There comes a point in every project where you reach that, “I thought you were working on the car” portion. You know, the part of the project where it seems the devil is in the detail, and unfortunately the details are tedious drawn out chores.

One of the positive challenges about our Project White Wagon is while we are waiting for certain parts to come in, there’s never a shortage of bodywork which can be done to this basket-case 1964 Chevy II wagon.

While waiting for a couple of key mounting fixtures to arrive, we were able to focus in on other crucial but not time sensitive areas.

“There’s never a shortage of stuff to do,” said chassis builder Tom Lukans. “There are a number of details which must be completed in preparation for sandblasting and applying the powder coating. The style of car this is going to be requires us to pay close attention to detail. We are already challenged because many of the cars out there already are works of art.”

 
This photo shows the close distance in the gap we have between the permanent drive shaft safety loop that attaches to the frame and is holding up the steel tunnel. The driveshaft tunnel will be removable once the project is completed. These driveshaft safety loops can be ordered from the Quartermax Chassis catalog.There comes a point in every project where you reach that, “I thought you were working on the car” portion. You know, the part of the project where it seems the devil is in the detail, and unfortunately the details are tedious drawn out chores.

One of the positive challenges about our Project White Wagon is while we are waiting for certain parts to come in, there’s never a shortage of bodywork which can be done to this basket-case 1964 Chevy II wagon.

While waiting for a couple of key mounting fixtures to arrive, we were able to focus in on other crucial but not time sensitive areas.

“There’s never a shortage of stuff to do,” said chassis builder Tom Lukans. “There are a number of details which must be completed in preparation for sandblasting and applying the powder coating. The style of car this is going to be requires us to pay close attention to detail. We are already challenged because many of the cars out there already are works of art.”

Lukans has worked steadily on the firewall and floorpan and past two weeks working from a quality reproduction from JW Nova Parts.

“We’ve been smoothing up some rough spots and filling in holes where we’ve had to remove unnecessary brackets,” Lukans explained. “This is also the case with the inner fenders and core support. We’ve gone through the car with a fine-tooth comb and getting rid of the extra stuff. We’ve also had to fill in some of the air holes on the cowl for the rubber support that we don’t need because we are using a carbon fiber hood.”

Carbon Fiber Manufacturing [CFM] and Kenny Farrell have done an incredible job on the hood which we plan to pair with a K&N Pro Stock style hood scoop.

The availability of aftermarket items such as the tin work from JW Nova and CFM went a long way towards giving us confidence a competitive Super Stocker could be built from a basket case.

“The bodylines were exceptional and the car had never been hit,” Lukans explained. “But we knew there were enough parts available from JW that would save us a lot of time from trying to resurrect … for all intents and purposes … a car from the automotive dead and make no bones about it, this puppy was dead when we dragged it out of the junkyard.”
 

Sometimes when it comes to bodywork, especially of this nature, you must be creative. Note our makeshift tool to help straighten the parking lot dents.

 The alignment between the block and the RJ Race Cars rearend housing.

Preparing the wheelie bars, which will be a single wheelie bar unit. This unit will be a joint venture between TL Race Cars, A.R.T. and I.R.C.
Here we are cutting the radius of the wheel tub. We plan to use part of the stock quarter-panel edge as a guide. We will extend further into the rocker panel section for proper clearance of the Mickey Thompson slicks spun on Weld Racing’s Magnum wheels. Plus, the bigger tub, the less weight we will carry. Per NHRA rules we must maintain the factory lip on the car but as you can see this area will need work and thanks to a repair kit from JW Nova Parts, you will never know the difference.

We had to clean off all of the extra sheet metal right down to the spot welds. Then we had to grind down the spot welds and make them flush with the original surface so we could mate new sheet metal to the area. GM, back in 1964, added surface plating to this area keep rust away. This is why the surface is as nice as the day Fisher Body assembled this car. Once we add the superstructure of the car, our entry from this end of the car will become unavailable.

PAST INSTALLMENTS
* Part 1, Outlining The Project
* Part 2, Getting The Car on The Jig
* Part 3, Preparing for the Four-Link
* Part 4, Preparing the Cylinder Heads
* Part 5, Project Gains A Purpose
* Part 6, Shocking the Wagon
* Part 7, A Real Clutch Player
* Part 8, Nova Body Parts Done Right
* Part 9, Space Age Intake Meets The Basket Case
* Part 10, Dart Aftermarket Blocks Poised to Fly in Stk/SS
* Part 11, We Are Rolling Again
* Part 12, Now That's A Rearend

PROJECT WHITE WAGON SUPPORTERS

TL Race Cars (864) 427-5269
Fluid Power Specialties (864) 599-1118
Minton's Wrecker Service (864) 474-2581
Fulton Competition

PART SUPPLIERS

A.E.D. Motorsports Products (tubing)
Applied Racing Technologies (A.R.T)
Aeromotive Inc. (fuel system)
Autometer Guages (tech, engine gauges)
Bill Miller Engineering (rods, pistons)
Browell Bellhousings (bellhousing)
CFE Heads (cylinder heads, intake)
CFM Composites (seats)
Carson's Nut-Bolt and Tool
Comp Cams (camshaft)
Dart Engineering  (Engine Block)
Flatout Gaskets (engine gaskets)
Hedman Headers (headers)
I.R.C. (wheelie bar wheels, bracketry)
Jegs Mail Order (misc.)
J&W Nova Parts (body panels and body sheetmetal)
Liberty's Transmissions (Transmission, Gears)
Matco Tools - (tools, tool box)
Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels (front tires, slicks)
Moroso Performance (valve covers)
QA-1 (Rod Ends)
Quartermax Racing & Chassis Components (suspension, chassis components, axles)
Ram Clutches
Santhuff Shocks (front, rear shocks)
Simpson Safety - (Helmet, Firesuit)
Strange Engineering (Axles, Rearend companents)
Weld Racing        (front, rear wheels)
Winberg Crankshafts (crankshaft)