Someone frisco'ed the seating position of this tank, back-in-the-day, by adding a piece to the tunnel (a common customization fo sho). But the unique feature here was the filler used to disguise the job.Back in the '50's plastic fillers like Bondo were not readily available and expensive to purchase. So the technique common to hot rodders and painters alike was that of lead loading or body soldering. Melting and shaping a stick of lead into dents and then shaping with a wooden paddle made this a real art form of body work. One which the previous owner of this little peanut, obviously, was not the master of.
Still. Props must go out for using this ancient technique. No one really does lead loading anymore because of the relative easy and low cost of products like Bondo. But Lead Loading is one of those lost art forms that crazy people with too much time on their hands still practice today to keep their '50's rods period correct. There's a great article here on Lead Loading's how to's. Check it.
