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63 Wagon Build!

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Shawn F. 
#1 ·
Well I am finally going to be getting some funds in about a week or two and plan to use these funds to get the wagon project going... Here are my plans for the next week. I am selling my 93 Honda Prelude (daily driver that I bought when gas prices were high and my old Chevy truck was just guzzling fuel and money). A guy at the fire dept is buying it and I will be using my 66 F100 for a daily driver until I get a vehicle to replace my daily driver. One of the things I am trying to plan now is if $4000-$4500 will be enough money to finish my wagon project not really including body work or primer since I have the primer already and do body work/ paint myself.
What the car needs first:
I'm in the process of striping the car down for the sandblasters but I already have a 327 and powerglide in the car so I know the V8 conversion is finished because it has great looking headers in it that work and the whole setup is fine. The only thing I plan to change is throw another V8 in it that I have personally gone over myself and put a more mild cam in it (keep in mind this car is going to be a daily driver and needs to get great gas mileage while still having decent power to haul some weight like a 8 foot trailer with 2 Harleys or equipment). The donor for the new V8 is a 350 I got from a old S10 truck I bought from a kid and took the motor and tranny and sold the rest of the truck. I tore the 350 down and plan to put a new cam and heads on it. I am also putting in a TH350 tranny that I have sitting under the house with (supposedly) LOW miles and a mild shift kit. The car already has a 5 lug conversion on it but I don't have a clue about the gear in the rear but it is a 10 bolt with drums of course. I would like to throw a 3.08 gear in it if it doesn't have one already ( I doubt it because it was running close to 3000 RPM's with the 327 and powerglide at about 65-70 MPH.
Once I get the new motor, tranny, rear gear and drive shaft shortened and all put in I would like to upgrade to power disk brakes with the stock width spindles (2 inch dropped). As for power steering, I haven't decided on this yet because with the stock steering wheel right now it seems to turn VERY easily but may add it later. I then want to add Vintage Air A/C-heating unit to the car.
Once the a/c is done I think that pretty much takes care of the mechanical section of the build and on to the second part:
Like I mentioned earlier I am in the process of stripping it down to get it sent off to the sand blasters to blast the entire body inside and out and same with the doors, inner fenders, tail gate, etc. Once this is done (along with the mechanical side of things) I will need to replace both front floor pans, still looking for non rusted front fenders (can't find any at all that are factory and not rusted), patches on the bottoms of the quarters, bottoms of the doors about 5 or 6 inches up, bottom of the corners near the firewall and rockers. I finally found a powered tailgate that I picked up for $150 which only has about 3 small rust holes in it. The rest is in much better shape than my original one. The trim on the car is in decent shape but does need new bumpers. The door weatherstripping is good but needs window felt, stripping and tailgate rubber and fuzzies. After sand blasting and fixing the rust issues, I plan to make my own lizard skin insulation and sound deadener with latex paint and microspheres. I will coat the entire inside with this including floors, inside the doors, roof, firewall inside, inside tailgate, etc etc. I will then use SPI Epoxy primer and prime the freshly sandblasted body and parts inside and out and then use SPI bedliner to bedline the underside of the cab and behind the fenders to keep them from rusting and help with sound deadening.
Once all of this is done it's just up to me to blocking it, then blocking some more and more. :) I decided to go with a green color from the new Honda CRV's. It's not the light colored one that is close to the new VW beetles, it's the more classy medium green. As for interior, that's a whole other story and later down the road. For now I have a darker original green (brand new looking) headliner, front and rear bench seat covers. The front seat could use a rebuilt and possibly new springs but like I said, as long as the car rides nice, has carpet and A/C then the color choice can wait until I can afford a light tan colored interior. I am going for a classy surf styled wagon that will be a great daily driver and get decent fuel mileage. :yes:
Anyways sorry for so much on here but I figured I'd post everything up here in the steps I plan to move in here in the next two weeks or so. As far as me finishing it to the point I stated here without interior and cost of body work or paint I don't think it will happen with $4000 but I will sure try. It sounds like I have everything planned out but as we all know, nothing ever works out as planned and there are so many little things that just add up in the end that we don't initially plan for such as bolt kits, clips, cross member, and a few other things I left out. If anyone has any opinions, suggestions, etc, please feel free to post them here! I will keep you guys updated as I begin to work on it in the next coming week or so.
 
