Fireball Posted October 4, 2008 Report Posted October 4, 2008 While waiting my new drivetrain to arrive from States, it's good time for neverending rust repairs. Inner fender under battery was quite rotten Now it's solid again Rear corner of fender had some questionable repairs done among rust This is better way to do it Backside of new pieces Front piece of rocker needed some new metal also Quote
Uncle-Pekka Posted October 4, 2008 Report Posted October 4, 2008 Clean patches, good going. You have already pulled the engine & transmission, I see... Pls post some pics of the now idle flattie! /Pekka Quote
Fireball Posted October 4, 2008 Author Report Posted October 4, 2008 Actually I haven't pulled them yet, it's a perfect stand for fender repair with radiator support Quote
Rodney Bullock Posted October 5, 2008 Report Posted October 5, 2008 Wow, that looks great, how do you all do it. I got to get me a welding machine and do some welding:D I always get someone else to do it for me. The satisfaction you fell must be outstanding:D nice work. Quote
Fireball Posted October 17, 2008 Author Report Posted October 17, 2008 Fixed the co-driver side fender also. Tomorrows task is the rocker end and door of that side Butt welding instead of patching over is the way to do it Ready for primer and bondo Quote
NatesSedan Posted October 18, 2008 Report Posted October 18, 2008 Nice lloking work there. You just finished painting this year. Are you going to have to respray? I see alot of orange paint along with bare metal there! Quote
Fireball Posted October 18, 2008 Author Report Posted October 18, 2008 Yes Nates, this paint is only temporary. Today wasn't too lazy either. End of the rocker box needed some attention. I cut out all the rotten metal all the way down to passenger kickpanel, built new pieces from inside towards out, taking care that all seams are throughly welded then protected Floor connected to firewall, then to inner fender Not a single straight piece there, but got it ready Then to the door. Previous owner did a nice job with screw-in patch panels and bondo, but I had an different method Here you can hardly see it, but the door frame needed to be redone first, then the door outer skin will wrap over it at the lowest level. This way you maintain the rigidy, and thickness Ready for primer and bondo, but a lot less that what it had. The rear portion of this patch is roundy horizontally turning slowly into straight one, plus the whole thing ain't straight vertically either. Kinda curvy Quote
Normspeed Posted October 18, 2008 Report Posted October 18, 2008 Fireball, what tools are you using to cut away the old metal? Quote
Fireball Posted October 18, 2008 Author Report Posted October 18, 2008 I trust Makita. This grinder mainly for small jobs like this http://www.makitafactoryoutlet.com/makita/products/9558PB.asp Then I have also this die grinder and couple of different heads for it http://www.makitafactoryoutlet.com/makita/products/GE0600.asp This is good for tight corners, especially finishing, curving, ovaling holes etc. I used to port heads for my racecar and found it suitable for other work. The thin discs 0.040" for the 5" grinder are great for sheetmetal, leaves a really nice cut, but they melt like butter also Quote
Fireball Posted October 22, 2008 Author Report Posted October 22, 2008 Here's the backside of new doorskin and frame, waiting for sanding, final rust prevention and painting Quote
Normspeed Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 Nice work for sure. I have the harbor freight version of that grinder. Have you ever used one of those pneumatic nibblers? I'm picking your brain because before long I may be doing some work on my own little rust spots. Quote
Fireball Posted October 23, 2008 Author Report Posted October 23, 2008 No harm done Norm, it's only nice that somebodys interested and bothers to comment. I have used nibbler to cut aluminum interior parts I made some years back. Coping saw was actually more handy imho Quote
John Mulders Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 nice little car ! Dash setup (cluster) looks good too. have a full pic of the car and a close up of the gauges? John Quote
Joe Flanagan Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 That is great looking work, Fireball. I have that same Makita grinder. It's great for open spaces but tough to work with in tight spaces. I want to get that smaller grinder you showed. What are you cutting with? It looks very clean. Are you using a MIG? Quote
Fireball Posted October 24, 2008 Author Report Posted October 24, 2008 nice little car ! Dash setup (cluster) looks good too.have a full pic of the car and a close up of the gauges? John Sure, I built the whole front end (all the a-arms etc.) from scratch for this one That is great looking work, Fireball. I have that same Makita grinder. It's great for open spaces but tough to work with in tight spaces. I want to get that smaller grinder you showed. What are you cutting with? It looks very clean. Are you using a MIG? Thanks Joe, nice to get feedback, good or bad. You have hundreds of blade and tip options for that grinder, it is 1/4" mandrel, spindle, axel or how do you call it. And yes, I have a 160amp MIG as a welding machine. Quote
