Looks good so far. I keep popping in on garage journal to see if you posted more. I know it takes time. Side picture would be nice.:grin:
Here is the link for garage journal. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=205106 Here are the only other two I have since I'm not at work where the car is today. These were the mock up and clamp pics prior to spotting it. And this is where I started from. Here is the first link I put over there asking for advice to start off. I'm having to take 3 quarters to make one, so lots of patching sadly. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202666
Ok, back at work today and I took a couple other pics. And because no matter how hard I tried, I could not find enough qtr panel to reach up to the existing damage, here is the piece from the 3rd panel that I will use as a patch piece to fill in the gap. As shown in one of those garage journal shots, I will be cutting just below the body line to put that in so that the body line helps keep things straight. I'm pleased so far considering I have never done body work before, but I know the huge trick of all this is keeping that main seam straight. I have hours of welding, hammering and grinding to do. However it ends up, it has to be better than the gaping hole that was filled in with over a half inch of bondo that I started with.
There is enough body curves to that piece that I dont think you will have a problem welding that as long as you stitch it nice and slow. I personally think you are doing a great job. Hope mine comes out as nice. ---------- Post added at 12:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:46 PM ---------- Peter,Here is a link to probably the best reading I have seen on welding sheet metal. The pics and the step by step explainations are great. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53534 Didnt mean to hijack your thread jon.
It's been awhile, but I've been working on this. I got the welding done. You know how some people can weld on pieces to the car, and they just massage it so well that you can't tell the panel has been replaced even in bare metal? Yeah, I'm not one of those people.uzzled: Anyway, onto some pics. This is the top missing piece, all cut and tucked in there. Additional dots and grinds. This is the finished product, right in the middle of the wheel well arch, all welded and smoothed as best as I can do. A little evercoat on the welded area to smooth things out. And the rear lower quarter where the big oil can dent was. This is still fairly early in the process, but I'm happy with how things are going. Who knows, I may even get the epoxy on top before college football starts.ray: I gotta say, body work is a chore. Putty, sand and wow, there is a high spot still. ok, grind that area out, a little shrinking disc work to drop this down and lets try again. I guess I'm learning why a paint job costs so much.
That is the correct to do sheet metal repairs. Whom ever is doing that in the Garage Journal is good...... :TU: :TU::TU::TU::TU::TU: Houndogforever, that is nice work that you are doing. [/COLOR]Peter,Here is a link to probably the best reading I have seen on welding sheet metal. The pics and the step by step explainations are great. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53534 Didnt mean to hijack your thread jon.[/QUOTE]
Well done IMO. Doing work on my 1/4's right now, not much from dents but rust/rot. PITA!!!!! I replaced my front fenders with better pieces and used the flared lip of the front fenders to patch the rear. After cutting it apart, tack welding, hammering, grinding, swearing and then some mud i am on the home stretch of finishing the left rear 1/4. Just started working on the right side tonight. Again i will be cutting the other front fender apart for the patch panels i need. Wish my car was as solid as yours. My metal is thinner from rust and a pain to weld. Keep blowing through, having to grind, re tack/fill, grind, check with flash light behind it, tack some more, grind, swear, threaten set car on fire, tack some more, grind and then hammer for a better shape or just leave it be and coat with mud.
I hear ya, it never seems to get done, just more to worrry about. It took 2 extra quarter panels plus the original one to fit that all together so took 3 to make 1. The main piece from center of wheel forward was in pretty darn good shape, but when the yard cut the roof off for a previous customer, they dropped down into the quarter pretty far and what was on my car was trashed right there, so I needed a whole extra piece to sneak that little piece in there on the top. It is a challenge, and having NEVER done body work before, it is all new and there is only so much you can learn online, and then you just have to do it. Best online advice I have received so far was off that garage journal link above as far as welding, and the best advice for using bondo is " don't add filler to a high spot and when you hit metal, STOP SANDING. I still argue with myself on that one, but no matter how much I sand off, it still needs more filler. ou: Oh well, I'm sure this will be 15-20 lbs less filler once I'm done. Those 3/8" thick, and up to 9/16" thick bondo spots from the 70's repair were really ugly. I'm trying to keep it down to about 1/8" thick max now, but I'm sure it will vary as it hits waves.
Nice work there buddy, I know first hand just how easy it "isn't". I remember the first time I had to weld in an exterior panel, it was a hood and didnt turn out that bad after all the frustration. I'm about half way through replacing the quarter skin on my pontiac right now. Sometimes you hit an obstacle and just wanna give upo No:, but keep doing your thing and soon there'll be nothing left to do but enjoy the car. :Brow: No matter how bad it gets, please remember there's a guy in Africa, with no access to junkyards and Resto shops, trying to do the same thing youre doing.:rant: :laugh:
Jon, Excellent work you have done there. Maybe I'll get the courage to do mine. Probably not but maybe I can get MP&C to do it. Looks like you follow direction well from the garage journal members. If anyone hasn't seen what several here have spoken about there a several members on that site that IMO are master metal workers. Be fore warned the two threads below are long but very much worth the time to read them both. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182565 and http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74725 The first link has some excellent custom work, repairs and detailed information in it. Go check them out. Todd
Hi,Looks like you did a good job on putting in the patches! From the photo of the bondo work it looks to me like you are removing too much filler;it needs to blend out some over the surounding area to get smoothed in to make a unnoticed repair,use a long block 8 to 12 inches wide to sand with,and all your filler edges should fade out with no hard line edges like you have now as they will show when you prime or paint.Hope this helps. Takes a little pactice but you can do it I'm sure.
I have a 10 inch long block now, but I can see how I will need a longer one eventually. I also was putting filler only in the low spot and not spreading it out very far. I have another batch on there now and maybe I can sneak back to work on it some this weekend. I'm really hoping to get this area done enough that high build primer like slick sand will be enough to finish it down the road. Just want to get it fair to middlin and seal it all up under the epoxy primer. Once I get the body all sealed up, then I can drag the front end down from the pallet rack and work on getting that apart and blasted clean to see if I have any surprises in there. Thanks for all your kind words guys. It's a lot of work that I would never do for money, but I do enjoy it as a hobby. All that being said, I think the next car will be one that somebody else did the body work to and got tired. Mechanical, structural and suspension work is much easier to me.
