No turning back now... - I can't believe I'm doing this...

I've always wanted a 2 door donor car to put all the good parts from my rust free 55 4-door but haven't found anything yet. I've looked around for the past few years for a reasonable (hahahaha) 55 2-door sedan or wagon. Most were rusty-crusty shells for $5k - not a good starting point.

The solution...I finally did some measuring and figured that the 2 and 4 door models are essentially the same dimensions except for the B-pillar location. The distance beween the front A-pillar and the rear window C-pillar is 71" on both models.

I couldn't find a donor body so I did the next best thing. I bought 2-door sedan doors and B-pillars from a local wrecking yard and I'm going to graft them to my 210 4-door body. I've started the project (see photos below) by removing both front doors. The driver's side rear door and B-pillar are removed now also. The replacement B-pillar panels need to be bead blasted and trimmed to install into the proper location. It appears that I can trim the panels right at (below) the drip rail and right along the rear window. I'm not removing the rear window. I'll probably cut the inner and outer portions of the panels apart to aid in the installation.

The only major problem is that all the stuff that's perfect on the car now - the chrome trim on the beltline, the side spears, all won't work on the 2-door. So what do I do? Do I buy all the chrome? Do I fill the holes and run it sans chrome? I did see a green one in an ad for Billet Specialties that looked good without the chrome, but it also had no chrome around the windshield and rear window. Not sure how that works...

I will need patch panels for the quarters unless I cut up the old rear doors - which I hate to do because they're perfect - but the panels are about $130 ea. and the doors are free! I have a replacement door skin for the pass side - it was too far gone to save - but I will probably cut up the old front door to fix the driver's side door. It has some rust on the bottom as well as on the inner structure.

The interior pieces are all different. I did procure the trim pieces around the side glass. I believe the vent windows from the old doors will fit the new ones. I still need regulators, glass, door panels (I needed them for the old setup anyway) a new front bench seat for a 2-door or bucket seats.

05/09/07

OK. I've just about got the driver side completed. It has taken quite a bit of trimming to get all the pieces to fit, probably no more than if I were to chop the top. The quarter window frame fits great. The door gap is good. The door itself is aligned. I may need to tweak the door to get a better line on the rear. I even put the dimple in the rear wheel well for the back glass. Nothing is welded in place yet, I think I want to test the rear window/regulator setup first - just to be sure.

I did an axle flip (put the axle under the rear leafs instead of on top) to get the rear up. I have an old FORD straight front axle with the transverse multileaf that I may use. I've seen these done this way and the parallel leaf way as well. The only major factor is that I have these. I may try craigslist to see if someone will trade me a Model A frame for a parallel axle from a 50's Chev truck... who knows?

I know - I'll order a kit from Speedway Motors and get-r-dun! It should be ariving soon....

Meanwhile - here's what I've done so far.

Here's a shot from Nov. 13, 2007. I pulled it out of the shop for a little bodywork on the new quarters.

This side view shows the stance pretty good. I think the rake will be a little less severe when I get the tires I'm going to run on it. The rears will be taller and the fronts will be shorter.

Here are the front tires and brake setups...

The steering is a cross-steer setup. I had the ball on the original arm taken off and then bored the hole out to 5/8" so the heim and bolt would fit. It works great! I still have to make a panhard bar...

These headers were custom made by a guy from back east. He used to make all the headers for a leading manufacturer and still had the bucks. They are top quality. All mandrel bends. Great welds. Thick flanges. I'm going to coat them silver... wanted white but....

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