Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Man, that deal turned into a three day marathon. The left fender had been ripped off completely and the side rail of the trailer (made out of 1/4" wall angle) was buckled right where the front of the fender attaches. To add to the misery, the new fenders were about 4" longer than the remaining original. They only bought one inner panel, so I had to salvage the old one and scab material onto it to get it to fit. Way more work than I anticipated. Long story, but it broke me of sucking eggs as Mom used to say. So maybe it's a good thing you don't live close, Dale. ;)

HRE has the body on the chassis. I talked to them today and the firewall is very close to the coil cover on the passenger side. I'm headed there in the morning to discuss what needs to be done to get past the issue. But at least there's some progress.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Ok.....I'll hang my own fenders....lol. Looks like they jumped right on it.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

I wish that were really the case, Dale. I took my other body cart to them the other day to use on the wagon and had a look at the firewall situation. It looks to me like if they pull the body back off, there's enough filler in the area where the coil cover is encroaching on the firewall that they can re-contour that edge and achieve the necessary clearance. We'll see how it goes. From what I can see on their FB page, they're still working hot and heavy on other projects. It may sit for a while yet before they get serious with it.

Meanwhile, here at the house, I've been working on the console again. I trimmed most of the "flying buttresses" off the upper side panels with the bandsaw. I then got the final shape using the belt sander and an 80 grit sanding block. I first tried to make a little cap for the opening, but it looked like crap, so I taped off the opening, flipped the piece over and squirted in a layer of 3M self leveling seam sealer. Once it set up, I applied a thin coat of bondo to the top side. After working it smooth, I primed the area and knocked down the high spots with 320 grit paper.

I had some 3M vinyl scraps left over from the FITech intake project, so I patched together a couple of pieces and trimmed around the edges. I had a couple of small wrinkles but overall, I like the look. I've got some more material on the way so I can do both sides without having to seam them like I did for the mock up. I considered doing a "carbon fiber" vinyl, but decided I liked the "matrix" effect better ...plus carbon fiber has been around for a long time so this has a fresher look.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July. We're gonna kick back in the patio chairs and watch the fireworks all this weekend at Worlds of Fun (2 miles as the crow flies) as well as around the neighborhood. Being the cheap buzzard that I am, it tickles me to watch all those hundred dollar bills going up in smoke. ;)

Nothing happening at Hot Rod Express. They've taken in several cars since transporting mine down there and the wagon is just collecting dust. I'm going to give them a call this coming week and suggest that I bring it back home until they're truly ready to work on it. I have a ton of stuff I can be doing if it was here in my shop. I need to get the console finalized, fit up the stereo speakers and install the SPW power windows, etc.

My BIL, Rick, was here from Seattle this week and we bench tested the Alpine X009U head unit and speakers. The head unit came out of a show car and was never really made operable from what we could tell. It looks brand new (at about 40% of the retail price) and all the functions worked perfectly. Should make for a nice system going down the road. Has built in NAV, BT, HD radio, SiriusXM, DVD player, multiple camera inputs and outputs, preamp out and all the modern bells and whistles. Probably never use most of that stuff, but what the heck.

Had a good paint day, so I squirted the steering column and some assorted brake hardware. Turned out nice so now all I have to do is not drop kick it before it gets installed.

I rejuvenated the trim panels for the front seats and installed them along with the three point seat belts. Had to machine some guides for the outboard belts as those are never included with the seats when you get them from the salvage yard. The pieces come with the belt assemblies and unless you buy OEM parts, you gotta make your own. I did some for my last build so I already knew the drill. Also finished applying the 3M vinyl to the upper panels for the console. All that remains to be done is fitting it in the car and trimming the forward edges to match the box I'm building that will house the stereo, front speakers and A/C controls.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Have a good 4th Vic! Give Russ a call, he’d be more than happy to tow it back for you. Try and talk him out of the GTO while your at it, I’d love to see that car done by you.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Have a great 4th in your lawn chair. I have the same plan.....

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

I know what you mean, i haven't spent a penny on fireworks since i was in my 20’s, besides the rest of the neighborhood spends money on them for me 😏

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, Scott. If I drag home another project, I may have to move in with you and Katina.
Thanks, Dale. We watched from the deck until the skeeters ran us back inside.
Hey Mike, hope all is well with you. We enjoyed watching the show but knew the front yard would be full of cardboard detritus the next morning. However, much to my surprise, one of our neighbors was out early with a leaf blower cleaning the yards and driveways near his house. I was impressed by his display of responsibility. The news showed some area parks where people just walked away and left huge amounts of trash. But at least we didn't suffer the same fate.

