my 59 el Camino project
The weather has warmed up enough to be nice to go back to the workshop and carry on the 59 El Camino project. I am at the point of cleaning the inside of the doors and sanding and minor metal prep for paint. Soon I will be doing the body prep (minor) for paint. My windshield is cracked and I decided to replace it now, rather than after paint and interior reassembly.
I'm glad I did.
1. I shopped used windshield. Priced around $200 plus ship and insurance plus local install, with every installer whining about...no guarantee,not my glass, etc. Local Henderson glass has 2 in stock, total $410, installed in my shop.
2. Today I stripped the trim in advance...and
I'm glad I did.
2A. what an incredible project...so many pieces, inside trim, outside trim, need to remove the cowl to get at screws, need to pull back the headliner to take off upper outside trim...man. What a commentary on America's industrial might...the manpower to conceive, to design, to engineer, to fabricate and an army of workers to assemble...I'm imagining the variations on 16 different Chevy models for 1959 (did anybody say Pontiac, Olds, Buick too?) Mine's a Texas car and all screws came out although a few with heavy persuasion...pretty good material quality to take that pounding and channel locks and still come out of the hole after 50 years, eh?
2B I chose to take off the trim along the top, over the doors,
and I'm glad I did.
I found two finger size rust holes on the passenger side under the stainless. and a mountain of dirt and dried leaves stuck under the trim. It is particularly good to find and repair now (sandblast, cut, fabricate and weld) before the new windshield is in and risk heat by the glass, eh?
So...what at first glance was heartbreak (hard disassembly and found rust holes) are actully good news, at this time..and you know what...I really like working on the car stuff.
Steve Legel
Lincoln Park, MI