57 custom 300 build

[glr7533]

In March and April I was putting the front suspension back together just so I could roll it around the garage. I was thinking about brakes, power steering and all of the other things for the front of the car. Monday morning April 20th, 2015 was my wakeup call. Woke up in the morning not feeling right and two days later had bypass surgery. This changed my plans for the car. I realised I had my warning. At that point I decided that I would put the car back together mostly stock and make it a good daily driver. I was laid up for a few weeks in the house recovering so I ordered a rocker panel for the drivers side which had a big dent. I also ordered a front floor pan and rear foot well on the drivers side. The front floor had some pin holes but was solid and probably good have been patched but as long as I was replacing the rocker I decided to replace it. The rear foot well was in the same condition with just the bottom having some pin holes. I was able to cut a patch panel out of the tunnel on the Fairlane that I parted out. The bottom of this car was completely rusted away but for some reason the tunnel was in good shape. I had never done body work before but decided this would be the place to start because it would all be covered when done. I did learn there is a big difference in repair panels. The front floor was an EMS panel that fit and looked like the original. Since I only had to replace the bottom of the rear floor I ordered a cheaper panel that fit in the well part only. I couldn't believe how much work it took to get this simple piece to fit.

[Ford Blue blood]

I had the exact same experience when building my Ranchero.  The EMS pans fit perfect!  The other "less expensive" stuff not so much.  If I were paid to do the job by the hour the EMS panels would win hands down.

[glr7533]

I found a guy with a mobile sandblasting truck that would come to my house and blast my body and frame. We did the parts of the body that had bends and were reinforced and stayed away from any flat surfaces. Did the bottom and the inside. We didn't find any hidden surprises. There were a lot of places on the car that had filler but all of those had just small dings underneath. Don't know why they used so much filler. The guy was there for only a couple of hours and it cost me around $100.00. He told me of doing a Mopar that had won several trophies. The owner had purchased it already done a few years earlier and decided to blast it and repaint. He said between all of the bondo and thin metal when he got done they had swiss cheese. He didn't know what the guy ever done with the car.

[glr7533]

This is what the bottom of the car looked like after blasting. There wasn't any hidden rust and the only sheet metal replaced was the drivers outside rocker panel because of the dent and the drivers side floor pans front and rear. Both had pin holes  but were as easy to replace as they would have been to repair.

[mustang6984]

THAT is a clean car!   

[glr7533]

This is what the top side of the car looked like. The bottom side of the car and the inside and trunk got two cats of Chassis Saver.

[mustang6984]

Not a bad looking shell overall. Glad for you!   

[Ford Blue blood]

I only dream of staring with something that clean!  What a nice surprise!

[glr7533]

The car had old air shocks on the back when I got It. Thought as long as the body was off the car it would be a good time to mount the new shocks after the Chassis Saver was applied. Hadn't really thought much about how the old ones were mounted until I looked at the new ones. I found another modification The previous owner had made. At least it was an easy fix when the body was off.

[glr7533]

One of my best tool purchases for this project was a cheap siphon sand blaster. I used it on all of the hard to get to spots on the frame and body. I used a product called Black Blast. It didn't pick up moisture and would feed real good. I would do this outside on the garage apron. That way I could sweep up the material and reuse it several times. I found a metal cake cover that was used for picnics at a discount store for a couple of dollars. It was like a big screen cover.  I would set it upside down on a five gallon pail and run the blasting sand through it to clean. I used Chassis Saver on the frame, and the bottom and inside of the body. I used epoxy primer on the outside of the body. When I set the body back onto the frame it sat perfectly. I did not have to use any shim's on any of the mounts. 

[mustang6984]

Black Blast? Never heard of it.where did you find it? I am going to need to re-do mine after the move...so blasting it would be faster than sanding by hand again. Thanks.

[glr7533]

I get it at Menards Home Center. If you go to Menards.com and search for black blast it should come up. It's around $8.00 for a 50# bag.

[gasman826]

For some parts, there is no substitution for media blasting.  I bought a broken air compressor and fixed it.  I bought a large blast pot at a cemetery monument foreclosure sale.  Over kill...maybe.  I blasted all the sheet metal for the '41 project.  It took more time to position the parts and fill the pot with media than to do the blasting.  I got a skid of coal slag (Black something or another) for $6.45 a bag from my local Tractor Supply.  The '41 is in epoxy primer.  The blast pot and compressor went down the road for a lot more money than I had in it.  It was very hard work but way easier than sanding.

[glr7533]

The Black Blast is coal slag so it is probably the same thing you used. I found a guy to come to my house to do the frame and all the big areas on the body where we didn't have to worry about doing any damage. The small siphon blaster was handy for cleaning out all of those crappy welds on the frame and around any of the joints or seams on the body.

[mustang6984]

I get it at Menards Home Center. If you go to Menards.com and search for black blast it should come up. It's around $8.00 for a 50# bag.

Thank you sir. I have a dual tank blaster from Harbor freight...given the light rust on the car from transporting it 2100 miles on an open car hauler that should take me back to clean again in no time.