Reassembling 57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Wahl's Upholstery is really cranking on getting my interior done.  Today they were working on both the trunk and on the fold down back seat.  The trunk is being redone to hide a lot of the unfinished wheel area on both sides of the car.  I'll lose a little trunk space, but there will still be plenty left.  LOL  Rene was working on a mock up of the back seat, he's going to trim the outer wings (see photo) off and build up the area above the wheelwells with foam and bracing.  I really like what he's showing me so far and think it will look much better than the previous back seat treatment.

It's hard for me to believe, but he thinks the majority of the interior will be completed by late Friday or next Monday.  He's really working with me to get it turned around in time for Knott's this year.  He knows I still have some suspension work to be done and all the other little, oh-bye-the-ways.

Bob
57 AGIN

[RICH MUISE]

That's really coming along nicely. I'm anxious to see his buildup over the wheelwells and how he handles it as it comes down to the seat bench. When I did my buildup, I had the built out side panels to come down to. Keep the photos coming...

[mike b]

Bob,I like everything your going with on your build it's first class .Thanks for the car report too!

[57AGIN]

Mike b:

Rick and I both enjoyed going over that 70D and thanks for the nice words about my 57, too. 

Rick and I went over to the upholstery shop at 4:30 today and installed the front header panel, grill and the front valance.  Tonight I'm cleaning up the front bumper from it's garage storage for the last 8 months.  Tomorrow it gets installed, too.

Rene has come up with a design for the trunk to cover up the hinges & springs, as well as hide my CD changer.  It should look pretty trick when its done.

Here are a few photos from today.

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Today, the front bumper and headlights were reinstalled.  The entire exterior of the car, except for the hood have now  been painted and are reinstalled.  Both Rick and I were worried about how the chrome headlight bezels would look with the Pewter and Blue.  The chrome bezels looked really good with the Turquoise & White.It was period correct, just like the colors.  We were worried about how it would look with the Resto-Mod colors.  Well, as it turned out, we are both happy with how it turned out.  What do you think?

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Here are the latest photos of the interior.  The carpet and side kickpanels are now pretty well done.  The one photo shows the interior wiring hookups, where a lot of what used to be exposed in the engine compartment is now placed.  The boost retard control that used to be under the dash near the center of the dash is now out of reach (and possible unintentional inadvertent change by my grand kids) near the fuse panel.  As I have said before, it is coming together rapidly and well.

Rene, the upholsterer guru working on my car has changed his mind on the rear panel trim I posted yesterday and has gone back to his drawing board.  I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with.

Bob
57 AGIN

[mike b]

      Bob, it looks great !  I like what you did with the dash too. That blue really pops . Keep up the good job,I look forward to the finished product. 

[JimNolan]

Bob,
   Thanks for making us part of your rebuild. That is an awesome car. We've got to watch the entire process. Thanks, Jim

[57AGIN]

Jim:

Thanks for the kind words.  Sometimes I've wondered if I wasn't being boring and repetitive with my posts.  I'm really excited now that it's almost finished.

Here is the latest from the upholstery shop.  The front seat is in the final stages of being reupholstered (check out the before and almost after, LOL, photos).  The trunk has gotten more of an update than I had imagined, I thought it was pretty good before, but now the whole space is upholstered (I lost a little trunk space, but I doubt if I'll ever miss it).  I had never thought to put a cover over the spare tire well, I'd always kept a spare under an upholstered tire cover.  But, since it is a major undertaking to change the rear tires and the front & rear tires are different sizes, I figure if I have a flat I'll call AAA and tow the car home.  Now I have a spot to store all my detailing supplies for touch-ups at car shows.  My CD changer used to be located under an upholstered cover in the right rear of the trunk, now it will be on it's side behind the upholstered right side hinge & spring cover, accessible via a hinged door (not installed yet).  Also the gas tank fuel gauge sending unit will be accessible before the carpeting is finished.  At the very back of the car Rene has place an upholstered cover from the gas tank filler area to the side covers (hides some wiring and I think just a nice touch).  Lastly in the trunk, the deck lid will have the spaces between the ribbing upholstered, too.  This will hide the cracked factory sound deadener that Santini was fearful of trying to remove without wrinkling the outer metal skin on the deck lid (he did a small area, but then decided to let that alone).  The rear seat is probably the trickiest part of the job. I never really liked the former look of the fold down portion of the rear seat before.  I loved the accessibility and convenience it provided, but it just looked a little odd.  Rene has designed side bolsters, built up the bottom seat and removed a lower lower section of the upper fold down seat which should allow the seat to bold down and not look odd when not folded down.  That is the latest and will be posted in this reply and the next.

