Customs Finally starting on the wife’s 56

Looking better.
Previous guy pounded the crap out of it with a pic hammer.
Will probably replace the bottom and the brass areas.

 

A 283 is a little small for my taste in a station wagon , I like making the 350 look old.

 

That’s the plan.
The wife wants to pull a small camper.
I’ve got a 350 with 300hp heads and an early intake.
Might just use it in the wagon.

 

Anthony, those pictures are the visual accompaniment to your often used phrase,
It's just metal...

 

Hmmm,
Pickin' & (not) grinnin' ???
Marcus...

 

To misquote a classic line from A Christmas Story, "My father used Bondo the way other artist might work in oils or clay, it was his true medium, a master."

HRP

 

Looks like the same guy did your putty that did my '51 Ford. Except mine actually had rust with some type of perforated aluminum with the putty built up about 1" thick. All gone now with new metal welded in, very little if any putty needed.

 

Front fender lip is trash.

 

Anthony...pics no worky...

 

Made a template from the other side.
Flipped it and started bending.
The new lip needs some tweeking but I’ll get it there
The next piece will weld in the center of the 1/2 inch wide wheel well lip.
It’s easier to make it in 2 pieces than one.

 

How bout now

 

within a cat's eye of good.

 

Great work Teach...good on you for preserving much of that good ole steel...

 

The template shown that the wheel lip was pushed towards the door (not in towards the frame ) even after dollied out.
Lots of brass with stress and grinding cracks

 

Working with stressed metal and braze can be pretty problematic...you are pretty seasoned on where to draw where to re and re...the wife is probably getting excited seeing it moving ahead...and you too...

 

Good work saving a fender that many would have scrapped. Watching along gives me confidence to tear into my own metal work. The way you just whip up a shape is amazing.

 

Doesn’t make a lot of sense to fix a part that’s not hard to find.
Or try to anyway.
But I’ve never been accused of having good sense

 

The more I get done on this the closer I get to my 49 GMC
My Merc build is a make it go and stop build. The wagon is similar plus an interior.
The GMC isn’t

 

Your

Your Shop inspector looks alot like mine.

 

More cave man fab
No planishing hammer. Comma dolly and a ball peen in a vice
Make a wheel lip contour pattern

Fold the edge over to check your hammer progress on the radius.

getting close to the sharpie line from the original pattern. My next hopefully successful step is to fold that sharpie line over to finish the other side or our wheel house style line.

 

new inner lip is close

 

Contour gauge and patterns say we’re getting closer

 

Roughed out style line is fitting the profile template and surface template

no Pullmax so vice grips made the flange.
It’ll get dialed in as we continue
And we donated a little blood

 

Gettin there.
Probably it for this evening

once I get it closer, these 2 pieces will be trimmed and butt welded.

a little more shaping along the bottom fade for the styling is needed

 

Once the 2 pieces are fit and tacked, the piece will be trimmed and the door edge addressed. My clecos are at a friends shop. Might have to go grab em

 

Every job deserves a little blood sweat and tears. Shows ownership.

 

Except for when you're on blood pressure tablets so every cut you bleed like a stuck pig.

 

Hey, Anthony;
Again, thanks for the detailed pics n description(s). Esp the more crude uses of tools. Actually helps me visualize, guess I'm kinda slow sometimes. Not unimaginative, just haven't been exposed to much of that process.
Makes me think I could sorta-almost-kinda get a decent start making patch panels.
Might be nothing more than bb's held together by rubber bands, but seems to me like they scatter badly in anticipation when a hammer comes out... .
Like herding cats, I think. Some tricks I've learned for that, too, I guess. I like your shop cat. Nobody has a real shop, 'till it has a cat. . Like the difference 'twixt a house n a home(has cat). Usually helps w/the stress-reduction. Usually. .
Marcus...

 

Could be YOU, Mr. Myrick. Hehe.

 

Cold in the shop. Making a little progress