57 Frame Assembly Questions

[Ashley S.]

I'm beginning reassembly of my 57 frame this weekend and I'm trying to come up with the best way to do this.

What I have done so far is a painted frame, crossmember and major components (A-arms, etc). I have purchased several new parts such as the deluxe front end rebuild kit which are not all painted.

Would it be best to assemble everything to the crossmember, paint over it once more to coat the new parts such as springs, tie rods etc, and then bolt the entire crossmember back to the frame? Should any of this remain unpainted?

Also, would the aluminum shims and crossmember to frame bolts remain unpainted?

Any help or advice is appreciated.

[dennis frey]

Re: 57 Frame Assembly Questions

hi ashley. i noticed nobody is taking a shot at this so i will try. none of the following is for sure. i believe one reason nobody responded is because the response depends on how you are going to present the car, ie top flight judged, or a nice driver. if top flight, you better get some judges to answer. i can tell you what i did with mine, which i consider a very nice driver that has never been judged.
is your front crossmember really seperated from the frame rails?it is my understanding that this is a rivited/welded part of the entire frame, and as such, is painted the same as the frame. if you do bolt it to the frame, then i would paint everything including the bolts as that is how it would have been painted at the factory.
on my car, i left the cross shafts, tie rods, and tie rod ends "raw". having said that, i coated them with clear/matted poly urethane to keep them from rusting==other wise they get really ugly, depending on where you live.
your last question about shims makes me think you are talking about the rear member that supports the trans [as opposed to body shims]. for those shims, i left them unpainted, but i painted the crossmember.
as you progress you will have many questions like this. try to use common sense and visualize the car being assembled as it progresses down the line.
hope this is some help. re. d.

[dennis frey]

Re: 57 Frame Assembly Questions PS

PS. i was just corrected, my car is a very nice restoration that is driven, much to the consternation of friends and family. good luck with yours and i hope you drive it too. re. d.

[dennis frey]

Re: 57 Frame Assembly Questions

i am wrong about the front cross member. i do remember some aluminum shims that came w the front end kit. obviously i didnt take my frame apart during body off restoration. i dont know wheter they were painted or not. i am second owner of my car and it was very original when i got it in 1962. it did not have shims in that location. re. d.

[Ashley S.]

Re: 57 Frame Assembly Questions

Dennis,

Thanks for the reponse. I decided to go see a friend yesterday (about an hour drive) to see his car and discuss this topic with him. What I found was something along the lines of your response.

Basically, if I keep in mind the order of assembly, that will help me decide what should be painted or not. The major components such as the cross member, A-arms, and sway bar were painted black prior to assembly. From there the parts were bolted together and thus things like bolts, shims etc were not painted. Also unpainted are the springs, steering knuckle and support.

I took several pictures for reference, so hopefully this will be a good blueprint for me to follow.

Ashley