I am finally about to embark on the restoration of my 57 Country Sedan Wagon. First order of business is going to be rust repair and that will include full rockers both sides, a lower fender patch pass side and a driver side dog leg. I plan to attack the rockers first. I purchased a set of full rocker panels from Black Car , very nice product.
Yes there is a question in here and the question is has anyone here done this job and do you have any pointers ? My plan is to grind back the paint and try to find the factory spot welds on the rockers . If they are within the coverage of the replacement panel then I will drill the welds , fit the panel and duplicate the spot welds with rosette welds. Am I on the right track here or is there something that I am missing ? Lower fender and dog leg shouldn't be a problem but those rocker panels are pretty large.
Pete
Take alot of measurements before you start cutting anything out. I had to go back and "straighten" my first rocker because I didn't know any better, and assumed the forming of it was correct, and of course it wasn't. What I'm talking about is the underside up to where it is flanged for attachment to the inner rocker. Also check the angle of your old one ...where the aluminum threshold sits....to make sure the new one is at the same angle. I'd get one side done before you cut off the second side so you've got something to refer to. You're gonna find out almost nothing on a '57 is actually straight. Almost every surface has got some kind of transitioning curve to it. Kinda lays waste to the term "straight as an arrow".
Tack weld in place, then do alot of eyeballing and measuring before you weld it in solid. Try to have the car in a place where you can stand back from it when you're "eyeballing". I didn't and it cost me lots of time.
Thanks for the tips. I do have a large shop but will most likely roll the car outside to check the fit from a distance. I always do all of these jobs one side at a time rather than destroy the ready reference that is just on the other side of the car.
I did a test fit about an hour ago over the existing driver side rocker and everything lines up pretty well . Next step is to get it outside and do a little spot weld hunting with the grinder.
You are right measure, sketch, photograph then cut.
Well new outer rockers are in, new foot wells for the rear floors, lower front fender patch panel and an inner and outer lower quarter panel on the driver side. Thought I was done until I took the rubber mat out of the front and found some fiberglass "artwork" in the pass side front floor.
It's all cut out and another patch panel is on the way.
All this rust in a car that spent it's whole life in California !
I hopefully had added some pictures including one of the front floor after it was cut out with it's former fiberglass skin.
I had a 60 Impala where the entire floor pan had been fibreglassed, after removing the fibre glass there was only one hole 2" square so I can only assume whoever did it either had shares in a fibreglass company or they thought doing it would protect the rest of the floor!
I'll second the comments about double checking panels before using them. On my Ranchero I had a pair of rocker panels from a well known supplier, the drivers side was an excellent replica but the passenger side didn't have the correct concave shape along its length and didn't match the factory concave shape in the rear quarter or the lower front fender.
Also, although I braced the door apperture with angle iron before I removed the old rocker I still had to jack the A-pillar back into place after as it had moved slightly.
Some good work going off there, always fancied a 57 wagon, maybe one day......
Great job. That car looks to be in pretty good shape overall, really less than normal rust if you've found everything. I love that color combo..are you going to repaint it the same?
I know I keep harping on this, but it's important.... Your floorboard rust was probably caused by bad cowl drains. Get some new ones put on. If you have the fenders off, it's a quick job.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the support . Yes, it will stay the same color. It was a factory coral sand car , I can't do that one of the reasons being the interior color choices and I love the willow green.
The fenders will be off soon so I appreciate the tip on the cowl drains, used to that from working on mid 60's Mustangs.
Forgot about your oem coral, green dilema you posted about last week..short memory.
Got the pass side front floor mostly completed this weekend. A little more work on the toe board and some touch up welding underneath and it should be complete.
Looks good Petew. The only suggestion I might make is if that's a primer your coating the underneath stuff with, I'd switch to something like por-15 or the kbg(?) encapsulating products for a longer term protection.
It's Rustoleum rusty metal primer that I have had good luck with in the past. But you are right POR-15 would be a better choice, didn't have any on the shelf but did have the Rustoleum .
Pete
I used peganox on a project. Worked good and is not sensitive to uv light.
Well Rich you were 100 % right. I took the nose off of my car today and found that the passenger side cowl drain was shot. The picture shows the gap left from the rotted rubber on the drain which allowed water to drain right onto the passenger side floor resulting in the floor rot.
No other surprises , drive train comes out next.
Pretty easy call...they all need them replaced at one time or another.
Compared to most unrestored, that's a pretty clean looking car you got there. Had it ever been redone?
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2013-10-03 19:13
Pretty easy call...they all need them replaced at one time or another.
Yup....of the six that are here or come through here all needed them replaced. That includes the 58 Edsel!
The more that I disassemble this car the more impressed I am , it has all of it's original hardware , clips and still retains the canister oil filter. As the story goes it was given a "cosmetic" restoration before being put on ebay a few years ago. The cosmetic part included a quick paint job ,some fiberglass floors and a couple of sections of the body being remade in body filler. The car was a great 20 footer but it has great bones. Built in San Jose and it stayed there until a gentleman in the LA area bought it off of ebay.
He decided that it wasn't for him and after taking the overdrive trans out and replacing it with a regular 3 speed he sold it and I was the new owner. He used the overdrive in another project. But as luck would have it I have a 56 Merc that I converted from overdrive to a T-5 5 speed so I have all of the overdrive equipment to put back in. Anyway after this long winded description it is a nice unmolested car and a pleasure to work on.
As an example the picture shows one of the inner fenders after I removed the undercoating , look at the shine on that paint.
I'm not sure, I think undercoating must have been an option, as mine sure didn't have what yours does. Maybe someone added that later on in it's life. It's amazing sometime what preserves cars...I'm guessing mine leaked oil a good part of its life because the best parts on the car were areas the engine had thrown oil all over.
I have a 55 Tbird, 56 Merc and this 57 Ford wagon and all three of them had the same, identical undercoating. All three were built in different parts of the country. Could have been a dealer option but they must have sent all of their techs to the same school !
The support braces under my rear floor pans were saved by a rather large oil leak from the trans. They were full of oil and crud under the rusty floor pans, thank the Lord for small favors....
Ford didn't call it undercoating or sell it as undercoating they called it sound deadner. Most was factory installed, but dealers seen a chance to make an extra buck and some did thier own undercoating. There has been a on going argument with Ford restores as to the pros and cons of it.
As a sound deader I think it probably did a great job. The inner fenders prior to stripping were much more rigid and almost felt and sounded as if they were thick plastic. Once the coating was stripped off they were much more flexible and loud when moved around.
They will be blasted , painted and reinstalled without any other coating as I hate the look of the stuff.
Phase 1 is complete. All of the rust repair is done and the body has been stripped of most of it's paint. Now it's off to the body shop for finish body work and paint. I had intended to repaint it in Willow Green and Colonial White but the wife and Daughters requested Flame Red and Colonial White , so red and white it will be.
I have also deleted the top trim strip and the gold aluminum side trim. I prefer the clean look of the single trim piece running down the car.
Next is drive train restoration .
Pete
Looks awesome...great job! Please don't tell me that's your home garage.
Yes Rich that is my home shop.
Nice looking work, love the 56 Merc
Thanks, it's a car that you don't see around very often anymore.
Beautiful shop Pete.The 57 is looking great!... but I am lusting over that 56 too...... need to get me one!
Thanks Jeff, there are a few 55 and 56 Mercs on ebay right now. Perhaps a Christmas present to yourself ?
Today I start on the engine. I'm going to pull the pan and check a couple of the rod and main bearings for wear. It appears to have been recently rebuilt and it ran great (no smoke) so we will see.
Motor is done, and the body is at the body shop. Now I can start on the suspension parts and the rear end.
You've come a long way in a short time. Everything looks great...gonna be awesome with some new paint. How long is it gonna be in body shop jail?
Thank you Rich. Body shop is moving along nicely, I selected them because they do good work in a timely fashion. They said I should have it back in Feb or early March which is ok by me. Gives me a chance to chip away at all of the other parts that need attention.
Beautiful engine. I am sure the car will turn out with the same quality. Happy Holidays everyone.
In the process of blasting the front suspension parts and noticed the casting dates on the front brake drums. Left and right were made within 5 days of each other two months before the car was built. I can't believe that these could be the original drums. Could be a coincidence and the original ones got replaced with these I guess.
Owners must have taken care of their car. Drums had enough meat in them to last several sets of shoes...not like todays junk that needs replacement before the pads wear out!
or...pads have gotten better.
Great work Pete. Love the detail.It's going to be stellar.
Thanks Jeff, it's a lot of fun just picking at it and discovering all of these little things that indicate the cars past.
I too love the "exploring" while cleaning and reconditioning....my Edsel build sheet was found, first build sheet I ever found in one piece.
Now that is cool...
Well the rear axle and center section are disassembled and mostly cleaned up. Parts are on order and tomorrow I will be steam cleaning the axle housing which should be a mess of flying oil !
Slowly working through the pile of parts and going through each component. These cars were built like trucks, very little plastic and lots of iron.
A few more pictures..
First Class Work! Looks Great.
Thank you sir, I'm into the steering column now. What an interesting engineering marvel it is with all of the manual transmission shifting linkage.
Very nice! It all looks brand new!
Very Very nice. Thats going to be a killer rig,and looks like its got a nice home to live in with good company.I would kill to have your shop,you are a fortunate one.
Thank you, it is a retirement dream fulfilled and I enjoy it . Like most everyone else I did my time changing transmissions in the snow but was a lot younger then.
Everything is looking great...looks like your saving a '57 the right way. Keep us posted.
The latest project has been the steering wheel. I took a carbide tree and opened up all of the cracks down to the metal core and then filled them with pc-7 epoxy. Took three days for the stuff to dry completely but it didn't sag or shrink so I was happy with that. Some sanding and high build primer and I was ready for paint.
I wanted to repaint in gloss black but also wanted clear on top of that for shine , smooth texture and protection. Didn't know what I was going to use and wanted to be sure that the color and the clear were compatible. While in my local Auto Zone I found the Rustoleum pictured below and figured that was the ticket. Well I'm here to tell you this is nice paint. Take a look at the shine on the wheel after the clear went on. The picture is about one hour after the last coat. Very impressive paint, dried fast coated and laid down beautifully . Don't think I could have done better if I had gunned it with urethane .
WOW! Beautiful Job.
Fantastic. I think Rustoleum has improved their products 1000% in the last few years. For decades I wouldn't touch Rustolem for anything, now, like you, I'm impressed with alot of the newer things I've tried. Funny you mentioned the pc-7 epoxy. I was just looking at that product this afternoon while I was waiting for an order to be filled.
Beautiful day here today @ 60 degrees so I decided to get a little painting done . Radiator support and inner fenders, using my favorite paint Eastwood chassis black original formula.
