That is a nice piece of copper there. You just don't find scrap pieces like that anymore to use as tools. Nice work there. I admire your grinding and finishing skills!
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That is a nice piece of copper there. You just don't find scrap pieces like that anymore to use as tools. Nice work there. I admire your grinding and finishing skills!
Hello Robert!
Today Kyle finished up another loose end, tying in the bottom of the NOS quarter panel.. A bit of hammer bumping to get the panels aligned...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202203.jpg
Plug weld holes drilled and filled.....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202204.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202205.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202207.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202208.jpg
Then he turned his attention to duplicating a second half for the front divider panel for the rear seat.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202209.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202210.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202211.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202212.jpg
Using the Erco kick shrinker....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202213.jpg
Needs a bit of fine tuning still but he's getting there...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202214.jpg
And I was making progress on more blocking of the front end body parts, at least until an emergency phone call from one of our tenants indicated some water pipe issues from the recent low temps... This is what I was greeted with....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16..._163201468.jpg
The hole to the left is where the plumber had put the pipe through, right against the outside wall. Then the brainiac insulators failed to caulk, and then put insulation over TOP of the pipes, keeping them well acclimated to any outside temps. I cut some access holes in the wall and relocated the one pipe farther away from the outer wall board where insulation could go between the pipe and the wall, as it should have been done from the get go.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16..._195630853.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16..._195729801.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...658368_HDR.jpg
And here's the culprit...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16..._211715802.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16..._211721433.jpg
I'll let things dry out overnight, and finish tomorrow with adding a bit of caulk and insulation. Drywall/painter due in early this week to close things up..
Shame about the house.. make sure the plumber is informed, even if he won't or doesn't offer a refund - he needs to learn that he made a mistake and caused serious damage.
Wow you do houses tooo! Nice resolution, to a poorly thought out placement on the plumbers part. We are fortunate not to be so affected by the elements as to get freezing pipes, but my friends who live in colder climates including my brother, seem to have major problems with water pipes, sewer lines and sump pumps. My brothers house was so poorly designed, that heavy rainstorms have left his Finished basement flooded several times over the last few years!
Yeah, I wish the better half would stop buying them... Like I don't have enough to do! :LOL:
Here's the insulation installed on the correct side...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16..._110518536.jpg
While removing the soggy drywall we also noticed the installation of the ceiling boxes for the two light fixtures was shaky at best. Electrician must have been related to the plumber... So we pulled down the old and also installed some new ceiling boxes as well, moving the center light fixture closer to the stove where it should have been..
All cleaned up, ready for the drywall..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...755961_HDR.jpg
That stinks to see the damage, at least it wasn't worse. Nice repairs on it too!
We lucked out in that I was on the phone with the tenant discussing the "frozen pipes" issue they were having when the sink finally started working again. Then she indicated there was water coming out of the ceiling vent, so I was able to immediately direct them to the water main shutoff to limit the damage. I'd hate to see the mess if nobody was home..
Here's the fitment of the two seat panels together, all clamped up for welding..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202217.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202218.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202220.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202223.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202227.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202228.jpg
Test fit..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202229.jpg
Once the welds by the tunnel relief were dressed, the sharp corners (inside and out) were removed to help prevent any cracks from starting..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202226.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202230.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202231.jpg
Then on to fabbing up the other side..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202232.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202234.jpg
Kyle using the tipping die, I was relegated to bead roller powered option...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202235.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202236.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202239.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202240.jpg
The two short flanges were bent in the press brake.. Then on to shrinking the flanges in the Erco. You'll have to visualize this one as we didn't get pictures. ;)
Comparing the two...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202245.jpg
Test fit...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202246.jpg
Seat cushion will need a widening kit..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202247.jpg
Our upholsterer stopped by the other day and discussed interior components. We are going to make some arm rests for the rear seat similar to what is used in the 55 convertible. To make room, we're going to keep the bottom seat cushion it's original width and just add foam to the corners to form the radius. So the sides for the seat risers were trimmed once more and test fitted...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202261.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202260.jpg
The center of the seat riser was trimmed for the new size while leaving the flanges intact for later trimming..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202266.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202267.jpg
Relief cuts added to tweak the radius, test fit into the car, and the top flanges clamped in place.. While clamped, the bottom flanges are trimmed for welding.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202268.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202269.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202270.jpg
Copper backer made for welding up the corner..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202272.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202274.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202275.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202276.jpg
All clamped up for the next one...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202277.jpg
Seat riser completed, test fit of the rear seat...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202278.jpg
Corners of the lower cushion will have some foam added to fill out to a radius. Seat back will have some end cushions added to match the width of the lower seat..
