Thread: A new project for the firebird

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No new steel but progress nonetheless this weekend.

I pulled the door and fender on passenger side in preparation for repairing that side body mount.

Also a couple days ago I dropped by the scrapyard and picked up several large pieces of 18ga stainless for $15. It amounts to about a half sheet, which new is north of $300 for a full sheet, so great deal.

Ok I held the phone sideways to take the pic, now it posted upside down?

Anyway this is the first repair piece on pass side, rebuilding the body mount.

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

Ok I held the phone sideways to take the pic, now it posted upside down?
.

Happens to me all the time. And not just here! Then I delete the saved file and re-install it after correcting the errors... and I just made it worse! WTF??? Ahhhh the joys of electronics!

I've got the pass side body mount almost done, trying to post pics. I'm looking into getting a plasma cutter. They are cheaper than I expected. I'm looking close at one with good reviews, 3 months warranty, and it all does stick and tig. Anyone have some advice?

No advise but a fun thread I would like to follow!

Pass side front body mount is complete.

The rear fenders are off, as I must repair the rear body mounts next. Some bolts broke loose, some broke, a couple got their heads ground off.

The gas cap is a locking cap. Got old keys? Hell yeah, they came with the house! Even got one which says GAS. It slid right in. Didn't open it though. So I used the cutter wheel to remove the outer circumference so I could take the fender off.

Oh, and the 3 in one is on the way! I love Amazon.

Also, I probably mentioned this in the wee pages of this thread: the wheels aren't studded. Rather they have bolts, which kind of look like nutted studs, and the driver side is left hand thread.

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

Pass side front body mount is complete.
Also, I probably mentioned this in the wee pages of this thread: the wheels aren't studded. Rather they have bolts, which kind of look like nutted studs, and the driver side is left hand thread.

Just a swag but could the lugs actually be threaded into the hub? I would've assumed press in but... who knows!?!? If they were threaded into the hub - I'd convert over to pressed in studs, FWIW - My point oh two.. YMMV etc. etc

If I remember Chrysler used to have bolt to retain the wheels and they were right and left hand thread. And that is reaching way back.

Well at this point I don't intend to use the drivetrain anyway.

The tool fairy came today, while I was at work. He left a brand new plasma/arc/TIG unit on my front door step.

Boy it works nice too. It's going to take some fiddling with the settings of both the cutter and my weld helmet, and the cuts will need clean up with the grinder, but it's going to be a real time saver for cutting patches out of this 18 GA stainless.

So, where to put it? On top of my MIG of course. But where to put the stuff on the MIG? Gloves, helmets and a half shirt. So, it morphed into a clean up of the shop bench. This stuff has been accumulating for at least 12years. I even threw some stuff away: the toughest was the RYOBI reciprocating saw that only needs a new blade holder, but I bought another saw at the pawn shop for probably less than the cost of the replacement part.

Anyway, the nails and screws are now on a shelf in the shed, and my work bench is no longer piled in crap, so that's good.

Then I got cutting on the pass side quarter panel, peeling back the layers. Everything in the bottom ten inches is rotten. It's going to be a lot of patches.

Oh, and BTW:

You too can believe in the tool fairy.

To summon him, simply sacrifice dollars upon the altar of Amazon, and he shall appear.

I watched a YouTube video on plasma cutters and really learned a lot. Apparently there is slightly more to it then pull the trigger, although that is enough information to cut steel. Apparently stainless contains chromium which is dangerous to breathe when grinding and cutting so I'll be more careful with that, even though I work open - air outdoors.
The rear body mounts look to actually be solid but the floor has got to be redone before the roof (as I see it) and the floor has to have something to attach to, so I'm going ahead with the front rear quarter panel repair, passenger side first. It's really a mess, and if I can do this then there shouldn't be anything on this car I can't get through. It is rather intimidating to be sure.

Are there any good, free photo hosting sites out there? I'd like to share pixels.

Just a note Stainless is not the only bad thing to breath while cutting or welding Galvanized metal can kill you too.

More cutting with the plasma today. It looks like straight cuts will continue to be done with the grinder, and I'll use the plasma for curved cuts. It's probably the stainless, but I can't get it to cut without leaving a lot of dross on the piece which then has to be ground off.

I got the inner structure fabricated, but I lost a lot of time trying to reproduce an unnecessary detail that won't be visible anyway.

Ok I managed to sneak in some pixies.

Here is the inner structure which I cut out, and its replacement.

Cancer removed



Stainless patches in place

My supervisor has an interesting take on MIG. He says "you're puking wire into a hole and hoping for the best.
Today I was having trouble dialing in the welder, and one of the guy noticed that every time I pulled the trigger the ground wire which was coiled on the cart jumped. Well I've never paid that much mind, but I pulled the wire out straight on the floor and started having better luck running a bead. Interesting huh?

Recently I bought some cheapie cutting discs from harbor freight, aluminum oxide 80 grit. I was actually quite pleased as they held up good, even though they cut a bit slow. The stainless rated discs I ordered off amazon came in, black hawk brand. Boy do they cut good!