1936 Pontiac Project - Post 1

This project came in recently....  Here's the story on it from the owner:

1936 Pontiac Deluxe 2-Door Touring Sedan
Model 6BA-2611
Owner – Jim Elder
Purchased July, 2003

This car was discovered in a small town in central Missouri in the summer of 2003.  It was buried in mud up to its axles, completely covered with years of tree leaves and debris, and home to countless critters.  After scraping some of the tree junk off, I realized that the car was very solid.  It had, some years previously, been coated with the blue paint that you see on it in the pictures.

 

I located the owner of the car, purchased it, used a Bobcat to drag it out of the mud, and hauled it home to Minnesota.  The car was completely cleaned in and out, and completely disassembled down the bare frame.  After assessing the condition of the original drive train and suspension components, it was decided that it would not be practical or possible to restore the car as an original.  I decided to keep as many of the original parts as possible, so the car is now an odd mixture of original and modern parts.  There are no exterior body modifications.

The chassis and rear suspension (springs and shocks) are original 1936.  The front suspension is Mustang II style IFS, provided by the experts at Fatman Fabrications.  The engine, automatic transmission, and rear axle were all graciously donated by a Chevy S10 Blazer.  The engine is a GM 4.3 Liter V6, converted from TBI to carb, thanks to Misters Edelbrock and Holley.  ECI disc brakes are installed up front, and std. GM drums in the rear.  The original steering column and wheel have been retained and connected to a Mustang style power steering rack.  The electrical system has been converted to 12 volts, and a modern complete wiring harness and fuse box installed.  The wheels are provided by American Racing.

The good folks at Chanhassen Maaco agreed to take on the body and paint work.  Their work is excellent, and they have been very eager and willing to work with me on this project, which is why they were chosen.  After the body and paint are complete, the upholstery remains as the last large piece of the rebuild.  I intend to have the interior done to match the original as much as possible.  It was camel-colored mohair.  Then drive it 

 

 

 

More to come...  Check back soon...

1974 Ford Ranger F100 Project - Post 1

This project just came in last week.  This truck is pretty straight, has minimal rust and came out of California. It just needs a little TLC to bring out it's true self.  We started photographing this after Jorge (one of our body techs) had started on it.

 

The hood was sanded/stripped and removed

 

Then the hood was prepped with acid-etching solution.

Then Jorge started to sand, straighten and skim coat the body panels.

 

 

More updates to come on this truck... Check back soon.

1931 Model A Pickup - post 8 - Hood parts skim coated - Aprons and running boards painted

Bill continues to work on the hood parts.  The welding is done, now he's skim-coating them to fill all the little pits.  We just painted the aprons and running boards too.  They will mount below the cab, and needed to be done first.  Once the aprons and running boards are mounted, fenders can be purchased and pre-fitted to the chassis before coming in for prep and paint.

 

 

 

 

1931 Model A Pickup - post 7 - Radiator surround primed and ready for paint

We got the pits filled and smoothed on the radiator surround.  Now it's primed and ready for paint.

 

1931 Model A Pickup - post 6 - Hood repairs and welding

Bill welded some new metal to the lips on the hood where the old straps had worn through.

1931 Model A Pickup - post 5 - Sand blasted parts are sprayed with epoxy primer

To prevent surface rust on any of the freshly sandblasted, bare metal parts, they were all sprayed with epoxy primer.

 

 

1931 Model A Pickup - post 4 - Box and doors are back from the sand blaster

Yesterday we picked up the box and the doors from the sand blaster.  The truck box was an original OEM Model A wide-body box.  The box was build in the 1950s and was stored in a crate for years.  Tim bought it on eBay a few years ago, and it was still in the original crate. The crate had deteriorated a bit though and surface-rust needed to be blasted from the box.  The box is in excellent shape with very little rust-pitting.  The doors are going to need some welding and filling, but should come out great.