Bride of Young Frankenstein - 1957 Buick Super

[drewskiren]

I just picked up Street Rodder magazine last week, also found some build videos online on this car too. Very cool, but I do not care for the interior either.

I just knocked out 1 patch on my quarter panel where a rubber gasket ends up holding dirt and moisture letting it rot out a spot.

When cutting out a piece, I know it's tempting to toss it in the trash immediately... don't. Save it for lated and trace it out to make your patch.

The patch should have an eighth to a sixteenth of an inch of space all around so that when you grind your weld smooth, you have a bit of it left still holding the 2 pieces together, If they are tight, all you will have is a surface weld protruding up which will have to be ground off for bodywork.

Skip around a lot to keep the panels cool so as to not warp.

Use this tiny screwdriver to pry the panels flush with each other as you weld.

[drewskiren]

Pretty flush!

After you have a good many tacks, go ahead and grind them down to make it easier to keep tacking between. If you leave them all high, you will start tacking on top of existing tacks because they are sticking up in your way. Trust me.

[drewskiren]

Here's the Buick featured in Street Rodder magazine this month. (inspiration)

[Palf70Step]

Very nice on yours and theirs!

[oldman3]

When I got my copy in the mail, the first thing I thought of was the "Bride"...Jim

[drewskiren]

Saturday afternoon picture time..... I know, I know, but I couldn't wait.

Biz killin it in the trunk welding the corners back together where we raised it to clear the frame.

[drewskiren]

Who's game for a Drive-In???

[Palf70Step]

I remember that!

[drewskiren]

Patch welds are about all closed up

Wire wheeling the trunk weatherstrip channel, It's usually the first spot to go, but it's not bad on this car.

[drewskiren]

...

[drewskiren]

The Mrs. came out last night and scraped for a good 4 hours, it's her favorite job. I'm sure glad because it's about my least favorite!

[Zoomin]

That's awesome! Anytime together is quality time.

[drewskiren]

A mid - day work fix for anyone at work and surfing the net. I worked on the drivers rocker last night and had a little creative clamping going on. Got it all lined up and tacked in, now just need to keep on tacking.

[flashed]

That seems to have worked out great ,looks good .Always nice to check in on your build during lunch .

[drewskiren]

"lunch"...... good answer, big brother may be watching!

[flashed]

Your better half looks right at home in there ,pretty too.

[drewskiren]

You got that right! She's a total babe.

[drewskiren]

My Wife's handiwork on the firewall.

Working the dents in the roof out, one on the front corner was so stretched out I had to shrink it with the torch a little to get it to hammer and dolly out.

First wipe of bondo is super thin.

[drewskiren]

Saturday night picture time has little to see......booooo

Just working out dents as I find them with the hammer and dolly. 59 years worth of dents!

[High Desert]

Originally Posted by drewskiren

Saturday night picture time has little to see......booooo

Just working out dents as I find them with the hammer and dolly. 59 years worth of dents!

Is the gauge of steel thicker on the Bride than it was on Young Frankenstein? I've tried some hammer/dolly work on my passenger side front fender. It takes some pretty significant effort compared to what I remember the last time I did body work.

[drewskiren]

Originally Posted by High Desert

Is the gauge of steel thicker on the Bride than it was on Young Frankenstein? I've tried some hammer/dolly work on my passenger side front fender. It takes some pretty significant effort compared to what I remember the last time I did body work.

Old cars steel is thicker than modern cars, thats for sure, but my truck and the Buick are the same. If the dent is smallish, the steel hasn't stretched and it is pretty easy to work. The one bad spot on my roof took a good bit of pounding while it was glowing red to shrink back and end up being workable.

[snipescastle2]

Drew,
Have you checked into getting a "Uni-Spotter"? basically, a stud welder for pulling dents, you can even get a "Shrinking" tip for it from Eastwood, you basically use it like a spot welder, make the area where the dent is glow red hot, then quench the spot with cold water and it will shrink back, works pretty good if you have some metal that "Oil Can's" (think of the tin man's oil can)when you press in on it...... worth the money and the stud welder was a great time saver on my '71.
Ben

p.s. if you get those industrial scotch brite wheels that you pun in a drill or die grinder, that can save the Mrs. some paint scraping!!!