Looking good. What's that painting rig you got there?...is that an airless?
It's a turbine set up, the turbine gives the gun warm , dry oil free air. I've painted a couple of cars with it and it does a super job.
Just killer work Pete.as others have said, Top Shelf!.
It's getting exciting now Jeff, the body shop expects to paint the car next week . They did a "spray out card" for me and I have started picking interior colors. Spent part of today working on things like my taillight and parking light reflectors , blasting and painting. Used this reflective paint from Eastwood, the picture does not do it justice , pretty good stuff.
Those colors are going to look awesome together. Good choice.
The car will be 1957 code V flame red and code E colonial white. The material shown will be for the seat inserts and door panel inserts it is from a 1959 Ford Fairlane. The rest of the seats and door panels will be a creamy white vinyl to match the colonial white on the car.
Taking advantage of the warm weather, turned the wheels from green to red and cleaned up the hubcaps.
Time to bore you guys with a few more pictures. Did the headlight assemblies and gauge cluster today . There was about 2 lbs of undercoat on the back side of each headlight bucket but the paint underneath was still in pretty nice .
Great job on everything...I just love making old stuff look pretty. You lucked out on the headlight buckets...mine had substantial rust thru that had to be repaired.
LOL...you need to modify the title on this thread...just add "and beyond" to the end.
I am not bored looking at your stuff.I hope to one day have stuff that looks like yours.I have a long ways to go,but always like the pics and info. Thanks Al
One step at a time Al ! The painting has started , here's a couple of pictures .
Looks great Petew! Love that Red!
Tim :unitedstates:
Ah yes...putting on the shiney stuff warms the heart!
Looks great Pete.....you got the "overhaulin" crew over at your house?? Man' you get stuff done fast, and it's sure not quick and dirty either.
Thanks Rich, it is moving along well and Ford Blue Blood you are right I'm getting into the most enjoyable phase. Kind of like decorating a Christmas tree.
Well it's home and now the fun begins, any of you guys good with jigsaw puzzles ?
Lovely, its always a turning point when everything has new paint on it!
Looks like you are doing a good job. Was it hard to do the fender I might have to do a fender repair on my car. When I am done doing the floor.
Fender was easy, just mock it up on the car so you get everything lined up properly before you weld it.
Jerry...what area of the fender are you maybe needing to repair? Lower rear as Pete said is not too bad....headlight surround is a whole different story.
I would like to weld up the headlights surround and lower front fender behind the wheel has a little bad spot. And one of the inner fender where the battery was is bad to. would like to put the battery in the trunk.
Quote from: Jerry Box on 2014-04-15 22:57
And one of the inner fender where the battery was is bad to. would like to put the battery in the trunk.
Did I read that EMS is now popping that part?
I will check in to that thanks
They are..it's actually the whole front half of the inner right fender..part looks great.
Jerry..not sure what you meant by "would like to weld up the headlight surround"...did you mean just weld up the seam? or do you need to do some rust repair?
Weld up the seam
One of the things you can do to really clean up things..with not too much work....my "painting booth" in the background, btw. Almost 3 years ago, and still not on the car! Geez am I slow.
That looks good.
A little progress..
Very impressive, Pete. I still think you've got the overhaulin crew over there.
Doing just fine sorting all those jig saw pieces...... :003:
No Overhaulin crew , if they were here they would probably paint it purple and put a Chevy engine in it !
As for the jig saw puzzle I took a ton of pictures during disassembly , bagged and labeled everything but still find myself making mistakes or stopping to scratch my head wondering how to proceed.
Got the dash back from paint, now that's going to be a puzzle...
Getting the dash together. Thanks for the radio knobs Rich they are the icing on the cake. Just got the radio back from being converted into an am/fm. I'll run a modern single 6x9 speaker in the stock location in the dash.
Still waiting for the speedo bezel to be painted, should have that and the rest of the dash pieces back this week. Then I'll flip it over and wire the whole mess.
That's looks good you are doing a nice job getting that car back together
Thanks Jerry, Installed front and rear sway bars today. Very nice parts but horrible instructions . I've done kits on other cars before so it went fine but they make you earn it.
All parts were plated or powder coated , nice kit.
I really like all the pictures where did you get your sway bars? My car has none as you know you need them. You're doing such a nice job.
Sway bar kit came from Thunderbird Southwest 979-249-4200 Nice folks great product.
Can I ask how much
Jerry...the tbirdssw's sway bar kits are mfg. by them, but are also distributed by Concorse. They are heavy, so in your case the better deal may be Concorse since they are in Nevada....may be a savings in shipping costs as t'b sw is in Texas.
Pete...Thanks for posting the pics of the rear sway bar in particular....we've had the fronts before, but not too much posted on the rear that I remember. Is that all of the rear's bracketry involved, or is there something we can't see?
Petew:
You have and are going to have one very clean 57 when you are done. Very , very nice. I have the Thunderbird Southwest sway bar on the front of my 57, but not yet on the rear. My car still leans a bit even with the much beefier front sway bar. I'll probably end up getting the rear one, too. Additional photos of the rear sway bar install would be helpful, if available.
Bob
57 AGIN
Quote from: RICH MUISE on 2014-04-30 19:37
Jerry...the tbirdssw's sway bar kits are mfg. by them, but are also distributed by Concorse. They are heavy, so in your case the better deal may be Concorse since they are in Nevada....may be a savings in shipping costs as t'b sw is in Texas.
