John Mulders Posted January 10, 2009 Report Posted January 10, 2009 Great work , thanks for the pics. Quote
knuckleharley Posted January 10, 2009 Report Posted January 10, 2009 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.. Tim,the truth is most of those people probably didn't know any better. They "built their car themselves" with their checkbook. I see it all the time. I was at the Charlotte Swap meet once and there was a guy there with two restored T-Birds,a 56 and a 57. He had the easel board showing the full restoration "My son and I did" on both cars,and was happily explaining it all to a group of interested people. I waited until the group left and then asked him if he wanted to buy some Y-Block Ford parts,and he didn't know what a Y-block was. No kidding. Quote
knuckleharley Posted January 10, 2009 Report Posted January 10, 2009 Butt welding instead of patching over is the way to do it Yes,it is. There is no way you can overlap metal and weld it,and not have it start rusting again right away under the lap. With a butt weld you can grind the welds on both sides and paint it to keep it from rusting again, Quote
knuckleharley Posted January 10, 2009 Report Posted January 10, 2009 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. Norm,they work great and leave a generally smooth surface for welding. I use a electric one myself,mostly because I didn't have a air compressor good enough at the time to run a air nibbler,and needed to do some nibbling. Works great for cutting out panels from donor cars,too. Also,don't overlook the old Dremel tool for cutting along seams and in tight places. I bought a new one that even has a jig saw attachment with it for cutting around curves. Quote
knuckleharley Posted January 10, 2009 Report Posted January 10, 2009 Sure, I built the whole front end (all the a-arms etc.) from scratch for this one I love your track T. Always wanted one of those things in a 26 or 27. You do pretty work. Quote
Normspeed Posted January 10, 2009 Report Posted January 10, 2009 Great info on this forum. My son and I are beginning welders. What we lack in experience we make up for with enthusiasm. We have a small Hobart (110 volt) setup and next item we buy will be the gas supply tank. We do have air and electric cutting wheels and the trusty old Dremel. My P24 needs some outer rocker repair. Inners are real solid. Since we don't have metal shaping equipment I was thinking about picking up a pair of the replacement pieces off ebay. Quote
Fireball Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Posted January 10, 2009 I love your track T. Always wanted one of those things in a 26 or 27.You do pretty work. I appreciate your words, thanks! Great info on this forum. My son and I are beginning welders. What we lack in experience we make up for with enthusiasm. We have a small Hobart (110 volt) setup and next item we buy will be the gas supply tank. We do have air and electric cutting wheels and the trusty old Dremel. My P24 needs some outer rocker repair. Inners are real solid. Since we don't have metal shaping equipment I was thinking about picking up a pair of the replacement pieces off ebay. Norm, the third sentence nails it totally, I just love to hear things like that! When there's willness, and a bit of "bravery" to start the job, the only end result is success. Nobody does anything perfectly at first, not even the second trial in most cases, but in my opinion trying is everything, one only gain skills by doing. I have noticed that nowadays when one can see the "perfect jobs" all over the web, youngsters don't even dare to try because "there are these professionals and I can't do it as good, I'm embarrished to show my lousy work etc..." That's sad, trial and error is the old fashioned traditional way:D I'm not the best on anything car related myself, but during the years I have learned a thousand miles and now after some twenty cars able to pretty much do anything myself. And ain't that the purpose of this hobby? And hey, I wouldn't weld a nuclear powerplant either, I'm just starting to find out how to manage these type of repairs. You'll do just fine with the way you mentioned, no doubt about that. Quote
Fireball Posted January 15, 2009 Author Report Posted January 15, 2009 The saga continues The whole butt has to be rebuilt, no doubt about that. The old taillight holes were patched, but not nearly by OK manner so I ended up redoing them And a bit larger portion on drivers side was reborn Actually the new taillights will end up exactly on these spots if I stick with the plan. Depends more or less whether I'm able to modify the lights I'm thinking Quote
Normspeed Posted January 15, 2009 Report Posted January 15, 2009 Fireball, there was a sad old Rock n roll song back in the day, called "Patches", about a gal from the poor side of town. Might be a good name for your ride:D Quote