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#3 ·
I will be posting pics this week. The car looked great when I first bought it but the more I tore into it the more of a disapointment it has been. I have found more and more and more rust. After it gets blast there may be very little left to the car. If I would have known it needed this much work I would have sold it and gotten my money back on it but now I will probably lose at least $2500 if I sold it with everything revealed. Kind of pisses me off but nothing I can do about it.
 
#4 ·
The car looked great when I first bought it but the more I tore into it the more of a disapointment it has been. I have found more and more and more rust. After it gets blast there may be very little left to the car. If I would have known it needed this much work I would have sold it and gotten my money back on it but now I will probably lose at least $2500 if I sold it with everything revealed. Kind of pisses me off but nothing I can do about it.
Man I feel your pain. The '77 just keeps showing rust everytime I strip a panel. If I saw the rusted out jamb between the trunk lip and the rear window, I would have walked away. Keep thinking I spent $1K on a $500 car.
 
#5 ·
Yeah I'm in the same boat. I would have walked away if I knew all of this rust was here. I knew the floors needed a bit of work and at the bottom of the fender but not around the entire tailgate jamb on the actual body and the actual tailgate, quarter, doors, fenders, rocker, and behind the bumper under the taillights are GONE and I am not sure how I will fix this since I have no original shape to base it off of. I would now like to sell it and buy a 57 Chevy 4 door but too late, I will lose way too much money on this car if I try to sell it in the shape it's in now.
 
#6 ·
I feel the pain. My 66 Wagon is a mess, but metal wise pretty good. I have rust in the same place you do at the tailgate weatherstrip channel. i have NO IDEA how I am going to fix it. Everything else is OK. BUT.. what I made up in metal work I am dishing out 2 fold in dry-rot. This car was from Texas, and must have been sitting behind the barn in the sun for 20 years. Nothing is worth keeping that is made of plastic, and rubber... for get it. EVERYTHING has to be replaced. All I am left with is a shell... which needs work as well.

But... I have no time limit, that's the good part. Expensive... yes, but 10 years from now, when you're driving it and realize you've saved yet another piece of American history... it's not all that bad, is it.

A 57 Chevy 4-door over a Nova Wagon... unless it's a Bel Air, I don't know. I like 'em a lot, but not in a 4-door. You have a nice year for a wagon. Just take one step at a time.

DW
 
#7 ·
Hang in there Shawn F

I have the same car but not the same problem. My 63 Wagon was a neglected Desert Rat only rust was in the rear quarter and we cut that off and will replace with a good sized patch.

Stay in touch with the group here for anything you might need. I have been helped out by many. I am only half into my project having stripped out the entire interior and am now ready the body for paint. I have accumulated some spare parts and there is a whole resource of people here who can help with the hard to find body pieces.

Right now you are frustrated, but when you finally get it done you will have one unique lil wagon I am sure.:yes:
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the info and help guys. You are right though, I need to just take a break from thinking about everything this car needs and come back to it later when I'm ready and calmed down. I think for now I am going to just get it sand blasted, fix the rust and put it into primer and wait until I have more funds to finish it. In the meantime I will be using my 66 F100 pickup for my daily driver again like I used to in high school and college. It has a low mileage 351 Windsor, fairly new rebuilt C4 tranny, new wiring, new MSD ignition, I will be putting in a new 3.25 gear in the back to help with RPM's this weekend. I am going to use some of the money from selling my daily driver to put A/C into the truck and get it comfortable. It has power steering but only needs power brakes now to get it how I want it. :yes:
I know it's not a Chevy but I like all makes of vehicles and own one of each just about (all old). They all have their pros and cons IMO.
 
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