1959 Chevy Kingswood project

More photos today. They're getting the floor pan in. It was a good fit - they did have to split it to get it inside the car, but then it will be welded back together. Once the pan halves were positioned, they dropped right into place.














Here you can see the seam where the pan was split.



They had to raise this crossmember (?) because it had settled onto the frame over the years. I am guessing its purpose is to support the floor. You can see the bolts to hold the pan while it's being welded into place. Those will later be removed and the holes filled.




Break time, guys.





Doing some welding....



I think he's smoothing down a filled bolt hole...


I believe these are the rear doors, getting ready for paint. The hood will be next.


Better view of the radio. By golly, it does look original. The buttons still work, too.

 

Thanks; I will. I think that's where we'll order the tires.

 

The job is really moving right along. If you've checked any other builds and project vehicles here or anyplace else you will begin to realize how very lucky you were to find this shop.
Many customers wait literally years before even a little work is started. And these guys seem to know what they are doing which makes it even better. By the end of this week your wagon will look much better.

 

retrosound radio lookssimilar to what is in there but has an ipod input

 

That radio is original. Dad's '59 had one, and the PO only had it as a 'feature' in the car. I also talked to Dad yesterday about a bunch of stuff, and I brought up the '59; he said it had the inline six with 3-on-the-tree.

 

i sold my original radio to a guy in sweden thru ebay

 

Lisa, I'm amazed at how much work has already been accomplished on your '59. Keep up the good work, (or, rather, tell your body shop to!)

 

Aren't those guys something? I gave the shop owners the link to this site today and hope they'll stop by. I'd love comments from them - they probably need to set me straight on some details! Maybe they'll post pictures of cool stuff they're doing, too.

Stephen said he'll get to work on the rest of the floor areas today, cutting out the rusted areas and fabricating new pans for the front seat footwell area, as well as the area behind the rear wheels.

 

I hope to keep this one... I love the look of it. I guess if we want a good music selection, we'll hide away the equipment for it. (ipods don't take up much room - the ashtray, maybe? )

 

Just wonderin. I'm on a few other forums. Sometimes a friend will post something using a member's user name and membership. You'd have to give them the password or be there to get them on the site. But it's a way to add information without actually joining.
My wife hates the internet and does not type. She had a friend add things she wanted to include then had me add it to a forum.
Just a thought.

 

I understand. My husband uses my account on another forum sometimes, usually when I need him to talk about technical stuff. He always notes that he's not me, in case the readers wonder why I got so much smarter all of a sudden.

 

HA! On special occasions like her birthday month my wife gets on a few sites. I make sure she lets others know by using her name. But I also let everyone know I'm the smarter prettier one.
I'm also lucky she is way across the room and can't see tiny print from there.

 

Another question for you all: what are your thoughts about delaminated glass? The Kingswood's windshield and both curved rear glass pieces are affected. It is unsightly, but is it something that could easily be addressed later rather than sooner? I am guessing that the old glass is not very safe compared to what's available today - was it even considered shatter-resistant? Maybe I should just bite the bullet and get it all replaced while we're doing everything else. If that's what we do, hopefully someone would have a use for the old glass. Hate to just throw it away.

 

New paint, new interior, new engine and transmission, new wheels and tires, new owners with big smiles, new suspension, and old glass that works but detracts from the hard work and dollars just spent to make it all work and look like new.........

If this were my wagon I'd do what I did when I painted mine - I bought new glass and installed it before we pulled it out of the garage (had a glass shop do the install). As for safety of delaminated glass I don't know the answer to that. As for the appearance and satisfaction that it looked as good as I coul make it we were both pretty pleased with the end result.

If you can afford it I would do it sooner than later. If you are stretching the budget then it can wait but once it is all together it is a lot of work and dollars to remove the interior moldings and exterior trim and put the new glass in and there are paint chip risks involved as well.

Just my opinion. As a note I did not replace the side glass on my Chevelle and I regret it now big time. Its a lot more work now as I have to remove door panels, back seat, undo the attachment to the crank mechanism, have the glass done, realign everything again, put it all back together, without chipping the paint or causing any other issues. :banghead3::banghead3: and one more for my being cheap when I could have just done it :banghead3: