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How far gone is too far?


Rodney Bullock

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I found my '39 Plym conv cpe sitting in a field in Montana in '96.

The first pix tells the whole story, my friends thought I was nuts..

The second pix shows the car 14 years later. Nothing is impossible, some things just take longer and cost more...Bill

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I found my '39 Plym conv cpe sitting in a field in Montana in '96.

The first pix tells the whole story, my friends thought I was nuts..

The second pix shows the car 14 years later. Nothing is impossible, some things just take longer and cost more...Bill

Gorgeous! Nice work.

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I found my '39 Plym conv cpe sitting in a field in Montana in '96.

The first pix tells the whole story, my friends thought I was nuts..

The second pix shows the car 14 years later. Nothing is impossible, some things just take longer and cost more...Bill

Now that is inspriration for us all. If My wife saw that she would have me commited.;)

Now Don, I can see you behind the wheel of a Duster. What I can't see is if you got your arm out the window or not. That pak of PALL MALL's rolled up to your shoulder:)

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I like that, yes the Duster/Demon body I thought was the last of the coupe bodies. Looking at the Dodge in the barn it all has to do with how much you want the car. There is a car I like alot it's a 1954 Olds convert. I think they are really nice. The 1957 Ford covert is my all time favorite however that will be the last car I will own. I found a 1954 olds at a yard in Virginia the town is the next one down from Glouster VA. It wa in the back with stuff growing out of it. I thought about long and hard but it had been outside to long. I think I can find some pic's of it

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The most far gone car I've ever tried to fix up was a 53 Willys Aero. I still have the car, seems no one else thinks it is worth fixing. The previous owner was going to cut it up into patch panels for other projects. Being a uni-body it has been quite the challenge. Not having a garage and a rainy summer/fall last year plus a snowy winter has meant not much is getting done real fast. A few pics of what I'm dealing with:

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In the second pic there is a piece of dog chain visible wrapped around a piece of angle steel. Somewhere along the line someone welded a piece of angle iron from the rear front leaf spring mount to the front of the uni-body and bolted the trans crossmember to it.

Over the years the weld let loose up front and thus the crossmember hung down. The first time I got the beast running I decided to take it down the road. The trans kept popping out of gear because the crossmember hanging down on one side. Wanting to take out the car for another drive I got a piece of square tubing and a dog chain and did a quickie jury rig fix. Second problem arose, car was so rusty that when I sat on the seat the floor would sag and hit the driveshaft. A piece of strategically placed wood solved that problem.

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There is a ton of poorly done body work on the car. I swear most of the car is made out of window screen and body filler :eek: I took out a 10x10 square of window screen/body filler patch out from behind the door. Wood was also used to "fix" the rocker panels. The sheet metal was actually nailed to the wood. I'll never know if the hack who did this was poor, didn't know any better, skill-less, or trying to pull a fast one on someone.

I've been trying to piece it together out of what ever I have laying around. I've arc-welded in some patch panels but sometimes it is really frustrating. Tons of warpage not to mention that welding almost 60 year old rusted paper thin metal blowing through at least a few times is pretty much guaranteed. Few more pics:

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I saw one of those Willys for sale local here about 2 years ago. Not sure what he was asking, but it is a bit of a rare bird. Only one I have ever seen in person around here. I thought the big W emblems were awesome.

That is a perfect car to hone your panelbeating and welding skills on.

It will be really cool when it is done and likely get a lot of "what kind of car is that?" everywhere you go with it.

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That is some nice work. Tell me. I was in a class that taugh how to weld. The mig welder I was using works well with like new metal. I welded two metal panels together and saw how the weld goes though the metal, when it comes to rusty metal is arch welding better? I see you have some good welds there:)

Young Ed, there is nothing therehowever it still can be fixed....I think:rolleyes:

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Young Ed, there is nothing therehowever it still can be fixed....I think:rolleyes:

You'd have to have one heck of a set of patterns or a second wagon to copy from. And a LOT of time and patience oh and some $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Plymouth-Woody-front-clip-parts-48-47-frame-engine_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZalgoQ3dLVIQ26ituQ3dUCIQ26otnQ3d3Q26poQ3dLVIQ26psQ3d63Q26clkidQ3d6759109328939364366QQ_trksidZp3286Q2em7QQcategoryZ42611QQitemZ190432292287

