I have a older rare lead sled car. The car has a hood that was chopped 4 inch off it to match the newer cowl and dash. And the rear fenders seams were filled in. So now after driving the to shows for the last 10 years I have short cracks in the rear area of the 1/4 panels. Also in the hood area too where it was ( stick welded and rivets ) yes I did say that. It has the stick weld marks / rivets left on the under side of the hood, small cracks in paint 2-3 inch long on the side of the hood. So how to repair it? The rear 1/4's are hard to get at, can I used seam sealer to help support it and the hood too ? I like to save this barn find, and show how old the body work is. Do I just remove all the old paint off with media blast to see whats under the paint.?
I'd hazard a guess that the cracks may be due to frame and then body flex. With no top to help stiffen it that car needs one stiff frame and a somewhat soft suspension to keep the body from flexing. Back when I was 17 before my Sr year in high school I had a total brain fart and bought a 55 Metropolitan convertible because I thought it would get good gas mileage which it did when it ran. Several times I had to move it to a flatter spot to be able to open the doors because the body flexed so much.
You need to determine what is under the paint on the problem areas. Different substrates lie beneath. It could be surface rust on the steel lifting the paint. It could be shrinkage and expansion of lead or plastic fillers or separation of substrates. It could be moisture related. It might have lots of filler.... it may have none. Do you intend to paint it yourself? If not I would let the person you entrust to be involved in the process of discovering the cause... to determine the remedy.
When you say rivets I'm ***uming you mean pop rivets. Since pop rivets aren't water tight, I would bet you've got moisture built up under that repair and it's rusting under the filler. Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using Tapatalk
If you want to fix the bodywork, you're gonna have to take the car mostly apart and weld everything together properly, which will probably require making some patch panels, replacing rusted metal and lousy bodywork, etc. It will be quite a project. Change the wheels so they match the theme of the car, drive the car and enjoy it as a survivor.
You won’t know everything and anything unless you strip it and get into all the nooks and crannies. Related to what Squirrel said drive it like it is you still have the problems. It would drive me nuts , but that’s okay I am nuts .
I also hate having a car that has someone’s body work. I don’t care if George Barris himself did it. Buy original and do it my way so it is done head to toe.
And just so no fan of G. Barris get bent out of shape , I am not saying I am any where near G. Barris experience level . I just rather start from scratch so I can see what the body needs instead of undoing someone’s or multiples body job(s) then have to do it right and solid the first time to the best of my abilities.
Best advise yet. I would surmise that if you stripped the car and started over on the body; you may end up never driving the car again. I've seen more than a few decent driving cars turned into uncompleted projects. Sent from my Nexus 5X using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Can you get a hold of a mil-gauge or paint thickness gauge. If so you can go over the car to determine the amount of filler on it before you go any further, this will give you a god idea of what’s you will find and then make your decision.
War wounds, shows that the car is used as it is supposed to be. Drive it and enjoy it. If you really want to fix it properly it'll probably have to be blown completely apart.
No need to explain yourself on the G Barris comment. Having read hot rod and custom mags since the mid ‘50s, there were plenty of photos that showed work in progress that was ‘quick and dirty” .....covered by lead....certainly including, but not limited to G Barris. That was generally accepted workmanship in the day. Not so much for Coach builders, but for a lot of ‘custom shops’. Ray
Just because you have what you consider "older rare lead sled car" doesn't mean it's all that old or the work was done correctly. Pop rivets are a warning flag to me! Blast it, fix it right and paint it again. I would be willing to put money on the fenders not being welded to the body correctly before the seam was filled. That's a common shortcut that will show up later. SPark
1st. I like to thank all that replied to my post. The car rides soft and has a full frame..Not many cracks on the hood, 2 inch long with the seam where the hood was pan-cake they use rivets and then stick weld it on the under side of hood., and might have on the top side under the filler too. The filler is about 1/8 to 1/4 thick in the hood, magnets will stick some. The rear fenders to body show no cracks and its the thickest. Now the place above the rear fender on top ( flat area ) is where lead was used, I have a crack or two on each side in the paint. There were 7 cars completed like this. Mine is the 1st year the car was custom like this. My car was done in California, the early model for the rest of the 6 cars. The other cars used were 1946 and 47.. My car had a windshield was a flat frame like that was used on a dune buggy... I have 39 ford rear tail lights and a french in plate area in rear.
Maybe repair the hood and maybe put flames over the repair area? Any thoughts? And what colors of flames? Orange, bleed the yellow and outline with red ?
Well,,,I’m ***uming the paint is lacquer,,,,,and lacquer likes to crack when it starts getting old . It is a really hard shell paint,,,and doesn’t lend well to a lot of body flex . I would either drive like it is,,,,or just repaint ,,,,if you take it all apart,,,,it’s probably over ? It is really a beautiful old custom,,,,and has been together for years,,,enjoy it for what it is . Tommy
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