKIM, like Dirty said, that's it!!
See, Robbie changed his screen name on there so i wasn't looking in the right places..kinda had an idea of the first few letter's but that was it..
Thanks man..I'd like to see how thing's are going with it.. I'll probably contact Robbie.
Dirty hit the nail on the head with it being neglected. Damn shame because it REALLY wasn't that bad at all...had i kept it it would have been a great project.....

Thanks again man, and keep it up!

Tony