BUILD THREAD Project Olds Cool (Recognition!!)

malibujustin

Master Mechanic
Mar 11, 2017
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After the welding and grinding, the corner looks great where the moulding sits. Good work. Inspired to get on the roof of the malibu. If I can catch a break from the heat and thunderstorms. And btw, you know everything will be bumping or touching that smashed finger while it's sore. Ughh. Never fails. Looking good though mr Donovan
 
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Texas82GP

Just-a-worm
Apr 3, 2015
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Awesome work Donovan, as always. Sorry to hear about your finger. Been there.
 
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Blake442

Geezer
Apr 24, 2007
6,864
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Minneapolis
I would discourage removing the existing studs from the windshield opening.
The amount of time you hold the trigger can affect the depth of the stud and it's possible to sink them too deep, which will prevent the clip from sliding into place. Not enough time, and the studs can snap off when the clip is installed. You'll get the hang of it. I only had to re-do 3 out of like 24 or so. When I did my 1/4 windows, I installed a clip onto each stud right away to ensure it was strong enough and at the right height.
After 1 coat of sealer, I masked the area off from future priming so that the material build-up would not prevent the clip installation after paint.

Also be careful of the corners on the notched collar extension. Since the two cut-aways leave pointy corners instead of the smooth full-circle, it can create a hot-spot where all your voltage is running thru a pin-point size area and it will burn thru the sheet metal.
I had it happen in a few spots on my car. I would suggest taking a file or whatever and just rounding off the sharp 90-degree angles...
 
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Texas82GP

Just-a-worm
Apr 3, 2015
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I may even end up grinding off some or all of the existing ones in the windshield channel and replacing them with these just so that I can thoroughly clean out all the old paint and crud from underneath them first.

Donovan,

Can't you just get in there with a wire wheel to clean it up? I think that's what we did on the Camaro. I know we got it all down to bare metal because my OCD wouldn't have allowed me to not do so, and we didn't remove any of the studs in the windshield opening.
 
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Z48LT1

Greasemonkey
Oct 10, 2015
162
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Space Coast, Florida
Donovan,

Outstanding work and informative description, as always. I have a kind of mundane question: what kind of wheel/stone do you use to grind the weld at the inside corner of the window? After you've ground down the outside surface "flat" so the horizontal edge of the window opening blends with the front surface of the A-pillar?

Thanks in advance - Gary
 
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Rktpwrd

Builder of Cool Shjt
Supporting Member
Feb 2, 2015
4,152
23,828
113
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
After the welding and grinding, the corner looks great where the moulding sits. Good work. Inspired to get on the roof of the malibu. If I can catch a break from the heat and thunderstorms. And btw, you know everything will be bumping or touching that smashed finger while it's sore. Ughh. Never fails. Looking good though mr Donovan

Thank you David.
I'm glad to be part of an inspiration for you.

It's coming along, just more slowly than I'd like. I'm a bit concerned with having the bare metal exposed for too long, I really want to get to proceeding with the bodywork soon before flash or surface rust has a chance to take hold.

You're still struggling with finding a window in the weather to work on the car? That's no good. It's frustrating relying on Mother Nature to cooperate, I can sympathize with that. Hopefully the weather will improve for you guys soon!

Nice to hear from you again!
:)

I would discourage removing the existing studs from the windshield opening.
The amount of time you hold the trigger can affect the depth of the stud and it's possible to sink them too deep, which will prevent the clip from sliding into place. Not enough time, and the studs can snap off when the clip is installed. You'll get the hang of it. I only had to re-do 3 out of like 24 or so. When I did my 1/4 windows, I installed a clip onto each stud right away to ensure it was strong enough and at the right height.
After 1 coat of sealer, I masked the area off from future priming so that the material build-up would not prevent the clip installation after paint.

Also be careful of the corners on the notched collar extension. Since the two cut-aways leave pointy corners instead of the smooth full-circle, it can create a hot-spot where all your voltage is running thru a pin-point size area and it will burn thru the sheet metal.
I had it happen in a few spots on my car. I would suggest taking a file or whatever and just rounding off the sharp 90-degree angles...

Blake, awesome insight and advice. Thank you sir!

My only thought behind removing the existing ones was just to get the surface shiny clean underneath them. I also have nicked a couple with the Clean and Strip wheel and the grinder. I figured I'd just replace them all, but if you don't think that's a wise idea, I'll refrain from it.

There's nothing quite like factory original when it comes to stuff like that, they're already at the right depth and in the correct location, so I'll leave well enough alone. None of them are damaged to the point that they absolutely need to be replaced thankfully. It'll just be getting the missing ones around the back window in the right spots.

