1956 Pontiac Chieftain, saving another one from the brink

[Deaf Bob]

did not know that. I figured they were more rigid.

The body sitffens cars more than you know..
Many nowadays do not have frames..

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

Best way is remove as much of the rust as possible by either grinding or lightly sandblasting the effected area. Then prime it, and use a lightweight body filler for deep pits or if they're shallow, you can get away with icing like USC 26006, which is actually for filling heavy sanding scratches, pits, and pinholes in filler. Some primers and body fillers can be applied directly to metal before the other, read the directions on both to make sure they're compatible.

Allmetal is another product out there for use in places where you need some strength, but I've seen plenty of that stuff have adhesion issues year later. It doesn't sand like body filler either. I won't use the stuff.

what you think of slick sand

[VTJUNK]

what you think of slick sand

I like the stuff, just bought another gallon of it. It leaves a uniform orange peel finish, sands off easily and fine like talcum powder, and the sanded areas show a lighter gray, so you can spot any areas you missed.. We use it after all the body work is done. Spray the entire body with slick sand while all the panels are bolted in place and aligned, and block it out with 320 or 400.

It could be used to fill pits, you may just have to apply it twice. One other thing is, it doesn't shrink.

Anyone that wants to try it, look for Evercoat #709.

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

I like the stuff, just bought another gallon of it. It leaves a uniform orange peel finish, sands off easily and fine like talcum powder, and the sanded areas show a lighter gray, so you can spot any areas you missed.. We use it after all the body work is done. Spray the entire body with slick sand while all the panels are bolted in place and aligned, and block it out with 320 or 400.

It could be used to fill pits, you may just have to apply it twice. One other thing is, it doesn't shrink.

Anyone that wants to try it, look for Evercoat #709.

thanks..

[VTJUNK]

Have you used Slick Sand or were you planning to?

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

Have you used Slick Sand or were you planning to?

figured I'd try it.. when I get to the body on my truck..

[VTJUNK]

Got most of the rusty stuff out of the way.

[VTJUNK]

Getting the new X member mocked up. The small cross bars are just there to support the main beams temporarily. This will be much more sturdy than what GM built it with. The original X was nothing more than folded over 16?ga steel. These beams are 10ga and the bottom (flat) and top (half rounded) centers are going to be 11ga.

[VTJUNK]

Here's a problem. Reading online, I discover that these cars don't take to lowering easily, the driveshaft becomes a bump stop somewhere around 3-4" of drop. I really wanted to have the car low, and 3" just makes them look stock to me. I want more, like 6" or so.
I've seen people go 4 and even 5" with lowering blocks, but IMO that's not safe. At the very least I'm going to have to raise the driveshaft tunnel all the way back.

I was considering air ride at some point for this car, which can be pretty invasive, and it makes sense to figure it out now if I'm going to do it or not.

[VTJUNK]

If I do air, it means cutting out the only solid part of the floor, which is the rear seat bottom and the front half of the trunk floor.

[VTJUNK]

Did some figuring, measuring, and realized the frame will contact the axle housing if it's lowered as much as I wanted. Raising it back up 3-4" to make sure I'd have clearance even with a car load of people made it sit too high. So the decision was made.

I'm notching the frame rails 5" and that will allow me to bag the car. The normal ride height will see the frame 5" up from the ground, but it will lay the frame on the ground when it's parked. The rockers will then be 1.5" from the ground. The car will measure 4' 4" tall.

I would have been happy with a static drop that wasn't that radical, but it's just not possible, plus I live in VT not SoCal, and I need ground clearance at times.

[VTJUNK]

Getting there. The axle still needs to come up 1.5" That will give me 3.5" of clearance with a 5" notch, plus the air will be adjustable from the drivers seat if I need to add a little for extra weight in the car.

A 4 link suspension kit is on the way. Need that in order to finish the rear part of the X member as they use the same mounting area.

[VTJUNK]

A good reason to stay off Craigslist. Some things you just won't find used, so you may as well just shop sites that will have what you need. That way you don't end up finding/buying stuff you don't need right now when you start wandering through all the good deals lol.

Too good to pass up

[Deaf Bob]

Looks like you got your work "cut out"...
You are getting there!

[Shelty]

other than the gratuitous use of bondo in that 1/4 looks like a nice score. please tell me that you picked it up for 4g or less

funny thing is me and my shift partner were talking about how you dont see 65-66 fast backs for sale anymore