Thanks. 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. Clearly there was nothing left.
Next: the disintegrating quarter panels.
After that: two pages of issues to mitigate.
MONTE CARLO "COPO" Monte Carlo SS - Turbosaurus Build (Swinging Dick Racing's c*ck got bent... she bounced a little too high & hard, & came down awkwardly)
- Thread starter motorheadmike
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Thanks. 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. Clearly there was nothing left.
Next: the disintegrating quarter panels.
After that: two pages of issues to mitigate.
And this is the nicer replacement body you are fixing! You guys have it rough. -30° and your cars disintegrate at an accelerated pace. I feel for you.
I am just grateful for a heated and well equipped shop to work in. I remember a time not that long ago that I was stuck in a single, and then a double, unheated garage with limited resources and nothing but my navel to contemplate until Spring. Lots of crazy hours spent from April to October getting projects done while racing. Now I mostly get to fart around during the Summer (only fixing what breaks) and slave over the Winter on the big problems/ideas.
I will get to address the real sins that are undoubtly hiding in this car next year - I just need the lift installed to separate the body from the chassis. Then I can do the wild stuff I have stored in the back of my grey matter.
So the time has come.
Five minutes later...
Out came Mr. Sandblaster. I regret nothing!
Now I get to build back better (too soon?)... from the inside out.
Five minutes later...
Out came Mr. Sandblaster. I regret nothing!
Now I get to build back better (too soon?)... from the inside out.
So the time has come.
View attachment 189683
View attachment 189684
Five minutes later...
View attachment 189685 View attachment 189686
Out came Mr. Sandblaster. I regret nothing!
View attachment 189688 View attachment 189689
Now I get to build back better (too soon?)... from the inside out.
Not that I need to belabour the process of shaping sheet metal there are many great resources such as Rktpwrd and my favourite YouTube metal guys:
Fitzee
and
Karl Fisher
Ironically all three of these guys are from Canaderp. Anyway, this isn't my first rodeo in doing sheetmetal fabrication... as the previous 166 pages (and things in the background of these pictures) will show, I only put the effort in where it nets the measured return. But, I'll be damned if the pressure to not make a hot mess out of this isn't high.
You can kind of see it here - after grinding, running the TIG torch over the welded area really smooths things out.
Fit-up, not sh*t-up. Surprisingly.
Thanks to the driver's side quarter being complete and undisturbed it shows that the bottom of the fender lip is only folded over not formed or welded. Modern cars have much more advanced tooling that make for more complex stampings. How times change. Tossed some rust converter on, shot some primer and got to burning it in.
With that all done. And some crying. It was time to assess the PS front lower which is pock-marked like Whoop Goldberg's @ss.
The lines look high, and the amount to be removed looks excessive, but - if the rear was any indication there were some surprises waiting. Plus, the rust on the inside can be seen through the belt retractor recess. Spot-welds, so many spot-welds.
More.
And more. Somebody should fix that hole in the floor...
Yup. Surprises. No, your rust free G-body isn't.
I was able to pop it off it one complete piece. Will make a great template.
I cleaned the surfaces off, made a plan, tidied up the tools, swept the floor, and called it a day.
I am trying to balance the depth of repairs against the level of invasiveness/effort needed to get a good result. I could go much deeper, but at that point it is headed toward a rotisserie and an all-in approach. I'd rather work on a rolling restoration. With any luck this will hold up for another couple of decades in a pampered environment.
Fitzee
and
Karl Fisher
Ironically all three of these guys are from Canaderp. Anyway, this isn't my first rodeo in doing sheetmetal fabrication... as the previous 166 pages (and things in the background of these pictures) will show, I only put the effort in where it nets the measured return. But, I'll be damned if the pressure to not make a hot mess out of this isn't high.
You can kind of see it here - after grinding, running the TIG torch over the welded area really smooths things out.
Fit-up, not sh*t-up. Surprisingly.
Thanks to the driver's side quarter being complete and undisturbed it shows that the bottom of the fender lip is only folded over not formed or welded. Modern cars have much more advanced tooling that make for more complex stampings. How times change. Tossed some rust converter on, shot some primer and got to burning it in.
With that all done. And some crying. It was time to assess the PS front lower which is pock-marked like Whoop Goldberg's @ss.
The lines look high, and the amount to be removed looks excessive, but - if the rear was any indication there were some surprises waiting. Plus, the rust on the inside can be seen through the belt retractor recess. Spot-welds, so many spot-welds.
More.
And more. Somebody should fix that hole in the floor...
Yup. Surprises. No, your rust free G-body isn't.
I was able to pop it off it one complete piece. Will make a great template.
I cleaned the surfaces off, made a plan, tidied up the tools, swept the floor, and called it a day.
I am trying to balance the depth of repairs against the level of invasiveness/effort needed to get a good result. I could go much deeper, but at that point it is headed toward a rotisserie and an all-in approach. I'd rather work on a rolling restoration. With any luck this will hold up for another couple of decades in a pampered environment.
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Nice work! I am all to familiar with similar issues. I was unaware of a spot weld cutter. I am new to metal work, but that looks like it works nicely.
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