57 Roadmaster 75 Coupe

Discussion in 'Projects' started by Smartin, Jul 14, 2019.

  1. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    The 57's are growing on trees here, it seems. The same owner of the black car I just delivered has this coupe he has been getting ready during the last couple years. It was found on a Facebook page called "Abandoned and neglected vehicles." I alerted him to it and he did all the leg work to find and buy the car. Not a terribly rusty car, but has some key spots that need attention.

    For the time being, I will do some rust repair while I wait for the next big project to roll in. It has a bit of rocker work and front quarter panel patching to do. There are a couple really small floor spots that popped through when we poked at it yesterday, too.

    This is a fairly rare car already, being a Roadmaster 75 coupe. It also has the later model year two-tone paint scheme. Most of the 57 two tone cars are separated at the sweep spear. This particular car has a special stainless piece at the bottom edge of the C pillar that separates the two colors. It is supposed to be Dover White roof over Sylvan Grey body. Sylvan Grey does not show up on the 57 color chart. It comes up on the 58 color chart first on the list displayed as a "57 Spring color." It's a metallic grey with a green tint.

    Looking forward to getting this back on the road! It will be going home for a while to let the owner do some more prep work before I do body and paint. We are shooting for BCA nationals 2022. It seems like a long way away, but it'll come fast.
     

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  2. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    After an interim paint project, I have started on the rust repair on this beast...and there is plenty of it. 4 of the body mount bolts that have cage nuts broke when removing them. Another one just spun inside the cage. The only way to access these is to cut holes in the floor pan. Once that is done, the cage nuts can be removed and new ones welded in. Then the floor has to be repaired. That was all done this last couple days.

    The rear trunk brace that holds the rear-most body mount bolts was rusty, and a partial repair had been attempted when the trunk floor was replaced a few months ago. The trunk repair is fine, but the brace was rusted too badly to just do a quickie fix. So I had to cut about half of it out and replace with a good piece from a parts car. This repair required me to lift the body up about 6" to access the brace.

    I also started on the front rocker areas. This is where the front fenders mount to the rocker. It is very common for these to get rusty. The entire front box on both sides is nearly completely gone...so I have to make them. Passenger side is done. Hopefully I'll have time to do the driver side tomorrow.
     

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  3. My3Buicks

    My3Buicks Buick Guru

    Black interior Adam? If I remember correctly, that 2 tone was only available on the big series
     
  4. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    I am pretty sure it is silver and black.
     
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  5. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    Driver side front rocker corner is done...almost. I have to buy a 3/4" hole saw for the two fender mounting holes.

    Next I'll take care of a couple little soft spots on the inner rocker, and then the outer rocker repairs. One spot at the lead joint (you can barely see it in the photo) and the rear corner is rotted.

    After that, I'll move to the passenger side and complete the rocker repairs there.
     

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    Mike Sobotka likes this.
  6. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    As I moved to the hole in the driver side rocker, I had to burn out the lead so I could weld to steel after cutting the hole out. When I melted the lead out, a second hole appeared, almost as big as the original one next to it. So for this evening, I took care of the first hole. I'll save the other one for tomorrow.
     

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  7. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    Both holes at the lead joint are fixed. I moved on to the wheel well corner. The hole kept getting bigger as I cut...finding more really thin metal. Finally, I was able to get to some solid metal to weld to. I ended up cutting a piece of the wheel opening out of the parts car we have here. It helped with the compound bend around the edge of the wheel opening.

    Of course, as I was laying down grinding, I found another spot about 8" long where the pinch weld is at the rocker bottom. That is next.
     

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  8. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    Wow - Nice work!
     
    Smartin likes this.
  9. JayZee88

    JayZee88 Well-Known Member

    Loving that 57! Great job saving that precious gem from natures wrath! Im sure its out of my price range right now, but a 57 Roadmaster 75 is the next car I have my eyes hooked on.
     
  10. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    Thanks, guys. I am always amazed at how messy metal repair work is...

    Passenger side quarter was a real mess, along with the rocker. A lower quarter patch panel was provided with the car, but it was a hokey aftermarket stamping that didn't really even line up with the body lines or openings at the door or wheel. I did, however, use the wheel opening corner and lower rocker area to patch the quarter panel.

    The rear trick was to make sure that the bottom body line of the quarter remained straight with the rocker panel as it ran toward the wheel. When I cut out the bad spots in the quarter, it sprung out toward me. It was a real challenge trying to measure and cut, mark, measure again, cut, mark, etc...trying to hold the quarter in place. I ended up using a 4' straight edge to make sure it stayed true. Once it was tacked in place, I could go to town with the repair. As you can see, it looks a but sunken and lumpy where the repair was made. If could have gotten a hammer back there to work it back out with a dolly, that wouldn't be there. But there just isn't any room. Even with taking my time and cooling with compressed air, the panel warped a bit.

    I am currently working on the joint where the lead seam is at the back corner of the door. The repair ended up being about 8" in length after the bad metal was cut out. I have already repaired the inner rocker here, and welded the outer rocker together with a patch. I have one small 2" square hole to fill on the bottom side of the outer rocker....then I can move to the rear wheel wells. They are a real mess.
     

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  11. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    On to the wheel wells...this repair has to be made on both sides of the metal. There are actually two layers of metal in both of these spots. This is the passenger side...the driver side is the same way.

    This will also take care of all the rust on the body shell. Let's not talk about the doors, though.
     

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  12. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    Rust repair is complete on the body shell. It goes back to the owner so he can do some work on it himself. It will come back to me in a year or 2 for body and paint. Then back to him for assembly. Goal for this car is BCA national meet 2022
     
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  13. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

  14. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    I found that the “rebuilt” transmission would not engage any gear. Front pump wouldn’t build any pressure. So I dropped it out and took it to my local builder. Hopefully will have a resolution and a healthy transmission returned by next week.

    While I wait for the trans doc to work his magic, I tore off all the trim, doors, and glass in prep for paint strippage…
     

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  15. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    Doors, fenders and hood are all dry blocked and hosed in 2K primer.

    Body has made its way up to the small shop to be stripped and body worked…
     

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    Paul Massicotte and Max Damage like this.
  16. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    Beautiful work!
     
  17. ss4825

    ss4825 Well-Known Member

    That's going to be a looker for sure.
     
  18. Buicksky

    Buicksky Gold Level Contributor

    Excellent Work Looking good!
     
  19. Smartin

    Smartin antiqueautomotiveservice.com Staff Member

    Stripped and epoxied. Lots of pitting in trunk jamb and where sweepspear trim was mounted. Roof is pretty beat up, too. Fun times!
     

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    breakinbuick11 likes this.
  20. Max Damage

    Max Damage I'm working on it!

    That was quick!
     
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