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Captain's Log, Stardate,,,,,Sorry, I
couldn't resist. March 25, 2004.

I snapped some photos today of what
I've got done on the car the past week.
As you can see, I pulled the front clip
and did a general clean-up of the body.
I had a whole truck load of trash just
out of the junk cluttering up this rig! I
wanted to see how bad the rust issue
was. It is about what I expected. The
floors have some rust and dents to
repair, and it will need rocker panels
and new rear quarters and wheel
openings. The inside of the bed is not
to bad, just surface rust, and lots of
coats of paint. The doors unbolted
fine, no evidence of rust at the hinge
points in the cowl. The frame and
suspension look great! One of the
reasons I decided to do another 59 was
the availability of steering and brake
upgrades. I'll keep you posted on the
research I do. Feel free to e-mail me
from the front page with any questions
or comments. I am currently looking at
a couple of donor cars for this project.
I've found a 88 or 89 Merc Grand
Marq. for the powertrain. I wanted to
use 5.0 EFI power in this project for
economy reasons. I prefer a whole car
so I can rob everything I need for the
conversion. My years at a Ford
dealership as a drivability/electrical
tech will be needed for sure! I have a
line on a couple of Villager donors so
far. A salvage yard not to far from me
in Anaconda, MT has 3 or 4 wagons,
but for a $1000 each seems high for
the stuff they're missing. Another one
is priced right, but is in Wisconsin, a
fairly long way from me! Found
another very nice one from a fellow in
North Dakota, but again for $1000,
which I can't afford right now. I'm in
no hurry, as I figured this would be a
long term project. Maybe I can afford a
nicer one later on. Feel free to wade
through the photos, and check back
often for updates. Also, let me know
of anything that can contribute to the
success of this project, and any
suppliers or web sites I could add to
the links page of my site. So long for
now! Norm P.