CLIFF'S CAR PAGE THIS IS HOW I STARTED
We bought our car in the spring of 94. At that point it was what I
called found in the field. Everything on it was stock and the years of neglect
showed. The roof was rotted out, the floors were rusted through and someone had
tried to replace them with tin that was also rusted through. The engine was missing
but the transmission was still in place. All the glass was there, but cracked or
broken. the metal across the back of the body had been removed by someone with a
large supply of drill bits. The fenders had been patched using an torch to braze the
rips. Of course the upholstery had rotted away.
Our next step was to sandblast the body, we were getting ready to do the body work and replace the missing sheet metal. I had never done anything like this before but with a little bit of research and practice i was able to replace the bad panel across the rear, put in a new Bitchen Industries floor and firewall. Then I tackled the roof. I built metal supports and bent them to match the old wood ones. With these in place I covered the opening with sheet metal. where the metal wanted to bulge out from the body I heated it with my cutting torch and when it was red hot, I placed a soaking wet rag over the area. This caused the metal to cool rapidly and shrink down to fit the body. I wish I could claim this as my own invention, but I got the idea from some friends. Two weeks of filling and sanding and I had the roof done. The rest of the body work wasn't nearly as diffficult to complete.
With the body work done we went on to the frame. I cut back the x member and installed a new cross member i fashioned myself to support the Ford automatic transmission. I replaced the front suspension with a Mustang II rack and pinion steering. The rear end is a Ford 8 inch and is supported by leaf springs. I boxed in the front section of the frame and built motor mounts for a Ford 302 cid V8. A little bit of paint and we are ready to put the body back on the frame. We have previously painted the under side of the body and with the help of some friends we put it back on the frame.
This is what i ended up with it isn't much to look at and doesn't drive very good but it's all mine.
Just kidding,
After a candy apple red paint job and maroon interior we were ready for the finishing touches. A Ron Francis wireing harness, Specialty Windows electric window openers and windshield wipers, Dakota Digital gages and a Walker radiator helps me finish out the car.
In the good weather I drive my car daily. We take it to the local car shows, including James Dean Days put on by The Wanderers Car Club and the NSRA Northwest Nationals. There are always bugs to correct and little changes I want to make.
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last edited 01/16/99
