I painted all the body panels separately, here's photos of the doors.Finally finished block sanding the body, then wet sanded with 600 grit paper.Next, the underside of the dash, quarters, deck, and other hidden areas was sprayed.Finally, the floors of the cabin and trunk get their black paint-
I climbed up to the loft where I had stored the doors, it was 100 degrees on Saturday, but probably 20 degrees hotter up there. Summer has officially arrived here! I had blankets covering them, but as you can see, they were still covered in dust. I did manage to get both fitted and aligned to the body, however. Also, I painted the inner fenders semi-gloss black, although with the paint still wet, looks like gloss black.
Fantastic John - I can picture a Black 59 Ply and a White 59 Ply parked side by side at a car show, maybe a Green one and a Blue one could be there also. I wish I had thought to hang and align the doors like you did, seems a lot more simple than the way I did it. You car is as Ed Ekerson would say "BOOOTEFUL".
Dick.
I installed the inner fender panels, also the heater assembly-I sent another two coffee cans of hardware off for plating, I was held up because of missing a couple critical small brackets. I installed the trunk torsion bars and hinges, installed the trunk lid, as well as the front fenders. All will require more fitting once the car is buffed out. Also installed the re-plated hood hinges, with brand new springs that Greg Conomos sent me.
Straightened out the mangled front valance, and painted it and the filler panel argent. Close to 40 hours went into this alone, but good, straight valances are scarce.
Valance before repairs, flat throughout the center-Also installed a few polished trim pieces and headlight buckets-The two grill halves I elected not to send out, for without drilling all the rivets out, the plating would not come out well. Instead I took the tedious job of polishing them with a brass bristle brush and metal polish. Here's the before and after-
I still have a long road ahead, though, as all my top bows were junk, and have to be made, also, I still have to make rear seat cushions and find someone to do the upholstery work. My friend that did my other cars is up in years, and unable to continue doing this type of work.
I don't really have any idea when I will have this completed, the convertible top components are all in shambles, I have to make rear seat cushions still, and beyond that, my friend that does my upholstery can no longer do it for health reasons.
I bought a new, complete harness from Greg Leggatt and hooked up everything behind the dash, then installed it in the car. Next, I found a good, pliable, used windshield gasket in a '59 Chrysler, and soaked it in Go-Jo overnight to soften it up. After cleaning it thoroughly and using bedding compound, it was installed on the windshield, then I installed the windshield in the car.
