Rocker Panel Replacement...And Beyond

Ford Blue blood · 2013-10-03 22:29

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!

petew · 2013-10-05 08:06

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.

RICH MUISE · 2013-10-05 18:03

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.

petew · 2013-10-05 18:21

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....

Lou · 2013-10-07 20:17

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.

petew · 2013-10-08 21:28

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.

petew · 2013-11-27 12:23

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

RICH MUISE · 2013-11-27 15:19

Looks awesome...great job! Please don't tell me that's your home garage.

petew · 2013-11-27 16:32

Yes Rich that is my home shop.

Frankenstein57 · 2013-11-28 08:54

Nice looking work, love the 56 Merc

petew · 2013-11-28 11:51

Thanks, it's a car that you don't see around very often anymore.

Jeff Norwell · 2013-11-28 16:41

Beautiful shop Pete.The 57 is looking great!... but I am lusting over that 56 too...... need to get me one!

petew · 2013-12-01 08:21

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.

petew · 2013-12-21 11:17

Motor is done, and the body is at the body shop. Now I can start on the suspension parts and the rear end.

RICH MUISE · 2013-12-21 12:36

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?

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Rocker Panel Replacement...And Beyond