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i know what you fellas are talking about--i've been building a little modified body out of a 1920's studebaker and after alot of melted metal
using both gas and mig i've found little spot welds with the mig is the easiest and gives the best result.
i've got a little scratch start tig but have trouble controlling the heat on that with thin metal- i really need to practice more.
i look forward to more pictures and progress!!
The firewall came out looking great Gator! Very nicely done! I too prefer the smaller sized Mig's for sheetmetal work, I can do it with my Lincoln 200 but I like the smaller Mig gun and .030 wire on most sheetmetal work.
Thanks for the props.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Severson
Yea, I wish I could use the MM250, cause it has a really nice gun, better feel and easier to use. The HF gun feels like a toy but it does get the job done. Looking for an old Miller or Lincoln 110v/90amp machine.
With the new floors and firewall in, my media blaster called and said that he had an opening so I loaded everything up and headed off to the blaster.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Severson
Attachment 58742
Car was blasted with walnut shells and aluminum oxide. It came back looking great.
Attachment 58740 Attachment 58741
I wasn't sure what to expect with the blasting finished, but I was pleasantly surprised:cool: to find that there was no additional rust or bondo anywhere on the body, doors or fenders.
Attachment 58739
Time to get started with skim coating and initial blocking. Looking for all them little pesky dings, bumps and waves. I'm thinking about a two tone champagne over black paint job so I want the body to be dead straight.
Lookin' good, Terpngator!! A '39 Chevy 4 door would have been my first car at age 14 but my uncle who owned it decided he'd rather let it continue to rot out in the field.:eek::CRY: So, my dad and I continued to look and found a '39 Ford tudor sedan instead.:) We had it ready to go by the time I was 15 1/2. I had it for many years and loved it but still always enjoy seeing what people do with their '39 Chevies. :D
crikey that looks great.did he use a rotisserie to blast it over and under or did he do it on the trailor.how much of it could he not get at?reason i ask is i hadn't considered media blasting for when i do my next vehicle, i had only thought of dipping it.
keep up the good work
mark
Hey Mark,Quote:
Originally Posted by sharpmark
Every inch of the car was blasted so I assume that some sort of method to get under the car was used. When I did the build on my 36 Ford I had it dipped and ran into problems. Dispite my best efforts, I was not able to neturalize all the resuidal left in some of the tight cracks and crevices causing the paint to lift in some spots. Fortunately, it was all on the inside so no harm, no foul.
It did, however, steer me away from chemical dipping.
Very nice work! I've heard a lot of guys say they shy away from chemical dips unless the car can sit for 12-18 months and air out. So in other words, they don't do it. :) Someday I'd like to do to my 40 what you are your 39. Completely remove everything and do it all. Maybe later. haha
Duno Ryan---if I had that Ford I'd drive it like I stole it:LOL: Nice looking ride.Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
So--some of the body panels, and the body proper, had a few nick and dings in the so I'm in the process of finding them, hammer and dolly and skim coat.
I blocked off most of the putty that I put on.
Attachment 58842
The doors weren't the worst of it. The front and rear fenders were pretty dinged up also
Attachment 58843
Rear doors
Attachment 58845
The guys that stripped the car were a little concerned about doing the hood because it's pretty thin with not much backing.
Attachment 58850
Warping was a concern so I opted to strip it by hand:( 40 year old lacquer paint done NOT like to come off.:CRY:
Attachment 58846
Finally, after half a box of 80 grit, got it stripped----
Attachment 58848
Disassembled and in primer:D
Attachment 58847
Attachment 58849
WOW, that's looking good! Thanks for the update..
Thanks 34-40. Trying to weld in some panels on the fenders right now and the welder is giving me fits. There must be a better way to spend ur retirement:LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
Dang! I hope not! I'm close but not quite there yet and I want to do at least 1 more!!Quote:
Originally Posted by TerpnGator
Looks great. Hood looks new!
The body proper is in very good shape. I've got a few small spots on the top and sides above the rear fenders. I cut all of the old lead out of the body and replace with DuraGlass. Fewer problem when it comes to painting.
Attachment 58860
Attachment 58861
I need to weld up all the openings in the deck lid. Electric popped and I'm installing a back up camera also.
Attachment 58862
So--When I started on the rear fenders I discovered that where the running board bolts into the bottom of the rear fender, there is a backing brace to support the running board. Under that brace was a ton of rust and rot.