Pete...Thanks for posting the pics of the rear sway bar in particular....we've had the fronts before, but not too much posted on the rear that I remember. Is that all of the rear's bracketry involved, or is there something we can't see?
I ordered mine from Concourse but I guess they don't stock or ship them, it was shipped from Texas $50
I'll take some more pictures of the rear sway bar tomorrow and post them.
As luck would have it although Thunderbirds Southwest is in Texas the sway bars are produced in North Carolina so shipping was reasonable and fast.
The cost quoted for the front and rear kits was $425.00 plus shipping. Concours has them listed for $409.95 , I mentioned that and Thunderbirds Southwest gave them to me for that price.
Thanks for all the info looking forward to more of your posts
attempting to post pictures...
more
and more, site is picky today will only allow one pic at a time
and more again
and last. I had to make a bracket to space the brake line junction up 2 " to clear the sway bar. A piece of 1/8" steel ,two bends and a couple of holes did the trick.
oops posted a double back there, so this is the last one..
Nice job...thanks for posting the pics. We're going to need to find this so I think I'll do a post titled "rear sway bar" and just put a link to this thread...LOL..don't think too many of us will think to look under "rocker panel replacement" for it a few week from now.
Great pictures you must get to work on your car all the time. I'm lucky if I get one day every other week. But by watching you keeps me excited about working on mine.
Dash is assembled now I need to wire it...
Just OUTSTANDING petew!!!
I just love the way you have tackled the whole project.Stellar!
ahhhhhhh I NEED THAT! SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!
Quote from: petew on 2014-05-01 18:11
Dash is assembled now I need to wire it...
Ok , Wednesday nights project will be windshield install. I have roped flat glass in before but never anything with this much of a curve or this large. So my questions are....
1. What size cord/rope to use ? 3/16" ? 1/4"?
2. Starting point ? Factory manual says run the cord around the gasket and cross it at the top, set the top first and start pulling the cord to slip the gasket over the pinch weld going from the top and finishing at the bottom. That is the opposite of what I have done in the past. I have generally used gravity to hold the bottom of the gasket in the pinch weld and worked the cord around ending at the top.
Any thoughts or suggestions from those that have done this job would be appreciated and thanks for all of the kind words regarding my project.
Pete
I wish I could help but I've never put a window in yet. But I check the site every day to see what you've done so keep your post coming.
After you practice on yours come do mine! I've procrastinated on this so long it's not funny.
I assume you know the stainless has to be on before installing. I've been told to be particularly careful to not slap the glass to hard on those curved corners, so be careful to center it to begin.
What, if any, are you you using for sealer?
Start at the top. Use plenty of lube. I use "Special Green". Push the bottom up and in as you start the process. I pulled one side at a time. Pull the cord out until you reach the upper curve where it starts to turn down. Do the same on the other side. Did I say use plenty of lube?....push up and in really hard as you pull down the side, stop as you get to the bottom of the sharp turn on the bottom, do the other side the same. Look to make sure the glass is centered before finishing the pull. Now is the time to push to the center if it is not as it will slide easily or will still come out easy. Did I say use plenty of lube? Pull the cord out to the center one side at a time, push and shove on the corners and it will "slip" right into place. Make sure the stainless is in as well, never get it in after the glass is set.
For cord I use a piece of Teflon insulated 16 ga wire, it stays slippery, does not even come close to trying to "catch" on the rubber and takes up much less room while trying to fit all this stuff into a tight place! I was able to set the front and rear glass on my 58 Edsel Pacer (same as a 57/58 500) by myself, took about an hour on the rear (had to start over once) (and it starts from the top too) and about the same on the front. It actually took longer to set the rubber on the glass then it did to install it in the car.
FBB great tutorial , but where in the hell do I find Teflon insulated 16ga wire ?
Rich I considered using sealer but have decided against it. That would just add to the difficulty factor and this car will never see water while I own it.
A couple of pictures for Jerry, got the rear chuck and axles in drums on and brakes adjusted. Been kind of busy doing Springtime stuff around the house but I promise more progress.
Pete
I got mine from an aircraft/military surplus store we have here in town. That was many years ago......
Great info as usual Bill.
So, when are you coming up to do mine?
One suggestion I'll make here, although too late for Pete, maybe in time for others who are still prepping their cars for paint. When I did my car, I saw alot of heavy burrs and rough spots on the flange the rubber goes over. imo, I figured those burrs had to make a problem for the rubber to go over and to seal. I removed all of the burrs and even went so far as to use filler in low spots to make for a better surface for the rubber to seal against.
The windows I've removed have a gray putty between the window flange and the gasket. Butyl or plumbers putty...to smooth the spot welds and seal the gasket to the metal.
There is a a corner trim piece that goes to the lower rear corner of the windshield. It connects the top and bottom trim pieces on both sides and covers the retaining screws. Do these corner pieces go on after the windshield is in ??
Given the lower trim had a screw in it from the factory (at least on the four I have taken apart, 300s and 500s) and the corner covers the screw I will have to say yes. Not sure how they did it, never put a 300 back together. I would imagine it will slide into place with a little help from lube a a prying device. I did not put that screw back in in the Edsel. Not sure it is needed?
Rich I too cleaned up the surfaces on the Edsel. There is no way the rear window ever sealed up from the factory. The body seam where the top of the quarter and the panel in front of the trunk lid met up had large globs of lead along with the junction of the roof panel and the "C" pillar on both sides.
