hello everyone I'm a new member here and am just getting started on my car and would love any helpful information that you guys can give me. I just received a whole slew of panels from ems because I was told from jerrys classic ford they were the best , thanks for any info
Welcome. That is so great that you are restoring your grandparent's car. From the picture looks like a great project.
Welcome..Any questions, just ask away. You're headed in the right direction with the Ems panels and joining this forum. The guys here are really knowledgable and eager to help. Great to see cars kept in the family being restored....and a ranchwagon to boot! You've got one of the more sought after models there. Good for you..the rest of us should be so lucky as to have one of those passed down to us.
If that's your garage with a lift, I'm guessing this car thing isn't new to you.
Rich
thanks guys it is nice to be redoing my grandparents car I just they were still alive to see it when I'm done with it. but if you guys may know where I can find the spare tire hold and the piece under the tailgate between the fenders that would help a ton and thanks again for the reply
oh, that's my garage but this is my first restoration I typically use the lift for just doing basic work on my and my familys cars
For the sheet metal under the tailgate try the Ebay vendor MostlyFord. He has a lot of 52-60 Fords that he parts out. Located in N. California.
thank you i'll give him a shot
Welcome to the site! Lots of info and support here with these guys. HRD.
Welcome!
Welcome and have fun
Welcome aboard, I'm yet to find a question that no-one can answer! Looks a great project, especially given the family history, don't dismiss EBay for repair panels, I got a pair of original 1960's repair panels for my rear wheel arches & the fit was really good.
Well here we go, Saturday I started getting rid of the bad and started trying to fit in the new, I'm not sure if I'm doing it right so if anyone has any tips please let me know.
for some reason it will only let me post one picture at a time
On large flat panels like rear quarters and door skins I like to have a 1/2" overlap of the panels, stepping one of the edges using an edge setter (joggler) to minimise filler afterwards. I drill a 5/16" hole in the outer panel and an 1/8" hole in the inner ever 6", screwing the panels together with self tapping screws and large washers, this lets you fine tune the panels position. When its right, ensure the screws are tight and start on the inner panels, getting them tacked in place before removing the outer to weld and paint the inners fully (but keep offering up the outer now & again to ensure nothing has moved).
The outer panel can then be welded in place (paint the inner surfaces first in zinc weld through primer). Be really carefull when welding long joins because of distortion, I weld 1/4" at a time every 6 inches, let it cool and move on. Eventually all the 1/4" welds become one. Remove the screws & washers and weld up the holes.
Your pics have a large file size which is why it's only letting you post one. In fact I'm a little surprised it's even letting you post one that big...James must have increased the max allowable somewhere along the line. Your getting some good advise from Limey...the man knows of what he speaks. If you need help on how to resize your pics let me know.
I agree with Limey, btw, on overlaping large panels. Many will tell you the best way is to butt weld, but done correctly, imho, it is easier to get a good weld on an overlap. The seperate body panels from the factory are overlapped joints. It looks like the panel you're working on has been stepped for that purpose. If that's what your planning on you don't want to cut the old panel at the red "ref. line" but below it so the new can be put up under the edge of the old, making both panels on the same plane.
Interesting...using steel brake lines is not acceptable replacement material because it is not forever but lapping finish surface body panels is OK. Even using the latest rust fighting materials, lap joints will rust. Lap joints are used for structural panels that use spot welds and seam sealer. Finished surface joints need to be butt welded and hammered. The high end body shops cut off lap jointed quarters and throw them away only to start over and butt weld new quarters back on. '57s have a couple of OEM lap joints on finished surfaces but they are buried in lead.
Any fix is better the letting the vehicle fall apart but just recognize the difference between long term and temporary repairs.
Gary...you've been doing this for a lot longer than many of us, and I respect your knowledge and input. As I had said, many will tell you that butt welding is the best way to go. I don't argue that fact at all. That only applies though if you have the equiptment and the years of experience to do a professional quality butt/ hammer tig or gas weld, or the bucks to bring the car to a high end shop and have it done. Many of us are doing this with mig welders, and mig can't be hammer welded. I guess what I should have said is if you are mig welding your panels and have average skills, then it is easier(the word I used) to get a good weld with a lap joint. If welding skills are minimal, then the accesive heat trying to get a good weld will cause many more problems. I started butt welding the rear quarters on my car when I first started, ended up switching to the lap joint with far fewer problems and better results.
We do differ in opinions "long term vs temporary" though. Yes, Ford had just a few "finished" panels that were lapped and covered with lead, but the entire car is 100% lap joints, finished or otherwise....my point being there may be other problems with a lap joint on a big panel, but rust isn't one of them if properly sealed. At least not any more than the rest of the car.
thanks guys I will give that a try
LOL...was hoping Gary and I's discusion didn't scare you off. Gary is a very experienced car builder, and I'm on my first build, so we tend to look at things in a different perspective sometimes. I was just going to add to what I said that if you are a very experienced welder, or have thousands to throw at somebody who is, the butt welding Gary is describing is the way to go. I had the feeling since you had asked for opinions on how to do it, your experience level was like most of us, and therefore the opinion I input. You'll almost always get different opinions on stuff..you just need to figure what is best for your particular situation. Building a car is a very rewarding and challenging experience, I hope you enjoy the project as much as I have mine.
Another option would be panel adhesive. No welding, no heat warp, no welder, no rust. If a lap joint is going to be used, investigate this alternative. Late models are being glued together with great success.
My buddy at the restoration shop swears by that stuff, as does Pat/Suede 57. When my wife's car got all the hail damage earlier this year, that's what the new roof was put on with.
thanks for the suggestions and I'm not trying to sound ungrateful but this ain't no vette