318fins 1958 Belvedere build

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 02:23 AM

Hello heres My Belvedere Build thread, Heres what I started with, I basically bought this car in the Texas hillcountry, a couple miles outside of Comfort ,Texas from a yard called "Spencers" some of you from the area may have Known Mr John Spencer, he had many many 57-58 plymouths in all bodystyles the place shut down and everything there was crushed out.I bought a few hardtops from there in 2005 , I sold them all including this one, I bought back this car after it popped up on Ebay as the guy I sold it to never did anything to it other than media blast and prime the exterior, needless to say the car was less solid than I remembered it to be, and had to replace the inner /outer rocker/s trunkfloor/inside floor as well. the lip around the windshield was thinning and I also cut out and replaced the weatherstrip gutters around the decklid. this is an ongoing project and Im almost done with what I consider the tough part of the car the fab stuff.

I had the frame/innermost parts of the body media blasted,trink inside quarters,undercarriage suspension rearend, roof ect,I soon as I got car back from the media blast, I sprayed everthing I could with Dupont epoxy primerCorlar, made for saltwater apps, very tough stuff when apllied in 2-3 coats very very tough to sand. then took the body off the frame

**Evil 58** · 05-12-2012, 03:19 AM

Great resto pic's Carlos.

**Doobster** · 05-12-2012, 03:22 AM

Salt water stuff... do you need that in Texas Carlos?

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 03:45 AM

Thanks Joe.

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 04:00 AM

Originally Posted by Doobster

Salt water stuff... do you need that in Texas Carlos?

I would say no regular epoxy wouldve done the Job,but the paint store sold it to me for the same price, even though this is a Texas car it didnt hold up very well, it seems the California /Arizona cars held up better, I guess being outside,the high humidity,and highly acidic dirt,rusted them out all the same. I did buy a 57 ht from the same place that was in very good shape, but most of the Cars from here Ive found have been moderatley/pretty Rusty, the rustiest ones Ive seen have been from up north or east,Im sure somewhere out there are exceptional ones to be found .If I do this again Ill seek out something cleaner, lesson learned.

**Ply474** · 05-12-2012, 04:12 AM

your doing a great job! Thats a very clean ride compared to what rolls in here. good work!

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 04:16 AM

I put body back on the frame, and rebuilt the rearend ,new seals,bearings cleaning painting, checked all the gears everything was ok, re-installing the axles gave me issues as when i put one side in the other side wouldnt sit in all the way, I figured it out after awhile and gentley tapped in each side a little at a time that did the trick and allowed the axles to sit inplace where they should be and the shims too.

**Imperial King** · 05-12-2012, 04:19 AM

Nice work Carlos!

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 04:37 AM

next was the floors,inner outer rockers, Id only done 3 cars prior to this one that needed floors,welding stuff so at the time it was all new to me,I have plenty of body/paint and mechanical exp.After seeing many builds on Forward look,and other places I took the plunge and went for, John Big M, Rusty59'Convert build was/is a major inspiration, Im still learning...

I made the inner orcker out of new stock black iron 18 guage steel,had trhen bent to a 90 degree, then trimmed them down to size, the original piece was stamped, and the end tapers, so i cut the piece toward the end in order for it to fit in between firewall,a-pillar then welded it all shut

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 04:38 AM

Originally Posted by Ply474

your doing a great job! Thats a very clean ride compared to what rolls in here. good work!

thanks very much I appreciate it.

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 04:39 AM

Originally Posted by Imperial King

Nice work Carlos!

Thank you .

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 05:03 AM

used aftermarket floors,at the time I didnt know it was possible to find good ,solid originals, so I bought floors and outer rockers from ebay, I used etching solution for the floor braces after I cleaned them as best as I could, then used alot of self-etching primer.

Rebuilt the eng,trans and rebuilt the suspension all around the same time,used Chrysler Fifth avenue spindles,Ive yet rebuild the steering box. As im seeing these pics Im realizing Im into my 4th year on this car,I do the work in spurts in between

s and work.And when my budget allows,At the same time I had a Nova I was building, which I recentley sold.
I replaced on that car trunkfloor,tailight panel,partial floor and dash top both quarters, which got me some practice, I did the body work,paint and mechanical on it as well, unloaded it recentley, because I just cant do 2 at the same time, became a dad in 2009 so my plans for a street strip car kinda were lost somwhere, Christine is my fave anyhow

I had the tops of the rockers made new as well, Ive since then,seen these done in one piece,the outer and top namely John Big M ..
Next I went to the trunk this has proven the toughest part for me so far,I ordered floor from e-pay, and it was far too small, plus it didnt have the detail of the original, I had to cut out and reuse parts of the old floor and graft them onto the new one like the sparetire holdown piece, removed the tank braces ect,

**Movie Stunt Car** · 05-12-2012, 05:24 AM

Looking good man! I was staring at your progress and my wife chucked and looked over my shoulder saying" are you lookin at porn" ,lol...

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 05:48 AM

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 06:12 AM

Originally Posted by Movie Stunt Car

Looking good man! I was staring at your progress and my wife chucked and looked over my shoulder saying" are you lookin at porn" ,lol...

Thank you very much Martin Im quite flattered.

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 06:26 AM

next were the rusted out weather strip gutters, I got replacements from Big M, basically had to cut into the quarter on 2 of them and the other 2 I had to only replace the gutter, this proved tricky as the top gutter is under tension because of the way its layerd on the package tray, when i seperated the 3 layers of the package tray,It dropped some, I had to stick a 2x4 and a jack underneath package tray to prop it up to the correct height,then tacked it in place.I had to install and remove the decklid to make sure it was right several times..

Ill play with the trunk gaps ,some more whenim at the body work stage, I need to adjust the latch on the decklid but will need to destroy the screws that hold it in place theyre phillips,so that it closes tighter.

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 06:37 AM

I bought a donor car and stripped it of all its regulators, my car had solex, but the door glass is clear which ill worry about later.I put new felts in the channels cleaned lunbed and coated all the internal parts they all work very nice, I did this to avoid having craploads of parts everywhere,and avoid losing all the hardware ect or forgetting ecactley where everything went. Ill be removing the glass only, whenI do the body work, as ive found out the hard way Mig welding spatter and sparks will ETCH the glass.

**Movie Stunt Car** · 05-12-2012, 06:41 AM

Originally Posted by 318Fins

Thank you very much Martin Im quite flattered.

These cars are a rare breed and difficult to work on. I am always happy to see the fine work being done to preserve them.

**318Fins** · 05-12-2012, 07:20 AM

donor car I bought last summer, wound up using as much as i could and ,I sold the hardtop and doors to a fellow whos going to convert his 2dr sedan into a ht.

I hired my Younger brother Eddie to help me re-do the lip of the windshield seal I wanted to catch a break hes braver than I am that edge is ver important my was thinning so he replaced the top edge,lip

makeshift brake to make the lip in one piece,