Thanks FBB, I took the info about not putting the screws back on your Edsel and had that in the back of my mind as I put the rest of the trim on. There in no way that i can see that you could get those corner pieces on the windshield after it was in the car. As such I put them on now and that was difficult enough.
Benefit is that having all the trim on is it helps to keep the gasket on the windshield. On the advise of a friend I went to Harbor Freight and bought two suction cup handles, they were about $7.00 each and will make handling the windshield much easier.
Finally back on the ground and we have brakes !
I have corners from a custom that have two tabs on them that hook into the rubber have also seen them where the tabs are rusted off.
The deed is done, the windshield went in without a hitch.
Great job looking good
Excellent!
petew, you are on a mission,Just wonderful work!.I am not sure if you have mentioned this what tires are you using?Stock factory applications?
Your work is inspirational.
Thanks guys..
The tires currently on the car are 7.50x 14's on stock station wagon rims. I also have a set of 15" American Racing Torque Thrust D's and radials.
Wired the dash last evening and decided to test the panel lights. They lit and there were no fires so I guess we are on the right track. Did find that my repro harness is not a match for the courtesy light harness so I will rehab the original pieces and reuse them.
Interesting how the wagons differ in small details .
What happened you're not working on your car. I need my daily fix
Here you go Jerry, got the dash in and all of the steering gear . Also started running the wiring around. It's starting to look like a car again.
you really do some nice work
Thank you for the pictures
Not a lot to report today Jerry, been working on clutch parts and clutch linkage . Greasy nasty business but it needs to be done. But I did manage to put a little trim on....
So cool
Been working away on the wagon and have the drive train all in. Inner fenders radiator support and radiator have been installed as well.
You have been very busy looks really good. I just got back from New Orleans went there for a week. Did you paint our powder coat your frame?
Thanks Jerry, never been to New Orleans but would like to go there sometime .
The frame is painted with Eastwood chassis gloss black, the original formula. Just about everything on the car that is black is done with that paint.
Thanks. I was going to take my frame all apart and get blasted but I wasn't sure if I wanted to powder coated or pain it and I think I want to pain it so I think I'm going to do what you did. Where are you at I am in Sacramento ca.
I'm in Mebane , North Carolina about 30 minutes outside of Raleigh . Stop by and check it out !
Pete--Nice car. Nice garage! I'm going to be tackling the same thing with my '57 Tudor Ranch Wagon and would like to know more about "black car" where you got your metal. Can you give me their website or contact info? Thanks, Ron...
Hey Ron, just Google Black Car rust repair panels and their site will pop up in the search results. Also look at EMS repair panels , they make really nice panels. They are expensive but nice.
Pete--Thanks. Found their website and will go over things later. Question: were you 100% happy with the thickness, fit and overall compatability of the floors you got from them? Just asking since you also mentioned EMS. Thanks, Ron.
EMS floors are better and their stampings are right on and very crisp . Black Car offers some smaller panels that are quite a bit less expensive and they fit my needs so that's how I went. I couldn't see chopping up any more of the original floor than I needed to or spending big money for patch panels and just carving small sections out of them.
Metal thickness was good at I believe 18ga for everything I used.
Pete
Been making steady progress ,all the doors are on and they have fresh seals on them. That was quite a job to get the door on, gaps lined up and strikers adjusted. The doors close but are tight as hell because of the new seals . You have to slam them the get them shut hopefully they will compress and make closing them easier.
Trim is back on and I am pleased with the look since I deleted the the gold inset and the top trim.
Waiting for battery cables to arrive so I can start it and see how it runs. Interior is next.
Doors look great good job. Are you going to do anything with the drains that go into the front fenders our you leaving them original. That's the part that made my floor and my rocker panels rot out.
Nice job Pete, always enjoy your work, Mark
Replaced the drains with original stuff, this car will lead an easy life so they should last forever.
Looks Wonderful Pete.Are the paint codes same as factory,Flame Red and Colonial White?
Maybe you already mentioned it.
At any rate,Stellar!
Thanks Jeff, yes they are factory colors. Flame red and Colonial White. Everyone that looks at the car loves the colors.
Pete: Your wagon is looking beautiful. Can't wait for your installments. In an earlier post you said you "replaced the drains with original stuff." I'm going to be pulling the front fenders off my '57 Ranch Wagon soon and plan to also replace the drain "system" and I'd like to know where you got your parts and what is involved in replacing everything. I've never done a Ranch Wagon before, so I'm not sure what I'll be looking at when I remove the fenders. Is it just a couple rubber hoses running from the cowl vent to an exit hole at the bottom of the fenders, or is it more complicated (probably :)). Does the cowl vent below the windshield also have to be removed to replace the drain hoses? Thanks for any pointers and suggestions, Pete! Ron...
Ron,
Thank you, It is turning out well and I have enjoyed doing it.
A couple of cowl drain pictures for you , one shows the cowl drain on the outside as it will present with the fender removed. Second shows the rubber tube from the inside as it exits through the pass side of the cowl.
Heat box is the structure to the left and the antenna wire can be seen exiting as well.
It is simply a rubber tube with a rubber flange on it , the rubber is available through most of the parts houses the sell parts for the 57 Fords. It attaches to a drain pipe that exits the lower portion of the cowl on both sides and is held on with a clamp. On the outside a metal flange and 3 screws hold it in place.
You will most likely need to remove the heater box from the pass side to gain access to that drain, I would take out the front seat for sure to give yourself room to work.
Thanks, Pete. The info and pictures are a great help. My front seat is ready to be lifted out so I can determine the extent of the rust damage I've got on driver's side floor and rocker. I'll proceed from there to remove front fenders and take a look at the drains. Ron...
Well it runs. Started it yesterday and it purrs like a kitten , no leaks and the Waldron's exhaust sounds great. Had the rear on jack stands so I put it in gear and ran it up a bit in first and second gears . No noise so I guess I set the rear up properly, some times tricky with used gears. All the gauges are working.
That is all of the good news, now the bad... Generator is dead so i did something wrong in there, tried polarizing it but no luck so it's gone to the local generator hospital to be checked.
When I took the gas tank out of the car it looked great , I cleaned it up and gave it a coat of paint and when the time came back in it went. Well during the clean up I must have disturbed a rust bubble cause now it's leaking. Good news is Drake has them for a wagon bad news is $425.00.
Suppose I could have tried one of those sealers for it but there have been some horror stories associated with sealers and ethanol so I held my nose and ordered the tank. Found that my low horn was dead , took it apart as far as I could, bounced it around a little and filled it with Liquid Wrench overnight. Still dead but I was very lucky to have found one on ebay for $12.00 ! Cost more to ship than what the horn cost but I consider myself lucky to have found one at all, seller says it works.
All in all I have been lucky and this resto has gone very well. We start on the interior next week.
So cool- I like hearing from you. Sounds like it went pretty good to me.
Pete: Bet it sounded nice when it fired up and went into a nice idle. What are you doing with the interior, going original or other? I got the front seat out of my '57 wagon and took a closer look at the rust in the floors. Some PO in the distant past did a quickie repair on the driver's side using 1/8" aluminum, rivets, caulking and hot tar on the top. It was installed over the old rusty floor, half way up the toe board, 1/4 way up the trans tunnel, and back to the seat pedestal, and over to the rocker panel. I managed to remove all that so I could get a better look at the rusty floors and from what I can see there's plenty of solid toe board and trans tunnel to effectively weld in new replacement panels. Next I'm going to take a wire wheel to everything to make sure I'm replacing bad metal, and not replacing good metal. I'm probably not going to take on the actual sheet-metal replacement part of the job myself--I've never done it before, don't have the necessary welding equipment or skills, and I wouldn't have fun doing it, which is a must because this is a hobby! Anyway, I'm in So. Cal. and will start looking soon for someone who's good at this sort of thing and is maybe retired and working out of his home where there's not a ton of overhead costs that he would have to pass along to me. Wish me luck! Ron
Ron,
The interior will be original, sort of. I will be using red cloth from a 1958 Ford and a mix of red and off white vinyl.The 58 cloth is real cool with flicks of silver , gold and black mixed in with the red.
As for the floor repair it is a great place to learn how to do that kind of work. Mig welders aren't all that expensive and are pretty easy to use. EMS Patch panels fit great and the floor is a pretty forgiving spot to work on. Wish I was closer , I would give you a hand.
Pete
Ron you should Try I never did before and I am real happy with mind. Just practice with some 18 gauge metal and after a little bit you can do pretty good. Just never work in one spot to long. If you ever get up to Sacramento ca. You can look at my 57 custom 300 I put in all new floor braces, frie wall, transmission tunnel two front floor panels, one rear floor, two trunk areas and both rocker panel inner and outers. I even made some of my floor out of A sheet metal. I even made a break to ben the metal. Once you start and get over the fear of doing something wrong you will start having fun I know I did. Try it try it.
Pete: I'd offer to fly you out for a couple days but my budget has disappeared into the '57's black hole! You probably know the feeling. Ron
Jerry: Wow, sounds like you replaced everything but the glove box door. I used to get up to Sacto a couple of times a year to visit my brother, but he's since retired and moved to Nipomo, so I don't make that trip much anymore. But thanks for the encouragement. I'm hands on with just about everything else, but never got into welding and painting. Ron...
I don't think I will try to paint and I am sending it out for the sandblasting soon.
Got the floor insulated.
And the roof..
What is the name of the product you to insulate the roof???
Jerry...I was wondering the same thing. It'll be interesting to see what Pete used. However, probably a more important question would be "what did you stick it up there with?" For roof insulation you want the lightest material you can find, and the strongest adhesive. If you don't, you may find yourself pulling the headliner sometime down the road to fix the insulation falling onto the headliner. Any aerosol can spray adhesive regarless of brand and how strong they claim it is will not hold up to a hot day in the sun. Ask me how I know. IMHO, the only adhesive to use, is what the upholstery shops use..weldwood contact cement. It's pretty much the same stuff you would use to stick down formica laminates, only specifically made for fabrics. It is made in several strengths. I use the strongest one ("Landau top adhesive").Go to harbor freight and buy a $20 spray gun with the biggest nozzle you can find. Also pick up a can of acetone. I usually have to thin the adhesive about 10% to get it to spray well. Just pour the glue in the cannister, add 3/4" acetone then mix in the cannister. The glue can be left in the gun for months before it dries out. If it starts to thicken, add some acetone.
I'm not sure what Pete used for the insulation, I went with the foil covered bubble wrap stuff.
You see it all the time at swap meets, but the cheapest place to find that is at Lowe's..For 20 bucks you'll have some left over after you finish your car.
