Bob's 57 AGIN is back to the shop (Santini's)

[Ford Blue blood]

I am giving serious consideration to welding that seam and the one on the splash pans as it is really difficult to get them clean and sealed to prevent rust from starting.  Kinda like the seam on the top of British produced (MG/Sprite/Triumph/Jaguar) cars.  First place to show rust and impossible to stop......

[gasman826]

One less edge to sand through during color sanding!!

[57AGIN]

Guys:

I forgot to mention that when Jeff was reinstalling the door handles he removed a piece of masking tape and sure enough some of the chrome peeled off with the tape.  I can't remember when I purchased the door handles.  It was either in 2004 when I first got the 57 on the road after doing the initial safety & cosmetic build, or in 2012 following the frame-on restoration done by Santini at that time.  Of course they were probably re-pops and more than likely made in Taiwan or China.  I took them both over to Sihelling's for to be rechromed using American technology.  Sometimes you just don't get what you paid for.  Dennis Carpenter or Concours Parts are in fact made by the lowest bidder. IMO

Bob
57 AGIN

[JimNolan]

Bob,
Fully understand where you're coming from. I spent months trying to find good Headlight Eyebrows and after they were painted the nuts holding them on were very carefully tightened. I'd hate to look for those parts again. The gold inlays on the fenders and doors are re-poped. The door handles as well as the fin stainless are re-poped. I guess I bought one of everything that EMS made and my body guy got them to make a couple things ( most rearward body mounts, and outside lower trunk pan) that they didn't make. The seams we were talking about still look great today after 8 years. So, the bondo's held up I guess. 

[gasman826]

I had my OEM handles plated six years ago.  It was cheaper to buy the reproductions by $25-30 for the pair.

[57AGIN]

Guys:

It is getting closer to engine & transmission re-install.  Here are a couple of photos of the preparations before it goes to another shop for the drive train  re-install.  They include: window & vent window re-install, gas tank re-install and a couple of shots on the hoist.  Today they will re-install the door handles.  Oh, and by the way the rear bumper was sent back to be re-done once more as Santini spotted a couple ob bubbles in the chrome that were very visible in direct sunlight.  No one had spotted these under shop lighting.  As they say one step forward & 1.5 steps back.

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Well, it has finally happened the 57;s engine & transmission were re-installed on Thursday.  The car was delivered to Westminster Transmission where the engine had been removed nearly 2 years ago.  It didn't go back together without a fight.  The headers wouldn't go in past the steering box, so the engine was lifted sufficiently to drop the headers past the steering box. after that the rest went much easier and the car is now back at Santini's.  It will be interesting to see it all going back together at last again.

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

The engine after being jacked up for clearance allowed the headers to be easily re-installed.  The transmission, drive shaft & gear shift are now back where they belong.

Bob
57 AGIN

[Ford Blue blood]

There is a light at the end of the tunnel! 

Looking great!  Been a long recovery but it certainly looks to be worth the effort.

[57AGIN]

Guys:

It has been over a month since there has been any real progress on my 57.  I've re-attached the windshield wiper motor & the hood release mechanism and have spent many, many hours searching for the core support spring perch and shims.  These became separated from the core support during the reinstallation of the engine & transmission and I wasn't able to locate them anywhere at Santini's, Westminster Transmission, in my Shelby or at my house. So I re-ordered the needed parts from Steve Pierce in in Twentynine Palms, CA and received them yesterday.  This set the project back for about a month, but next week it should be back on track again. These few simple parts aren't re-popped and are pretty scarce around here.  The bumpers are back from being re-chromed again due to waviness in the rear bumper and a flaw in the chrome on the front bumper.  I haven't seen them yet, but I believe they will be satisfactory this time.  It took Santini's eye for detail and good work to detect the problems with the bumper chroming and it didn't cost anything more to have the problems corrected. The fenders, bumpers, grill, etc., should be back on the car soon. Now that the car show is finished, some good friends I served with in the military over 40 years ago have come out West and gone home and as soon as I can get the Christmas decorations up and running I can get back to getting the 57 back on the road.  Making sure the wiring and upholstery are up to snuff will be up to me.

Bob
57 AGIN

Bob
57 AGIN

[RICH MUISE]

It's been a long haul for you Bob, but at least when you get it done (redone?) it's gonna be the best. I'll bet you had no clue it was going to take this long....I'm guessing a year and a half -two years since the accident?

[57AGIN]

Rich:

The accident happened on Valentines Day 2015.  Almost 2 years ago, my Valentines Day Massacre.

Bob
57 AGIN

[57AGIN]

Guys:

Here's a little update on my 57, not a lot to report on about 3 months after getting the drive train reinstalled.  The car now has the core support and fender aprons back on.  The driver side fender is on and taped along the door edges to facilitate mocking up the fitment without chipping the paint. I had to get another battery tray as the one I had originally got didn't fit a 57 Ford, it probably was out of a 59.  Just delivered it to Santini today, after getting it sand blasted.  Thank God for Steve Pierce out in Twentynine Palms. It has been so long since the disassembly that I've forgotten how lots of things fit and when to install them.  Thanks to Rick Crawford, who not only has taken apart and put back together many 57 Fords, he's able to come by the shop occasionally to clue us in on some of the idiosyncrasies of the 57 Fords reassembly.  But it is coming together, I may be overly optimistic but I think Santini finally wants to free up a space in his shop, so my 57 will move up in their priorities.

I've attached a couple of photos, including:  Fender aprons & core support reinstalled, the driver side fender mocked up, door weather strip partially reinstalled, and the correct and incorrect battery trays (I think the painted one is from a 59 which has a wider front fender). Most of the wiring, the radio antennae and battery tray go onto the passenger side, that should happen next week.  Rick pointed out a clearance issue with the oil pan and the front suspension so we may be trying to shift the engine/transmission around a bit.

Bob
57 AGIN

[terry_208]

What did you use for the seal between the outer edge of the fender apron/inner fender and the outer fender?  I had my inner fenders powder coated and the rubber seals just won't do to put back in service.

Terry

[57AGIN]

 terry_208:

Quite frankly, I don't remember any seals between the fender aprons and the outer fender.  There is on that attaches to the bottom of the fender apron that goes down to the frame, it attaches with staples.  I'll see if there is anything in my trim book.

Bob
57 AGIN