Blocking out of the driver's door is the last to go, and all the front sheet metal will be ready to come off for the next round of epoxy primer..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202280.jpg
Great work on those panels!
Robert. I hope you don't think I am stalking you! It seems every time I discover a new hot rod or metal working site , You are there ! Great work as always and very inspirational , but I have to ask you something . I first meet you on tri five .com like 8 0r 9 years ago and you where building this chevy then . It seems the better your skills get the more you go back and redo good work with great work!! At some point you need to say great enough and get some paint on it!!!!! lol!!! Larry L&L Custom Performance
Spent the past few days at Dan Pate's. Well, it was only about a day and a half, but once you include the travel time...
To preface, I had posted a WTB ad for a 52" shear and Dan had sent me a PM about the one he had in his shop. It was getting replaced with a 6' machine. Dan hosts a yearly metal shaping workshop and he suggested I come to his spring meet and pick it up from there. This conflicts with a mother's day event that I must attend every year (annual yard sale....I'm the furniture mover :D ), so I picked a window of opportunity that left minimal chance for the white powdery stuff falling from the sky. Namely, this past week. I departed Southern MD at about 12:45 am on Wednesday and drove through (rather un-eventful), arriving at Dan's at about 8:45 pm the same day. I recommend Mountain Dew and sunflower seeds for such an undertaking. ;)
I was looking forward to a break from the 55 wagon and to help out on some of the many challenging projects that Dan has shown us on the metalshaping sites over the years. So Dan, what have you got to work on? Oh, this car here over in the corner, he says......
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20005.jpg
I restrained my enthusiasm as best I could in true Charlie Brown fashion
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...2056/AAUGH.jpg
(just kidding Dan)
We walked down the hill to the shop the next morning and Dan had experienced some fitment issues with some of the panels on the 55 and asked that I take a look. RichardK showed up mid-morning and we proceeded to take measurements and cross diagonals nine ways to Sunday. We verified these to a sample car sitting out in the yard, and still didn't have that ah-ha moment. Everything we checked seemed to be within factory specs, although that was pretty loose in 1955.
My plans were to work around the shop for a day, load up the shear the next morning (Friday), and leave around noon. I have a cousin, Nancy E. Rueckert, who lives in Litchfield, MN. She had been in an industrial accident at work and was now paralyzed, and I was going to visit her that evening. Dan wisely pointed out that we should load the shear to have everything ready to go, and then worry about other shop activity.
So here is the shear prior to the John Deere moving it...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20017.jpg
...and for anyone with sufficient space available for one of these, Dan has this nifty equipment hoist...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20018.jpg
As there was some rain forecast for the east coast on Friday, the shear got some appropriate attention..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20023.jpg
It was about time for me to get cleaned up for the visit to my cousin's, and Richard mentioned that he had a buddy who lived in Howard Lake, a short drive before Litchfield. Since the truck was hooked to the trailer, he offered to drive me to Howard Lake, where he could visit his friend and I could continue to Litchfield. What a true gentleman, and as I've seen with Dan, genuine MN hospitality.
