Old car build thread

[ducpainter]

Nope. I'd be entertained to watch you talk to my brother.

He'd end up confused and disgruntled 

I wouldn't use any big words.

[Popeye the Sailor]

So....the car is too long to fit in my shop so the fitment and assembly will get done in the garage under the house. There's a smooshed Falcon in the way and I don't feel like doing anything with it yet, but I need some space.

I picked up a cheap Harbor Freight carport to free up some space.

Luckily some idiot sold their pickup and...didn't fix the broken pickup, so I casually took everything out of the box to fit it inside a 'lectric Honda.

[Popeye the Sailor]

Some hamfisted make the beast with two backsface broke my original rear emblem. No, not me-I know how my trunk opens.



I got spoiled with the Falcon. Need a part? Call up any of a dozen parts suppliers and get it shipped. Choose based on price/distance/material. Luxury.

Here? Dig through archives of old message boards. Ping someone who might still know the guy with a mopar junkyard. Somehow get a message back, find the junkyard owner, and ask about an emblem that was both model and decklid specific.

This took some doing, but I found one.



The plastic is shot.

Some other guy is making reproductions.



I went with the tricolour.



Apparently he has an LED option. I think it'd make a nice third brake light.

[Popeye the Sailor]

No, I don't want to talk about it.



I just need to make some space. Might be easier to steer if it was less crumply.







The snow out back managed to get warm enough to turn to ice and then stay there out of spite. My trusty snowblower would just instantly clog with it.

I was pissed so I shoveled a path all the way out back.

Then I rolled the Falcon out and jumped the poor thing.

I can't believe it worked 

[Popeye the Sailor]

There.



Now to align the body panels and drop it off at Nate's for paint 

[ducpainter]

<snip.

Now to align the body panels and drop it off at Nate's for paint 

You might not live long enough for me to finish it...wait...I might be talking about me.

[Popeye the Sailor]

You might not live long enough for me to finish it...wait...I might be talking about me.

It's hardly bigger'n a duc tank 

The crushed fins-I should use some sort of stud welder maybe?

[ducpainter]

Probably. I have one you can use.

[ungeheuer]

You might not live long enough for me to finish it...wait...I might be talking about me.

  No further comment 

[triangleforge]

No, I don't want to talk about it.

(snip)

I've used the shorty version of that HF carport for the past two years at our place (a modest amount of snow, lots of high altitude sun and about 9 months of wind in the 20-40mph range), and the fabric finally crapped out in the snowstorm last week. They're cheap enough that I think I'll just pick up another and repurpose the second frame for... well, I haven't gotten that far yet.

[Popeye the Sailor]

Bada bing.

[Popeye the Sailor]

The smart people would have parked with the front end facing the door. 



But, I was only planning on aligning the sheet metal. When we pulled the fenders I noticed the frame wasn't bolted onto the body at the front mounts.

In fact, those holes didn't line up at all.



22 inches between those holes. On the body? 24".


Btw-did y'all know that a '61 300 and a '62 Newport, while looking identical, were not?

The 300 was longer by 4" and had a different subframe.


That floor I had installed was the wrong one. The frame doesn't match it 

[kopfjäger]

 

[Duck-Stew]

Subframe swap, or will you mod it?

[Popeye the Sailor]

I have a nicer subframe out of a '64 300.



I bolted it up in the rear:



Here's how the front mount lines up:



Same mount, from the bottom:



And how the fender lines up with it in the current location:



Offhand, I need to do some slight mods to the front mount.