maine48ply

My rockers were gone on both sides, floor in the middle with the hump is intact. I took out the old rocker without bracing the pillars....i should have. When i rebuilt that area, the doors are a little bit off, although they close fine. My frame is solid, i have enough support at the body mount areas. when i do the other side, i will be sure to weld several supports between pillars, to keep everything aligned. I am thinking that you need to simply be sure you have the body mount sections solid, brace the body pillars so they stay aligned when you remove the rocker and you should be fine.

Your words have meant much to me...truly....I appreciate them.

My best buddy died is an accident last week. I am posting here because if it wasn't for him, I would'nt be involved in this forum. He is the one that helped me haul my '48 Plymouth from Mass. to Maine. He also helped me drag a donor car out of an old barn in Lewiston, Maine, and brought it up here for me. My buddies name is Weston Haskell. His passing has taught me that there is is a level of grief that can not be described. Wes was 58 years old. He had recently completed a stint as a crewmember on a 48' sloop that crossed the Atlantic. He had just found a soulmate. His life was truly just beginning. You all would have loved this man. It is helpfull for me to simply create this post, as a small tribute to Wes, to a group that I know would have appreciated him as much as I did. Mark Bilyk

Bob, all the best to you and your family...this is tough. I like the picture you posted of him.

All you folks will be in my thoughts.....I can't even imagine living through an event like you are dealing with. Take care Bob.

Very nice Joe...this process of yours is making me rethink my plan to simply paint the dash a solid color. I love it when someone else figures things out and I can reep the reward. Of course, that seems to happen quite a lot on this forum. Can't wait to see the the entire final product.

This is great Joe, very nicely done. This technique will come in very handy for when I get to this point. I am less afraid now than when I started my project, about making things work. There are so many little nuances and gaps where things seem to change as we work on these cars.....its like they're alive.

That looks great Pat.........glad to hear about the gaps being so good. I am still struggling with mine and am at the point where I'm going to do some welding then hope that a little minor tweaking with the hinge adjustments will get me where I need to be. You get to a point..........

Joe, you've made a car! Have you been using all authentic looking fasteners and rubber bumpers (hood to fender) and welting and other stuff like that? I am a little worried about all the spare time you'll have soon....any plans?

A leap of faith...I am impresed by your determination to get it all right. As I've been trying to fit my donor, rebuilt rocker onto the car, the doors also haven't fit just right. The issue is the gaps near the bottom of the A and C pillars. I also had a "Pro" buddy come over to have a peak. He suggested to me that maybe these rockers from the donor are not "exactly" the same as the originals. I am unfamiliar with the process of building these older vehicles, is it possible that the technology back then allowed for some deviation in the manufacture of these pieces? I am throwing out this question because if true, your donor A pillar may not be an exact match. I hope I am wrong...would love to have an answer to this.

Joe, I'm rootin' for ya buddy!

I checked on ebay to find quite a variety in types, sizes and prices of these cleco's. I'm a bit confused about which I should be looking at. Its a given that I will be doing a significant amount of this work on this car, so these may come in very handy. I need some help here. Some sets come with the pliers. There were some that come with wing nuts. Do these not need pliers?

My car came without that trim, so I decided rather than getting some, I'd just fill in the holes, which is what I did. In my case its largely an economic decision. I need to pick and choose elements as I progress. By the way, the spare tire well you sold me fits like a glove, when I get to it.

Rustyzman, I actually had to look up what a cleco is. Whats the advantage to using these over screws? I saw them on the Eastwood site, but don't quite see how they work.

Hey Joe, you're car looks great and so does the weather. I talked with my folks yesterday and they said something about a 70 degree day down there....is that possible?