So, a couple of developments... First, as I was getting ready to call HRE about the (lack of) progress on the wagon, their FB page had an update. They'd lifted the body back off the chassis, moved the notch in the firewall over 2" and welded in a patch. Looked great, but I was worried whether I still had room to hang the a/c evaporator. So I made a quick trip down there with my parts to take some measurements. Much to my relief, it looked like I still have plenty of clearance (1/2" - 1") for the bracket. There's now plenty of room for the passenger side coil cover and even better access for the trans dipstick. The body is back down on the chassis and they're shimming all the body mounts before tightening them. Once that's done, they'll hang the front clip and turn it over to the body man. There were at least four cars gone from the shop, so for the time being at least, they have some working space. Don't know how long that will last, but I'm hopeful they'll continue to forge ahead on mine.

The other thing that happened is, that after four months, I finally received the grille bar from the outfit that does the spray chrome. To be honest, I was underwhelmed. I know that once it gets on the car, the part that people see when they walk by will look okay from 5 or 10 feet. However, up close, it's not what I was hoping for. The upper surface above the horizontal body line had a lot of orange peel and dust nibs. There was also some light scuffs that probably came from shipping. But the real horror show was below the body line. Much of that surface has a distinct "frosted" appearance. That area doesn't really show unless you squat down and look at it head on, right in front of the car, but it's still pretty rude looking. I called him today after emailing a photo of the problem. He told me right away it was caused by high humidity and the various remedies each have drawbacks. He offered to have me send it back and he would redo it, but that it would be best to wait until the fall when the humidity was much lower.

So now I have to decide what to do. I'll probably install it when the time comes and see how it looks and go from there. I was able to polish out the scuff marks so it looks a little better. When I showed it to Kathy, she said, "You have that sign in your shop that says Good, Fast, Cheap - Pick Two, but you didn't even get one for this deal."

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Good news on the car....but that sucks about the the chrome spray...

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Wow, I thought the chrome spray was supposed to be great stuff.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Amen to both, Greg. We'll see if I can fine tune the grille bar.
I think under the right circumstances it can be, Dale, but it would appear poor choices and bad timing led to a substandard result. I'll know better if I ever go that route again.

The wood deck outside our kitchen has deteriorated to the point it needs some TLC. Kathy's sister recommended a handyman and we got a bid to repair it but it was more than I wanted to spend. I have this problem where I compare the cost of almost everything to car parts. I can't help thinking that if I do something (plumbing, electrical, carpentry, painting, etc.) myself I can buy this that or the next thing for my current project with the money I save. So, I went to the lumber yard and bought the materials I need and worked on it until about 11 this morning when it started to get really hot. At this rate it will take several days, but that's okay.

This afternoon, I did a bit more on the box that will sit in front of the console. It houses the stereo head unit and a pair of speakers as well as the a/c controls. I need to take the front and sides to HRE and test fit them to determine the angle the sides need for welding. When the box is done, I'll have the upholstery guy cover it with the same material as the console lid.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

[QUOTE=Vic1947;8770383]Thanks, Scott. If I drag home another project, I may have to move in with you and Katina.

Haha! That’d be fine with us 😀

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Needed to make a trip down to HRE to take some measurements for the console stereo box and was pleasantly surprised to see the wagon in one of the bays with a tech hard at work on it. The front clip is coming together nicely with only a couple of minor issues. They had done some body work on the firewall and primed the area modified for the coil cover clearance - which all looked good. They'd also done some re-work over the driver side rear wheel opening that I'd requested. I knew there was something wrong with it, so they're fixing my less than satisfactory work.

While I was there, I mocked up the three sided box the stereo components and a/c controls fit into. Then took it home and tack welded the sides on. Will go back down tomorrow (or next week sometime) and tweak it if needed.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Looking good Vic...great that they're getting with it...

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

The box is looking great. I'm glad they're working on it. Hopefully it paint prison sentence is a short one.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, guys! Hot Rod Express called this morning with a question about the car and told me they'd moved it back to the body shop and are starting to block sand it. Hopefully they stay on it and don't run into too many issues with my work. I've tried to convey to them that my goal is a nice driver and I expect it to get rock chips and muck from road trips. As such, I don't need body and paint work to the level of a top ten show car. They charge an hourly rate instead of quoting a price for the job, so you can understand they have an incentive to do as much to it as they can. At 100 hours, their rate decreases from $65 to $50 but that still adds up in a hurry.

