morfing a 58 custom into a 57 custom 300

[57 imposter]

A few years ago I built a 58 custom 300.with all the right stuff. it has been a great car and we have made several west coast Thu the Midwest loops with it. Trouble is, I always preferred the 57. At a car show last summer, I was parked next to a 57 and had several hours to look at and compare the rear clip of both cars and determined that there appears to be very little difference. I have purchased most of the top sheet metal for the rear fenders and a good deck lid. My plan is to start at the hinge and cut to the top of the fin, straight down the top of the fin, and into the tail light at the same angle. a minimal cut straight out the bottom of the tail light and blend into the existing tail pan. Anyone tried this? I know i am going to cut the original sheet metal out, very carefully, just is case.   

[Alex L.]

i found it much easier to start with a 57 when i built my 57. lol

[JPotter57]

Shouldnt be hard, most of the stuff is bolt on parts, except for that ribbed roof.  Good luck, post pictures...

[Zapato]

and that ribbed roof will drive the purists nuts............

Zap-

[57 imposter]

Zapato............there is a 57 builder out here who serches out 58's for their ribbed roof so he can use them on his 57's. I think I would
                       tackel my sheet metal project than his

[Frankenstein57]

My first dirt track sportsman was a former track champ's 58 sedan, I ran a 427 side oiler in it. The next season I re-skinned it to a 57, many times I had people come down in the pits after the races to tell me my car had a 58 roof. Two years later I built a 63 fairlane, it was kind of low slung, nice looking car, almost every night someone would come down out of the stands asking if it was a t-bird. If you look at the breakdown of your body panels, you could convert your car on the original seams.  Mark

[57 imposter]

Well it has begun. Once I determined that the rear clip of a 4 door is the same as a two door, the needed sheet metal and deck lid were really easy to find. After much head scratching and measuring, we determined that only the last 9 inches of the rear fender top and half of the tail light mount need to be replaced. We have the sheet metal cut away and are starting the process of fitting the replacement panels. Hopefully, these will be done next week. It's going to take some thinking to blend the 58 tail pan into the 57 fender but it appears to be doable. This is way beyond anything I have ever tried before so I am working hard to keep my near terminal impatience from affecting the outcome of this project. Once the rear clip is done, I will be able to turn my attention to locating good, front clip, sheet metal. 

[JPotter57]

Keep in mind that EMS makes a very nice new tail panel, saw one on ebay the other day for around 240.  Would make that blending job a snap.  Post some pics when you get them.

[57 imposter]

Yes. I have the paperwork for one on my desk, just in case.

[57 imposter]

Well the 58 to 57 tail pan just couldn't be made to look right so I ordered a EMS tail pan today. Should knaw next week if the quality is as advertised. Man, that is a heap of spot welds to drill!

[shopratwoody]

There is a better too than a drillbit I think. Maybe Eastwood. I bought about 20 bits to get the floor
out of my Ranchero bed

[57 imposter]

I am using Matco spot weld cutters. they cut like crazy and so far, refuse to fail or get dull. I have to be a little careful or it will go thru both panels in a hurry.

[RICH MUISE]

Those matco's are great.

[57 imposter]

The main reason for my 58 to 57 morf is to get a car that will accept some customizing. Looking at some of the pictures  posted on the site, I see some of you have successfully Frenched both tail and headlights. Any advise or tips based on your experiences will be appreciated. Here's where I am, so far. I have tunneled the tail light buckets 1 inch and am deciding how to reattach the housings to the rear fenders. I really want the housings blended into the fenders but know that it usually resulted in the unacceptable cracked paint between the housing and fender. There is a street rod shop here that has been bonding pot metal fender caps, tail light housings etc. on for 5 or 6 years. They use 3M panel adhesive and back it up with Fiber Tech. The earliest job is about 6 years old. They have yet to have a failure and just finished A high end jet black Olds with all 4 fender caps bonded on. Anybody had any experience with this process. I should mention that we live in the desert so we can see Summer temps of 100 degrees and winter temps of 0 and lower so we get plenty of expansions and contractions.
  Since I do not have my front fenders, I have no idea how to proceed with Frenching the headlights so any info on that job will be a big help....................thanks in advance     

[Roger]

Hi; On frenching the headlights you can use a 1956 ford pickup trim ring.There is a site that goes into detail on it and I'll see if I can find it for you.After you get the headlight panel notched and the tabs bent in you can weld strips of metal attaching the tabs to strengthen them.Then you can weld or attach with screws brackets for your headlight buckets. Here is a link to a couple pictures to give you an idea.
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