1963 belair "family tradition"

[jott]

good deal. nothing wrong with leaving a flange to overlap on a rat rod. Just didnt want rust getting covered up and swelling up under your patches later on.

 

[1963hoopty]

The biggest over lap i had was bout 3" or so on the pass floor. Some of it i trimmed out from underneath after the patch was in. Ive got some urethane similar to what they use on windshields that im gonna seal all my seams under the car an put a few good coats of undercoating. That should seal it up pretty good. Now i know why body shops charge so much! I overlapped the body patches too. I made the body patches look a little rough on purpose cuz that was the look i am goin for. Most of the patches on the car are stainless too! So i dont have to worry bout them rusting. Thanks for lookin out though! I almost just covered the rust up, it would of been way easier but it was worth the extra effort to do it right!

 

[earthman]

............[P

 

[1963hoopty]

I got my striping brush out again tonite. I shoulda been getting my front shock mounted but at least i got something done! Not sure if im 100% with it yet. If not i will sand it off an try again! Maybe i'll throw another color on it an see if it works. After all its only paint, and who really needs paint!!!!!

 

[forbigpicture]

You pull a pretty good line there Hoopty.............

 

[1963hoopty]

Thanks! Im not sure i like it. I wanted a little more traditional look an not sure thats what i got! It will prolly get sanded off an redone. We are always the biggest critics of our own work. Oh well its just paint....

 

[Skip]

The look seems to fit the car.

 

[1963hoopty]

I changed it up a little tonite. I took it off the roof post but couldnt help myself an striped around the door handles! I left the top alone but decided to change it on the rear quarter. It mite be a little too much but i guess im an overboard kinda guy!

 

[Skip]

Still like it.

 

[MercuryMac]

What Skip said.

 

[1963hoopty]

Got a little more done today. Finally got my rear bags in and shes in the weeds now! Heres couple pics of how it sits. Also got some drag seats outta my buddys 57 gasser. I like how the look. Im gonna kinda do a gasser style interior with a single rollbar and the drag seats. I got a couple of holes to fix in the trunk then start my interior! I wanna put in a floor shifter and was wondering if anybody knew of a shifter from a later model vehicle that i could adapt to the powerglide? Any suggestions or info would be appreciated greatly as always!
.

 

[1963hoopty]

more progress!!

Had a little time to get in the garage this weekend. I finally got my floor pans sealed up and undercoated. I found this really cool rubber carpet runner at menards that looks like tread plate! It makes awesome floor mats! It was only a couple of bucks a foot so thats even better! I also got started on my stainless fender skirts. Not sure if i like em yet but i can always take em off. I kinda played with my roll bar idea too and it looks pretty cool so far. My wife got me a green metalflake steering wheel but i havent got it on yet. As soon as my undercoating dries i can finish up my interior. Its getting closer to being on the road and i cant wait! Gonna get historic tags for it. Has anybody had any experience with historic tags in MO? I heard its a one time tag and i had to keep a mileage log book. Any words of wisdom GREATLY appreciated!!!!!! Rust is beautiful!!

 

[1963hoopty]

Havent been on here for awhile an thought id give an update on my progress! Well shes on the road finally. Its not 100% yet but its close. The clearance on the header is a little tight and it rattles on the frame a bit so i need to cut a little more relief in the pipe that comes out of the fender. The damn brakes gave me fits!! I bled an bled an still the first push of the pedal went to the floor! I finally pulled the drums off and adjusted the shoes an its got a good pedal now. Its runnin really good now and the old powerglide shifts like new! I put in a new turn signal setup so now all my lights and signals work good. Ive still got to wire up my compressor and a few odds an ends and its crusin time! The greaserama show is in couple weeks so i hope to be ready to show her off by then. Its about 35mi trip to the show so that will be its longest drive its had in 15yrs! I will post more pics when i get my wiring done so until then keep the rusty side up!!!!

 

[White Trash Renegade]

Looks Killer man!

 

[1963hoopty]

Well i got a little more done. I drove it to work one day an quickly realized the open header was a bad idea on the hiway! I t'ed it off behind the fender an put a muffler on. I still need to make a cap but exhaust is done. I pinstriped the dash an couple other places. Its a lot of stripes but i like it!! It won 1st in the rat rod class in my first show. Everyone i talked to at the show had one of these cars or knew someone who had one. It made for some pretty good stories from some old timers! Let the good times roll! Keep it rusty!

 

[earthman]

Congrats on the award! Nice ol' Chevy. And yep i had one too.

 

[soltz]

Never Had One

and yes i'm an old timer.[S #fordguy
Yours is turning out really nice and the people at the show think so too. [cl
Your good at the line painting

 

[1963hoopty]

Thanks guys for the kind words! It has been a labor of love getting it back on the road again since this car has been in my family since it was new! I got it from my dad and hes been with me in spirit thru every late nite in the garage! Thanks Pops for guiding me thru the build!! Now everytime i drive it i feel like im 7 years old again riding around town with my dad. It dosent get any better than that! Thanks again everyone!

 

[Old Iron]

Good job on the build [cl
Congrats on the award

 

[1963hoopty]

Thought id post a few pics of what i got done today. I had the idea of making some skirts for it an scored some huge stainless louvered panels off a machine at my work so i couldnt resist! It will be a little pain if i have a flat but the bolts are easy to get to an i think they turned out great! Once again another cool piece made for free!