Event Coverage How would you fix this rust?

Hey guys, seeing what your thoughts are on this delicate rust repair. This is the top of my 28 tudor driver side door. Do I fix just the tabs and use a filler like all metal.....or do I really test my metal working skills and cut it out and tig a new piece in. My skills in shaping metal are minimal. Is there a good compromise that I could do with this repair that still looks good and last?

Thank you [emoji4]



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If it were mine, I'd be looking for another door (or part thereof) that was badly rusted or hammered up on the bottom half...use the two good 1/2's to make a good door.

 

what he said. Model a doors and door parts are fairly easy to find and not real expensive

 

I say fix it....but hey, that’s what I do!....lol


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Depends on your ambition ..do you have a mig welder...migs rule the restoration planet..

 

Yeah I have a little Miller mig. Well, maybe I will go to the next few swap meets and see what I can find as far as spare parts. Hell, I have to chop the doors anyways...for some reason I would just rather try to fix lol


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I'd cut a strip out of there and weld in some new steel. I have found that Model A doors are the hardest panel to find and generally will need some welding work when you do find them, and I have never run across any cheap ones. What's there isn't that bad, it can be fixed.

 

fix it. if you screw it up so what. then go find another door.

 

That is what I would go with. Its hard to beat the experience gained on something you can't really hurt. Gene

 

If I was you, I'd try to fabricate repair panels. You say your metal shaping skills are minimal, and these are pretty simple panels, so it's a great opportunity for some experience. What kind of tools do you have to work with?

 

I would have already been fabbing up the repair pieces and welding them in.

 

Doors are out there but not cheap and if the rest of the door is good I would fix it. Most of the rust is where it doesn't show and shouldn't be a problem. The part that will show is fairly small and has a square corner and a curved edge so warpage shouldn't be a problem.

 

fix it.

 

I have your basic tools, hammer and dolly set, teardrop hammer, sand bag, bead roller, and wood stump hahah. I most certainly can purchase some more equipment but I’m unsure of what would be the next best tool to purchase.


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Shit, I don't even have all of those things! I don't think you'll need any specialized tools for that repair, personally I like to make a thin cardboard template of the rusted area (old pop/beer cases work nice, or posterboard) so I can check the fit, then trace it out onto a piece of steel (I use old hoods and roof skins and stuff because I have lots and I'm cheap), then once you have a good fit, grind/cut away the old stuff with a cutting wheel and you can weld your new section in.

If the corner is thin, you can cut past the corner and weld a piece of small round rod in there to make a new corner without having to brake an edge, sometimes the round rod is easier to weld thinner metal to and you can grind on it a bit more afterwards to match the edge shape.

I wouldn't even worry about the pitted upper section, I would just do the piece with the tabs sticking out that's completely gone. Once that's replaced it should be nice and solid.

There's only so many good Model A tudor doors in the world, don't let another one go to waste by replacing it when you can fix it. You got this.

 

Looks like a basic metal working skill,make a cardboard template,transfer it to sheet metal. HRP

 

Sounds like if you get a sheet metal brake you should have enough tools to pull it off.

 

Wouldn't even need that with what he already has a wood 2X4or piece of angle Iron would work.

 

Thanks for the great tips. I will post my progress as I make attempts to make this door functional. What do you guys think..20 gauge or 18?


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Approach it this way.
Know it's just sheet metal.
Break it down into parts.
Fab each piece in 18 Ga. and weld in place.
Good learning job.

 

If me, I find another door with a good top and replace with that. I have seen lots of doors with trashed lowers and great tops.

 

I don't have most of these tools either. They are on my bucket list. A Brake is probably nice (don't know since I have never actually used one). I find a steel beam with a straight edge (angle iron, I beam, channel iron) sandwich the sheet metal between the steel beam and a piece of flat bar, clamp it in several places and hammer the extended portion / flange over. The trick is to pad your hammer blows with a flat scrap of bar (like a slapping spoon (I don't have one of those either) and to bend the flange evenly all the way across to keep from stretching the flange. It you stretch it, your angle will be curved when you un clamp. If that happens, run the torch along the stretched edge and shrink it back. If you need to make the angle bend in a tight radius, you might have to cut wedge / pie slices out and weld back together. I prefer to TIG over Mig. I have more control over the amount of weld that has to be ground down and the weld is soft and won't crack while you are hammering on it in later forming.

Don't be surprised if when you cut it open the rust is further around the corners than it looks on the outside.

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The value of restoring is the knowledge gained. Make a template, take lots of pictures, buy some sheet metal. If you screw up, so what? You’ve lost a couple if bucks worth of metal that you can probably use down the road, but you have gained the knowledge that, that approach didn’t work. You can’t put a price on that. Don’t give up, keep going, you will get it in the end and you’ll have spent less than the cost of another door. Best of all, you will have the knowledge gained and you can’t put a price on that.
The only tool that I would add to your list is a good old anvil. My Peter Wright is my best friend. D


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