Cut the old brace out and cut out all the rust.
Attachment 58864
Attachment 58865
Fabed up a new brace from 16ga steel and welded it in.
Attachment 58863
Welded up the holes where the rust was.
Attachment 58866Attachment 58867[
Wow, another great build! All this in one year is amazing. I'll look forward
to see how you like the Air Ride, look's great. I upgraded from buggy spring to
coil overs this time, and had looked at Air Ride.
Take care, Rich
Quote:
Originally Posted by RichB
Thanks Rich,
Sweet A you got there. Second build I've done with air ride, but first time with SHOCKWAVES. First one was bagged. I think the SO
HOCKWAVES will give me a "stable" ride.
I pondered buying fiberglass fenders, but after seeing a 37 Chevy that had glass fenders front and rear, I decided to keep everything steel.
The rear fenders needed a little attention besides the rust. The previous owner really didn't try to hammer & dolly any of the dents out. Look like he just puttied right over everything.
Attachment 58871
Attachment 58872
Got everything straightened out and skim coated.
Attachment 58870
Block sanded and ready for final sanding. I still need to install a flush fit fuel fill door.
Attachment 58869
great work again-i envy your ability to be so fastidious.
do you have to bolt the whole car together again to check fitment of everything before painting?
thanks for all the pictures
mark
Hey Mark,Quote:
Originally Posted by sharpmark
Yea--Once I've got all the panels blocked, I'll bolt everything together and check that all is well with fit and alignment. This build didn't start out like this. She was going to be a driver, but I wanted to touch every part on the car this time. Don't know if it's my last build, but it certainly my most extensive one.
I've really got to learn how to develop a plan and then how to FOLLOW that plan:HMMM:
I decided that I didn't care for the louver vents in the front fenders on the 39. SO----had to cut them out and fab up some panels to go in.
The stock fender
Attachment 58923
I cut the louver out and cut some patch panels from 20ga CRS:
Attachment 58926
Got the patch panel in place and started tacking in place:
Attachment 58924
Panel completely tacked in and ready to grind and hammer weld flat.
Attachment 58925
I'm with you! All my plans are forgotten moments after I make' em :LOL:
Should be very different without the louvers.. I guess I'll have to wait and see the new "look".
i reckon it'll look far better.
i think louvres should only be on bonnets or boot lids
mark
Very nice work here gator! When I was collecting parts for my old 39, I swear the most expensive trim part were the chrome vent pieces that went on these front fenders! I always wanted to do what you are doing. I bet it'll look amazing. I'm also thinking of smoothing the deck lid on my 40 and putting the license plate in the roll pan. Then install a backing camera, but not real sure how to execute it yet. Keep up the great work!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 34_40
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharpmark
Thanks Guys,Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
Although I've built several cars, I have never gone this far with a car before. I watched a lot of YouTube videos and went to a body shop near where I live and watched as they replaced panels etc. I figured the worst I could do was muck it up in which case I would take it to a guy near me that does very nice restorations.
I've talked with him quite a bit, but is naturally reluctant to give me TOO much guidance. And despite the fact that I would NEVER be his competitor, this is how he makes his living.
I actually have all the trim parts for the car, but I just thought that the car would look better without the vents, door hinges and all the stuff that hangs off of the trunk. It is a moordoor, 9 door(if it has more than 2, it may as well have 9) etc. so anything I can do to smooth it out will assist in the looks of the car, to me anyway:3dSMILE:
The biggest challenge has been the hidden hinges. I do a little, fit the door up on it, then do a little more. They really don't give you a lot of guidance when you buy the kit. I'll post some pictures up on that soon.
The deck lid had several holes in it.
The large hole, with smaller holes on top and bottom, was for the tag light housing.
Attachment 59143
The smaller hole at top was for the tag bracket. I will probably put a fold up tag bracket on the car.
Attachment 59142
And of course, I had to fill the key tumbler hole as the trunk will be elect. popped.
Attachment 59141
Stitch welding is the only way to do this without getting too much heat onto the panel and to keep from burning through.
Attachment 59144
Attachment 59146
I hammered and ground the welds down flat.
Attachment 59148
I applied a layer of Duraglas. Sanded most of that off and applied a layer of bondo.
