The Dash

I got some unexpected time in the shop tonight so I polished the dash and put the switches in. I have just set the speaker grill, radio block off plate and glove box in for now. I have a few things left to do before I actually mount those.

Dash Knobs

Huge thanks to Bryan Chase! Because the wiper switch in an oval is not the same threads as the choke or headlight switch, it's tough to use anything but the stock dash knobs. Chase cut these out of aluminum for me, I tapped the correct threads and polished them up. As soon as the paint on the dash is polished these are the first thing that goes in the car.

More Paint Work

I really need to get the paint work done before I can start assembling the car, so tonight I decided to start polishing the areas I have already sanded. I think this is the first time I have ever cut and buffed a car wearing a hat and gloves; the shop is only about 35-40 degrees. So far I have gotten the top, hood and most of the passenger side sanded and buffed out with the cutting cream. I'll go back with the polishing cream after the whole car has had a once over.

Seats

These are nearly the same seats I had in my '66 I built when I was in high school. They were gray/blue where these are tan/brown. I have the passenger seat mounted and hope to get the driver side done this coming week. The mounts are all cut from 1/4" plate with an M8 x 1.25 nut welded to the back side. The plates for the inner rail are welded directly to the tunnel while the outer rail mounts are welded to the heater channel.

The back seat will take a little work so I may no tackle it for a little while still. The seat comes in 4 pieces and I need to figure out the best way to make them all come together.

OOPS!

In doing a little research I stumbled on the fact that my car is actually not a '57. It was built in June 1956. I have changed the title and the banner, but I'll be leaving the URL alone.

That means I have owned 2 ovals in my life. Both were 56 on a 69 pan. But that is where the similarities stop. The last one was not painted well, the dash had been cut up, it had crappy wheels and stock size tires and it had been hit several times, the final time it was hit so hard it was rolled up on it's side. Nothing fit right, it had it's share of rust and I was 18 with no money when I built it, so it was not done well at all.

Collecting Parts

Since it's too cold to do much work on the car, I'm starting to collect parts for it. I picked up a set of switches today for $50. The headlight and wiper switches are correct and the ignition is close enough for me. It's for a 58-60ish so it has the screw terminals, but there are only 3 and it took some work to get the bracket to fit the dash correctly. I'm working now on getting keys for the ignition switch.

More Paint Work

I have not had much time to work on the car since I got it painted. However, I have set the body back on the pan so I can get an idea of the ride height. The front is not too bad, but I'll have to lower the back a little. I guess the 18 degrees was not quite right.

I have also started rubbing out some of the rougher spots. The passenger door and rear quarter were by far the worst. As you can see in the picture on the right, they are now looking very good.

Salsa Red

It's been a very long time coming, but it's finally painted. The body work turned out near perfectly. There are more than a few runs that will need sanded out, but there is plenty of clear to scrape a little off the top. I'll post more pictures tomorrow when I can get the paper off the window and open the shop up to get some different angles.

Ready For More Sanding

I finally got the entire car coated in buildable primer. I found a few more little dings as I was spraying it, but they shouldn't be too hard to fill. I did have a real problem with fish eyes, which I have never had with buildable primer before. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the kerosene heater I have running in the shop? I wound up doing a really light coat over the whole car to give the heavy coats something to stick to. It seemed to work fairly well.

Finally!

After several weeks of filling, sanding and pounding, the car is finally all in primer. It's only been 1286 days but who's counting? At this point I have only covered the fenders, doors, hood and deck lid in epoxy primer, but I'll get the buildable primer on them tomorrow. The pieces all fit together very well. I really couldn't be much happier with how the whole thing is coming together so far.