Actually, it is fairly common to see the door gussets missing,
especially if the rocker panels have been replaced.
Two clear give-aways:
1. If you have the two triangular "gussets" or strengthening pieces
where the inner wheel arch meets the trunk floor, it is an early '58
car. This is pictured in Horler.
2. On either side of the engine bay the vertical walls have about a 6"
triangular cut-out in them. If you have double wall construction here,
it is not an early car. If you have single wall construction here, it is
an early '58.
I just sold AN5L 595 to David Christman of this list and I have AN5L 612
in my garage. Doug Ingram also has an early car and the earliest I know
of in North America belongs to Dick Santana and is, I believe, AN5L 535.
Daniel T.
P.S. all these cars have metal i.d. tags on them ;-)
George Procyshyn wrote:
>
> Does your car have the strengthening gussets in the door
> frames. Open a door and look at the rearward section of the
> door frame, NOT the door itself. . Find the striker and go
> down to the bottom. At least the earlier '58's had gussets
> welded in from the factory. They're pretty big, you won't
> miss 'em if you've got 'em. That's a feature that wouldn't
> be changed by some DPO. Does anyone know when that was
> eliminated?
> George Procyshyn
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