Cont....
The contact cement I mentioned is not only the best(only) way to go, it is by far the cheapest. I picked up a spare gallon when I was in Phoenix because they don't sell it around here, I think I paid $27 for a GALLON...that's a lot of spray cans by comparision at 10-15 a can!!
One tip for you and Pete. I had one bow I had a really hard time pulling into place when installing the headliner because it wanted to fall in the space beteen the edge of the insulation and the edge of a roof support. Look at your bow brackets and if there are any that are close to the edge of a roof support, cover that seam with duct tape.
I have used "Reflex-it" and "Liquid Nails" construction adhesive for the roof. Make the pieces as tight a fit as possible and then use plenty of the adhesive and the tape all the seams with the "foil" tape that is in the same isle as the Reflex-it in Lowe's. The Edsel roof took 3 1/2 caulking tubes. Have not tried it on doors and have removed other folks attempts at insulating the floor with the stuff.....that said, I too would like to know what you used.
The foil tape is great stuff...I use a ton of it. It won't work in the bow problem area I mentioned above, because the one downside of foil is it punctures easily, and the bow is strong enough to punture it. For the one area I talked about cloth tape is needed.
I used a headliner product from a company in Mass called Insulshield (www.insulshield.net) . It is lightweight and has the stickiest adhesive I have ever encountered. So sticky that it was miserible to work with.
I have used it on other cars and although expensive it is designed as a roof insulation and will stay put.
Pete
I'll have to save that link...looks like a good source. Having the peel off adhesive has got to keep it neater anyway..you don't have to worry about the inevitable overspray.
The window channel was tough to work with and I screwed up a couple of pieces before figuring out how to work with it.
To start with I followed a tip from someone else on the forum and made a template out of 1/4" plywood to form the channel over but the best discovery was to un-crimp the stainless trim at each end. It gets crimped together when the pieces are cut and needs to move in order to successfully form the channel. So by freeing the ends and taking my time the channel formed pretty easily.
Now I'm installing door guts , one rear door is done waiting for glass for the other.
It's coming along...
Got the doors finished up and installed the door lock levers that I got from Randy Conner, What a nice guy he is. Found that one of my door lock cylinders was broken so I replaced both door lock cylinders and the ignition switch cylinder with new ones.
Just working on small stuff until the interior lady gets here this week.
Pete--I've dealt with Randy Conner, too, and he's a great guy with a real sense of humor. He helped me out with parts I needed for my accelerator linkage. Ron...
Well the nose is going back on and it is fighting me every step of the way. Fenders were a pain but they are on and lined up quite nicely. This morning has been spent fighting with the hood . It's like trying to put a picture in a frame after it has been hung on the wall.
With four gaps to deal with it is not as forgiving as a normal rear opening hood. Quick cup of coffee and it's back out to see if I can work so sort of a compromise with this hood.
Another picture of today's progress...
And more...
Working on the cargo area floor now. Last night my neighbor and I made up templates for the floor inserts. We got 3 of the 5 section cut and fitted them to the panels. We have 2 more to do then we can glue them down.
That is just outstanding, very nice finish!
You are doing such good job.
Wow...looks great. What are you using for the floor panel inserts?
It's boat decking made by the Lonseal company. This is similar to a linoleum product but much tougher and nicer. Pretty slick stuff , looks cool and is very easy to work with. It's available in three different variations this being teak and holly with a gloss finish.
I didn't want carpet and you can't get the correct ribbed battleship linoleum anymore . This was the look I wanted.
A picture of the rear seat pans, again the inserts are not yet glued just placed after cutting so they are a little wavy.
I like the way it looks
Carpenter now sells the linoleum panels.
Ron.
Yes they do but in Brown only...
All I can say is WOW! I hope to see your car in person some day. Great Job!
Thank you sir, it's in the hands of the interior lady now . Progress is slow but she is doing a nice job.
Ready for some road testing !
Some more
And finally :burnout:
Stunning! Nice job!
Looks great
Great job, Pete. Looks awesome. Let us know how the test drive goes.
PS...put some caps on that baby, your nuts are showing!
Ha ha can't have my nuts showing ! Actually I think after a quick couple of miles if nothing explodes, burns or falls off I'm going to put the mags on.
The red rims have original sized bias plys on them and the mags have 15" radials. I am interested in seeing how much of an improvement the radials make.
Well I got it out for a ride this afternoon and it did quite well. A couple of small items , sticky throttle that didn't return to the proper idle , fast idle was to high , steering wheel is not centered and the biggest item the overdrive doesn't want to engage . I'll be out in the garage in the morning to start troubleshooting to od and correcting the rest.
I took it to my local ethanol free gas station and the guy filling up next to me wanted to buy it ! Guess that's a good sign.
Mags and radials are on and the overdrive works , I had the solenoid wired backwards. Never owned a car with the electric overdrive and it is a hoot to drive.
That has turned out REAL nice!
Those wheels make a huge difference.I just love the whole car...there is just one more problem though....your garage is way too neat and clean. Nobody will ever believe you actually worked on it in there.
Thank you Rich, I have to keep a clean shop . I grew up working in a garage with a dirt floor now it makes me crazy if the shop is messy . Easier to find stuff if you are organized and much more enjoyable too . I plan on adding a 4th bay in the next couple of years to use for paint and bodywork .
My wife says I need medication ....
Magical Petew.
