I know there are parts cars out there, but it would require me to shell out some serious $$$ fast. Part of the reason for this being such a long project is the cost involved. And blowing up the engine in my Centurion didn't help any:laugh:
Ron- I tried to find something a few inches longer, but could only come up with this 227.1" hulk:grin: Frank - I spun #7 and 8 rod bearings in the Centurion on my way to Columbus in August. I don't remember if I tiold the story on the forums or not...but my wind-bagged version is in the latest BPG newsletter:TU:
Here's the big "thank you" post: http://buickperformancegroup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7147 ...and the abridged version of the story: http://buickperformancegroup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7096
I took another rust/dirt bath tonight getting the rear bumper off. All 4 bolts promptly twisted right in half. What a mess!
Now's probably about the time where you're getting that sinking feeling..."How am I going to get this thing back together?" You'll get there! It's not that bad--I've seen MUCH worse. At least it's a rare car you're working on.
If you need a hand let me know, its a short drive away.....3 hours and I'll be there. Keep up the good work. I was at Kevin's on Saturday. Seriously, I have all of December off. :Brow:
You were at Kevin's?? Damnit...I was duck hunting. I think I had more fun though:grin: I've seen Kevin's place a couple times now, and it's a neat archive of history there.
Been watching your progress Adam. After my '72 Electra I swore I would never attempt to fix up a rusty car ever again. Your a brave man. I see at some point someone thought enough of it to get personalized plates for it. King of chrome those '58's! :beer
Sorry, no interior shot and it did not have A/C. All I had was my cell phone camera with me. He did tell me he didn't drive it much in the Texas summer due to lack of A/C.
I've been just disassembling things one piece at a time, bagging and photographing everything... I decided to grab the cutoff wheel and welder this afternoon.. This was one of the areas I was concerned about being able to fix myself: With some patience and a couple hours, it's done! I took care of another hole that was about 2" wide on the top of the rocker where the sill plate goes:
Looking good, Adam. Boy are you diving into this project! Keep up the enthusiasm and good work, she'll be a beauty when you're done. :TU:
Couple things today... I replaced the part of the floor next to the front driver's seat today. I know they make a replacement panel for this, but it looked easy enough just to make myself. I had to replace the strip on the rocker that butts up to the floor pan before I made the floor piece first. Remember these nasty dealies on the front end when I pulled the fenders? I decided to tackle one of them today..turned out ok, but I think I will work with it and smooth some things out before they get painted.
Another Saturday, another update.. Rocker panels came early this week, so I started cutting the bad bits out of the driver's side. I could've cut the whole thing out, but I don't have hte doors on as a guide to keep the gaps correct, so I left the "good sections" of the old rockers there and grafted pieces onto it. As you can barely see in the first photo, the inner rockers are toast, too. I will get the car jacked up tomorrow and finish welding in new metal there. Then the drivers side rocker will be done.... Measuring to cut! Here is the bad spot in the front. Note the rotted out cowl corner...gotta fix that as soon as I get the rocker done.
