Darryl Gaspardone - Nanaimo, British Columbia, CA

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Faulkner
Posts: 5031
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2004 6:59 pm
Location: Upper Darby, PA
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Darryl Gaspardone - Nanaimo, British Columbia, CA

Post by Faulkner »

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Look at the transformation this beauty is undergoing... Just to note -- because these pictures span a few years, some of Darryl's early commentary is superceded by later activity. -Dan

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Here is what she looked like when I got her,minus the inch of needles from one end to the other...
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Not particularily looking for a project, while mucking through a local junkyard a friend of mine told me to go over to the fence and look at the neat old car in the guy's yard. Well the guy's yard happened to be the local drive in. After finding the owner of the property and having a look over the car I asked him how much he wanted for it (sound familiar?!). He told me that if I wanted it I had to take the whole thing, not just pieces off it. Need I say more...
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He was using it for a dog house, there were no seats, no floors, but the rest of it was still pretty solid, and it still had 4 original hubcaps on it.
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I stored the old buggy away and started keeping my eyes open for parts... Surprise, surprise -- easier said than done. The original drive train was a seized up L head and 3 speed column, that had to go. As luck would have it, I found a 57 plymouth that was to be scrapped and it had a worthy drivetrain -- 318, torqueflite tranny and another frame so I didn't have to mess around with welding motor mounts in. I'm still in need of a better front window, better fenders and gas tank.
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dash pad.JPG
new dash.JPG
rebuilt tranny.JPG
The tranny is the 3 speed automatic a friend of mine rebuilt using 3 other tranny's, got to get into the car soon so it doesn't dry out. It would be a shame to mess up 1,200 dollars worth of tranny.
hand made floor.JPG
hole in my buggy.JPG
new supports.JPG
I did up most of the body work many years ago but now I have had more experience in body work. I am redoing things to make them better. I have no regrets of doing this, it has probably held the old buggy together this long.
backseat backrest.JPG
I have my new interior sitting in my living room and i am anxious to get going on it. Here is some of the interior, the headliner will be white.
new carpet.JPG
frontseat backrest.JPG
homemade jig.JPG
I constructed a home made jig for floor pans,excellent way to vent frustrations.
frustration stage.JPG
First, sandwich a piece of metal between boards then beat the $#!! out of it. Place piece of metal back on anvil to iron out any other lumps.
final.JPG
drivers side.JPG
The floors are almost done on the top side -- progress, finally.
pass side.JPG
under drivers.JPG
Getting closer to start under coating. Hooray!
under passenger.JPG
zero rust time.JPG
It's nice to finally spread around some paint smells in the shop. I just have to sand this stuff,get some seam filler in the cracks, rock guard sprayed around, then some good old fashioned red paint. I found out Gary Goers sells the the insulation mat on the the firewall for about 80 bucks brand new.
front seat.JPG
A little more tightening up to do and then it's done.
front & rear.JPG
Got the front seat a little more tightened up and the bottom rear done. The floors are finished except for a fresh coat of red paint.
drains.JPG
Watch how these funny little drain holes transform on my car...
new drains.JPG
With a little more sculpting you won't be able to tell; Now if I can only get Gary Goers to reply..
hand crafted rear.JPG
Done with floors! All handcrafted -- now it doesn't feel like something Fred Flintstone would own.
handcrafted fronts.JPG
painted frame.JPG
Here's the frame after painting -- the body and frame have since been bolted together.


[Recently I found Darryl on Facebook, and inquired if he still had the car...]
Darryl wrote:Yup, still got her, but sadly have not done much with her... YET.
"If it's new, Plymouth's got it!"
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william0431
Posts: 293
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2016 5:41 pm

Re: Darryl Gaspardone - Nanaimo, British Columbia, CA

Post by william0431 »

Wow! I like the ingenuity on fabricating the floor pans! Such a neat car. Dan, I hope you can continue to persuade him via Facebook to continue on with the restoration. Looks as though all the really hard parts of metal work are done.
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Faulkner
Posts: 5031
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2004 6:59 pm
Location: Upper Darby, PA
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Re: Darryl Gaspardone - Nanaimo, British Columbia, CA

Post by Faulkner »

Isn't it amazing what the Darryl Gaspardone's, John Fowlie's, Dick Koch's and Vic Barone's of the world have done - without naming countless others. I stand in awe and admiration. Such dedication to the preservation of a classic automobile, to say nothing of sweat equity. Hats off!
"If it's new, Plymouth's got it!"
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