The Project Begins

[skyway]

Looks like a rare opportunity for the chassis (albeit less engine) to drip on its own roof!

[JayBird]

Body and frame separated and body is out for soda blasting. So far frame looks to be in pretty good condition. Up next frame work and suspension

[Jerry Forrester]

Me too!

I'm known around the community as a project starter, not a project finisher.

[r1lark]

If I was doing the work it would take 10 times as long and, like most projects I am great at taking things apart but not always so good at getting them back together.

Me too!

[JayBird]

Work look really good Kenneth! They got really good penetration on the floorboard welds. Was the cowl pillar repair section a purchased piece, or was it custom made? Looks good.

Who is doing the work on the car for you?

Cowl repairs were fabricated by the shop. The only purchased items were the repo floor boards, rocker panels from Classic Enterprises and the NOS rear quarter panels from ebay and SI

Forged Speed in Mooresville is doing the work I'm just the banker! I was amazed at how hard it was to find a shop to do the work a lot of them acted like they were doing you a favor by even considering your project and then would only give you vague generic estimates. I guess they get a lot of people who are not serious or don't have the resources or have clients with too much money.

If I was doing the work it would take 10 times as long and, like most projects I am great at taking things apart but not always so good at getting them back together.

[r1lark]

Work look really good Kenneth! They got really good penetration on the floorboard welds. Was the cowl pillar repair section a purchased piece, or was it custom made? Looks good.

Who is doing the work on the car for you?

[8E45E]

Great work!

Keep showing us your progress photos!!

Craig

[JayBird]

The project is moving along the guys are doing a great job we hope to separate the body and frame now that most of the major repairs are done. Once separated the body will be sent out for soda blasting and then any additional rust repairs will be made prior to priming. Next up working on the frame and modifications.

rocker panels from Classic Enterprise installed welded up the seam/gap at the rear

Repairs made to the lower front A pillar corners both right and left sides

Installed new floor boards from Classic Enterprise

Had to fab up new foot/toe boards as the Classic floor/toe boards did not fit well.

New support brackets and inner rocker panels on both sides

[S2Deluxe]

Keep it up. It's lookin' good, So far!

Mark

[JayBird]

A few more pictures

[JayBird]

Making progress

[JayBird]

I see no reason, in the photos? You shouldn't be able to put the ones on the car, to good use?

Mark

Here's a good example of how looks can be deceiving. The rear fins (that are spot welded to the fender and are not fiberglass as mentioned in many articles) when removed revealed a different story.



Doesn't look to bad


Fins removed on both sides and the underlying metal was paper thin. Just took a little bit of pressure with a finger to put this hole in the quarter panel.


That along with the rust at the base of the back window resulted in

Removing both rear quarter panels (unlike some other models the rear quarters are not bolted on)

[JayBird]

Lost and Found

We have news about you car. We've found your parts

Good news is you have ahead start on your restoration
Bad news is you'll have to figure out how it goes back together

A project is the sum of all the pieces

[JayBird]

Christmas in July

Just received a couple of parts delivery. First from Steve Allen a rear window regulator and the inter trunk lower panel with corner supports (NOS). I think it goes with out saying but Steve's operation is top notch. Sent and an email asking about avaiablity got a very prompt reply, called to, confirm availability, ordered and paid. Parts at my door within several days! Bonus nicely packed in a stealth box



Second delivery was from Classic Enterprises. Ordered a floor pan replacement set. This took a little longer on the delivery but they did make it known that not all parts are stocked and some will require fabrication. Over all it took just a couple of weeks. Look to be pretty close to the original with some small differences but still a lot better then having them special made. Time will tell how well they fit but that's down the road a bit.

[JayBird]

58PackardWagon - Thanks for the offer I'm sure as the project progresses some needs will be discovered but so far given that the car was fairly complete along with bits and pieces I've found through bay and other on-line sources I think we have most of what is needed but I'll make sure to keep your contact information should/when the need may arise.

Yes, I understand the full shed and to many projects and too little time and resources, it's easy to collect "project" cars as is evident by the collection this one came from. I assume you also looked at the 2 1958 wagons that they have for sale. One was in very bad shape and it was difficult to tell what condition the other was in. I will tell you that Trevor was very honest and responsive about giving you an opinion of the condition along with photos of any areas of interest that were accessible. Although their pricing is IMO a bit on the higher side. I was drawn to this car because it seemed to be original and not molested or repainted, it appeared complete with the exception of the missing drive train which was not an issue since the plan was to replace it anyway. Additionally, it appeared to have been in storage since at least 1991 when it was titled in Marples name. The tag was from 1965. So it just seemed the perfect candidate at a reasonable price point.

So far other then the obvious conditions and typical rust the overall condition is not too bad and to be honest better then I expected. That's not to say it won't take some work. The floor pans show rust in several areas but are much better then some I've seen. It looks like who ever took out the engine and transmission tried to do it with out removing the cross member and as a result it was ripped out from the right side A pillar and left a big hole. For some odd reason the rust is worse on the drivers side then the passenger side