Fireball Posted October 25, 2008 Author Report Posted October 25, 2008 Bondo must have been on sale when somebody worked on this puppy. Rear corner of this door seemed totally ok out, but I decided to see if there's something underneath. And there was, putty was laid straight over existing holes. I went ahead and fixed that with fresh steel Next victim for my cutter will be the co-driver side rear inner fender, stay tuned Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 25, 2008 Report Posted October 25, 2008 bondo is never on sale..however labor is cheap..cannot get any cheaper than NOT applying labor to properly fix the puppy...glad to see the metal going back where it should be..you will sleep so much better knowing that it is now solid as it should be..I don't care for buying a car already "fixed" as you have no idea what shortcuts have been taken...even when asked directly about an area and telling the guy point blank I am guying the car..just let me know what and where etc...I still get the ole Potomac two step as if he is embarrassed to tell the truth maybe...have seen this on a number of cars, most of which people have asked me to look at in their behalf...I prefer the ragged out special..at least you see up front what needs attention. Quote
John Mulders Posted October 26, 2008 Report Posted October 26, 2008 Thanks for the pics, nice ! John Quote
Fireball Posted October 31, 2008 Author Report Posted October 31, 2008 Tim you are so right on that, my car is filled with shortcuts, but not after this winter. The inner rear fender didn't look that bad, but little did I know. Ended up cutting quite a piece away After some hammering and bending, six puzzle pieces are welded in place and it's good as new Now the work will stop for couple of weeks cause of my SoCal trip and other tasks. The drivers side inner fender is even worse than this one, so it's not a bad idea to have a break before fixing it. But no, there's no lack of motivation yet. Quote
Fireball Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Posted January 9, 2009 Long time without updates, but I haven't totally stop working on this. For multiple reasons the garage time seems to be hard to achieve This portion of body seemed Ok outwards, but my magical magnet told otherwise. Gave it some hammer and screwdriver treatment and the truth was sad As many times before, carefully cut away the rotten part... ...and weld on some shaped and fresh sheetmetal Drivers door got couple of patches also, but then it's time for the biggest job on the body. The rear has HUGE amount of bondo which I can't tolerate. Take a look, there's at least half inch of it I ended up cutting away the whole rear panel, and major part of that area between fenders and trunk will go next. I'll form it completely new, with different taillights and such. But the main thing is repairing the rusted and dented areas correctly, getting the sahpe from starters more near what it should be, instead of creating the flow with putty Drivers side rear inner needed some TLC I have also installed new rear, Dana 35 out of Jeep, with clutch type lock and 3.54 gear. Should be fine with my NV3500 5-speed OD manual tranny. Swap was quite easy, I only fabricated new spring perches, cut off the old ones and welded new pieces into slight different location. Width is ok, but the old wheels don't fit over the axle center. That's fixable though, either some grinding or different set of wheels. And what a difference in tightness and tolerances after installing new bushings into leaf springs That's all for now Quote
55 Fargo Posted January 9, 2009 Report Posted January 9, 2009 Lookin good there Fireball, typicial area for rust the lower body under the back window. Water,dirt, salt can accumulate in there and causes rust through over time. I would make sure you have drainage holes at the bottom so moisture will not collect inthere anymore, and don't forget to seal any weld joints etc, on the underside of your repairs, sealed both sides, makes it more water/moisutre resistant.....................Fred Quote
Fireball Posted January 9, 2009 Author Report Posted January 9, 2009 Thanks Fred, sure I'm sealing all the welds and coating everything. The weather conditions here are ideal for rust, so we have kinda learned to be aware with it. My plan is to remove the windows, just to make sure there isn't anything hidden under the seals. Gotta doublecheck also the area you mentioned Quote
greg g Posted January 9, 2009 Report Posted January 9, 2009 wow real craftsman like work. would that I could do 30 percent that well. Just a guess on the roadster ( stunning car) dashboard, 36/37 Studebaker Dictator?? Quote
Fireball Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Posted January 10, 2009 wow real craftsman like work. would that I could do 30 percent that well.Just a guess on the roadster ( stunning car) dashboard, 36/37 Studebaker Dictator?? Greg, actually I'm still in practising phase, I have a friend who lets me to use his sheetmetal tools, and let me say he is the man with steel. When I get stuck he always knows how to do it. But luckily I can still learn. Yup the dash was Stude, you are the first that knew! Quote
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