[drewskiren]

Thanks for the suggestions, always welcome here! Most, if not all, my dents are workable from the back side and so I have put off once again the stud dent puller. It's neat to know you can also use it to shrink metal. I've been using the propane torch/wet rag method up until this point - with a little hammer massaging too! My wife loves digging out the caulk from the cracks, crevices, and hard to reach areas - so I don't want to deprive her of that and have her never want to show up outside. If only I could get her to love sanding bondo and primer!!!

I'm back from an Italy senior trip, but we leave for our beach house rental in the Turks and Caicos Islands next week, so slow progress on the bride for now. I'd post a link, but the mods will ding me for advertising. You'll just have to search beachsidebungalow, turks for yourself.

[kenbotron]

Hi Drew!

First off, let me just say how awesome The Bride is coming along. I really love the body lines of most Buicks, and I think the C pillar of the Super is just fantastic in its own Ford Edsel, beautiful-because-its-not kind of way.

I was having a conversation with one of my gear-head friends last night and we started talking about second gen crew cab C10s. I have seen a few pictures of peoples' projects that have two C10 cabs stuck together, but it leaves the silly looking trapezoidal window in the back. I did some searching around and stumbled upon your project: Young Frankie. This was at about 7pm-ish, and I read on and off until I finished the entire 152-page thread at around 2am. Whoa. Today I dove right into this thread too, I just couldn't wait to start.

I'm 20, and I have developed an ever-growing love for cars since I was about 12. My dad would always take me to the local car show every year and point out cars from his childhood. We live in Lake George, NY and the town hosts a car show early every September (it's called Adirondack Nationals if you care to check it out) where I would oggle over the engineering masterpieces. As I'm sure Biz is doing right now, senior year of high school was a time that I had to really think about what I want to do later in life. Combining my love for cars and my drive to own a small business, I decided to attend Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Western NY (about 4.5 hours from home). I'm now about halfway through my fourth semester as a double major Mechanical Engineering and Business Management student with a minor in marketing. The end goal is to have my own hot rods/resto/customs shop specializing in 50s-70s American cars.

Getting back to both your threads, it's awesome to see the fabrication you're doing. The resto-mod (or at least that;s what I'd categorize it as) that is Frankie is literally an engineering wonder. My jaw dropped so many times while reading that thread that my neck is a little sore. I've always been a little scared to start tearing apart frames, but from what I can see so far with the Bride, you don't seem to have that same fear, haha.

If I ever have the chance to meet you, I'd be honored to shake your hand and have a chat. You seem to be doing exactly what I dream of doing someday, and I'm jealous that you get to share such incredible experiences with your kids. I wish I could have shared the same experiences with my dad. I really want to do some kind of a project with him but our schedules don't line up well at all, I wish we had been able to do something while I was still in high school.

Anyway, I made an account on this forum specifically to write this comment. I'm subscribed now and cannot wait to see more progress!! Thanks so much for the inspiration and commitment to the projects. You have certainly motivated and inspired me!

[High Desert]

Drew, I wish I could say that I am moving at even half of the speed you have been. When you bought the coupe, I immediately used some of the money to get the convertible's engine apart and over to the machine shop. It was in pretty bad shape. The engine-killing culprit wound up being green gas which froze some intake valves back in the early 70s (see the bent push-rod and the broken rocker in the attached photo). It came back looking great. I located a set of the correct 1957 hubcaps, and had the radiator re-cored$. I would like to find an NOS oil-pump (which is also a vacuum pump) before putting the engine back together, but they have been extremely difficult to find. I'm also searching for a fuel-tank since mine was nothing but rust being held together by a thin layer of exterior galvanization. Even though every 1957 Buick shares the same exact tank design, nobody makes them new, and I don't love the idea of putting a cruddy old one back in the car.

I am obligated to keep the convertible period-correct and as original as possible, so it is extremely fun to watch your build and your ability to sidestep delays with innovative solutions.

I miss having the coupe around for reference, but it is so nice to have that room in the workshop to make messes.