Issue 12 (June 2012)

The Restoration of TC6943 from Rolling Chassis to Finished Car in Eight 3-Day Weekends!

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TC6943 with original engine # XPAG 7546 was purchased 85 miles SW of Seattle, Washington State in December, 2009. The owner had started its restoration in the 1980s and many of the spares were new, still in plastic bags. Unfortunately, even sealed packages absorb moisture in the Seattle area and all the spares were rusted or corroded.

I came by this information when I received an e- mail via the website contact form from Burt Richmond. The text of the e-mail was as follows:

“I restored a rolling chassis to a finished car in eight 3-day weekends, and promptly drove it 563 mile on a wine tour from Seattle to the Wilamette Valley in Oregon and back with zero issues. It is a 1949 with VIN 6943”.

Intrigued by this claim I asked Burt to forward some photos and some text and he immediately obliged.

We start the story with a photo of the car as it started out life in Burt’s ownership.

TC 6943 loaded on trailer in December, 2009

No time was lost in carrying out a survey of all the bits and spares that came with the rolling chassis ‘tub’ and work commenced straight away.

Some important bits that came with the car
Fortunately this came with the car…

…and it was fitted by the end of the first weekend in January 2010 with new steel skinned to the left side, doors hung and ready to go to the paint shop.

January 2010 – Ready for paint shop
February 2010 – Tub back from paint shop
End of weekend – wings (fenders) and running boards fitted and doors hung
Fit & install plywood floors & sub-structure. Begin interior upholstery
March 2010 – gas tank installed, electrical wiring begun, mount & connect lights, etc. Rebuilt brake system. Installed exhaust. Voltage regulator connect with 9 wires!
May (no work done in April) Begin work on dash – instruments sent out for restoration, start more electrical wiring.
June 2010 more uphostery work, finish dash. Mount radiator & grill shell after major rebuild cooling system. Car now running
July 2010 – install mirrors, headlights, horn & fog light + front apron. Signal lights now work Finish seats & door panels. Begin work on top & tonneau cover, wrap steering wheel w/leather

After tackling the top & tonneau, the 4 side curtains had to be mounted, on refinished frames. Below: Finished car with tonneau fitted

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