!B86PiGw!2k~$(KGrHqJ,!lMEy+jCvyD6BM4VD2bOO!~~0_12.JPG

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That is some nice work. Tell me. I was in a class that taugh how to weld. The mig welder I was using works well with like new metal. I welded two metal panels together and saw how the weld goes though the metal, when it comes to rusty metal is arch welding better? I see you have some good welds there:)

Young Ed, there is nothing therehowever it still can be fixed....I think:rolleyes:

Rodney here is the trunk, and floor area under the rear seat on my 47 Chrysler Coupe. I had a lot of rust through, because crud,water leaves were not able to drain, there were no windows in the car.

I did all my welding with a Cheap Campbell Hausfeld 110 volt Mig( with .030 flux-core wire), I know my welds are not that great looking, but there is good penetration, and it has held up well.

With a decent welder( Miller for me), with .022 mig wire, they would be much purtier, but with mig wire and gas, I think I would have to have much cleaner metal at the weld sites prior to welding.

Flux-core is a messier looking weld, but you can weld in the wind, and it is stronger than mig with c02 argon gas.

Trying to arc weld tin, would be tricky, gas welding would be probably better than all of the others, but I do not know how to gas weld yet.

Anyway, I had a lot of welding,fabricating, and then metal prepping, but it is okay, a real restorer would cringe, and cut everything I did out, and do it more professionally I am sure.......here are 2 pics of the trunk, and under back seat floor

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Edited by Rockwood
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Hey, the welds don't have to look pretty and the metalwork need not be perfect. We are all in the process of learning and improving everything in our lives everyday. If you did it yourself and it is solid, Be Proud of it. You did it and in the process saved something that would otherwise end up as scrap. Most of the people I have met that criticize peoples personal metal work and restorations can't operate a tube of glue let alone even attempt to fabricate and weld something.

Rust is a P.I.T.A. when welding. So is undercoating.

Arc welding thin metal is very difficult. MIG is about the easiest to learn and with .023 and CO2/Argon mix is not bad on sheetmetal. Flux core works also and is better for use in the outdoors/wind. It is a little harder because the wire is thicker. Gas welding and brazing is good, but the heat is spread out and warpage is pretty extreme at times.

In my opinion, TIG is the best for sheetmetal. It is not always practical, not terribly fast and certainly represents more investment in equipment than the others. But the end product is fantastic if done correctly.

I taught myself how to weld and braze by all those methods and still learn more each time I do them. I just love to weld.

I have been out in the garage a lot this winter, semi-cold but loving every minute of fabrication and welding I get to do.

Hope to get back to my transmission cover soon.

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Young Ed, There is nothing back there. You got to have some kind of constitution to fix that, so far Jim could fix that I don't know anyone else that could fix that

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Been trying, ain't easy that's for sure. All the pink spots are body filler. A few bits of my own "repair" work. Arc welded sheet metal:

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The attached photo is the sill plate repair I did. It is made out of a cover from an old IH bailer, computer case, and a bed frame. All arc welded as well.

Nice work, what is "Brazing"

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Outer panels brazed are prone to paint bubbling later after the fact, fine for inner panels floor etc. I would not do exterior panel repair with braze, as it does bubble under paint and filler later, not sure the reason why.

I have had panels brazed in the past, before I bought a mig welder, I was not doing the brazing, but always noticed bubble ups under the paint later. I have not seen this under my mig welded repairs....

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I think that the flux on the brazing rod is the culprit in making the paint bubble. I wonder if a thorough cleaning of the brazed panel before painting would help.

There is flux on flux-core mig wire too, Im grind down my welds, and wire wheel them before apllying fillers, not sure that makes a difference or not. I do not know what might cause the braze to bubble, could it be the bras content, maybe Tim Adams will have an answer.

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There is flux on flux-core mig wire too, Im grind down my welds, and wire wheel them before apllying fillers, not sure that makes a difference or not. I do not know what might cause the braze to bubble, COULD IT BE THE BRAS CONTENT, maybe Tim Adams will have an answer.

I would like to know what's on your mind Fred....HHMMM:D:D:eek:

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