Had a nice visit with Nancy, and I think our conversations got carried away that when I looked at my watch I was worried Richard would put out an APB on his car :bounce:
Here's Nancy with her husband Dan.. (to eliminate confusion, let's call him Dan2)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...2056/Nancy.jpg
I made it back to Howard Lake and got a chance to meet Richard's friend, Jan Gilmer. He's well known in the Midget racing world and even more so, since his retirement, in his meticulous reproductions of 1/4 scale RC replicas. Here are some pictures of a restored Midget from 1956...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...6/Richard1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...6/Richard2.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...6/Richard3.jpg
.....along with Richard's thread posted here about the body he built for the car.. A work of art to say the least.
TQ midget rebody - All MetalShaping
And here are some links on Jan Gilmer for those interested...
Jan Gilmer of HL shares passion for midget cars with man from Australia
Gilmer
Jan has a small machinist shop and still produces amazingly accurate 1/4 scale reproductions to this day. They are highly sought after, and after seeing them in person, I can see why.
Richard and I returned to Dan's with only one close call with a couple of Minnesota's 4 legged Bambi creatures.. Even as late as it was, Dan greeted me and I think we talked of more metalshaping stories for the next couple hours. My day job has me heading to Oahu in the near future, and he was telling me of his visit to the only Pullmax owner on the island of Oahu, let's call him George. So I hope to meet up with George on my next visit to HI.
After breakfast we headed down to Dan's shop. Back on the 55, it wasn't until we took the height dimension of the windshield that we came up with the answer, there was a quite a difference there. Dan had installed a new roof on this from a donor car, one of the seams being in the A post. We found a slight excess in vertical made for quite a jump in the windshield opening. So with a bit of slicing, our height adjustment at the a-pillar made for quite an improvement and a more consistent and parallel gap to the door behind it..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20040.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20041.jpg
Since I wasn't going to be at Dan's spring event, he spent quite a bit of time showing me some shop tricks...
Band Saw "guide" for cutting convex shapes on the band saw... Slides into the blade and gets bolted to the table.... Essentially moves the table surface for those oddball shapes that don't fit the table..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20026.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20025.jpg
Linear stretch dies for the Pullmax....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20006.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20008.jpg
The cantilevered and jack bolted design allows you to adjust the stretch for a tight radius, and the pointed ends allow you to get into the corner as tightly as needed...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20010.jpg
Adjustable backstop for thinning a panel for sharper bends
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20016.jpg
Delrin die to use for panel beading.. in conjunction with MDF forms.. (partially unscrewed to show threads)
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20034.jpg
"tank roll" or 45* radius tipping dies for the Pullmax... 3 pieces were laser cut in 1/4" stock and welded together to form the 3/4 shank..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20032.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20033.jpg
Flanging/step die using an MDF guide....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20036.jpg
Imagine this for a bed side...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20039.jpg
At this time I think my target departure time had come and gone.. But no visit to Dan's shop is complete until you've used the Yoder....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20042.jpg
All packed up, ready to head east.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...te56%20048.jpg
I made mention to Dan that Friday the 13th was not a good day to travel. About halfway down I39 in Indiana proved this. I had just passed by a semi and pulled back into the slow lane in front of him when I noticed a set of headlights coming toward me.... in the fast lane I had just moved out of. I made out of that rather lucky. About a mile down the road some scattered auto debris and one car against the center divider showed they weren't as lucky. Everyone was OK, and I think most of the damage resulted from hitting the divider after swerving to miss the clown heading north in the southbound lane. Well upon arriving home, the rain added to the recent snow from last week has made my driveway a swamp. Looks like we will unload the trailer when this has dried up a bit.
Tonight's shop progress. Got the 55 moved into the paint booth....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202286.jpg
.....but only temporarily, not quite ready for paint yet.. Shuffling some stuff around to make room for bringing in the new shear on Saturday, and needed the car out of the way. The new shear is just shy of 7 feet long, so it wouldn't fit in the same spot as the old one without moving something else as well. In measuring the tool box, it looked like a good fit in that spot, so moving it and the kick shrinker will make a better spot for the new shear against the back wall.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202282.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202283.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202284.jpg
.....and as we haven't used the radial arm drill press in over a year, I think that's getting ready to go on CL to make room for the planishing hammer, when that gets finished up..
test to see if this thread is open for others to see
Bill S.
