Nice work, but don't you have to weld the floor and rockers yet? I do wish i was at primer stage though...
Correct. That will be the next thing so the body gets its structural strength back. It was easier stripping and priming the shell without the innards. Much of the primer will come off again during the chop and final body work, but I can't let it turn into a rust heap in the meantime. I'll probably do the chassis next, so I can do the chop with the body on the frame. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I did the same repair on the doors for my 39 Mercury Convertable and they came out great. The only problem I had was the body shop where I worked saw it and that's what they wanted me to do on customer cars. I told them they could not afforde my labor rate to do insurance repairs like that. I wound up quitting a getting a job down the street. There is a big difference between collision repair and restoration work. I beat on sheet metal for over 60 years, you are a true Craftsman body man not a technition. Frank
Thanks, Frank! Sorry for the slow pace, but between the hurricane, work, house, and a lack of motivation, I haven’t really made much progress. Before welding the subrails and floors I wanted to check the door fit and noticed that there was quite a bit of misalignment on the front and back edge. This was the side where I replaced the entire door bottom and also the bottom of the a-pillar. The difficulty was that both repairs had to be done separately, but the fit could really only be checked with the doors installed, which I had not done previously. The bottom of the door was a bad fit, but was relatively easy to fix by adjusting the cross brace Cutting out the brace Finished: I wanted to have the bottom very slightly tucked in, to make sure there is some light contact with the rubber bumper. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Here is front edge. The misalignment is in both directions. To correct the gap in the first direction, I cut and bent the door jamb backwards to even the gap. Then cut out the outer skin from the a-pillar and made a template to give me the contour of the door edge with the door removed. Metal replaced.... Still not perfect. The door is just a hair proud of the a-pillar, but I will blend it in with lead or filler. Now on to the other side. Should be better fit as I did not replace the entire door bottom. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Nice work! I did alot of the same , but less with my doors and body recently. I cut the lower hinge and welded it back together with the amount i needed inward. Lined it up great that way without changing the top or rear edges. Just sucked the front lower in a bit.
I’m back! Had some other projects get in the way of the Merc, but hoping to stick with it for a while. Anyway, last weekend I had to correct the bottom of the a-pillar after hanging the door, but it was not quite as bad as the first one. I finally welded in all the caged nuts which were rotted or which were in sheet metal spots I replaced. This car uses 5/16-24 throughout for fenders, running boards etc. The restoration places usually want to charge $2/ea, but I found them at McMaster Carr for about $1/ea. They are oily so I cleaned them with solvent and sprayed the bottom side with weld through primer, then used the pneumatic punch to add the 3/16” holes for plug welding them in place. The underside has a lip which centers them in a 1/2” hole. I trial fit them and marked the hole location, then used the Dremel to grind the primer off where the weld will be applied. A bolt and washer from the outside holds the nut in place. I slightly bend the tabs downward so when I tighten the bolt the tabs will make contact with the body without leaving a gap. For the plug welds I just up the setting one click (from 18 Ga to 16 Ga), to get good and immediate melt puddle. All in all I welded in about 25 nuts. Tomorrow I will weld in the subrails permanently. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
As promised, the subrails went in today. Final adjustments with the doors in place, then removing the subrails again to drill and punch all the weld holes. Replace the subrails and mark all hole locations, remove subrails again to grind all marked hole locations free of primer, reinstall subrails and weld in place. The driver side door is still a poor fit, I will have to cut the diagonal brace in order to let the lower rear corner of the door come out slightly. The bottom of the a-pillar still needs to be built up with lead to match the door contour, but I should probably wait until the body is finally in the frame and properly shimmed. At this point I’m satisfied the doors fit in the openings and I can weld in the floor pieces. I can weld the trunk floor in with the body on the cart, but then need to modify how it sits on the cart to weld in the rear seat pan and the main floor. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Shiiiiiit, y’all might as well restore this back to factory You’re more than halfway there.[emoji41][emoji106][emoji471] Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Installed and welded in the trunk floor and the rear seat riser piece. Lots of fitting, taking out, adjusting, reinstalling before finally welding in place. I placed the 3/16” holes every 1.5” or so in the floor pans so most of the welding had to be done from underneath the car. Only the seam between the two panels is welded solid. Everything else will stay spot welded only like from the factory. I will seal all the seams after cleanup and priming. Doesn’t look like it but this was 15 hours of work. Next will be installing of the main floor piece. I already took the body off the dolly to have access for installing the seat riser piece. I’ll put it back once the floors are in. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Instead of marking the hole locations for the spot welds, I switched to using the Dremel tool with a round 1/8" carbide burr to remove the primer with both pieces clamped together before plug welding. It's important to get an immediate weld puddle started on the base metal rather than on the piece with the hole to get good penetration. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I ground the weld spots flush where there is only little clearance with the frame, then primered all bare spots including the caged nuts. View attachment 4036002 Some of you might remember when I fabricated the floor pan two years ago... Anyway it’s finally time to weld it in place. I first drilled 1/4” holes in the subrails and 3/16” holes in the pan where it meets the seat riser. I absolutely love this HF step drill which goes from 3/16” to 1/2”. I can lean on it without fear of breaking and had held up great. After wrestling the pan in between the subrails, I started lining it up in the rear using locating holes I had previously made. I supported the pan from below with a 2x4 and a jack while I inserted wooden blocks to push the pan against the subrails. I welded the plug welds after checking the alignment starting in the rear and making my way forward, alternating after 10 or so welds. Again, I used the Dremel and a small ball mill to clean the spot welds before welding Relying on the locating holes was important to assure the correct slope from the driveshaft tunnel to the subrails. After finishing the subrails, I started placing the welds along the seat riser. In order to push the edge of the pan against the lip of the riser I placed the jack with a 4x4 under the car, and clamped a square tube to the window edge to engage a vertical brace to push the two panels together. A piece of schedule 80 gray PVC tubing cut slightly oversized worked well instead of the wood piece. I used a hammer and a punch to assure both panel lay flat before welding. Finally welded in place. Doors still close, and the body gained a lot of rigidity. The welds still need to be dressed down and all bare areas primered, but for now I’m glad the floor is in! Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Only the top piece is drilled. On the subrails it’s the top of the subrail, on the back edge it is the floor pan. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Some cleanup work this week: ground all the welds and cleaned the burn spots on the flip side, then sprayed some more primer to cover all bare spots Decided to correct the twist in the driver side door. The diagonal brace had to be cut loose, but I ended up having to cut a piece out because the plug welds were solid and I couldn’t get them apart without making a mangled mess. The holes are not drilled out spot welds but in preparation for plug welding a lap jointed patch With the brace loose, the door becomes soft and can be manually pulled into the correct shape. Once it is ok with the door closed, the brace is secured with vise grips, then welded in place. The door gaps are not perfect and some of the contours will need some filler, but much better than before. I wanted a slightly tighter fit at the bottom to end up with a little pressure against the rubber lower bumper in the jamb. Cleaned the spot welds in the wheel wells and applied another couple of coats of POR15. I plan to seal all the seams next weekend. Spraying undercoating at this stage is probably a good idea too. Thinking of using the Eastwood rubberized undercoating. Thoughts? Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Still following along in awe. The work is true craftsmanship and skill. Glad to see you back at the car and again sharing your methods & train of thought for each phase of the work.
Superb workmanship. Very impressed indeed. Please keep us fully posted in detail when you tackle the 'chop'.
Gives me lots of encouragement for when I start my project in a few months... Thanks, and excellent work... Sent from my SM-G920V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The Jalopy Journal
