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:

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

I saw the pics on FB, I'm so glad you're seein' progress! Vic's gonna have a busy winter!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

True, but I really hate the hiccups.
Me too, Chip. I stopped in this morning and Sean had just finished the basecoat and was going over it with his day light looking for any streaks or mottling. No problems so he was fixing to lay down the clear. Below are a few photos he sent after it was done. Out in the prep area, they were in the process of buffing the doors and other parts as well. Everything looked great!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

That really looks nice Vic!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

It looks sweet!!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Really nice..!!...

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, guys! It's been a long time coming but this is a major milestone. Looking forward to having it back home and doing some final assembly of all the parts I have laying around.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Seeing it all in silver , i can really see how your 2 tone would have looked...sorry that didnt work out for you.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Me too, Greg, but it would have added extra time and expense and at this point I was just ready for it to be back home. My wife has never been a fan of two tone paint jobs and couldn't visualize what I had in mind, so she was relieved when I altered course. ;)

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Are you doing anything color wise between the trim on the rear quarters?

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

I have the aluminum Bel Air inserts for those areas. It was born a 210, but I sourced the correct Bel Air / Nomad crown moldings as well as the side pieces, so the net effect will be a cloned Bel Air. I also decided to dress up the front fenders with the fuelie flags and script. I need to do some research on the forum for the correct placement since my fenders aren't drilled for them.

One other thing I haven't worked out yet is the Bel Air script that came attached to the side panels. It's gold, while most of the rest of my emblems are chrome. Not sure if it will stick out like a sore thumb or not.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

I think the gold will be fine. They were mixed chrome and gold new..No matter what, it's gonna look cool as ####.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Yep, Dale's right. I believe all Bel Air emblems, the Chevrolet script, the "v" and the front grille were gold on the Bel Air. Everything else was chrome or polished stainless. The lower models didn't have any gold emblems. The mix of gold and chrome will be fine.

Paint looks great by the way!

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, Dale, sure hope so. ;)

They moved the body outside this morning to cure out some more in the sun. I plan to go down there this afternoon for a look see and to take them the door hinges. I rebuilt them with new bushings and replaced some of the springs that help hold the door open that were broken. Couldn't find reproduction pieces but I was able to source some used ones.

Went out to get the newspaper this morning and the radiator was sitting on the front porch. No heads up that it was on its way, but was a nice surprise. It looks great and should fit the space in front of the original radiator opening. Will require a bit of modification to the core support but that's okay.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

Thanks, Duane! I mainly got chrome emblems, but there were a few where gold was the only option. I didn't really want any more gold on it than absolutely necessary. I'd rather it be presented as a 210 with some Bel Air touches.

Some more photos I took this afternoon. They said it took two guys about three hours to get the roof the way they wanted. But it came out great from what I can tell out in the sun. For me, it's easier to see problematic areas inside under the lights. Or outside during the "magic hour" right after the sun goes down.

Re: 57 Chevy Wagon - Californa Dreamin'
 

It's a beaut Vic...you should be proud...