Thread: '56 hit by a deer this morning...

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I built a small doubler to close off the end of the rocker before my fender well patch goes on. This is it being made, I guess I didn't get any pics with it in place, I'll do that today.
This will weld between the inner rocker, bottom of the outer rocker and bottom of the new J channel.


I also got the inner fender patch pretty well complete. I am debating cutting off the rest of the original inner fender (along the top) and making this all one piece, it would clean up that flange a lot and make it all one shape.




Started fitting the rear brace splice. Lots of work in this one.

I had to slice the channel to get it to snuggle up to the rocker AND fit up to the floor. This will get welded solid with a doubler on the inside.

There is still a gap at the flange to floor area so I am going to cut the sides from the floor (dashed line in pic) of the brace to allow the flanges to come up higher then I will weld the gap.


I am also going to fab up new inner rocker braces that weld in just behind the center brace.

This one was pretty rusty but it was still intact enough to flatten it to make a pattern.


I will make two of these when I do it. I am sure the driver side piece is shot as well...
Thanks guys! Hope you had a good Christmas!
Mark

your doing great I've had to alter floor braces before on 70's pickups never had one that fit right out of the box. Hope your planning on keeping this car.

Thanks Charlie! The new parts have all fit extremely well! I was trying to fit that brace into the wrong spot which is why it was not going well. I got some pics and from MP&C which showed me my mistake. Thankd to Robert for the help!
One day closer!
The new floor channel is in.


The old floor is trimmed, cleaned and prepped for welding.


The new floor is "just about" ready to weld in. All of the plug welding holes are punched or drilled and I am working on getting the seat braces installed.


I have a bit of work to do on the inner rocker but that won't take long at all, I should be welding this thing in tomorrow!
Thanks for watching and for the help!
Mark

The floor is in, the rockers are in and the door still opens and closes!

The outer rocker is welded on. It's not pretty but it will do the job with a little bit of filler. Trying to weld to the old thin fender was a real B*tch...

The floor is so solid now it's like a new car!


I will knock down the welds a bit tomorrow and get some primer on them. The rear fender patch and front floor brace still need to go in but these are cake now that the big piece is permanent.
Thanks to everyone who helped with pictures and advice!
NOW... On to the driver side...
Mark

Originally Posted by astroracer

The floor is in, the rockers are in and the door still opens and closes!

The floor is so solid now it's like a new car!
NOW... On to the driver side...
Mark

Always a great indicator when the doors still operate as designed! LOL. Keep up the good work - we're not bored yet!

One thing I always keep in mind when doing that kind of intense work on an old body is that if it were easy, everyone would be doing it! Very nice work Mark, definitely going to be a really first rate ride when you get it all back together.

It isn't easy but it's nothing that can't be done with some home brewed tools and a little bit of ingenuity. I've actually had a good time getting this done, other then bruising a rib and getting some hot weld bb's done my glove... Thanks for the compliments Dave! This will definetly make this into a nice cruiser. Especially after the paint is done.
Getting closer to wrapping up the passenger side. Both floor braces are in and I have the inner fender patch and some rocker "finishing" pieces fabbed up.
Lots of work to get the braces to fit right. Snuggling up to the floor and inner rocker required two cuts on the rear brace and one on the front seat brace. Spent all day saturday getting those done and the front brace welded in. This morning I got the rear brace finished up and welded in as well.



Rear brace work.



This is the inner fender patch. It is two pieces right now just because I changed my mind on how I trimmed out the old tin. I am debating remaking this in one piece but I don't know what that will really gain me... Thoughts? Other then less welding? As it is this will get welded together before it goes in...

Thanks for watching!
Mark

Can't do much with inner fenders with out taking them out and that can turn into a BIG can of worms

Originally Posted by cffisher

Can't do much with inner fenders with out taking them out and that can turn into a BIG can of worms

Not taking them out Charlie... Just making that patch for the rusted out lower wheel well...

I didn't get out to the shop Monday night, running errands and getting the wife's car serviced used up my afternoon/evening but I hit it hard tonight.
I welded the two pieces of the inner fender patch together and got all of the plug welding holes punched and drilled.
The visible side.

The inside.

The drilled holes. I opened these up to 1/4" after I took the pic. I also drilled holes in the two flanges to weld from behind.

After a bit of cleanup with a wire wheel the welding went fairly well except for two spots at the top of the patch. I quit chasing the holes as all they were doing was getting bigger.

I may work on these tomorrow. I need to get a copper backup spoon on the inside but that takes two... I am only one. I'll probably just paint and seam seal them up...
Once this is painted and sealed up I think it will look great!
Thanks for watching!
Mark

I have the passenger side complete other then smoothing down some of the welds and getting the worked areas prepped, painted and sealed up. I won't do any of that until the drivers side is in.
I started looking at the drivers side last night to start cutting it out but I decided to do some A pillar work before I remove the floor. I think it's a good idea to get this area rebuilt 1st.

I started cleaning it up last night looking for the spot welds. I'll get some pics tonight as I start digging into it.
Most of the wiring channel on this side is pretty good and the area in front of the rear wheel well is still solid so I don't think there will be as much work replacing metal as there was on the other side.

Looking back at the passenger side... There just wasn't much left.

Thanks for watching guys!
If there are any suggestions or guidance concerning rebuilding the lower A pillar, I am all ears!
Mark

Suggestions....???...?? um.... Nah. I'll keep my mouth shut!

Originally Posted by 34_40

Suggestions....???...?? um.... Nah. I'll keep my mouth shut!

What he said!!!!

Looks like you're going to make it by summer?

Thanks guys! I understand completely.
I dug into the A pillar repair last nite. I lucked out on the passenger side with the condition of the metal. I didn't have to cut it all up as it was pretty solid. THIS side is another story...
I got some of the rot cleaned out, opened up the inner rocker and started trimming off what was left of the foot board. I got enough removed so I can see what really needs to be done to repair this area. The front floor brace/body mount is still "kind of" attached to the inner rocker at the front somewhere. The back flange is completely free so getting the rest of it loosened up shouldn't be to big of a deal.
I have most of a plan in mind to get this fixed. I took pics last nite but they are on my phone and I need to run them thru my downsizer program to get them usable. I was out in the shop till nearly 8:00 last nite and didn't even fire up the computer...
I'll get the pics loaded and mark them up like I did for the lower A pillar on the outside during the cowl rebuild.
Thanks for following!
Mark