New Gas Tank and Some Chrome

We stopped by the shop today to see what progress has been made. To our surprise, the car was up on the jack with the mechanic working diligently to get the fuel system working!







This is the old tank, sitting next to the new tank. I don't know if you remember but the only mechanical problems we were having were around the fuel system. Apparently the first mechanic we went to tried to fill in holes with something that wasn't appropriate and the stuff kept leaking into the fuel, fuel filter, etc. etc.










This is the chrome DELUXE symbol affixed to the car. It looks awesome. There is A LOT of chrome work still to be done but with the progress seen today there is a small window of a chance we may be able to drive it next weekend!

Chrome

The chrome has begun!






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Almost Done

We are definitely in the home stretch. Here she is painted and buffed. They were supposed to start putting the chrome on today but it doesn't look like that happened. Jimmy bought new knobs for the dash and new pedals for the brake and clutch.



Supposedly it has only trim, "two hours" at the upholstery shop and then to the mechanics. They will put in a new fuel tank, fuel filter, etc. Hopefully, that will be all she needs at this point. But, this is an unknown. We will see how it pans out. The "before Christmas" may turn out to be "before New Years" and perhaps even after the new year . . .

But she is looking absolutely amazing. Look at that trunk!

In the Paint Room

Seats

It was dark and pouring rain when we went to see the interior work at Coleman's Upholstery. They were trying to get as much as they could get done without having the car! I love the gray and black colors! They do a really professional job there, great quality, and remain authentic to the car's age. For example, they didn't put piping on seats back then they only did double stitching.

We are going to have them make custom floor mats and a drink console! It will be removable but how can you stroll around in this beauty in the summer IN HOUSTON without cold beverages.

After Thanksgiving Progress

It is black! Look at how the white walls pop! They still have coats to go and then clear coat.

It will look amazing with all the chrome . . .

The last picture is the interior gray paint, although it is difficult to see from this picture.

New Timeline

- Week of 11/23: finish paint
- Week of 11/30: colemans (need to tell them about floor mats and center console)
- Week of 12/7: final assembly and mechanicals

We found another good site for parts:
http://www.belairautoparts.com/newdesign/49-52parts.htm

We called them about the ignigiton switch, the only outstanding part that we know of right now. They said no one makes that ignition switch, but he has one that they used in 53's that will work, it will fit into the same receiver and is a 6 volt. It will ship out today, so we will have it by the time it is back from Colemans.

To Paint?

Supposedly it is going to paint this week and to the upholstery shop next week. Which means we did NOT meet our Thanksgiving deadline!

These pieces in the photo are part of the dash and represent the gray color of the interior. They are trying to get as much done as they can "without tying up the paint" room. I guess because it needs so many coats of paint it will be in there for a few days!

We definitely do not want him to skimp on the coats of paint and clear coat. Anyway, we are really close!

This week we got all the weatherstripping, hubcaps, and fuel tank that we ordered from http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/. They had almost everything we needed and I am sure we will be buying from them again. They had great customer service and great quality products. Jimmy even bought an original owner's manual and the original "brochure" given to interested buyers. It is a perfect match to the original LIFE magazine ad given to us by Blake.

We still need to find and order a starter button, ours works but is old and difficult. Beginning the count down! Maybe it will be ready in two weeks!!!!!

Bonneville

Before Thanksgiving?

We stopped by the upholstery place on Monday - just checking in to see their progress. Well, they had the seats from RMS but that was about it! They were waiting on the foam and they actually need the car to do the headliner so . . . there are delays!


The good news was the guy at Coleman's said our springs were in great shape so they will be able to use them. He said usually springs this old were tweaked, broken in places and basically unusable.







We then went over to RMS to see how things were going and to check in with Blake. They were painting! This is a horrible picture, the lighting was really weird but they are painting the frames around the door.

Painting Begins

Chrome is at the chromer and painting has begun! Perhaps we will meet our Thanksgiving deadline after all! You can start to see the black here in the doors. They have to do about three or four coats of black paint and then a few coats of clear to give it that dark, rich color.


We didn't need to buy any new chrome, except for the hubcaps (those rascals!). We have to get weather strips for the windows as well. Interestingly, the upholstery guys have to pop the back window out to put the headliner on. Usually they don't have to do this but in the old '52s they have to tuck the headliner under the window.


She is stripped bare but still beautiful!