Good info on how the depth will change depending on the length of time on the trigger. That's why I plan on doing several test ones first before attempting it on the car. Once I do get to the ones on the car, I will be test fitting the clips immediately afterwards to ensure they're perfect.

Thanks very much for the info, it's invaluable and greatly appreciated.
:notworthy:

Donovan,

Can't you just get in there with a wire wheel to clean it up? I think that's what we did on the Camaro. I know we got it all down to bare metal because my OCD wouldn't have allowed me to not do so, and we didn't remove any of the studs in the windshield opening.

I'm generally not a big fan of wire wheels Jared.
I've used them plenty of times in the past and in my experience there's usually better ways or tools/products to use that provide better results. But in this instance, it may be the only option, something that will get in there without further damaging the trim rivets.

I will give that a try and see how it does. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks again for the feedback and suggestions/advice everyone. Keep it coming!
I'm always open to learning from others experiences.

Donovan
 
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Rktpwrd

Builder of Cool Shjt
Supporting Member
Feb 2, 2015
4,152
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113
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Donovan,

Outstanding work and informative description, as always. I have a kind of mundane question: what kind of wheel/stone do you use to grind the weld at the inside corner of the window? After you've ground down the outside surface "flat" so the horizontal edge of the window opening blends with the front surface of the A-pillar?

Thanks in advance - Gary

Hi Gary

No such thing as a mundane question. It's the details in things like this that can help us out in our own endeavours.
I've occasionally received requests from other members on here to cover some of the tools I use to achieve my results too, so I guess I'm long overdue to address this for everyone.

To answer your question, I use a combination of different tools. Two of my most used tools for my metal working projects are these two air powered die grinders.
I have a 90 degree one, and a 45 degree one, the 90 has a 2" Roloc backing pad on it, and the 45 has a 3" Roloc pad.
The Roloc backing pads are extremely handy for quick grinding disc changes.

The 2" 90 degree:

IMG_3038.JPG


The 3" 45 degree:

IMG_3039.JPG


Both:

IMG_3040.JPG


For the mostly flat areas before I get into the curve, I'll use whichever one of these I find fits best. I'll use the 3" one if I have a longer area that I want to keep flat without waves, and I'll use the 2" one if I'm not concerned with keeping things perfectly flat but still want to knock down the material.

When I get up into the radius of the curve itself, I use the moulding as my pattern, and lay it over top of the flat ground welds. I'll trace around the moulding where I think it's going to sit, then grind back towards my line. I'll stop and check my progress several times with the moulding before I reach my line, so that I don't accidentally remove too much material. Patience is key here.

As far as grinding the radius itself, I usually use a variety of carbide burrs. I find stones wear down too quickly and don't get me the desired results.

Die grinder with a random double cut carbide burr:

IMG_3041.JPG


My selection of burrs, stones, flap wheels, etc:

IMG_3044.JPG



The truly tricky part is to round over the corner once you have the shape right. I can't really be of much help here, I use and have used any number of things to get me the desired result. Flap wheels on the die grinder, half round files, full round files, careful work with the 2" flat pad on the die grinder, whatever works.

Die grinder with a flap wheel:

IMG_3042.JPG


I've also used the Clean and Strip wheel to lightly round over the corners sometimes too:

IMG_3043.JPG


It's certainly not necessary to have this many different die grinders, it's just what I've accumulated over the years. I do find it extremely handy tho, not having to change attachments in just one tool all the time.

I hope this helps you out some, if you or anyone else has any questions about these or any other tools I use, don't hesitate to ask. I'd be happy to accommodate.

Donovan
 
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drogg1

G-Body Guru
Jan 25, 2009
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Hi Gary

The 2" 90 degree:

The 3" 45 degree:

Die grinder with a random double cut carbide burr:

My selection of burrs, stones, flap wheels, etc:

Die grinder with a flap wheel:

I've also used the Clean and Strip wheel to lightly round over the corners sometimes too:

It's certainly not necessary to have this many different die grinders, it's just what I've accumulated over the years. I do find it extremely handy tho, not having to change attachments in just one tool all the time.

I hope this helps you out some, if you or anyone else has any questions about these or any other tools I use, don't hesitate to ask. I'd be happy to accommodate.

Donovan

This makes me want to go out and buy a bunch of die grinders. Seems like it would be nice to swap to a 'fresh' grinder when wanting a different attachment. Also, that's a nice collection of burrs, stones, etc.
 
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Texas82GP

Just-a-worm
Apr 3, 2015
7,981
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Spring, Texas
We need an update!
 
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