The 300

[djfordmanjack]

Thunderbird covers on the 428 are just breathtaking! that is going to be good. wow! never mind the metal Jeff, you have another artist there in doing the sheetmetal work. real cool ! absolutely love your project 

[Jeff Norwell]

Jeff, I am using a Competition Plus on mine. The Toploader requires a 90 degree bend in the 1st/2nd actuator arm on the shifter. Hurst has 2 models (that I know of) that offer this. One 3913180 has an integral handle, the other 3915405 has a bolt on handle. I tried both, the 3180 requires a bigger hole and it does work with a small boot, the other 5405 requires a smaller hole and allows you to posistion the shifter knob where you want it. The 5405 is for a 63 Corvette and I bought a used one on eBay. I can help with the mounting plate and rods if you decide to go that way. The 3915405 is under $200 new from Summit.

Lynn,.Thats awesome info. thank you..I will be in touch for more info when I get to the installation.thank you!

[Jeff Norwell]

Great stuff going on there Jeff. I gotta ask........the black and white one I saw at Bob's didn't have rust that bad, did it? Of course, I only took a quick look, but it sure looked solid.

Thanks Rich.... no. the Texas car from Bob's has not been touched.. and has zero issues in the dept. that this car has.... The Texas 57 is a super solid car and will take very little to tackle.

[Jeff Norwell]

Thunderbird covers on the 428 are just breathtaking! that is going to be good. wow! never mind the metal Jeff, you have another artist there in doing the sheetmetal work. real cool ! absolutely love your project 

HAHAHA..Thanks G..... I owe you a email!!

[Jeff Norwell]

Got to get ugly before making it pretty..Save them 57 Fords.
Pass. rear pillar repair

[Jeff Norwell]

Drivers side window/top dog leg repair....

[djfordmanjack]

looks all solid again ! Thank god he was able to save the dog leg skin with just patching.
Jeff. while at it, remember to check the rearmost hole that takes the fender screw. it is a sheetmetal screw and if the hole is enlarged, this would be the time to weld it up and redrill at a smaller size. have your body guy check with actual self tapping screw. It would be a pity to find out about a stripped hole just after final paint and assembly.

[Jeff Norwell]

looks all solid again ! Thank god he was able to save the dog leg skin with just patching.
Jeff. while at it, remember to check the rearmost hole that takes the fender screw. it is a sheetmetal screw and if the hole is enlarged, this would be the time to weld it up and redrill at a smaller size. have your body guy check with actual self tapping screw. It would be a pity to find out about a stripped hole just after final paint and assembly.

Got that covered G!.... Thank You and very Observant!!!!

[Jeff Norwell]

These are older pics.. doors are already in primer,ready for paint.. but the 300 custom holes are all welded up here... they are in good shape....  just a bit of 60 year grudge...
One thing i did notice.. maybe you all know the answer. the regulator holes on the pass. and drivers side are different.... I just noticed at at the time.

[Jeff Norwell]

Older pics. after getting the doors and deck lid chemically stripped...... I believe it's well worth it and pretty inexpensive.....I asked about an entire car bodying they quoted about 2500 cdn.
I thought that was a good deal(no.I am not doing it)....but for a big project..... it would be cheaper in the long run.

anyhow..back to the grind.

[Jeff Norwell]

deck lid

[hiball3985]

I just read the post from Jan 7 about the regulator holes being different, that's interesting. When I did my locks I worked on one door at a time and I never noticed or thought about it.

[RICH MUISE]

Wow, those look great, Jeff. They look like they also have a zinc phosphate coating to keep them from rust flashing, which is great, BUT, and this is a big but, make sure when it's time for epoxy primer that the metal is jitterbugged down to shiney metal, or you will have major adhesion problems, That's including the undersides, and anything that will get the epoxy primer. That said, imho, that's the only way to fly because you really need that zink stuff in all the cracks and crevasses and pores.

[djfordmanjack]

Looking so good and clean ! Gives us an image of what those looked like in 1957, before paint and 60 yrs of decay.
Filling the trim holes came out nice - no way to hide anything in bare metal! Are you sure that the 57 isn't heading in the same show rod direction as your Deuce coupe ?

[djfordmanjack]

btw. it seems as if your body shop friend is into real 'garage' music. there's nothing that literally beats having a good old drum set around your working area