Upholstery

We have met with the upholstery guy, Coleman. This is a picture of his shop on Shepherd. It is an old school shop with tons of experience in re-upholstering old vehicles. We met with them for a good hour and went through the next steps in the process. They need Blake to order the foam and seat belts, they need to match the color with the interior paint we selected and get the frames from Blake.

They were working on an old Camero when we were in the shop - some guy bought it when he and his wife met and now he is surprising her with a renovation for their anniversary. It was all bright blue!

Our interior will be two toned, black and gray. We found some photos online of the stitching and everything we want to do and Coleman thinks there is no problemo! It should look very good.

Update - Making Progress

Eulogy to Garver

Chrome Saga Continues

The Saturday after the last post we went to the RMS Shop. Blake wasn't around but guess what was? A box of chrome! He sent it out the following Monday, minus the hubcaps.


The rest of the body work is going really, really well. The guy doing the work is doing an excellent job sanding as well as fixing the imperfections. He has to weld metal on to any area that had rusted through and work it into the car until it is flawless. Look at the doors and side of the car where we noted rust damage in the past. It is looking really good.


We are waiting on the chrome inventory to see if there is anything we need. Hopefully this doesn't throw our time line off.

Blake Says

Chrome goes out tomorrow, paint next week.

Does that sound familiar?

At the same time we have pushed the deadline up to the first week in November to go to the mechanic. I am not sure I am buying the time line.

On September 20th I wrote that the goal was to get the chrome out by next week.

We will see!

Chrome

Just to clarify, I know the chrome does not get "painted" as indicated last post. Supposedly this week it will ACTUALLY go to the chromer. The big deal is how much additional chrome we need to buy. The chrome work is actually more than one third of the budget so it is a pretty crucial step. We checked in on the car this weekend and saw that a lot more of it was ready for paint.


The trunk revealed a clean place to put the spare tire, I guess they are often rusted out.









This is the last little spot that needs to be sanded on the outside.



All and all a great trip to the mechanic. They are excited about the project and think we are on target for even earlier than Nov 15. It seems like we are far away . . . we will see! We still have the following to do:

- Finish sanding (including covering the antennae for the radio)
- Paint all parts (including the inside ring on the white wall tires)
- Chrome organized and chromed, additional parts purchased and chromed
- Upholstery
- Interior other than upholstery (trunk, engine case, headliner, floor carpet, etc)

Then it goes back to the mechanic for a fuel tank and starter button.

We have picked out our interior scheme. It is simple and classic. We will do gray/silver and black.
http://www.streetrodderweb.com/features/0705sr_1952_chevy_top_100/photo_04.html

Some Rust

It is inevitable that there would be SOME rust on this old car. Well, it was in the bumpber and a few small spots in the floor of the driver and passenger. But for a car that is almost sixty years old this is pretty good!

But look at that beauty getting fixed up. She really does look good. The guys are working very hard at RMS, Manuel is doing most of the work. He is great and I think he appreciates working on the old girl.

Many of the parts were sanded and ready for paint, the chrome looks like it is getting ready for paint and everything looks on schedule.

Potential Truck

This is a beauty!

Available for sale at RMS Body Shop. Houston, TX.

Gutted and Smooth

We checked in with RMS this weekend to see the progress of the project and make sure we are still on track in terms of time line. The guys were working hard buffing out each piece, the parts in lighter gray are the ones already smooth and ready for paint. They also gutted the inside so all the seats were removed and carpets pulled.

Jimmy always asks, "So are there any surprises?" And once again Blake had to say this was one of the cleanest old cars he has seen. He said it definitely was not from the north because there is no snow damage. On those cars, when they pull the seats and carpets there is usually a lot of rust and deterioration. Jimmy asked Manuel, the expert actually working on the car, how things were going and he said really well and that the car was easy and fun to work on because it was in such good condition. He said the body was pretty smooth so they didn't have to bang a lot of dents out or anything.

Great news on all fronts. The goal is to get the chrome out by next week and figure out what chrome parts we need. We have an actual target date for completion at the body shop: November 15th. Then it goes back to the mechanic for the fuel tank and start switch and then hopefully ready to roll. I just have to figure out where I can take Jimmy for our first hot date in the '52. Maybe an old fashioned picnic. I can't take him anywhere with a valet because the kids won't be able to drive that baby!

Just Plain Pretty

Chevy Hood

The hood is completely smoothed, ready for paint! It is pretty amazing to touch and to see.

The rest of the car awaits such smoothness. Most of it has a lot more sanding than this piece. I think I mentioned before that every piece needs to be sanded by hand.