When the customer brought this 1957 “F” Thunderbird to our shop, we agreed to do a body-off restoration for him. When completed, this car will have a red exterior, red interior, red hard top, and a black soft top. The car has a 312 supercharged engine with a 3-speed transmission. This car will be built to a top show car using C.T.C.I. standards.

Our staff has gone over the entire body and marked specific areas of concern that the owner wanted fixed. The body will be sanded, primed, and repainted but not before we fix all of the tiny chips and dents that need repair. This will make the paint job flawless.

More photos, below, of the damage to the body that we will be repairing. After everything on the car has been removed in the disassembly process, the repairs can be pretty extensive, as you can see.

Here, in the first group, we have the engine and the intake manifold hanging in the paint booth, after they have been taped off, ready for the first coat of paint. The next group of photos show the engine freshly painted and waiting to be added to the restored frame.

We have started the restoration on the frame. The first step is cleaning and sanding every inch of the frame. We steam cleaned it to have a clean working surface so no imperfections can hide. Then, we shoot a coat of primer over the entire frame before the first coat of paint.

Now we have a restored frame that has been sprayed with Martin Senour Black Prism paint that contains a hardener. The frame is now ready for the reassembly process.

You have seen the frame after the complete restoration and paint was applied. Now we get to start the reassembly. This includes the restored engine and transmission placement, along with the brakes and the lines. When this process is completed, we will be ready to put the body on the frame.

Now the car is put back on the frame and is sent back home. The customer is ready to enjoy this beautiful car for the summer.