Attachment 59145
I sprayed some black "guide coat" on and began block sanding it off. I try to get it as smooth as possible before applying a final coat of primer.
Attachment 59147
Very nice work! I'll be doing this to my car this winter. I'd really like to do hidden hinges as well but i've heard it's one of the hardest mods to complete correctly without ruining your car. I don't know If I'll do them yet or not.
Yea Ryan,Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
Ya know, I talked to a lot of people and posted on several forums about hidden hinges. I had not, previously, attempted hidden hinges although I had thought about it often. I, too, heard horror stories and warnings of dire consequences for failing to make the right cuts etc, etc. Truth is, unless you cut out one of your pillars and through it in the scrap heap, there is nothing you can do that can't be undone by the right person.
That is the mindset I finally arrived at after talking to people that I was certain had performed the mod. I first searched for videos of the mod on YouTube and found a couple by Hagan Street Rods that were very good. So---after watching Hagans videos, and a couple others I found, and talking to a guy online that had done it several times I decided to forge on.
Believe me, making that first cut took me about 3 hrs:( One of the Hagan videos I watched suggested that you should allow 20 hrs for the job. I've got one hinge done and I've got about 20 hrs in that one alone:D
I bought my kit from Rocky Hinge Rocky Hinge Welcomes The Street but many places sell the kit. Rocky Hinge and Hagan Street Rods are the 2 that I use the most. They guys at Rocky are VERY helpful and will talk you through anything you need. I'm sure the guys at Hagan are just as good. I'll post up a few pics of the door hinge now.
*******I put the hinge up on the pillar to mark the location.
Attachment 59232
*************Got the hinge in and braced on the back side.
Attachment 59234
*************Finish welding and cleaning up.
Attachment 59233
You can do this Ryan!!:D:D:D:D
:LOL: Thanks for the pics and info. Oh yeah, and the nudge. Haha
Before I finish the hidden hinges I decided to take care of the remaining rust in the roll pan and tool tray (trunk). Here is what I was dealing with:
There was rust in the roll pan where the bumper brackets went through. The body is "2 piece" in that area which was an opportunity for water to settle and start the dreaded process:(
Attachment 59476
The rust extended into the area where the rear fenders bolt up as well.
Attachment 59477
Both sides
Attachment 59478
Rust in both corners of the roll pan.
Attachment 59539
So----fabbed up a few panels and welded them in.
Attachment 59540
Attachment 59541
The area at the side of the roll pan where the rear fender bolts up showed beginning signs of rusting. Decided to cut it all out and weld in new metal.
Attachment 59542
Both wheel wells, where the rear fenders bolt on, showed signs of rusting. Particularly around the captured nuts.
Cut it all out and installed new metal.
Attachment 59545
While I was at it, I cut out a piece of metal to fill in the cowl vent.
Attachment 59546
Nice work Gator! 3 of the 4 39's I had had sever rust in the same areas you are repairing right now. Are you filling in the cowl vent to avoid a leak in the future, or just need more room for an A/C kit?
Thanks Ryan,Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
A friend has a 38 coupe that is rusted in the same areas as well. That tool tray in the trunk, and the fact that the truck lids leak so bad contribute to that area rusting. I filled the cowl vent for looks, and the car will be A/C.
So>>It took me a full 30 hrs to install this first hidden hinge.(first ones ever attempted) To say that they almost kicked my butt is an understatement:(
Started with the rear doors, which are suicide.
I tell you......it took me a full day of measuring and staring at that pillar to take a zip wheel to it.:eek:
Attachment 59562
I clamped the hinge up to the pillar and marked the placement.
Attachment 59561
Then I had to figure out where the pockets went in the doors. I set the doors in the opening and marked them out before doing any cutting. I used 2.5" channel to form the pockets for the hinge arm.
Attachment 59564
After the hinge was installed, I had to brace it on the back side. I used .5" square tube.
Attachment 59565
Everything done and the door hung. Got to get after the rest now:cool:
Attachment 59563
That looks really nice! I'm thinking I might do mine, but we'll see how many parts get purchased first. :LOL: By the way, how'd those front fenders turn out? You're dragging that out on purpose aren't you? :LOL:
HAHAHA Dont U know it :LOL::LOL::LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe
I got them welded up......just need to throw some mud on em and block em. Going to NSRA nats in Tampa this w/e so not much getin done on Saturday.:)