I did some more work on the stereo "box" to the point where it's ready to be covered with leatherette material to match the console lid. It will have to wait on that for a while, though, as I need to finish the mounts for it in the car ...which isn't here. ;)

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Looks awesome, Vic! Glad to see it going forward. Dad has a new resident at his house.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks Chip! Yer ole Dad dropped by with the (99% finished) beauty and I took some photos. It looks great! I have the stainless tubing we need for the upper radiator hose upgrade, so just need the existing hose as a pattern. I might be able to get close with the pics I took, but it never hurts to have the real deal on hand.

I dropped off some additional parts/hardware at HRE this week. They're about ready to lift the body off the chassis for final priming, blocking and paint. They estimate next week for that. Plan is to return the chassis to me while the body is being painted and buffed, then back to them to set the body on. Don't know if it will happen quite that quickly, but I'm hopeful. Nearly all the spots they found doing the initial blocking have been repaired. Only one door gap remains to be done.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

It looks good. The front shot it looks mean.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Following along with this is exciting, LOL. I can't wait to see the next progress update, but I'm glad that you are paying the bills and not me.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Without the grille and bumper it looks kinda like a gasser.
Thanks Russell, I may need to start a GoFundMe page before this is all over. ;)

I'm really looking forward to having the paint completed and all my stuff back home. They've started to disassemble everything in preparation for the final priming and blocking. I'll probably have to make a run down there the first of next week to pick up parts like the rear bumper, tail lights, moldings and etc. that they won't need going forward. I need to modify the inner fenders and core support, so they won't be doing anymore to them. Consequently, they'll be coming home with me also.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

I'm diggin' that hood brace!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Just a quick update...

Forward progress on the paint front has been fairly steady. Not as much done as I'd prefer, but they do have other customers too I reckon. The front clip, doors and hatch have all been blocked twice with a guide coat and are ready for paint. The body still needs to come off the chassis, then they'll return just the chassis to me at the house for a few things I need to do before reassembly.

They'll have to re-prime the body and block it like they did the removable parts. Then finally we may see some color. This whole project has gotten out of hand from a financial standpoint, so to cut some costs, I elected to forego the red two tone. Painting it solid silver will probably save several thousand dollars and get everything back to me a couple of weeks sooner. At least I hope so. I'll have to re-do the dash parts that I painted red, but that's no biggie.

I've been hacking up the inner fenderwells to remove the support ribs and flatten out the back where it attaches to the firewall. To help maintain the correct shape, I've been doing it in pieces. I used the bead roller to offset the edge and will build a removable panel out of aluminum sheet metal to fill the gaping hole (outlined in yellow) where the fresh air ducts used to be. I threw in a photo of the unmolested side for comparison with yellow arrows showing the areas I modified.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Sucks about the paint budget...but itll look good no matter the color...

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

X2, I think it'll still be awesome looking

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks guys, I think the small amount of billet, the polished stainless trim and the chrome will be all the silver needs as complimentary colors. Shouldn't be too long before we find out. ;)

HRE lifted the body off the chassis late Monday then brought the chassis to me yesterday. I'm taking a break to post on the forum after spending a considerable amount of time this morning pondering how to route the trans cooler lines. Seems like every path runs into multiple obstacles. I'd prefer to do it all in hard lines, but I may have to give in and use flex hose rated for the pressure. The last set of exhaust hangers will also be testers. No wonder I left them to do at a later date.

Talked to the shop this morning and they have the body in the paint booth masking it for primer. Hope they get it sprayed today. As far as I know, all that remains to be done after that is to apply a guide coat and block the primer. Unless something else interferes, we may see some color by next week.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Hey Vic, sorry to hear about the budget issues. I'm sure the car will still look great in silver!