Maybe one day I'll have a garage.... Your wagon is awesome!!!!
petew..quick question. is the interior a stock unit? as in the fabric??.. and if so. did you use Baron LeBonny or SMS (i THINK THATS THE NAME OF THAT OUTFIT?)
And again.. simply outstanding
Thanks Jeff , the interior material came from SMS and is stock cloth for a 59 ford , it looked more space age than the 57 cloth did. The arrangement of the material or pattern is the same as stock, everything was done by my interior person no kits. I would have bought a kit but none were available for a wagon and I really wanted that 59 material.
I love that fabric! Where did the floor mats come from?
Floor mats are 1958 Thunderbird, bought them from Macs and they fit like a glove !
Pete
Thanks, that is something I have been looking for for a long time!
Agree, the interior is stunning.
Petew
I love your wagon , its beautiful. Also liked your comment about growing up with a dirt floor, I am 64 years old and just this year got my garage with a concrete floor. I am really enjoying getting under a car without getting muddy. Keep up the good work.
WOW, Pete I just finished looking at all the steps you went through on your rebuild! I'm sure I speak for a lot of guys out here, Thank you for sharing it with us. It's got me all fired up on my build. You do Excellent work!!!
both in the car and the record keeping, pictures. I think there's a How Too Book here you just created. :001:
Larry
Thanks Larry, it was a fun project and it is a great car to drive. I am amazed how well these 57's get down the road. The only modifications I made to the car were gas shocks, sway bars and radial tires. With those changes it handles and drives every bit as well as what you could buy at your local dealership today.
This thread needs to be in the build thread section.
Consider it done.
Awesome James/.Thanks man
Just sat and read this whole thread. All I can say is WOW!!!. Wished mine look as good as yours.
Thank you, there is still work being done. I can't understand how the bulk of these cars made it down the assembly line fired up and drove thousands of miles with little or no trouble. Yet when you restore one it takes months or years and they require constant tweaking !
So I'm still chasing some rattles , an engine vacuum leak ( that's fixed) and the latest which was the heater valve rupturing at 70 mph on the interstate. It's been to a few shows and everybody loves it but the younger set don't really understand what it is until someone compares it to a Ford Explorer .
:icon_bigsmurf:Just read the whole thread. My Mom had 2 cars that I really dug. One was a 57 Ranchwagon, just like yours, except it was an automatic. Same coral and white too.The other was a 59 El Camino. It was setting on the lot right next to a baby blue and white Ranchero. (1957). I wanted my parents to buy the Ranchero but they got the El Camino anyway. Later I got my own 57 Ranchero, and have had one off and on since 1969. I've owned 10 57 Rancheros and just bought a 58 last Saturday.Most have been parts cars and I'm currently building the one of my dreams. All the right stuff, and adding difficult to find parts to it all the time. I too am working from a dirt floored garage that was placed in the wrong place on 6 acres. When we have bad floods , here in Wimberly , a river runs through my garage. With 2500 square ft. of space that gets wet, some day I may build on higher ground. Meanwhile everyday I get older and not any younger. Hope I get this one done before the reaper comes knocking.....Great work on a great car. I'm a bit jealous.
Wimberly............in Texas, in the Austin area?
Yes , Rich. Close to Austin, and my favorite ,New Braunfels.
Quote from: jumping jack flash on 2017-02-21 13:51
:icon_bigsmurf:Just read the whole thread. My Mom had 2 cars that I really dug. One was a 57 Ranchwagon, just like yours, except it was an automatic. Same coral and white too.The other was a 59 El Camino. It was setting on the lot right next to a baby blue and white Ranchero. (1957). I wanted my parents to buy the Ranchero but they got the El Camino anyway. Later I got my own 57 Ranchero, and have had one off and on since 1969. I've owned 10 57 Rancheros and just bought a 58 last Saturday.Most have been parts cars and I'm currently building the one of my dreams. All the right stuff, and adding difficult to find parts to it all the time. I too am working from a dirt floored garage that was placed in the wrong place on 6 acres. When we have bad floods , here in Wimberly , a river runs through my garage. With 2500 square ft. of space that gets wet, some day I may build on higher ground. Meanwhile everyday I get older and not any younger. Hope I get this one done before the reaper comes knocking.....Great work on a great car. I'm a bit jealous.
Thank you sir, It has been a pretty car since I finished all of the cosmetic stuff a couple of years ago and is finally coming together mechanically.
I have been chasing mechanical issues and am finally getting all of that squared away.
The transmission had balky syncro's and a worn tailshaft bushing which led to a little grinding when up and down shifting and a rumble at highway speeds , that's fixed. I had driven the car prior to the resto and was convinced that the trans was ok but I was wrong.
Next big issue was an oil leak , I just couldn't find it. Finally put dye in the engine oil and looked around with a black light , bingo found the leak. That dye system is the best thing since sliced bread.
The leak was the rear main seal. Now any dope should be able to figure that out but this seal leaked in a non traditional way.
What would happen is the oil would pool in the bottom of the bellhousing dust cover but the front of the flywheel was dry.
Upon disassembly I found that the oil was leaking between the bottom half or the seal and the seal retainer itself, never seen that before .
The seal was a loose fit in the retainer allowing oil to pass between the two.
The new seal was a tighter fit and although they say not to I put a very thin coat of RTV silicone on the bottom of the seal where it meets the retainer. The result were no more oil leak.
I hope to put a lot of miles on it this Summer .
Pete