'56 Ford Club Sedan Mild Custom

[animal]

I finally got a day to work on the car, in amongst all the home remodeling... I was going to test fit the junky old trunk lid I found, but when I was getting ready to bolt it up, I found the right hinge was wonky. I took it off, found the stop was worn off, and the pivot pin was badly worn. I took it apart with the help of my grinder, repaired the hinge pin with a grade 8 bolt with a short shoulder for the pivot area. I ground the head down to fit where it had to go, then put the nut on the other end and cut it down to where it will clear everything and tacked it in place. I welded a small piece of 3/8" square stock on for the stop, put everything back together. I bolted it to the car, found out the stop needed just a little "adjustment". Took care of that with the grinder, took the hinge back off and set out to reinstall that %#@* spring. After a period of time where I tried not to hurt myself or anything else while clamping the hinge in the vise, I got fed up and drilled some holes in my outside work table, bolted the hinge to it, and used a big pry bar and some wood blocks to get the spring stretched and in place. Jeez, what a hassle!

 

[bob w]

When the going gets tough the clever figure out a way. Nice work animal.

 

[earthman]

Well you did what had to be done and now it is good to go. If building these old cars was too easy we would have to get our drama somewhere else.

 

[animal]

After getting the trunk hinge fixed, I realized the trunk lid I bought to replace my rusted-out original lid is more trouble than it's worth. I cut the cancer out of the original lid and welded in patch panels, something I'm not very experienced at, and to be honest, have been really intimidated by. I probably should have just done this to begin with, but didn't trust myself not to make a hash out of it.

Thankfully, it turned out better than I'd hoped, and will just take some massaging and a coat of Kitty Hair before a final coat of filler to make things smooth. While I was at it, I filled the trunk emblem and trim holes, as the stuff on the car was badly pitted and I don't want to spend the cash for reproduction parts.

Now to get the hood and trunk lid in primer, blocked, and primed ready for paint. Then I can bring the car into the paint room, prepare the rear window opening, and install the rear window.

Things are coming along, slower than I'd like, but progress is nice.

 

[Abasham]

Nice work

 

[animal]

Well, I finally got the trunk lid and hood as straight as I'm going to get them, primered, blocked, primered again, blocked again, and in sealer. I think I'm going to get the rear window opening prepared, get the window in, and install the bumpers, filler panels, grille, hood, trunk lid, lights, and most of the interior, then DRIVE this thing for awhile to make sure everything is working like it should before committing to final paint.

 

[smallfoot]

I don't think your worry was necessary! Looks really good....[cl

What's this stuff called paint???

 

[Torchie]

Good job on the sheet metal repair.[cl [
It's always good to learn new things.
[cl[cl[cl
Torchie

 

[Old Iron]

I started to say those look like new but, they are better than new [cl
[P[P[P

 

[bob w]

Squirt it!

 

[animal]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys!

 

[animal]

I painted the underside of the hood and glued on the insulation. I also installed all the hood bumpers and the latch assembly.

 

[Torchie]

[cl
[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[Old Iron]

The insulation cleaned it up too

 

[soltz]

Looking GOOD [cl
[P[P

 

[animal]

Thanks, guys. I mounted to hood today, had to do some "adjusting", but it's looking like I might actually get it to fit pretty well. I also test-fit the custom LED taillight assemblies I made, and the backup lights, too. I'm leaning toward getting the whole car in black sealer, putting it all together, and driving the snot out of it for awhile to see if there are any issues to address before thinking about paint.

 

[earthman]

They will see you now i betcha'

 

[animal]

Decades of riding motorcycles made me realize the positive aspects of good taillights!

 

[soltz]

Very NICE!
Remember, paint is way over rated

 

[hansgoudzwaard]

Old School Flake!!!!!

http://www.myrideisme.com/Blog/video-metal-flake-with-a-40-buck-paint-gun/

Old School Flake?!