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Here are the remaining trund space photos.

[RICH MUISE]

Bob...This thread  has been read almost 2800 times, I think that should give you an idea of the interest it's had...far from "boring or repetative"! We all appreciate the great posting you've done on it..kinda like a personal, extended, believable version of 'Overhaulin'.
The heavy insulation that Santini left on your trunk lid is the only area on my entire car that wasn't stripped to bare metal for the same reason he had.
They're doing an awesome stitching job on that car..I'll bet you're concerns with not going with Tito's has long since disapeared.
I got to finally meet Pat Fleishman yesterday and got to show him my car. In a few hours my wife and I are off to Phoenix for a week, but I'll be checking in.
Keep writin' those checks Bob...it's awesome!

[bossguy]

Bob...This thread  has been read almost 2800 times, I think that should give you an idea of the interest it's had...far from "boring or repetative"! We all appreciate the great posting you've done on it..kinda like a personal, extended, believable version of 'Overhaulin'.

Rich said exactly what I was thinking Bob! Great job!

[57AGIN]

Rich & Bossguy:

Thanks.

I went over to the upholstery shop this morning and found the rear fold down seat completed and installed (I'm not sure if the hinge setup is installed yet).  I took a couple of photos and then showed Rene our 57 Fords Forever web site.  He was stoked at the nice comments being made about the upholstery work on the 57.  Just for a good comparison, I've attached a shot of the former fold down rear seat to show what a nice job his shop is doing (nothing against the former shop, as they had nothing to work with in the beginning but my weird thoughts about a fold down seat).

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

The front seat is now finished and all that is left to do is install the larger stainless cup holder I just picked up from a marine supply store (the old cup holder was plastic and didn't hold my oversize thermal coffee cup, an absolute necessity for the early morning car show set ups.  LOL)  Rene has only a couple of things left to do on the car.  1. Obtain and upholster the arm rests for the doors.  2.  Design and upholster the side panels for the doors and back seat.  3.  Attach the front seat to the floor.  4.  Install an access door for the CD changer in the right side of the hinge & spring enclosure.  5.  Provide an access in the trunk carpet to the gas tank sending unit.  He seems to think it will be ready for pick up tomorrow.  I think he's about 1 day optimistic.

Santini is painting the window moldings, they should be ready by Friday.

Bob
57 AGIN   

[57AGIN]

Well enough of how the upholstery looks on a bench or is gonna look.  Here it is all installed.  What do you think? 

It's come a long way from the nice period correct vinyl tuck & roll to the look today.  The back seat doesn't fold down nearly flat like it did before, but I should still be able to get my surf board in.  The doors didn't have arm rests before and this changes the ease of being able to close the door and also it is nice having a place to actually rest an arm.  The seats feel more supportive than they did before, but I'll reserve judgement until I actually drive the car.  The rear seat is more comfortable than before, as there has been additional foam installed.  I'm not sure about the small arm rests in the back seat, but I'll reserve judgement on those, too.

It wouldn't be as comfortable in the back seat in a "Drive-in" any more.  Of course they don't have those any more and I'm way beyond crawling into the back seat anyway. LOL

57 AGIN is coming home tomorrow, after Rick and I are home from the Ford Car Club Council meeting at Knott's in the morning.  There is still about two pages on the "Things to do list"  before it's ready to be driven.  And just over two weeks to get them all done.  I think we'll make it, I hope we make it.  I don't want the first show to be a work in progress one.

The two photos attached are of the front seat, area still missing the center arm rest.  The photos of the rear seat are on the next reply.

Bob
57 AGIN