I've no explanation as to why I couldn't get onto this page for at least a week but, as you can tell... I finally made it here! Thanks Bill..
Glad I made it back to see the further adventures of Robert and Ms Customers wagon..
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming!
Watching Robert and Kyle paying attention to these details... yep, I've been drooling on the keyboard again!
This past Saturday started at my brother-in-laws to pick up the new shear. It's been parked in his garage since last week while my driveway has been drying out..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202295.jpg
Here's his El Camino project, narrowing the frame rails in the rear....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202296.jpg
One of the neighbors a few miles down the road has a Pettibone forklift. I had him lined up to help lift the shear off the trailer today. He made it about 1/4 mile and had the brakes locking up and frying, so we had to back up and punt. Another buddy has a skid steer with the fork attachment, but the shear was on his trailer. So we dropped off the trailer/shear at the shop, went and got another trailer and picked up the skid steer.. I will say this shear is about at the limits of the lifting capacity of this skid steer, the back end was trying to go airborne when lifting it off the trailer. So we inched it up in the air and then pulled the trailer out from under it. Here's the placement...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202297.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202299.jpg
Now just need to finish the electrical hookup...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202303.jpg
Yeah, the clean floor is rather unusual for me... :LOL:
Got some electrical work done this evening, wired up the phase converter first, checked the voltage, then wired up the shear..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202316.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202315.jpg
When I went to Minnesota to pick up the shear, I noticed that Dan had a couple pair of snips laying on the shear.. Didn't put two and two together at first.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202304.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202305.jpg
He had the shear installed without the back gauge due to the space requirements, and I had even less shop room than he did. This is where the snips come in. Mark your panel for the cut line...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202306.jpg
Use the red shears to make a slight cut on the right side of the panel....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202308.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202309.jpg
.....and the green shears to make a slight cut on the left side...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202310.jpg
Now you have the cut line "marked" on both ends...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202311.jpg
Slide the panel into the shear just past the cut edge, then gently pull back until it stops against the lower blade...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202312.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202313.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202314.jpg
Now shear. No back gauge or second person to help sight in a full width sheet needed.. No fuss no muss. Thanks to Dan for the helpful hint!
While I've been playing electrician, Kyle has been plugging along in getting various pieces media blasted so they can get epoxy primed....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202317.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202318.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202319.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202320.jpg
great tip on the shear! Now why didn't I think of that???
That Randy is such a cut up...................
hey, ya had to know it was comin'...........
The shear looks really nice there. It looks pretty darn heavy for sure. I always wondered how some of the cramped machins shops I've been too, got their heavy equipment positioned after they had huge heavy stuff already in the way. :LOL:
It looks like Kyle sure is whipping some azz on those parts.
Ha! He's taking up my slack while I've been working on the shear install...