I have an idea about this... Without seeing the obstacles, I'm not sure what to suggest, but wanted to give you this option, if you don't already know about it... I've been using PTFE lined braided stainless hose for just about everything lately. It's great for fuel, oil, trans fluid, brake fluid, coolant, just about anything. It won't rot out like the standard rubber stuff, but it's definitely pricey and won't do tight bends like rubber. Obviously these are drawbacks, but from a longevity standpoint (like hard line) it's pretty darn good!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, Duane! I came to somewhat the same conclusion as you but decided to order rubber lined stainless braided hose and the corresponding fittings. It's slightly less expensive than the PTFE, rated for transmission fluid and will handle the pressure. It's a bit more flexible and will easily go around the stuff that's in the way. It's supposed to be here tomorrow so I'll try to post some photos after I get it laid out.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I sorta finished the last exhaust hangers. I say "sorta" because the Delrin I used for noise dampening may not work as I hoped. After tacking the first tab in place on the tailpipe, when I disassembled everything to make a full pass with the TiG, I noticed the heat from the tack welds caused the Delrin to melt slightly. I stopped what I was doing and looked on the Google for the melting point of Delrin which is 350 degrees. So then I got to wondering if the tailpipes would ever exceed that under a load. The closest I came to actual hard data was a graph of predicted versus actual tailpipe temps at various distances from the engine. From what I could tell it could range from 200 to 400 degrees.

Called my brother in law, Rick for advice and he pointed out that without knowing the diameter of the pipe, whether it was a single or dual exhaust and whether there was airflow over the pipe during the test there's no way to know if the results could be used to predict what will happen in my scenario. Like me, he's adverse to do-over's so the path of least resistance is to check it after going out for a spin and if the Delrin has melted away, switch to PTFE which has a melting point of 600+ degrees. I went ahead and ordered a one foot piece of PTFE rod off of eBay just to be on the safe side. I doubt HRE will need the chassis back before I get the material in and have a chance to re-machine the bushings. I guess the lesson here is to check to see if there's water in the pool before you jump.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Pretty sure HRE got the body in primer yesterday because today, the doors, rear hatch and underside of the hood are getting color! Excited to see how they look after all this time.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Ooh.....ooh....I can't wait to see it......

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

OK, here's a sneak preview...

Sean at Hot Rod Express sent me a few photos this morning of the parts he squirted last Friday. Fenders, top of the hood and other loose parts getting prepped in the booth today and should be done by tomorrow.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Oh yeah...that looks real nice..!!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Oooh!! I like it. Thanks for sneaking us a peek.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, guys! They've been making good progress. Kathy and I went down there on Monday and looked everything over. It's even nicer in person. Sean, their painter, did a great job of laying down the base and clear. No runs, no drips, no errors. The body is in the final stages of prep. They were blocking the last of the primer while we were there. All of the loose parts are complete except for the cut and buff part. There was very little orange peel and hardly any dust nibs, so that should go fairly quickly. They prefer to let the parts sit for a week or two so everything is completely cured. Don't know for sure, but maybe by the first of September we'll have it all back here at the house.

I've been working on a short punch list for the chassis and parts I retrieved after they disassembled everything for the color. The metal work is done on the first of the inner fender wells and I've applied a base layer of Duraglass over the welded areas. Waiting for a few things to arrive from eBay to complete the list of tasks on the chassis but should easily be done before they need the chassis back to mate it to the body.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Looks great!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Looks great Vic...gotta make you feel good...

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, guys. Seeing things start to come together gets me recharged.

I deviated from the punch list today after deciding the H-pipe in the exhaust was just not working for me. The shifter cable was way too close to it and would require that I fabricate a standoff to keep it from burning a spot in the plastic sheath. Plus, if I ever needed to drop the trans for any reason, it would be right in the way. So I cut it off at each end and capped it with some 1/8" cold rolled plate. Problem solved.

While finishing up the weld on the driver side, a molten BB bounced off my helmet and onto my scalp. As I shook my head, it exited and fell on the towel I was laying on, promptly setting it on fire. So now I'm doing the Watusi under the car beating the hot spots with my welding gloves. For just an instant, I had a vision of my ponytail going up like the Hindenburg. But fortunately it didn't come to that. I will admit, though, I was moving like a teenager there for a little bit.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Looking good Vic, I bet your getting a bit excited..

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

That I am, Dale. Plan to go down tomorrow to see the finished product if they get it done.

Unfortunately, Sean (the painter at HRE) called this morning to discuss a minor hiccup. As he was blowing off the body with compressed air, an area on the cowl lifted. Apparently, I didn't get the EDP scuffed adequately and the air found a way under the primer/paint and blew it away. Pretty embarrassing. It was the only spot that he found and can be easily repaired, but still. This is what happens when you let an old guy work unsupervised.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Oops, always gotta be a hic up or you get worried. :lol: