Dodge Kingsway rebuild

[JBJ]

Hi Geoff,


I reckon rust is a bit like an iceberg, You hardly notice it but its big underneath.

I'll get it finished OK, just the cost for this section of the rebuild is more than I hoped.

I keep telling myself I will have a really good body shell when its finished.

I looked at a couple of finish painted US imports before I started on this rebuild. They worried me that I couldnt see into the areas I expected to be rusty, so I figured I was safer with a car I knew.

I've decided to get the whole shell sandblasted & etch primed after repairs are completed. Yeh I know thats arse about face, but better late than never. If I find any more rust then, I can probably fix it myself.

Then if I paint it in acrylic, I can do the body & paint myself.

I'll do the rewiring & everything but upholstery, so the rest of the job is just time & labour hopefully.

All the mechanicals are rebuilt already, motor, box, diff, power steering,radiator, reasonably new gas system, etc.

Its all fun

JBJ

[halps]

JBJ

I have been following this thread closely as it is bringing some memories back of when I was cutting rust out of the Kombi. Now, the Kombi is not in the same league as your fine car; however your final comment 'It's all fun' I couldn't agree with more.

I have no restoring background and sought advice from an old panel beater who is semi-retired. He did jobs that were recommended (I am pretty sure the recommendation was whether he thought the potiental customer was an OK bloke). I really enjoyed listening to, understanding the reasoning and watching him work. He was a very skilled tradesperson. I learnt about purchase, swaging (I hope I spelt it correctly), getting a feel for the metal, stretching, pulling etc, etc. At times I would sweep his workshop floor just to get some simple tips on installing rubbers, moldings and glass.

I do have a fear that these blokes will slowly die out and be replaced with guys that know how to unscrew a panel and screw a new one back on.

You are right with your comment 'It's all fun'...I certainly enjoyed the process and return every now and then to say g'day, sweep the floor, get some tips and listen to his opinions on modern day rugby league players

Thanks for the pics and comments

HALPS
Brisbane

[techron]

Hi JBJ,

Great to see the old Dodge being restored. My father had a 1956 Dodge Kingsway Coronet from new. It was black. It was traded in on a Valiant after giving about 10 or 12 years of very faithful service towing a 16' twin cockpit bondwood runabout on ski-ing , fishing trips and holidays.

Cheers, techron

[JBJ]

Hi All,

Some more progress pix











Also got my doors & a lot of small bits back from sandblasters. The doors are being re fitted to get hinges right in the pillar reconstruction. Need new bottom half skins all round, but again thats expected.

Each days a bit more done.

JBJ

[JBJ]

Hi All,


More pix. This is a slow process, but very rewarding to see the good workmanship bringing a good old car back from being near scrap heap stage if not repaired.\









The left side has 95% of the below windscreen level repair work done. The donor doors have been fitted, hinged & are better fitting than the original ones did.

He's already started on the right front pillar. This one had worse rust than the left one, so he left it until after he'd worked out how to do the left one.



This hot rod is a hand made body Peter built based on an original 26 T Ford. Made from flat sheets & square tubing. Its pretty close to original in sizes & details, with minor changes internally to suit being a hot rod.
The rod is completely new , except for reconditioned motor, gearbox & diff.
Its for sale for around $27000, so any interested contact me. The build quality is very good.






Its still fun


JBJ

[JBJ]

Hi All,

More progress pix.

Finally got the RHS rusty pillar apart, & all the bits remade to re assemble. When this is in thats the worst of it done, but still a lot of little bits.


Nice & tidy in here, no rust in sight in the bottom corner



White panel is the removed rusty bit, other rebuilt from donor car



Peter holding rebuilt inside panel, again from donor car with a hell of a lot of work from Peter.




Its slowly getting closer to leaving the body shop.

JBJ

[Swellwillys]

It's great to see the car coming together Dennis .
I'm enjoying the ride also- strange feelings though we want the builds to be finished but then the journey is soooooo much fun as well.


GavnJooles

[sheppo]

Hi JBJ and others, i'm a newby ( my second post). I am restoring a 59 dodge coronet (most beautiful car ever made). After seeing what your've been doing i shall stop complaining about my rusty floor pan and keep on ploughing on. I think it's an absolute credit to you to put in sooo much time and money into restoring your car, i'm reinspired to get back to the wet and dry. Very glad i found this forum. Now all i need is a Sunliner to play with when i get sick of sanding the Dodge.

[kaybee]

Mar 11, 2010 20:27:31 GMT 10 sheppo said:

..... restoring a 59 dodge coronet (most beautiful car ever made)

....nah....it's this ;D
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z16253/Ford-Fairlane-500.aspx

.....welcome to the forum ;D

[sheppo]

Thanks kaybee, i had 59 ranchwagon back in the 70s so no not again.

[JBJ]

Hi All,

More pix.

The right hand pillar has been reconstructed & held in place while doors are hinged & fitted. Going together good.





A bit more around front screen bottom corners, then top of B pillar both sides, then 4 half door skins.








Rapidly getting closer to leaving the surgery.


JBJ

[woddabugger]

Is this the same car as in the beginning of this thread? If so pictures tell a different story,it looks real good in the pictures.

[Swellwillys]

Hi JBJ,
Coming along in leaps n bounds.

So you reckon you'll cross the finish line first?

Swellwillys

[JBJ]

Hi Gavan,

Once I get it back from metalwork, sandblasted & etch primed, I can get into the rest myself. Thats when I'll start making visible progress. So yes I think I should be on the road before yours.

Hi Centura-Quest,


Yes its amazing to look back & see the amount of repairs that have been done to now.

JBJ

[Cruz]

Keep up the good work. Did you realise it was that rusty when you where driving her?. Hope i get to have a cruz in her one day.
Cruz.

[JBJ]

Hi Leanne,

I knew it had a lot of rust in the plenum chamber/lower windscreen area, & could see big bubbles in a lot of other spots. So yes I sorta knew it was there. I didnt really put a lot of thought into how much it would take to fix, because I decided I wanted to keep it rather than scrap it.

So whatever it takes is what happens, & I'm not keeping close tabs on cost. Too scarey.

Hopefully back on road around Xmas this year, & you & anyone else will be welcome to go for a spin in it or my hot rod whenever we meet.

Thanks to all of you for the interest & support.

As it says at the start of the Towcar Section, often our caravans are secondary to our cars, be they stock, new, restored or hot rodded.

To each his ( or her) own. Theres room for all types on this Forum, & no one should ever try to criticise another persons choice in cars or caravans.Thank heavens peace now prevails in the towcar section.

JBJ

[noblesgarage]

HI Dennis ;D ;D ;D what a top job now I know I should of takin photos of Sandra HR Premier Rebuild Same thing good old rust you dont know how much till you start digging Inner Sills Door pillars windscreen surrounds The list goes on, till you pull them apart thats when you find it Looks good when all the panels are on and car is complete but once you undress her everything is exposed Premiers at primer stage now, thanks to some 120 hours off metal work by my panel mate ;D ;D I can see why another van on the agender would be a bit much. Once again great job mate keep photos coming gives others idea of how much goes into a rebuild Brian

[whippy]

WOW what a great job ;D ;D ;D

[Deleted]

Hi Dennis..

Your mate is doing a great job on the old Dodge.
I have walked around that car half a dozen times over the years and noticed a few lumps and bumps here and there in the bodywork.......
But.....
I didnt realise that she was hiding THAT much rust

Please to see you are soldiering on with the car... and i bet Boots is happy that she will have a car to ride in with wind up windows .... 4 doors ... and a hard top

Not knocking the Jailbar , just sayin that the dodge will make a good towcar for extensive travelling / towing trips. ( as it already has done in the past)

The ute can be dragged out when ya get that boy racer feeling every now and again... do a few burnouts and enjoy the adrenilin rush that only a big V8 on full song can deliver. ;D

Keep at the dodge mate... your prediction of being finished by Xmas this year just might come true...

Reddo

[JBJ]

Hi Reddo,

Works come almost to a halt for a while to allow Peter to catch up on some of the other projects that got put aside while he was working on mine.

Allows me a breather from the cost of his work for a bit.

I'm working on the front inner guards & support structure, welding up some of the dozens of holes old cars seem to accumulate.The guy that built it used every sort of bolt & nut he could find at the Hardware store, but none were automotive type heads & sizes. I ended up grinding most off as they had slotted screwdriver heads with damaged slots.

Hopefully Peter can get back onto it in a month or so. I never thought this would be a quick rebuild, & theres plenty of bits I can get into the primer stage while the shell & doors are being finished. I'm still collecting bits at the same time.

It's still mostly fun.

JBJ

[JBJ]

hi All,

Well Peter is back on the Dodge for a little while.

Hes been working on the top of the B pillar & roof gutter area, starting on passenger side.

Used some of the donor car bits, & fabricated other bits.






Slow but sure

JBJ

[Swellwillys]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I reckon I've caught up , may even be in fronT?
Who will be the first to tow Dennis?


Looking good.
Gavan

[JBJ]

hi Gavan,

Hard to say who'll be there first.
Mine has had all the mechanicals reconditioned & working fine, & once the doors are done & I finish paying for the work, I can get it sand blasted & undercoated. I've got most of the required bits sitting around.

I dont think I'll make my original aim of this Christmas , cant see the cash flow picking up enough to spend the required input on the remainder before then.

But who knows what tomorrow brings.

JBJ

[slantie]

Wow, quite a job! Would you have any bits and pieces left over from that 1953 Dodge that you scrapped (the one from Tara)? I'm doing up a 1954 Dodge Kingsway myself and need a few bits.

[JBJ]

Hi Slantie,

It would help if you showed your location on your identification.

Yes I have quite a lot of bits that could be available.But if you happened to live a long way from me, it would be very impractical to try to get parts to you.

Let me know by PM or email where you live, & what you need.

We can the work out if I can help you in some practical manner.

JBj