While the wagon was still in the booth, the floor and welding table got the semi-annual cleaning....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202321.jpg
even the top of the tool box...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202322.jpg
Kyle had finished a bunch of media blasting so they were hung up in the booth to get ready for some epoxy, likely next week....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202326.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202327.jpg
Kyle used the ball end carbide in a die grinder to remove the lower baffle of the core support, so we can get rid of the remaining rust there...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202329.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202330.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202332.jpg
Starting on the replacement piece, we'll get this finished next time..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202331.jpg
Everything back in place....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202324.jpg
Very nice! Tool boxes and benches collect so much stuff so fast, it isn't funny. I'm glad I'm not the only one with that problem. Haha
Our Saturday progress had us making more painting fixtures, this time for the rear gates. The lift gate used some square tube and riv-nuts for attachment...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202334.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202335.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202337.jpg
Fixture was made to hold lift gate in same position as on car for spraying...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202339.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202340.jpg
More blocking....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202341.jpg
Tail gate painting fixture....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202346.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202347.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202348.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202349.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202350.jpg
Then a bit of scuffing to get ready for the next coat of epoxy....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202351.jpg
As Kyle was going through the interior trim pieces the last couple weeks he did find one that had a few pits...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16..._161834533.jpg
So we got a used replacement from the Stainless Shoppe in Seymour WI. A shame to paint this one 0.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202352.jpg
As I was getting the next batch of parts ready for epoxy, Kyle was setting up the bead roller for making the lower baffle of the core support. But looking at the center bead, the Fasti didn't have quite the reach...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202355.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202356.jpg
I had wanted to make axles for the bead roller dies to fit the English wheel, so today was as good a day as any. This will give Kyle some practice on the South Bend..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202357.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202358.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202359.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202360.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202361.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202362.jpg
And my accomplishments for today...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202364.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202365.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202366.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202367.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202369.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202370.jpg
And as I had a bit of epoxy left over, time to seal the inner door to the door skin.. Both had been primed before assembly...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202371.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202372.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202373.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202374.jpg
Definitely want to cover the floor in doing this...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202377.jpg
Had enough to do both doors, should keep the rust bugs gone for a long time to come..
Fantastic work as always!
Great work and that is a great idea on sealing the inners of the door!
Got to do all you can to keep the rust out..
Well it was taking a little longer on the English wheel adapter kit than I thought, and since that is on the shop's dime, I thought we'd try something that we could get done a little quicker. So the other machine with plenty of throat was the Lennox, so let's make some dies for it..... Also got in some more block sanding while Kyle was cutting out pieces for the dies.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202424.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202425.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202426.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202428.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202429.jpg
Pre-stretching the bead areas of the baffle...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202430.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202431.jpg
Adding the bead, using the backstop...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202432.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202433.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202434.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202435.jpg
Laying out the petcock recess. This is about a 1/2" lower than the factory to alleviate the clearance issue..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202436.jpg
The tipping and skateboard wheels are used to "trace" the bend line to make any hammering a bit easier to locate the correct "edge".....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202437.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202439.jpg
Relief trimmed, ready to make the folds....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202443.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202444.jpg
Last night we got the recess finished on the baffle plate.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202446.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202447.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202449.jpg
Test fitted...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202450.jpg
Media blasted, ready to install....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202453.jpg
Then Kyle removed the splash pan so he could clean up the core support prior to welding it in....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202460.jpg
We also got started on some blocking of the parts sprayed last week.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202455.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202457.jpg
That is really nice! Your attention to detail to re create these pieces is awesome!
Times 10! What he said.. I'm constantly blown away by the level of detail.. well done once again to you and Kyle...
Yeah, but that attention to detail is also why we're not done yet :LOL:
Today the baffle got welded into the core support, here with the plug weld holes drilled.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202461.jpg
The modified relief we fabricated shows to be about as low as we could have made it..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202462.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202479.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202480.jpg
Then attention was turned to the rear quarter on the passenger side where we had shaved the lead seam..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202463.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202464.jpg
We had held off on the tail light opening as we wanted to fit the opening to the light bezels. We had received the reproduction chrome light bezels a couple weeks ago, and gave them a protective layer to keep the chrome nice and shiny..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202465.jpg
The light opening seemed all out of sorts, with a bulge protruding out past the corner of the bezel here....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202466.jpg
Let the modifications begin!
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202468.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202470.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202471.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202473.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202469.jpg
And we had the opposite problem on the inner side...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202474.jpg
The vise grip dent puller and the special hook was used to spread the opening...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202100.jpg
A bit better.....
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202476.jpg
...and the tail light bracket is welded back together.. This mod seemed to make the attaching holes align better as well..
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202478.jpg
And Kyle continues to finish up the seam and we'll fine tune the opening once more when the welding and planishing is complete.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ure%202482.jpg
Sweet. It would be fun to apprentice with you guys for a month to learn some of your skills!