Fireball Posted January 16, 2009 Author Report Posted January 16, 2009 Migh be, supports the story kind of:D Quote
knuckleharley Posted January 16, 2009 Report Posted January 16, 2009 ....Actually the new taillights will end up exactly on these spots if I stick with the plan. Depends more or less whether I'm able to modify the lights I'm thinking You want some GREAT looking taillights for the rear of a P-15? Try grafting in the taillights from a modern VW bug. The sorta oval/sorta rectangular ones that sit flush. Cut out the whole section from the rear of a bug and weld it into the rear of your P-15. They would really fit in with the curvy rear on these cars. I have a set of 49 Lincoln taillights and buckets in my shop,and am having to continually talk myself out of putting them on the rear of my coupe. Round taillights really look good on these cars. Quote
cwcars88 Posted January 16, 2009 Report Posted January 16, 2009 I have been thinking about doing the same thing with PT cruser tail lights on my P-15. I will have to find a VW bug and check them out. Keep the pics coming. Quote
Fireball Posted January 16, 2009 Author Report Posted January 16, 2009 Thanks for the tips guys, but I have had the taillight "items" nearly a year waiting in my garage. They are from one european car and need quite heavy mods before installing, but should look good and unique. We'll see how I manage to finish that job. I will post pics of them also when back working in the garage some day, not this weekend though. Quote
Fireball Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Posted January 24, 2009 Today I got precious two hours garage time. Rolled the new rear pan with shrinker, and welded that in place. Fits like a glove and follows the trunklid contour smoothly. Guys, I'm two corners behind being done with the rust job. JIIHAA, no I meant YEEEHAWWW Notice the surgigal approach to Mopar tin with white gloves:D Quote
Frank Elder Posted January 24, 2009 Report Posted January 24, 2009 Put the pictures back you tease:D Quote
Fireball Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Posted January 24, 2009 Strange, I can see them all. Are all the pics missing for you guys or just the last two from today? Quote
Young Ed Posted January 24, 2009 Report Posted January 24, 2009 I was getting Xs earlier this morning but the pics seem fine now Quote
Fireball Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Posted January 24, 2009 I was getting Xs earlier this morning but the pics seem fine now Yeah but how do I LOOK ED:D :D Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted January 24, 2009 Report Posted January 24, 2009 Yeah but how do I LOOK ED:D :D too much smiling...surely this car is not painful enough to build... hey..I got a shirinker and a stretcher here at the house...but alas mine are a bit more human powered... Quote
Brendan D25 Posted January 25, 2009 Report Posted January 25, 2009 Is that a 49 or 50 Buick woody wagon I see in the background of the first pic? You're doing great work, I've been enjoying your posts. Thanks, Brendan. Quote
Fireball Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Posted January 25, 2009 Is that a 49 or 50 Buick woody wagon I see in the background of the first pic? You're doing great work, I've been enjoying your posts. Thanks, Brendan. Thanks Brendan, it's my friends '49 woody. Really crisp condition and will take couple years to be finished along the other projects he has. That guy is my sheetmetal mentor, so there's no doubt it will get done. Currently he's building an '37 chevy panel, and that is a lot worse Quote
Fireball Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Posted January 30, 2009 This is faith or something mysterious, but the thousandth view on this topic is the one where I can finally tell you guys that all the rotten metal is now replaced, guess am I a happy camper or what! Well it's not ready yet by any means, but I still feel partly satisfied after 6 squaremeters of fresh sheetmetal installation. Thats approx. 7 squareyards... Now it's time to concentrate on my HD customization for couple of weeks and then continue with this lovely Dodge Quote
T120 Posted January 30, 2009 Report Posted January 30, 2009 ..That's quite a project you undertook.Great to see you have the enthusiasm and skills to see it through:cool: Quote
Fireball Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Posted January 30, 2009 Trust me Ralph I did not ask for this, but I never give up. I just want this puppy to be in a condition where it can be driven daily, it'll last for couple of decades more and drop some jaws every now and then. Simple as that:p As a refreshener from last winter, these were my floors... we went through this and ended into this Quote
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