splidecision63

Actually, as bad as the 59' looks; the previous owner saved me a lot of work, I'd have to take it down this far anyway.
You tok the words out of my mouth. The previous owner did a lot of work for you.
I just bought a 62 and paid a lot more than that, thinking about doing a resto mod also.

americanretrodave

You're welcome anytime! Just let me know if you are coming to the central part of California.

He did! The previous owner was also good about documenting and keeping all the parts together. Even if I wasn't going to do a restro-mod, I would take it down this far. You find so many 'little' problems that would never show up, if you didn't! Doing one 'original' or a 'resto-mod' is a personal choice. I've went the 'all original' route, my '62 was a Bloomington Gold car and it also was awarded the Duntov Award of Excellence, in fact, Zora signed the build sheet (this was prior to his death), and trust me, I have nothing against doing one that way. But this one I wanted to do 'my way' and I'm having a blast deciding for myself how I want to build it. At my age, fun is what it's all about.

About two years ago, I told a buddy of mine (who also has a lot of old cars) that some of the best cars ever made are being made right now and we're still driving what we liked in high school. Shortly after that, I picked up a C6 and was blown away. I took my buddy for a ride and he went out and picked up a new Grand Sport that night, my plate reads C6 BLACK and his reads C6 RED. This is one reason I'm building this 59 the way I am. I just ordered a vanity plate for it; it's one of the new silver ones being issued in CA, it will read: 59 LS2

americanretrodave

I've finished getting the body ready for my fiberglass pro. I'm moving it to his place tomorrow.

vt65

WOW cool thread, gotta hand it to you Dave, would love to eyeball your collection some day! I've owned a '56, '59 and a '61, I'm too dam big to fit into them now! ....

americanretrodave

Thanks VT, if you ever in my area, give me a call. I've always wanted to find a '56 and/or '57, but I've never ran across a deal on one. My first Vette was a '58 (098 cam, two four-barrels, and only 28,000 miles) I picked it up for $1,000. I've owned (in order) the '58, '63, '59, '74, '60, '62, '62, '64, '62, '97, '05 and this '59. I still have the '59, a '62, and the '05 (I just sold the '97). I know what you mean about being too big to fit into the strait axles, that's one reason I'm doing this '59 my way. I'm planning to build and pad my seats to give me the maxium room, that plus a 15" steering wheel should help. (I manufacture 15" steering wheels for '55 thru '60 Chevy's and '55 thru '60 Fords)

americanretrodave

I know you guys like pictures, so here's a couple. We pulled the new rear fenders down from the attic today and sat them (dust and all) on the '59, they'll give me an additional 2" on each side once the old fenders are cut out and these are installed.





It gives you an idea...actually when these are installed, you have to have a trained eye to notice.

ptjsk

Hello Dave,

What an inspiration!!! Howthe heck do you find the time to complete all of your projects? It sure looks like you keep the dream alive.

After working on my '62 for the last several years, I purchased and have been building a '55 Nomad. I truly had it completed with the exception of front shocks and exhaust. Unfortunately while picking it up from the interior shop, I noticed the paint beginning to malfunction/bubble. So I took it back down to the bare metal and hope to get back to paint this summer. It was rather dissapointing, but at least I know where each and every part goes!!

Anyway, thanks for the updates! Great to see somebody with so much enthusiasm!

Also, I too would like to have an opportunity to see your projects. I'm currently (30 yrs), in Northern California, but I will be taking a drive to San Diego with my daughter and son in law next month. Maybe I'll be passing your place.

Pat

americanretrodave

Thanks Pat,

By all means, stop by; PM me and I'll give you my cell, I'm just south of Fresno in Dinuba, CA.

I clicked on your name to look at your '62, but nothing came up. Don't hesitate to post some pictures and tell us about it. That's what this forum is for, (at least in my eyes). I'd like to see the nomad too. I had a '55 nomad wantabee (Pontiac Safari) a while back, it was a nice clean car so I didn't do much to it. Shame about your paint; I had a similar problem on a dune buggy I built last year. (picture below)



I had soda blast it and coming home from having it done, I stopped at one of those quarter car washes, the body was on the trailer and used up $10 worth of quarters washing it; afterwards, I noticed I had the hood in the back of my truck. I washed it off when I got home. Bad mistake!!! Little bubbles plaged me on the hood, no where else. I had to strip the hood and redo it, but I waited six months to make sure it was the only problem. I'm not sure if you soda blasted or not, but I'll never use soda again, especially on old fiberglass.

It seems that I go from one project to the next, but I enjoy doing them. Right now, the '59 has my attention, I think we've bonded :-)

Dave

americanretrodave

Working on the body:



And I picked up a possible motor and trans: LS1 (26,200 miles) and a six-speed, both out of a GTO,







And, I've started on the '62;

americanretrodave

Sand blasted a lot of parts; primered them and then painted them black (for now) here are a few;



I've got a local chrome shop assessing the bumpers; next week I'll get the stainless in for repairs and polishing, plus I have a couple of buckets for cadmium plating.

americanretrodave

Just a quick update: please note, all the fiberglass work is in it's beginning stages;

I picked up a set of '58 front fender braces, I think they're a good idea on any '58 - '62;



Redoing all the seams;





Smoothing out the firewall;



This pocket has been made to fit into the firewall for the T56 clutch master cylinder;



When I stripped it down, little cracks became apparent all around the hood and truck openings, these are being fixed;



I'm omitting the air vent in front of the window, I'm installing air conditioning and I need the room under the dash, besides, I like the cleaner look;



I'm also omitting the mounting holes under the front grille (for the license plate holder), heres the piece that will be installed there;

INMYBLOOD

Nice work! You really "sanded" the body into that condition? How did you get into all the tight spots?

americanretrodave

Thanks Inmyblood, the PO had taken the car apart about 24 years ago, at that time, he chemically stripped it, at least that is what appeared to have been done. I hand sanded everything to get it down to it's current condition (at least 95% of it), in some of the tight corners and on the metal parts incorporated in the body, I sand blasted them. I have a small, micky mouse blaster that I rarely use, my compressor won’t handle sand blasting and the sand comes out at will, but for this job, it worked okay.

americanretrodave

Not sure if you guys enjoy these updates or not, but I thought I'd post them;

The '58 braces under the front fender, these are great!



Fitting the headlights to the front end before it's put on the car;



Part of the front end;



Filling in the front air vent and wipers are coming along; while I was at my fiberglasser's a friend and an NCRS Judge stopped by. I asked him if he hated what I was doing to the car and he was quick to reply no, he loved it. It's nice when both schools of thought can appreciate each other's efforts.



Removed the rear fenders, I hated to cut them out, they were in great shape, but the wider ones are what I need;





The new wider rear fender, I like it, it's nice and thick;



Holding it up to the body;

shemp

What year and Model Mecedes? My wife has an 87 560 sl ,I love that car. It doesn' look like yours has been out in a while, but then again you have quite a few to pick from. Shemp

americanretrodave

It's a '79 450SL, triple black, factory wire wheels; I bought it new and it has 19,857 miles on it. I should get it out more. I asked my daughter when she was 16 if she liked one similar that was going down the highway. She said not much, she preferred a VW Convertable. I told her that she didn't realize what that comment cost her, but she loved her VW.

americanretrodave

I also found both nut cages destroyed when the rear fenders were removed, an easy fix now, but can you imagine replacing them with the fender intact? Since I didn't take it apart, I have no idea how the PO managed to destroy both of them.

Exposed here with the fender removed;

mickatbp

A-R-D, tell me more about the '58' inner fender supports and how they are held in position plus an explanation of why you think all 58-62s should use them. Also, do all of the main parts suppliers sell them?

wmf62

Mick
they are normally held in place by a few countersunk rivets that are hidden under the top fender stainless. the pins in the stainless go through other holes and use the speed nuts.

some people use the stainless pins/nuts to hold both in place, but if i were to use them i would prefer to rivet/bolt them in place separately as was originally intended.

why were they used? because the OEM fiberglass is thin and flexible and HEAVY leaning on the fender tops can cause cracking. why they were only used in 58... i don't have a clue... but, i think they are probably a good thing to use on any C1.

i don't use them because my frontend fiberglass is handlaid and is VERY thick and doesn't need the additional support.

i've never checked, but most vendors probably have them.
Bill

americanretrodave

Corvette Central has them, part number 331214, $115 for the pair, I'm sure others have them too. Bill explained them perfectly. When I sanded mine down, I found hairline cracks all around the hood, cracks that you normally wouldn't see, they were in other places too. So any extra support I can add to that front end, I'm adding it. I'm not sure why Chevy dropped them in the first place unless some bean counter figured it was a way to save a buck.