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Thanks, Bob.

One follow up question….can you elaborate on what you used to “scrape” the paint off?

For doing text on the switch bezels, I paint it with $1 black craft paint, then after it is just barely dry (not shiny), I rub off the excess with my thumb. Perhaps something similar would work here with the sponge side of a dish sponge or something.

The panels are all quite large, so I found to do it like you indicated Pgh is not workable on them as there is also very little left in the grooves after you take away the top paint, and if the paint is still in its 'plastic' stage it drags paint from inside the grooves along with the paint from the rail tops leaving shiny gaps in the grooves. Whereas once it is good and dry it separates easier along the top surface.
I used a razor blade, but you could also use a blade from a box cutter. You may have to snap it so it fits better inside the working area.
The paint does not adhere very well to the chrome so it comes off quite easily. The pressure required is no where near the pressure required to mar the finish of the chrome either.
Bob J.

Thanks, Bob!

Kathy and I stopped by the shop to see my car. It’s coming along.












For a bit of irony….previously, every shop I had talked to said that new fenders would be the way to go. At least for the driver’s side, this shop feels like repairing my original fender is the best way to go. The passenger side is still TBD as it had work done on it back in the 1960s and the ridge was rounded over.




This is my “new” trunk lid. It’s getting stripped down and quite a bit of bondo being removed to straighten out the sheet metal. It’s still FAR better than my original that was smashed in pretty bad.




Passenger side rear fender….rust removal. This is the front edge of the rear fender where it bolts to the running board.







This is the rear of the rear fender. It had a repair done at some point before Dad bought the car in 1960. The part that was cut out weighed about 5lbs due to all the lead.

Went to the shop again today…more progress. This is the first time I have ever seen the trunk lid fit correctly or be operational. Still more to do on it, but it’s good progress.

My “new” trunk lid had some previous repairs made with a lot of Bondo. The Bondo has been removed and the sheet metal brought back to where it should be

While showing Dad the pictures from shop today, I had a chance to get a little more history of the car….and the damage it’s had.

It seems the rear end damage was, as Dad put it, “100% my fault”. Dad and two of my uncles had just finished rebuilding the engine due to a broken piston. This is also when two head studs were broken by my over zealous (and very strong) uncle. I know exactly which head studs they are as there are two that are longer than all the others. Back to the rear end damage. The engine was rebuilt and they were trying to start the car, but Dad was having starter issues. The plan was for Dad to put the car in 2nd and have my uncle push from behind in another car. Then, Dad would pop the clutch to start the car. Dad says he made two mistakes. First, he didn’t disconnect from the other car before popping the clutch like he says he had done many times before. The second mistake was the one he discovered the instant he popped the clutch. He had the car in reverse, not second. Whoops! He said that was a sick feeling.

Now, on to the break at the top of the driver’s side front fender. According to Dad, “that was my fault, too”. He says he was backing out of a very narrow drive that was next to some outside house stairs. He hooked that fender on the edge of one of the stairs and the result was that break in the fender.

Next, is the passenger side front fender that is rounded over. There has been some debate as to whether the ridge is still there and just covered with Bondo. According to Dad, that is not the case. It seems he was hit by a lady who had insurance, but her insurance company declared bankruptcy and wouldn’t pay. Dad couldn’t afford the repairs at the time, so he drove it as it was. By the time he got it in for repairs, he says he had worn a hole through the fender from the tire rubbing right where the ridge was. I suspect that may be the issue I still have with the right front tire rubbing if making a sharp right turn and going over a curb such as pulling into my driveway. I have to go very slow to avoid the tire rubbing. The new front springs made it a LOT better, but didn’t fix it completely. Now, I know that we need to make sure i have the correct fender clearance as the body work continues.

This is all really fun information that I am documenting with the history of the car. All these little stories of Dad’s time with the car is priceless!

Don,

Great stories of those events in the cars history. I really enjoyed them

The front fender to tire clearance is VERY tight on the '37 120s when turning, especially when turning over any road irregularities. With 7.00 X 16 Firestone tires, there is only a fraction of an inch clearance with the wheels turned part way. On my car, replacing the Lester tires with Firestones allowed a light tire contact at the right fender when going over a slight bump in one particular turn in my driveway. There was no contact at any other time. The "pie crust" outer tread brushed the fender just enough to make an alarming sound. I couldn't see any distortion in the fender. I used a composite dead blow hammer to massage the rolled fender edge slightly, and that solved the problem. The tires come VERY close to the fender opening on both sides when the wheels are turned part way. The 7.00 X 16 Lester tires' diameter is a tiny bit less than that of the Firestones. I don't think you could run 7.50 X 16 tires on the '37 120.