Car on rotisserie and new floor

[Jerry Box]

More pictures

[Frankenstein57]

Lookin real good Jerry

[Jerry Box]

Thank you

[RICH MUISE]

Doing it right!, nice job. I think it was common years back for patch panels designed to go over rather than replace like you found on the rocker. Makes me wonder about some of the nos panels you see advertised for sale as to what the intention was.

[electricalan]

Nice work Jerry,thanks for taking time to post pics.I like it. Al

[djfordmanjack]

Wow, that is some clean efforts ! I already have a rotissery I will put my wagon body in and I plan to replace floor panels as you did. I am afraid of body warpage in the rotissery when cutting out and welding in all those panels. i see that you did some reinforcing on the door openings but is that enough ? Did you find any problems concerning this ? Reason I ask is because my chassis is twisted and the body is twisted with it, so much that the a pillars/windshield frame will not line up anymore. So I'm really not sure if the body is that flexible or if it will keep straight in the rotissery at all ?! should that rocker work be done while the body is on the chassis ?

[Limey57]

If your chassis AND body are twisted you will NEVER get it straight.  If I were you I would tack weld some 1" box section between the door apertures in an X shape and then some from the pillars to the transmission tunnel to stop it distorting any more.  Then lift the body off and put it to one side, bite the bullet and source another chassis or find a body shop with a jig that is prepared to straighten it for you, the factory dimensions should be available somewhere.

Only when you have a known straight frame as a datum can you work upwards and start to straighten the body.  Prepare yourself to lift the body on & off a few times.  With the frame straight you can see how far out the body is, it might well only be out in one area and after you unbolt it from the twisted frame you MIGHT find the body loses some of its twist.  Remove the temporary X braces and get the body bolted down to the chassis, use a porta-power (hydraulic body straightener) to move the twisted area to the right place, or drill out the spot welds in the affected area so you can release the twist and get it bolted straight.  From there I would do any repair/replacement work to the rockers, floor and braces with the body ON the chassis to keep it all square, only when that is done I would put it on the rotisserie to finish it off, but remember to brace the door apertures and pillars to keep it square once you've got it square.

[djfordmanjack]

Thx, Gary that would be exactly my thinking. of course truing the chassis first, I have all dimension tables. The welds on my chassis crossmembers were broken and rewelded, they welded in floorboards and parts of apillars in the twisted body, so all of that will have to come out. I don't even dare to weld in the rain gutters at the moment, because obviously the roof will be twisted somewhat along with the whole body and welding now would further hold the distortion in the upper body lines. when I saw Jerry's work on the rotissery, I would be afraid of losing its shape with all that rocker and floorboard work. But maybe I am to scared. your opinion adds to my theory of placing body on/off the chassis several times and welding floorboards and rockers on the car with a fresh body mount kit in place ( I already have that)

[Jerry Box]

I was worried about thing moving on me to. So before I did any work on the rocker panels I put 4X6's under the car to braced even more. Angle iron in the doors and across from one side to the other. And I was very easy with all my work because I was worried about it moving. But once the rocker were in I did one floor brace at a time trying to keep it together the best I could. Then the car seemed to be pretty solid. Then I did the fire wall once I had that done I started the floor. I also measure the car all over the place and made a drawing with the measurement on it. And I check the measurement all the time. I think this is why it is taking me so long but I am learning a lot and having fun.

[djfordmanjack]

Ok, absolutely makes sense. I didn't see the bracing neither your checking measurements in the pics. I felt from the beginning that , even if the body seems to be buildt like a tank, it wouldn't hold its shape when doing rocker work. I will post my efforts later on in my personal Del Rio topic. thx for your infos.

[Jerry Box]

This for Ron here are some pictures

[Frankenstein57]

Nice shot of the dreaded cowl drains, I picked up my 57 ranchero body in February of a very mild winter up here. I poked my head inside a couple of weeks later, and got a good laugh, the rotted  cowl hoses were leaking right on a spot that needed metal repair,    Mark

[Limey57]

So, is there a specific rubber pipe/moulding that should go on there?

[Jerry Box]

In my Mac's auto parts catalog the windshield cow drain tube black rubber for 57-58 ford part number 49-29827-1   $ 15.95 pair. I am going to get some small radiator hose an extended mind out from the firewall to the inner fender so that it will drain down on my tires. I don't want the water to drain down on top of my inner fender and down to my rocker panels anymore

[Jeff Norwell]

In my Mac's auto parts catalog the windshield cow drain tube black rubber for 57-58 ford part number 49-29827-1   $ 15.95 pair. I am going to get some small radiator hose an extended mind out from the firewall to the inner fender so that it will drain down on my tires. I don't want the water to drain down on top of my inner fender and down to my rocker panels anymore

This exactly what I plan to do Jerry.I never understood why this was not implemented from the factory.I would have solved a big problem.