Concours Sportscar Restoration

56 Chev Convertible

This is what the finished car will look like! 1956 Chev convertible finished in Maroon over white, with a white roof, but there is a lot of work to get it to that stage. The body has been bead blasted and underneath all the filler, the true extent of the rust and dodgy repairs could be seen.

The left quarter was not bad.....

but the right side is a different story!

Bulkhead area is very clean.

Floors are a mess and require a lot of work.

A patch cut in the right hand rear quarter reveals the inner sill (rocker) panels are all rusty.

New floor sections and cross members being fitted.

With the boot floor cut out, new sections could be made and fitted to the rear inner guards.

The new boot floor is tacked into position. Having the body on a rotisserie certainly helps. The last pictures shows the body shell is now structurally sound, attention can now turn to the outer skins and panels.

The doors had rust in the lower corners. We cut out the rust, fabricated new sections and welded them in.

With the body reunited with the restored chassis, all of the panels were trial fitted.

Attention then turned to the rear end of the car, making and fitting numerous repair sections and trial fitting components to ensure correct fit.

Left hand side now sorted, the more challenging right hand side required a lot more work.

With the body fully repaired, it was assembled and all gaps and panel fit checked and adjusted. The entire body was then file finished ready to be dismantled and the paint preparation to begin.

With the body back off the chassis, the underside was prepared, seam sealed, primed, stoneguarded and finally painted. The body shell and all panels were then prepared, primed and reassembled so all the moulds and body fittings could be trial fitted.

Once everything was checked, the car was dismantled again for the last time. Paint preparation could now progress. The boot interior, cabin interior and firewall were next receive colour.