So last year when I went to the east coast nationals car show in Louisville KY and this 56 buick followed me home. Well sort of anyways, I had to come back from KY and unload dads 40 ford off the trailer then run back out to Tennessee and pick up the car. I just started the tear down a couple weeks ago getting it down to a bare shell so I can pull the body off the frame ( once I position the ls motor and make up the engine mounts) Its been fun dealing with all the screws that are headless and rusted into place that hold the trim on but I've just about got them all. This week I started to get into repairing some of the rust spots I knew about when I bought the car ( and a few I didn't). One 0f the worst spots to fix is the passenger side roof above the drip rail which has separated from the body. Yesterday I started work on the rust at the b pillars and around the rear glass. First thing I did was to make a cardboard template of the panel to be replaced before disassembling. Here its cut apart.. Then onto repairing the rear glass channel. This was 2 pieces cut and welded on the edge. This is all hidden below the window moldings so nothing fancy here. Then onto the actual B pillar. This piece lips into the drip rail and curves in a couple directions so I used the template to cut a couple of forms to beat out the new panel on. Well that went pretty easy. Just need to finish welding it up today...
This is my son's '56. All original, basically he just buffed it out and waxed it. Now he has it all torn down and is going to put a new chassis under it. The steering box is loose and the frame has some rust issues. I just hope he gets it back together.
Good looking car Jammer, buicks are known for rusting. The inside panels are bare steel.... So for my adventures in rust and Tennessee mud today..... I coated the inside of the B pillar with some POR 15 prior to welding the panel back on.which takes over night to dry ... . Then moved on to cutting out the rust in the lower quarter. Some of you might have noticed the square hole cut into the quarter earlier and wondered what the heck. Well thats where one of buicks not so good ideas is hiding..... This is where a bunch of panels come and meet in a not so orderly fashion. It creates an area where mud and water collect and the rear tire just pumps the water right into it. There is another not so good idea hiding in the rear quarter area as well. The inner splash panel joins to the quarter panel with a T shaped weather strip and then is undercoated over. I'm assuming this let's the body flex without distorting the quarter. Its going to be a pain in the ass but I am going to refabricate this part and use some panel bond to join it to the inner quarter and make it so there is no pockets for debri to get trapped in...
It's the trim on that thing that would scare the hell out of me. That car has miles of trim! This is also the stuff of NIGHTMARES!
Wow, that looks like an undertaking!! Is an English wheel part of you toolset? Maybe just remove the nameplate and start from scratch? Denis
LOL, its not that bad. Worst part is the passanger side drip rail area. But I knew that when I bought it. Deck lid was the other really bad spot, it was rusted internally by the hinge mount. I could have fixed it but got lucky and found one at a swap meet. Same color and everything. Have to laugh because it was the only swap meet I've been to this year and the only part I was looking for...
Very nice work, hell of a project. If you're into this sort of thing and aren't already aware of this channel, it's some good stuff right up your alley
didn't get a whole lot done today had to go shopping for a few things. Managed to pull that splash liner out. Gives me a lot more room so I can weld up that upper panel. Going to blast and treat everything in there tomorrow. Then I can start putting this side back together. Car should be 200 lbs lighter with all the crop im knocking out of it....
Wow, if you like rust that much, you could have got a 2013 Fiat . Fantastic project. You must be really good with the TIG torch (or soon will be). <watch thread>
Lol, I used to have a Fiat x19 with the twin carb set up. Fun lil car, and yep a rear challenge with rust. This buick isn't really that bad ( I've fixed worse) I'm just happy it still has floor and trunk pans. Goal is to be completed by this time next year and drive it to the east coast nationals in Louisville KY. Think I'll make it ?
You've got your work cut out for you. No pun intended. Y'know it just occurred to me. How does it feel having so much work space? I remember the tight quarters you were in a couple of years ago. It must be like a dream come true!