VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 One HARD question

Hello again,
Now before I lay this question on this forum, I will admit that this is by no means the kind of question that has a right or wrong answer. So any advice or opinion that might follow this post will be greatly appreciated big time.
I am thinking of going all the way with my 49' chevy.(no jokes please) Down to bare frame type restoration. Of coarse I have never took on such a projector of this size. This is what I can say with some sort of confidence... The car itself is in pretty nice shape(very little body rust and no holes, runs and drives fairly good, and every thing accept radio, clock, and maybe a gauge or two on the dash seem to work fine) The bad news is... there is a couple quarter sized holes in the floor pans,headliner and inside door panel need help, both windshields are cracked along with other defects in the other glass. Now heres where I stand...Got 90% or so of tools I think I would need, got a long term nice big space to work in,
have enough experience for all body work and painting, I would say "mechanically inclined", and a good work ethic. Not rich, but could handle expense with time.
As of now, my plan would be to give power plant to an experienced mechanic, and the rest would be on me. I also have picked up the service manual and the fisher body manual and have been reading and researching this vehicle.
Ok... thats just a rough idea of where I'm coming from. My question is, can I get your thoughts and opinions on this matter? and if so, could you give me a rough idea of what the procedure was for your story? Do you know of any thing on the internet i could reference to? I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't think you just start ripping parts off a car. Are there particular steps one should follow? I know taking notes, pictures, drawings,and proper labeling and storage all seem to be important. Do you have certain ways that might help out some one new?
Heres another thing that I'm not sure about. Like I said before, the car is pretty much complete, really nothing missing, and all original for the most part. I had this idea that I could simply take it apart, clean, scrape, sandblast, paint, plate, ect ect ect ... all the pieces and reassemble with replacing only what was worn out, or what I just could not handel fixing. Am I way off on this theory?
Well.. enough for now. Please give any and all input you might have. Thanks and appreciate, Gene

Gene--GOOD-LUCK !!! If your going to do a frame off restoration consider chemical de-rusting of the parts ,buy a TON of baggies and labels take photo's of everything--over time you'll forget how things go back together. Set your self a time frame (be generious--it's a guide ,not a law)get all the manuals you can lay your hands on b/4 doing anything. Gallons of rust penetrate ,some of that soda with the foam on top to offset sorrows when thing go haywire.Contact this forum --it's an absolute gold mine of information,I can't tell you how much these guys helped me with my '40 chevy master deluxe --and fill the cookie jar -again and again and again !!

Photos, Photos, Photos!

Well Gene, heres the approach I've been taking on my 51 pickup. I'm by no means an expert, but so far this has been working for me. I'm finally down to body and paint with a hopeful completion date of summer 2007. I started this in the summer of 2000 and I thought maybe 2 or 3 years would do it. Ha. Life has a way of getting in the way, but I'm determined to see this project through.
First off, don't be in a hurry to get it to the frame. Take your time, lots of pictures and notes, and carefully bag and tag EVERYTHING. I took almost 6 months getting mine to the bare frame. I was in no big hurry and made sure that I was clear on where every nut, bolt and clip went and what direction they faced. I also placed the nuts and bolts back where they went whenever possible. I also kept the "sub-assemblies" intact until I was ready to restore them,ie. front and rear suspension, steering assembly, engine, tranny, etc.
Once I was down to the bare frame, I sandblasted, primed and painted it. Then I would move on to say the rear axle, disassemble,clean,paint,rebuild and then install,before starting on the front suspension. Keeping these sub-assemblies intact until I was ready to "restore" them and then being able to install them as they were done, seemed to keep the total part count down a little and it was easier for me to remember how they went since the disassembly was fresh in my mind. They're also easier to move around in one piece.
Once I had a rolling chassis, I moved onto the engine and tranny,rebuilt,and installed them. Then test fired to make sure it ran OK. I've now got all the inner fenders, brackets, braces, etc, in semi-gloss black, have replated all the original nuts and bolts, and am awaiting warmer weather,(and my tax refund,LOL) to start body and paint.
I might want to add that I've been aquiring parts here and there throughout this process and finally have just about everything I need to finish.
I might also add it helps to have some sort of organized storage for everything. I bought some of those big Rubbermaid tubs and put everything for one assembly in each one,ie. one tub for engine parts, another for interior,etc. Also don't throw away ANY of your used parts, even old rubber and cardboard items, until you have the replacements in hand or reassemble them. You'd be surprised how many "new" parts don't fit, are the wrong one, or simply won't work. It also helps sometimes when reassembling to have the old part in hand to help determine just how it went.
Good luck on yours and when you're finished you'll have something to really be proud of.

Bob

Photo's yup!
But make sure you photo EVERYTHING!
Got a camcorder?
Use that as well....I'm glad I did.
I took a million & one photo's of every thing, or so I thought!! It is amazing the simple little things that I never photographed....Complicated bits I got 'em photo'd backwards, frontwards, upsidedownwards you name it, I got it.
Now did that pipe go through there????
OR
Over & under that???
Luckily the simple things got picked up on the video & freeze frame gave me the answer.
:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

We did a '50 hardtop which drives well and shows well. It didn't have an engine, transmission, etc., so we left it on its wheels and that made it east to trailer. First, we had the bottom and front end steam cleaned. And that removed much of the dirt and grease. Then we noticed that the body panels fit well and the under body which had been undercoated looked good. We didn't take the body off the frame. Then we used camera and camcorder to take many pictures of the exterior and interior, and dash area. Stripped all the interior down to the body shell, removed the wiring and dash gauges, and did the same with the trunk. Removed the gas tank,and everything that would get in the way of sandblasting. We then asked around for advice about a sandblaster who knew how to avoid warping panels - someone with a lot of experience. We found a guy working out of his barn who had been recommended by several professional restorers. This guy even blasted aluminum sports car bodies successfully..We trailered the car to him to get his opinion and he said since the car had only the original paint, it would come out great and the inside would be OK,too. Then it was time to do the metal work. After the sandblasting, there were several surprises where patching was necessary. A metal shop teacher took care of that and replaced some damaged areas with panels from parts cars..The sandblaster knew just how far to go when we noticed that the outside wasn't ready to paint. He explained that more preparation would be needed before any painting so we got the advice of a painter who agreed and told us how to do it. Grunt work! Both of us are good at that. Advice, a great way to avoid mistakes. Use this site, other club members, other who have done restorations...Looks like that's just what you're doing now.

Gene,
I just want to echo the advice of everyone on here to BE ORGANIZED in the disassembly process. Take lots and lots of photos. I've finally got everything disassembled on my 36 Sedan, and I literally have hundreds of photos. If you can take close-up pictures (I have a close-up lens for my camera), this helps a lot too. Also I videotaped anything that looked complex.
Regarding stripping the old paint and doing a frame-off restoration, I suggest going that route if you've got the time, patience and money. I thought the body on my car looked really good, except for some lacquer paint peel. Boy was I surprised after I had it blasted. The places that looked like they had minor pitting before blasted actually had severe pitting and small rust-through spots. Some bodywork that I didn't know existed was also revealed. Some of this was done with techniques that the experts on this site advised against (brazing, e.g.).
Regarding the stripping, we've got a great place here in the Kansas City area that does media blasting, and are very good. I think they used glass beads on the body. It left a great etched surface ready for primer. The total for the entire car (inside and outside of all parts, including body, frame, doors, fenders, etc.) was about $1200. I think it was a bargain. And they had it done in a couple of weeks.
Keep asking lots of questions. These guys are great on this site.

With all this info I think you make out like a bandit. DO NOT GET IN A HURRY when you to the bodywork if you need help I can help you.
I dont get on the site much the best way to get me is. Jacobstrucking98@aol.com
Take your time and injoy the work.

Buy a complete parts car if you have the space and money.I bought one so I can use as a guide for reassembly.

Parts washer from Harbor Freight or Northern Tool or local store if comparable price.

Do SOMETHING every day if at all possible. Small steps and slow progress add up and are infinitely better than none!!

The upholsterers seem to have a knack that's hard to learn on the first try.

Gene:
My two cents...
Pictures are essential. Many times I thought I'd be able to remember if the bolt goes in from the left side or from the right; I didn't. Did that nut have a lock washer on it? Where does this bolt go? Did this piece of trim get installed before the next piece or after? I made myself crazy!
Regarding tools, you don't say what you may have or need, but I would suggest as a minimum you have a good-sized air compressor (4hp, 20 gal min.), a large floor jack, good jack stands, engine hoist, pneumatic tools (impact wrench, grinders, sanders), parts washer, grit blaster, shop vac, and a full set of hand tools. If the budget allows, a rotisserie frame would be helpful. A MIG "suitcase" welder will be essential for filling in the holes and making repairs. A space heater in that cold Wisconsin garage would be great!
Be prepared for a shock when you go to get things plated. Today's prices are high and going higher. Same goes for paint.
One essential piece of advice...you're already a VCCA member and your local Region 4 guys should be a great resource when it comes to advice, vendor recommendations, and locally available services. Good luck with the project!

Coach

Coach is right! Asking other members can't be stressed enough. I found both of my cars thru members. And, the help from many members was "out of sight". They saved me from making serious mistakes. They knew who to call about parts, paint, or just advice if they couldn't help. Some knew how to get into those wrecking yards owned by hermits and protected by junkyard dogs. One member suggested a high school auto shop where I could work on my '55 with guidance from the teacher. I did the grunt work and he did the painting. The result even amazed me. Since then, other members have used his services. You get my point.............

Great advise the only things I would add would be to keep a notebook/pencil in the shop and when you take pictures write down some notes to yourself.

I often attach some of the smaller parts (nuts, bolts, hinges, screws, etc) to a large part (fenders, trunk lid, hood, etc.) with ziplocks and duct tape (sometimes I even wire them together) that way I know these items go together.

Your question about the order of where you should attack the restoration; the only book I have is the one for '57 Chevys where they go step by step on the complete disassembly and re-assembly of a car. That book might give you a general idea of the order you should use even tho there are 8 years between them.

Good Luck.

PS Keep track of who you send parts to and when and take pics of the parts when you send them off.